Random Thoughts on July 4, 2026

 

• I remember my friend Mike H from CCNY had  birthday barbecues from 1969-71
• Happy Birthday to my grandnephew, Teddy Shapiro, who lives in northern California
• We live in a culture enamored by celebrity weddings.  I think the excitement over Prince Charles's wedding to Diana in 1981 was greater than that of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
• On July 4, 1976, I was living in New Brunswick, NJ.  There were more activities for the Bicentennial than the 250th anniversary today.

Thoughts on Writing 5000 Posts for Bruce's Journal

It is hard to believe that I have reached 5000 journal entries since I started writing on October 15, 2005.  I made one entry and kept going.  I guess I express myself better in writing than I do verbally.  Back then AOL supported blogs, but later on I transitioned the journal to Blogger a service of Google, and got the domain bruceslutsky.com .  The entries range from the ridiculous to the sublime.  I don’t know the real number of how many people have read an entry.  The stats provided by Blogger indicate there were about 1,700,000 hits, but most of those must have come from robots.  The statistics also state that many hits are from China where I am a complete unknown.

I have written on topics including (in no particular order):

• ·        New York Mets
• ·        Baseball
• ·        Bob Dylan
• ·        Other Music – very often I post a song from YouTube.  Many of those videos have been deleted. I should try to replace them.
• ·        Jeopardy
• ·        Random Thoughts of the Day

According to Blogger, my most popular entries were

·        TGIF

• ·        The Tale of the Two-Dollar Bill
• ·        Jeopardy and the Two-Dollar Bill
• ·        Congratulations to the Beach Boys on their 50^th Anniversary
• ·        Jason Keller – Jeopardy Superstar
• ·        Mumbles was my Favorite Dick Tracy Villain

Those are certainly not my most distinguished posts.

My best posts IMHO were these two that were very personal

Remembering Alan Berman

Bruce and Karen (October 16, 1983 - February 16, 2021) Remembering the Good Times - Her Memory is a Blessing

Many posts were autobiographical.  The best way to find those is to go to the search box in the upper left corner and search for:

• ·        Rego Park
• ·        Forest Hills
• ·        City College
• ·        Rhode Island
• ·        New Brunswick

 

Readers can post comments on Blogger, but most of the comments I receive are on Facebook.

I got into “trouble” once when a pompous professor objected to something I wrote about.  This actually made it to the New York Times.  I challenge my readers to find the article.  Since that time I have been more careful about what I write.  I often use initials instead of a full name since people can Google themselves.

I wonder how much time I have spent over the years writing journal entries.  I don’t have to be concerned with editors or fact-checkers.

Thanks for reading.

 

Some Memories about New Years Eve

• I remember that single girls were reluctant to be seen on New Year's Eve as they were "advertising" that they couldn't get a date.
• In 1968 my date got sick and had to cancel.  I went to a show at Radio City Music Hall with a friend.
• In 1970 I double-dated as we saw Love Story in a theater near Times Square.  The movie ended after midnight.  It showed on the way home.
• In 1975 when I lived in New Brunswick, NJ I went to the world's worst party.  The girls just wouldn't talk to us. They didn't have to pair off, but at least be a little sociable.
• This was in 1979 when Queens Bnai Brith Singles had a New Year party at somebody's house. Thirteen guys and no girls came.  They didn't want to advertise that they were not dating anyone.
• I can't remember doing anything special when I was married to Karen.  We either went to dinner at a local restaurant or a movie.

 

Reflections on Bruce's Journal as it Approaches 4000 Entries Since October 2005

I am approaching entry #4000 of a blog that started on October 15, 2005 and just kept on going.  That article was a very short description about a football game at Hofstra University.  Most of my entries have been much longer than that.  I guess if an article is too long some people may not read it.  I can’t give a reason for keeping on writing it.  I am never certain of the impact that to made on people over 14+ years.  I am aware of a few regular readers, but it has gotten close to 600,000 hits worldwide. Perhaps some people look at an entry and think that I am a nut. Medical issues and very personal topics are never included.  Anyone can read what I put on the Internet, so I need to be careful.  Once I got in trouble when a pompous professor from Texas objected to something I wrote. I usually write two entries in three days.  I had two companion blogs that I stopped after I retired in December 2017.

