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Living on the Edge

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

There are two types of people in life.  Those who play it safe and those who take risks.

People who play it safe are generally conservative in everything they do.  They work 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, at a job they’ve had for decades.  They like their routine.  They eat breakfast at 7:30, lunch at 12:30, and dinner at 6:00.  Their closets are perfectly organized, with clothes probably sorted  by color.  Go out to eat one Saturday night a month with the kids and one Saturday night without.  They don’t slurge.  They watch every penny they spend.  They buy generic toilet paper and canned creamed corn.  The only charity they donate to is their church.

They are boring.  Incredibly boring.

Since their lives are so mundane, they are absolutely incapable of holding a stimulating conversation.  They can only talk about their kids and the weather, or their job.  They have no intimate knowledge of the world around them, of politics, the environment, of life and death.  Gracious, don’t talk about life and death.  The church tells them what to believe and independent thought is forbidden, maybe even blasphemous.  And scary.

Then there are those folks who take risks, who live on the edge.  City Girl and I are in this category.  We do things on the spur of the moment.  We will open a new business after a half-hour discussion.  We will buy a property after a 15-minute dialogue.  We will gamble our money that we can be successful at any endeavour we tackle.  We believe in ourselves!

Since we’re not bounded by the constraints of a conservative life, we explore every avenue.  We don’t believe that human beings are the supreme species and all others are subservient to us.  That has led us to be vegans, meaning we do not consume animal products.  We do not “own” animals, since we believe in freedom for all and slavery for none.  We are staunch environmentalists.  We do not believe in profit above the fate of our planet.  We care about the plight of the common man.  We care about the needy, which is why we’re opening a free soup kitchen in our county.

We’re hungry for knowledge.  We want to learn.  Learning never stops. 

We’re always open to something new.  For us, there is no final frontier.  There will always be exciting challenges ahead.  We thrive on the action.  We’re adrenaline junkies.  For us, life is an adventure.

How about you?

- Mountain Man

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Real Men Decorate

Saturday, February 12th, 2011

Got your attention, didn’t I?

With the opening of the second building at our New Jersey Avenue location in Wildwood Crest this past Wednesday, it’s obvious that the decor and wall hangings didn’t just appear overnight.  It took some serious shopping.  It took painting a pallette in my mind of the decor blending together.

Don’t let my rugged Mountain Man appearance fool you.  I love to decorate.  When I was a kid, my mother used to tell me that, “Someday you’ll make somebody a good wife.”  I’d give her a disgusted look as I continued to stir the spaghetti sauce.  No, I didn’t wear an apron.

Decorating is an art.  It sets the tone of the building, employees, and customers through the feelings it exudes.  Good feelings – in our real estate industry – equal good business and good sales.  That warm, fuzzy feeling gets them every time.  Oh, and our genuinely friendly demeanor helps, too.

Some guys have no taste.  To them, hang a few posters of hot chicks along with a few beer signs and they think that’s cool.  Yeah, if you’re stuck in post-pubescence.  I like to think – no, I know – that I’m eons past that stage.  I appreciate optical splendor.  I love sunsets and full moons and birds fishing in a marsh and swaying palm trees and a sailboat on the horizon.  I enjoy all forms of flora and fauna.  I love mountain streams and deer grazing and hawks circling above.  I can express my pleasure with these images through decorating our homes and offices.

You were right, Mom.

- Mountain Man

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Cutting the Umbilical Cord

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

As an active and observant realtor, I’ve heard a ton of reasons why folks are behind in their mortgages and are facing foreclosure or being forced to do a short sale.  The typical reasons are loss of income for a variety of reasons, whether a cut back in work hours, being laid off, one spouse’s income being curtailed, or decreased profits in one’s own business.  They are all understandable reasons.  And somewhat unavoidable.

Then there’s the dumb excuse, which is becoming far too prevalent.  I’m talking about people who co-sign their kid’s mortgage, or continually funnel money to their whiney, manipulative kids so that they can live beyond their means.

I had a client come in recently inquiring about a short sale.  When he explained his income versus mortgage costs, I couldn’t see how he could be strapped for money.  Then the truth came out.  He had co-signed his kid’s mortgage and now the situation had degraded to the point where he was paying the entire $2,000 payment every month.  This senior citizen was willing to lose his home and have to become a renter just so he could continue to finance his kid’s lifestyle.  Unbelievable.

We call people like this “enablers”.  They enable their kids to be irresponsible because they will always come to the rescue and bail them out.  How pathetic!

This client staunchly defended giving his kid money.  “You’ve gotta do for family,” he repeated several times during our conversation (consultation, actually).  He made no apologies for throwing away a lifetime of hardwork and scrimping and saving.  Just as long as his kid and family could afford to drive new cars, buy cigarettes and booze, and buy their kids (his grandchildren) all kinds of status-driven material things, he was willing to lose his home.

Parents who do this type of enabling are not doing their kids a favor.  In most cases, once the parents are dead and buried, the irresponsible kids now in their 40′s and 50′s will not survive.  They don’t have the skills.  They’ll lose everything.  The cycle continues.

- Mountain Man

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Temperance Still Alive

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

Ocean City, a seashore town located at the north end of Cape May County, New Jersey, was founded in 1879 by four Methodist ministers.  The town is a popular resort, with plenty of beaches, a Boardwalk, amusement rides, restaurants, retail stores, etc, even the Ocean City Pops.  The year-round population of about 15,000 swells to 150,000 on any given day in the summer.

Ocean City gained notoriety for its idiotic Blue Laws, which designated Sunday as a day of no driving, no ocean bathing, no retail sales of any kind, no recreational activities.  I guess the only thing you were allowed to do was go to church …oops, walk to church.  In 1985 and ’86, most of the remaining Blue Laws were finally repealed.  Amazingly, it was a very close vote.

Ocean City does still carry the torch outlawing liquor.  The town is “dry”, meaning no restaurants can serve alcohol and naturally there are no packaged goods stores.  Heck, you can’t even be seen in public drinking a beer.

So imagine the the gall of restaurant owners this winter in proposing permitting BYOB, which stands for Bring Your Own Booze.  They weren’t asking to sell beer, wine or liquor, just to allow customers to bring a bottle of wine to consume with dinner.  The nerve!

The backward temperance folks were outraged.  “Not while I’m mayor,” said the reigning mayor.  I was waiting for him to add, “You’ll have to pry the gavel from my cold, dead hands.”  The argument, of course, is that Ocean City is America’s “Greatest Seaside Family Resort” and the town would shrivel and die if alcohol of any sort is allowed.  How dare we subject little Johnny and Susie to have to sit in a restaurant while the adults at the next table each sip a glass of wine.  Blasphemy!

The debate will carry on this winter, but by spring no doubt the temperance clan will prevail.  In Ocean City, BYOB will still mean Bring Your Own Bible.

- Mountain Man

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Daydreaming

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

The human mind is a funny thing.  You can play tricks on it, even though your mind knows you’re playing a trick.  More simply put, you can divert your mind to thoughts of pleasant things to help blot out the unpleasant and your mind will go along with the deception.

Case in point is City Girl.  On Christmas day, she laid in tremendous pain in the hospital with a broken hip.  The ball of the femur (thigh) bone had totally pulled out of the hip socket.  The pain was constant, excruciating.  I mentioned that perhaps we should delay purchasing the building next door to our real estate office for a few months.  “No,” she replied.  “Thinking about the building is all that’s getting me through this pain.”  She was focusing on a positive to try to lessen a negative.

We all do the same thing, except when there isn’t physical pain involved it’s more appropriately called daydreaming. 

I daydream often.  In fact, I guess I actually daydream daily.  My mind is taking itself to somewhere in the future that is pleasant, soothing, idyllic.

Right now, in mid-January of a colder than average South Jersey winter, my mind is working overtime.  My mind is thinking of spring, of planting flowers and vegetables.  This fantasy has been helped along by the half-dozen seed catalogs that have arrived since January 2nd.  As I pour through the catalogs in my reading room (okay, bathroom) looking at tomato varieties, zucchini, spinach, hot pepper, and a host of other vegetable seeds, I envision these plants growing in my dozen raised beds behind the house.  I decide what varieties I’ll grow again this year and which new ones deserve a chance.  I think of the mistakes I made last year, like not planting enough zucchini plants to get proper pollination.  My zucchini crop was a total flop in 2010.  My peppers arrived late and my spinach bolted too early.  And I planted too many cucumber plants.  I’ll cut back on cukes this year.

With new flower beds to deal with as our real estate office expansion comes to fruition, I am debating which flowers to plant.  I want continuity so that the two side-by-side properties will become one.  Should I use impatiens, which always give a colorful display?  No, they get stressed too much in the hot July and August days because they need some shade, not full sunlight.  How about marigolds or asters or chrysanthemums?  Maybe I should start with cold-hardy pansies in March, then replant summer flowers Memorial Weekend?

My mind wanders to envisioning myself in a tee shirt and jeans, on my knees, with flats of flowers ready to find their summer home.  I think about all our customers and even folks walking down New Jersey Avenue who will be complimenting my choice of yellows, pinks, oranges, reds, whites and purples.  The compliments bring satisfaction, a feeling of accomplishment.

I feel good.  Isn’t daydreaming great?!!