• Commuting Blog
• Professional Blog

I can categorize my entries as follows:

• New York Mets
• Baseball (general)
• Sporting events that I attended
• Radio Broadcasting
• Bob Dylan
• Oldies music including Youtube videos of songs
• Museum visits
• Movies (I only critique a few movies that saw)
• Family activities including vacations
• Autobiographical entries
• Random Comments of the Day

I thought that I should look back at some of the significant entries that I have written over the years.

• Remembering Alan Berman  - I was friends with him from 2006 until his tragic death in June 2013.  This entry traced many of the events of our 7-year friendship.
• Remembering Lou Mintz of NYPL  - His son Gary found this entry and contacted me.  I joined his New York Giants (Baseball) Preservation Society
• Bruce the Mets Fan From Day 1 – and the rest is history
• Bruce, the Bob Dylan Fan – this was written in 2006.  Much has happened since then
• I’m Not There and Don’ Look Back – Two Dylan Movies with significance for me  - why I didn’t return to my former employer.
• Final Thought as a Retire and Leave the Profession of Librarianship – this was the final entry of my companion professional blog.
• It seems that out of sight out of mind supersedes keeping in touch  - My frustration with my inability to keep in touch with former colleagues
• Trying to Remember the Early Days Growing Up in Rego Park
• Reminiscing about my New Brunswick Days – Part 1
• Reminiscing about my New Brunswick Days – Part 2
• My 44-Year Journey Ends on My Terms

Bruce’s Journal is run on a platform called Blogger provided by Google.  It provides me with the list of the postings with the most hits.  Here are the top ten, many of which I don’t understand why they got so many hits:

1. TGIF  - this is a very short posting done on March 26, 2010.  I just can’t understand why it got so many hits.
2. The Tale of the Two-Dollar Bill – April 14, 2011 – I received a two-dollar bill and donated it to the local public library
3. Jeopardy and the Two-Dollar Bill -  November 22, 2011 – there was an answer on Jeopardy that required knowing that a president was on a two-dollar bill.  I thought there were better posts about Jeopardy that deserved more hits.
4. Congratulations to the Beach Boys on their 50^th anniversary – December 31, 2011
5. Jason Keller, Jeopardy Superstar- December 27, 2011
6. Mark Simone leaves WABC for WOR – January 3, 2013  Mark Simone became persona non grata as far as I’m concerned.
7. Bob Dylan – Forever Young – 50 Years of Song -Life Magazine  - February 23, 2012 – I think there are more significant posts about Dylan that should have received more hits.
8. Another Afternoon at CW Post – November 7, 2009 – About a football game there.  I don’t understand why it got so many hits.
9. WABC Rewound is Gone -  April 29 2010 – At this point WABC Rewound was no longer heard on 770 AM.  It is still heard yearly on Memorial Day on internet radio.
10. More Tsuris for the Mets – March 18, 2011 – Tsuris means aggravation.  This post discusses problems the Mets’ owners faced as a result of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

In general, I don’t understand why the above 10 entries got so many hits.  There were more articles that were more significant to me.

I will keep writing for Bruce’s Journal as I average about 240 entries a year, so in another 4 years when I reach 5000 entries, another analysis.

New York Public Library Revisited

I worked at the New York Public Library Science and Technology Division from 1983-1990.  That division was located in Room 121 in the famous building at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street now known as the Schwartzman Building.  I visited a few times in the early 1990s shortly after I left, but I hadn't been there for at least 25 years.

I wanted to do some research so I looked up the following books in their online catalog:

Thornley, Stew. 2000. Land of the Giants: New York's Polo Grounds. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

McGee, Bob. 2005. The greatest ballpark ever: Ebbets Field and the story of the Brooklyn Dodgers. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press

The Research Library is non-circulating so all books must be read there.  For now, I was more interested in Stew Thornley's book since I have contacted him through SABR and it was not available in a circulating library.  The McGee book is available through the Queens Library.

Sometimes, procedures don't change over the years.  It is still necessary to fill out a call slip and wait for the book to be retrieved from the stacks.  When I submitted the two requests, the clerk said that it would take about 30 minutes to get it.  It actually took 45 minutes.  I can understand that since there are literally miles of book stacks at NYPL and it must take time to retrieve the items and send it to the reading room.  I still remember that I had to cope with irate patrons who were very impatient about getting their materials.

I spent over two hours with Stew's book on the Polo Grounds and was glad that I found the information I was looking for about that stadium.  I glanced at the Ebbets Field book since I can get a circulating copy from the Queens Library.

The reading room was quite busy, but most of the people were using their own laptops and not accessing the library's resources.  One of the roles of a library is to provide a quiet study space, but NYPL provides access to resources not available at other public libraries.

After I finished my research I took a tour of the building to see how it had changed over the past 25 years,  There was a snack bar near the 5th Avenue entrance.  Room 121 housed the Milstein Division (local history and genealogy) since the Science Division moved to Madison Avenue and 34th Street in 1994 and renamed SIBL (Science Industry and Business Library).

I concluded my day by viewing the exhibit Peace Love and Revolution at the Library.  I offered many artifacts from the 1960s including a board with album covers from 1960s artists including Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and many others.  Visitors could press a button to hear various 1960s hits.

It was certainly a productive day.

My 44 Year Journey Ends on My Terms

My 44-year journey started in January 1974 as I left the University of Rhode Island (URI) with a master’s degree in chemistry and has ended today as I have retired as a Science/Engineering Librarian with NJIT.  There was successes, failures, peaks, valleys, and plateaus along the way.  I shouldn’t make this entry too long or nobody will read it.  To quote the song The Way We Were – “What's too painful to remember we simply choose to forget”.   Since I have an excellent autobiographical, it is often difficult to forget the bad experiences.

When I left URI, I had no job prospects.  I was sending resumes out to chemical companies all over the country seeking an entry level position.  In early March when I still didn’t have a job, I went to a temporary agency called OTI and applied for a job.  They placed me at Bank Americard now known as Visa and did clerical work for them.  It was very boring, but it was better than staying home. In May 1974 I landed a position with Rhodia in New Brunswick, NJ.

I moved to a temporary apartment there where the landlord was a real jerk and just could not leave me alone.  A few months later I moved to a permanent apartment nearby.  I worked in the development lab where we modified processes in the manufacture of bulk aroma chemicals.  To make a painful story short, the situation did not work out.  If you are interested in reading more about my New Brunswick days there are two previous journal entries:

• Part 1
• Part 2

In June 1975, I landed a position with UOP Fragrances in Long Island City, Queens.  I had a very terrible commute from New Brunswick to there.  My intention was to do that for a year and then move.  This job involved synthesizing new chemical substances at a small scale to be evaluated for perfume ingredients.  In early 1976 the company was sold to a Dutch company called Naarden.  Some months later, they eliminated the research department and let everyone go from the bottle washer to the research director.  So, I was out of a job again.

This job search was long and painful.  One company actually wanted me to work for them for two days as part of my interview.  I refused and didn’t get that job which was for the better.  After being unemployed for 6 months, I had to consider relocation.  I landed a job at Pfizer in Groton, Ct.

I moved to New London which is across the Thames River from Groton.  At Pfizer I worked under a Ph D chemist to synthesize new substances to be tested for analgesic activity.  Disaster struck here as I realized that I wasn’t suited to work as a laboratory chemist.  Also, Southeastern Connecticut was not the right place for me to live.  I stayed in that area for one more year and then moved back to live with my parents in Queens. 

I worked with an outplacement consultant to help me “get my act together” to find a new career path.  I decided to pursue a career as an information scientist who would research the professional literature on behalf of laboratory scientists.  Some people suggested that I pursue a degree in Library Science, but I decided not to do that at this point.  It was a difficult job search, but In June 1979 a landed a position with Schering Corporation in Bloomfield, NJ.

Again, this necessitated a long commute from Queens.  My job was to look for documentation in the literature for chemical substances that would either be intermediates or final products.  There was online searching back then, but it was very slow and primitive compared to the internet of today.  We had to use a telephone modem to search DIALOG.  Those were the days. While I was at Schering I obtained a masters in library and information science from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. That job lasted for 3 years.

From there I went to H.W. Wilson in the Bronx to become and indexer for the Applied Science and Technology Index.  I hated that job and left after 4 months.