- Mountain Man

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On MLK Day, Let’s End Violence

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

It’s Martin Luther King Day.  Last year, I wrote a blog on this website titled, “I Have a Dream”.  You can scroll back to January 17, 2010 to read it.

This year, rather than racial equality, I want to address violence.  They go hand in hand at times, but in reality violence is the downfall of mankind.  Maybe shortcoming is a more appropriate term.  Or both.

In my 20′s, when part of the back to the land movement, I bought a few dairy goats and started getting my own goat’s milk and cheese.  One thing always bothered me – the goats fought until they established a pecking order.  Then the alpha doe always picked on the rest, the beta doe picked on all but the alpha, and on and on down the line.  Why couldn’t they get along?  After all, they’re all dairy goats and they’re all in this together.

Then I had a revelation.  They’re just like humans.  We’re always fighting to establish dominance.  Except, sometimes we kill.  Goats, along with most mammal species, fight to establish dominance, but they rarely kill and then its usually accidental.  Humans kill with vigor, with purpose.

In 2009, there were 15,241 murders in the United States.  Sure, that was down from over 24,000 in both 1991 and 1993, but it’s still despicable.  The US also had a total of 1,313,398 violent crimes in 2009.  Are we that prone to acts of violence?  Are we a nation of people who are so far from the norm of a peaceful society that hurting another human being is no big deal?  Do we have so little value for someone else’s life?  Are we, as a society, totally insane?

In the world recently in one year India led with 37,700 murders.  Russia had 28,904, Colombia 26,539, South Africa 21,553, the US about 16,000, then Mexico with 13,144.  Good old Iceland was one of the most peaceful with just four murders.  There are currently eight wars in the world that record over 1,000 fatalities per year.  There are 24 other wars taking place, with ten of them registering between 10,000 and 200,000 deaths each since their inception.

I won’t throw any other numbers at you, since I think I’ve gotten my point across.  We are a violent species.  We kill indiscriminately.  We kill for power, we kill for profit.  Sometimes, we kill because we don’t like somebody’s looks, religion, color, or politics.  People beat up their spouses, their kids, their neighbors, their rivals, or someone who possesses something they want.  Sadly, sometimes people even kill just for kicks or to prove they’re macho to their peers.

So on MLK Day, I ask that violence end.  Only then, can we truly be called “human”.  Dr. King would agree.

- Mountain Man

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Making a Difference

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

We only go around once in this lifetime.  Each and every one of us has just so much time on this planet to determine our fate, set our course, and hopefully make a difference and leave a legacy. 

Sadly, most people are shallow and consumed with materialism  and their legacy is that they merely existed.  They took up air and space and helped further deplete our fragile earth’s resources.

For many folks, helping the less-fortunate of the world gives their life purpose, true meaning.  It’s a chance to give back for the excesses that we have thanks to our dedication, hard work, and honest dealings throughout our lives.

The Free Meal Center, which is Cape May County, New Jersey’s first-ever daily soup kitchen, is slated to open to the public in the late spring, 2011.  It’s a chance for many locals to help the 4,000 year-round families living below the poverty level that just can’t make ends meet.  The facility will offer lunch Monday through Saturday, plus breakfast on Saturdays, to anyone who walks through the doors.  They won’t even be asked their name.

TFMC needs another $25,000 by March 15, 2011 to complete the purchase of the 2.36 acre property featuring a 4,000 square foot former restaurant.  Won’t you help?  You can send a tax deductible donation to:  The Free Meal Center, PO Box 863, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210.  Check them out at http://www.FreeMealCenter.com . 

Helping these needy families could be your legacy!

- Mountain Man

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Please, No More Snow!

Saturday, January 8th, 2011

Enough is enough.

Last winter, South Jersey was blasted by four big snowstorms which set a record for the winter by leaving behind 58 inches of snow.  Okay, we looked back at it all summer and decided it was an anomaly.  C’mon, we don’t get that kind of snowfall here in Cape May County, a 5-mile wide peninsula where the half dozen golf courses stay open year-round.  With the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south and the 13-mile wide Delaware Bay to the west, our weather is tempered by the waters that are much warmer than the air.

Up until a few years ago, I didn’t even own a winter jacket.  A heavy sweatshirt was sufficient.  Sure we had a couple cold mornings with temperatures in the upper teens, but it usually got in the mid-40s in the day and often broke the 50 degree mark.  Our winter was more like those found in South Carolina and Georgia, or so we told ourselves.

This winter, the day after Christmas, we received 17″ of snow.  Fortunately it was light and fluffy.  We all told ourselves that it was going to be the only snowstorm of the winter.  We collectively decided to ignor the fact that the temperate zones of the world – like the good old USA – were subject to weather extremes in this age of global warming.  Just a quick peek back to last summer and its intense heat and lack of rainfall should have been a sufficient reminder.