From there I went to the New York Public Library Science and Technology Division which then (1983) was in the famous building with the Lions at 5^th Avenue and 42^nd Street.  It was one of the biggest STM Library Collections in the world.  It was difficult working with a closed stack collection.  Users had to submit a call slip to the librarian and then a page would retrieve the book or periodical and bring it to the patron. “On the table tops there are seat number, write down your seat number and we’ll bring you the item.”  They could understand nuclear physics, but not seat numbers.  The hard part was finding the physical location of the item that the person requested.  After 7 ½ years, I felt it was enough.

I wanted to become an academic librarian and obtained a position at St. Johns University in Queens.  I was the Head of the Science Division for two years and then moved on to NJIT.

I could probably write a book about my experiences over the past 25 years at the Robert Van Houten Library.  I know many of my colleagues read Bruce’s Journal so I won’t say anything negative about the university or any of the people.  Any job has its frustrations, I had my share.  I had the satisfaction of reaching out to the faculty and students and winning their respect.  NJIT has grown by leaps and bounds in my 25 years.  There are many more buildings on the campus and the student body has increase greatly.  Reference librarians have to “compete” with Google.  Instead of searching the library’s database to find information, students will do a Google search and report websites in their bibliographies.  My biggest frustration was to see the reference transactions and research consultations decline.  Interested readers can check out my librarians blog.

I should also add that I am proud of my accomplishments in the American Chemical Society and the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO).  I am also proud of my professional publications.

I was frustrated not to get a promotion for 25 years, but at least I had the satisfaction of leaving on my terms.  My career difficulties were early, before I was married and had a family.  Being on a career plateau was frustrating, but I wasn’t let go.

After 40+ years of working, and 25 years at the same it was time to retire at age 68.  I will be 69 in 4 more months.  Thankfully I am in good health and hope to enjoy my retirement years.

Remembering August 8, 1974

Do you remember where you were 40 years ago today when Nixon announced his was resigning the presidency?  I was a chemist working at Rhodia in New Brunswick.  I was living in a temporary apartment at 9 Hartwell Street near the College Avenue of Rutgers.  The landlord was a real jerk who never left me alone.  Anyway about 3 weeks later I moved to the Colony House at 1050 George Street where I lived until the end of 1976.  I think everyone was relieved when Tricky Dick resigned.

Remembering the Summer of 1974

Bob Radil tonight will be featuring the music of the summer of 1974 tonight.  Back in those days I listened to WABC which had a very tight playlist.  Some of the big hits of that summer were:

  1. Rock the Boat - The Hues Corporation (RCA)      
  2. You Make Me Feel Brand New - The Stylistics (Avco)        
  3. Billy, Don't Be a Hero - Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods (ABC)
  4. Rock Your Baby - George McCrae (T.K.)                      
  5. Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot (Reprise)                      
  6. The Streak - Ray Stevens (Barnaby)                        
  7. Band On the Run - Paul McCartney & Wings (Apple)          
  8. Be Thankful For What You Got - William deVaughn (Roxbury)

I am sure that Bob will feature many of the rarities of that summer that were not played on WABC.  Anyway when I hear the music of a specific time period, I go back and think of what I was doing at that time.  Many of the entries of this Journal are autobiographical.  In 2008 I detailed my time in New Brunswick, NJ from May 1974 - December 1976.  In this entry I'll focus on the Summer of 1974.

In the Spring after several months of job hunting I landed my first professional job at a chemical company called Rhodia which was the American division of a French chemical company called Rhone-Poulenc. It was involved in the manufacture of fragance chemicals. Some of my co-workers (I am only giving their first names) were Jack, Lou, Richard, Alexandra, Marshall, Karin and Joe.  It was dificult making the transition to industry as I had spent my entire life as a student.   In the previous journal entry I discussed my social life at that time.  In June 1974 I went on singles weekend at a dude ranch in upstate New York.  I also remember a Jewish singles group at the YMHA in Highland Park.  During that summer I lived at 9 Hartwell Street until the fall when I moved into a high rise building called the Colony House.

I found out that Rhodia abandoned the New Brunswick plant in 2000.  A few years ago Rhodia was bought out by a chemical company named Solvay.

I guess I will be thinking of the events of that summer as Bob plays the music.

Happy Birthday Mr. Lee

It is hard to believe that Mr. Lee is now 26 years old.  In this recent photo you can see that he now taller than his father.  As I am 39 years older than him, I always think back to where I was and what I was doing when I was his age.  When I was 26 I was working as a chemist for Rhodia in New Brunswick, NJ.  I was living by myself at the Colony House at George Street and the Landing Lane Bridge.  Below is his favorite oldie Mr. Lee by the Bobbettes.

Thinking about Family Feud

Family Feud has to be Lee's favorite game show as he watches it every day from 5 to 6 PM on Channel 9. Shows from previous seasons appear several times a week on the Game Show Network.  The show does have a history.  I remember watching it for the first time in July 1976 when I lived in New Brunswick, NJ.  Richard Dawson was the host at the beginning and stayed for many years.  The Wikipedia reports that the show has been on the air for 31 non-consecutive years with several hosts:

• Richard Dawson
• Ray Combs
• Louie Anderson
• Richard Karn
• John O'Hurley
• Steve Harvey

You can't argue with success as the show has been on s many years.  Some of the questions are thought provoking while others are just silly.  At times the various hosts have dominated the show too much.  Richard Dawson's kissing the female contestants was also silly at times.

I play the online version a few times a week on Facebook.

Being Jewish at Christmas

You can read what is in the picture above or read what I have to say.  I always have that "funny feeling" of being left out at Christmas time.  We don't open up gifts on Christmas or have a large family gathering.  Many gentiles do forget the significance of the holiday as it commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ.

I remember back in the 1970s before I was married there was always a Jewish singles dance on Christmas Day or Eve.  It was your last chance to get a date for New Year's Eve.  In the mid 1970s when I lived in New Brunswick, NJ there was a group called the Dunhams that held such an event.  We called it a JAP Festival. (JAP=Jewish American Princess).  That expression and singles dances have become passe over the years.

I will take in a movie tomorrow, but pass on the Chinese food.  It will be nice to be off from work until January 2.

A Non-Nostalgic Trip to New Brunswick, NJ Today

I have reminisced several times in this journal about my days in New Brunswick, NJ from May 1974 to December 1976.  New readers may want to click on the link to read about my adventures or mis-adventures there.

Today I went to a librarians meeting at the College Avenue campus.  I took New Jersey Transit (no delays, thankfully) and walked over the the meeting at the Alexander Library.  At the end of the meeting I stopped for lunch and took the train back home.  I did not want to stop by:

• 9 Hartwell Street
• 1050 George Street
• 297 Jersey Avenue

Thinking about Past and Present Presidential Campaigns

The passing today of Senator George McGovern caused me to recall some of the presidential campaigns of the past.  Yes, the presidential campaign of McGovern vs. Nixon was the most polarizing one that I remember.  Differences of opinion about America’s involvement in the Vietnam War created a lot of bad blood.  The issues of Watergate and its cover-up were revealed after the election.  It seemed that Nixon wanted to derail the presidential campaign of Edmund Muskie who would have been a formidable opponent.

The first presidential campaign I can remember is the Kennedy-Nixon rivalry of 1960.  I worked for the Democratic Club on Saunders Street handing our flyers for JFK.  Tricky Dick came close to winning.  The course of American history would have changed had he been elected in 1960.

Back in 1976 when I lived in New Brunswick, NJ I gave out flyers supporting Jimmy Carter.  It seems amazing that he came from being an obscure former Governor of Georgia to become President.

Then in 2000 there was the Florida controversy that led to the election of George W. Bush over Al Gore.

The current campaign of Obama against Romney seems very dull to me.  It seems that almost everybody has his mind made up.  With the election based on the Electoral College rather than the popular vote the candidates are campaigning only in a handful of battleground states.  For that reason I am in favor of abolishing the Electoral College.  Back in 2000 Al Gore actually had more popular votes than George W. Bush.

Recalling May 19th as someone else's anniversary

Back in the early 1970s I had a friend whom a will call AA who lived in Sunnyside, Queens.  We were the best of buddies as we got together almost every weekend.  Back in May 1972 I was a student at the University of Rhode Island and exchanged letters with AA.  On May 19, 1972 he went to a Cometogether singles dance at the Malibu Country Club in Queens.  There he met LK, a Jewish American Princess (JAP) from Long Island.  Back then the term JAP was popular term for a spoiled Jewish girl.  They started dating and really hit it off.  By October they became engaged and were married on May 19, 1973.

So they met 40 years ago today, and are now married 39 years.  After that point AA looked down on me since he was married and I was not.  Our friendship gradually faded but in the Fall 1974 when I was living in New Brunswick I phoned him to catch up.  He sarcastically said to me "When you get a girl, we'll be sure to come down there."  I was really hurt by that.  About a year later, I sent him a Jewish new year's card, but he didn't reciprocate.  Our friendship was over.  He rejected me because I was still single and did not even have a girlfriend at that time.

In this Facebook era, I never had the desire to reconnect with him although I became reacquainted with other friends of mine from that time of my life.  He is likely a grandfather by now.  I certainly don't wish anything bad for him, put I must remember him for the tactless way he rejected me.  We all must face rejection in our personal and professional lives.

New Brunswick, NJ Revisited

In July 2008 I wrote a journal entry about living in New Brunswick, NJ from 1974-76 just after graduating from the University of Rhode Island. In much of that entry I wrote about my social life as a Jewish single in the suburbs.  Today I revisited New Brunswick since I attended a professional meeting at Rutgers.

I was quite impressed at the way the downtown area was revitalized over the past 35 years.  There were several new high rise apartment buildings near the train station.  Back in the 70s that downtown area was nodescript at best.  The College Avenue campus of Rutgers looked pretty much the same. There was not all that much time to walk around the city especially since it was raining after the meeting. I think the Busch and Livingston campuses on the Piscataway side of the Raritan River expanded greatly over the years.  I remember visiting the Library of Science and Medicine.

I did not visit:

1. 9 Hartwell Street where I lived for the first 4 months in New Brunswick.  The landlord just kept pestering me.
2.  The Colony House on George Street where I lived for most of my New Jersey years.  It is a high rise building near Landing Lane Bridge.
3. Rhodia on Jersey Avenue where I worked.  A chemical engineering student at NJIT told me that the plant closed down in 2000.  I read that Rhodia was recented acquired by Solvay.

Article in the Business Section of the Sunday New York Times

The article written Eilene Zimmerman titled Between College and That First Job caught my eye and brought back some memories. She suggested that recent graduate use that time to try to develop skills needed for employment and to network with people who can lead to professional employment.  That is much easier today with services such as Facebook and LinkedIn.  She also said that any job is better than no job in the interim.  There is always that "Catch-22" - I can't find a job since nobody will give me one because I am unemployed.  Believe me I know that experience.

Let's turn the clock back to early 1974.  I left the University of Rhode Island in January with a masters degree in chemistry and no job prospects.  It was hard to return to living with my parents after 2 years of being on my own.  In early March I got a temporary job doing clerical work for a bank making a few cents above the minimu wage.  Finally in May I was hired by Rhodia a chemical company in New Brunswick, NJ.

Silly Oldie of the Day - Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes - Get Dancin'

I am listening to this silly song on the Lost 45s with Barry Scott on WODS-Boston.  Barry said that it was written by Bob Crewe who wrote many hit of the Four Seasons.  It was a hit in 1974 when I worked for Rhodia in New Brunswick, NJ.  When I hear this song I think of some my co-workers all those years ago.  I warned you that this is a silly song.  Tomorrow is another day and hopefully I'll have a more intelligent journal entry.



Facebook friends can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HhO_zZi-KA

Another memory of my New Brunswick Days

About two years ago I posted about my days living in New Brunswick, NJ from 1974-76. Today on Facebook Trevor Dawes, a librarian at Princeton University, posted this article from the New York Times about the Delaware and Raritan Canal. Back then I lived at the Colony House right by the Landing Lane Bridge. The Delaware and Raritan Canal passd right by the building. I would drive to differents points on the canal and hiked for hours at a time. I often met my chemist friend Irv Rabinowitz for hikes. All those years ago we both worked at Rhodia. I last saw Irv at an American Chemical Society meeting in 1981.

Scott Fybush - Facebook Friend of the Day - I didn't know he was a Dylan fan

I met Scott Fybush around 1993 when we were both joined Decalcomania, a club of radio enthusiasts. I did trade airchecks with him back then when he lived in the Boston area when he worked as a writer for WBZ. He since moved back to Rochester where he now works for WXXI. I last saw him in July 1995 when the Decalcomania convention was held in East Brunswick, NJ. I think I have kept in touch with him electronically on and off since then.

Scott has certainly earned the title of Distinguished Professor of Radio Towers. If you have a question about towers, past or present, Scott will know it. When I take NJ Transit I always see the towers for WEPN and WMCA and think about Scott. He is extremely knowledgeable in a wide range of radio topics and posts regularly to several message boards.

For the first time today I found out that Scott is also a big fan of Bob Dylan. Today he used the photo of Dylan from Blood on the Tracks as his Facebook photo while I used the one from New Morning. He commented on my Facebook note imported from Bruce's Journal on Zimmy's birthday. Radio shows about Dylan should make us both very happy. I have many tapes of them in my collection. I'll have to dig them out and play them.

I hope that the next time Scott comes to the NYC area I hope we can hook up.

Reminiscing about my New Brunswick Days - 1974-76

Part 2 of 2

Let me talk about some of the young ladies that I dated during that time:

 

 I met JL at one of those silly singles dances.  She worked as a biologist for Hoffman-LaRoche a very prestigious pharmaceutical company.  I could never get a date with her on a Saturday night, so I suspected she was dating someone else.  That certainly was fair game.  One weeknight, I took her out to dinner.  When we got home, her phone rang.  She pointed to the TV and took the call.  She was on the phone for at least 30 minutes.  It must have been her regular boyfriend.  She was obviously rude to me.  She was my type, so I was disappointed that it ended.

 

I met EM through the Bnai Brith singles group.  She was a psychiatrist’s daughter.  I had several pleasant dates with her, but she dated several guys she met through that group.  I perceived it that by dating several guys at once, she prevented herself from forming an attachment to any one.  Boy, I was wrong.  My last date with her was in early June 1976.  By September, her engagement to another guy was announced in the groups’ newsletter.  She was difficult, but I was someone inexperienced at that time with dating relationships.

 

In 1976 another singles group formed at a synagogue in Highland Park.  I met LM there a few months before I left NJ.  She was a dentist’s daughter.  Her father did not run a radio message board.  Remember, there was no Internet in the 1970s.  When I first met her she said, we can get together during the week, because I see friends on weekends.  I smelled something fishy, but what to heck.  A had about 5 dates with her, and when I phoned all of a sudden she said, by the way, I’m kind of going steady with this guy, and I really love him.  She said it was difficult to tell me that.  It was better than getting the standard, I’m busy line.  Oh well.  These things happen for the better.

 

I wish the Internet were around when I was single and unattached.  I think I would have done well at initially meeting women.  Sustaining dating relationships was difficult for me back then.  The Internet could not have helped me there.

 

I said I wasn’t going to discuss career issues here, but I must relate two interview stories.  I interviewed at a family owned business called Research Organic Chemical Company.  They interviewed me for about an hour and even gave me a written test about chemistry.  They said that as part of my interview, I would have to perform a “lab test” by working for them for two days for no pay.  At first I agreed to do that, but after losing a night’s sleep I changed my mind.  I phoned them that morning and told them they would either hire me or not.  The risk to the employee in taking a new job is higher than that of an employer.  Some years later I found out that this company was put out of business since they dumped toxic chemicals in the sewer.  The owners of the company were convicted of a crime and thrown in jail.

 

I got another interview though an employment agency.  They told me not to arrive at the company until 5:30 PM since the company was going to fire the incumbent and needed an immediate replacement.  It turned out to be a wild goose chase.

 

Before I close, let me talk at little about radio at that time.  I was not much of an enthusiast back then.  AM radio was still king and I listened mostly to Harry Harrison in the morning.  My interest in radio was dormant, but came back some years later.

 

In December 1976 I left New Brunswick, NJ since I found a job for a pharmaceutical company in Connecticut.

 

This was a very difficult period in my life since I was frustrated in two ways.  Back in the 1970s people married much younger than they do today.  I really felt that being 27 years old and single, I was looked down upon.

 

I had difficulties back then finding the right job.  But if I had to flounder in my career, it was better to do it when I was younger without a wife and family.  I know a guy today who lost his job about a year ago and can’t find anything else.  He has a wife and a young daughter.

 

So Is life.

 

From time to time I have gone to professional meetings in New Brunswick.  The downtown area was really revitalized in the 30 years since I have left.  Rutgers University is bigger than it was back then.  I obviously lost touch with all the people I knew back then.