Yesterday, the TV meteorologists had the local populace scared about snow, but we didn’t even get enough to show on the ground before the sun popped out.  They switched their negative prognostications to today, a Saturday.  They talked about 1″-3′ here at the shore and up to 6″ farther inland.  Well, here it is 11am and we’ve got two inches of fresh snow on the ground and it’s still coming down with reckless abandon. 

 

Worse yet, they’re talking about a possible nor’easter on Tuesday.  Snow that wraps around and comes from the northeast is always our heaviest snowfall.  People on the East Coast love to talk about past nor’easters.

A few minutes ago, I had to go preview a property for one of  my real estate clients.  That’s what realtors do, rain or shine.  As I sloshed down a back city street in my 4-wheel drive, I pondered why anyone would tolerate this snow.  Everyone hated it, right? 

Then up ahead, I saw three boys about 8-years old each sitting on an old December 26th snowpile.  They had on full snowsuits, ski caps and hoods, mittens, and boots.  Each had carved out a spot in the hill that was custom-fit to their derriere.  They were having a great time and were oblivious to the blowing snow and chilly conditions.  It was then that I had an epiphany.  I flashed back to my youth.  Gosh, how I loved to sit and play in the snow, just like these three young lads.

The negative thoughts about snow left my mind.  Of course, snow is for the children, the innocent souls.  Have fun, kids!

- Mountain Man

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Spammers & Scammers

Friday, January 7th, 2011

It used to be that spam was a kind of lousy meat in a can.  And a scam was when some college-aged person came knocking on your door selling alleged magazine subscriptions to put themselves through school.

Times have changed.

With the advent of the internet age, spamming and scamming have taken on a new life.  Yesterday on this blogsite there were 73 spams and this morning another 40.  Some take the line of supposedly commenting on a particular blog article.  But wouldn’t you get suspicious when some talk about a blog I wrote about City Girl breaking her hip and they say something like, “Informative article.  It made me feel good.”?

The last two days of spams have included dozens promoting on-line gambling, sexual enhancement pills (I refuse to print the names), weight loss miracles, wonder drugs, sporting goods, horny housewives and Russian brides, and on and on.  How do these people sleep at night knowing they are being underhanded?  Do their kids know that Daddy is unscrupulous and not really a role model?  Hey kids, Pops is a sleazeball!

Scammers take it to a different level.  If I was to believe every shifty email I get, I have relatives in China, India, Hong Kong, the Phillipines, England, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and yes Nigeria – let’s not forget Nigeria – that have left me fortunes ranging from $2 million up to $16 million.  Boy, I must have quite a family tree. 

And then there’s those who claim that some deceased prince or rich businessman has picked me from the world’s 6.9 billion people to be the lucky recipient of his mass fortune.  Wouldn’t they turn over in their grave if they knew I’d spend all the money on feeding and housing the needy folks in our country, instead of Rolls Royces and luxurious palaces.  Oh yea, I would set aside some money for beer.

I figure that adding up all the vast sums of money I have been offered amounts to about 1 billion dollars.  With 43.6 million Americans living in poverty, I could give each of them about $23 worth of food.  You know what?  I will take that money!

- Mountain Man

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Guys Don’t Know

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

I’m a guy.  That’s not a bad thing, but there are some things that are second nature to City Girl that are Greek to me.

As you may know from reading two of the blogs I wrote since Christmas, City Girl broke her hip on Christmas morning when we were walking down the railroad tracks to feed some homeless fellows.  She’s had hip replacement surgery and is now in a convalescent home receiving physical therapy.  That makes me a bachelor for a while longer.

I’m pretty good around the kitchen, and in fact I do all the cooking in our household of two.  My mother even used to tell me that, “someday you’ll make somebody a good wife.”  She was right.

But I found one of my limitations this morning.  Since City Girl can not climb stairs, I am converting the dining room into a temporary bedroom.  It’ll be convenient for her being on the first floor and close to a bathroom, her office, and the kitchen.  I had no trouble disassembling the dining room table and along with my buddy Keith we got the table top, extension, legs, and six chairs into an outbuilding for storage.  The new full-sized bed I purchased was quickly assembled.  So far, every task had been regular guy stuff.  Easy to do.

Yesterday I bought a mattress pad, bed skirt, and a matching set of fitted sheet, top sheet, and two pillow cases.  I went 300 count thread, which is decent, and picked a nice beige color which City Girl approved via phone as I stood in the store aisle naming the color choices.  So far so good.

This morning I decided to assemble the bedding.  First I put on the mattress pad and it fit nicely.  Then I took the bed skirt and hit a brick wall.  I tried putting it over the mattress pad, but that couldn’t possibly be right.  I knew it didn’t go over the fitted sheet, so I pulled a chair up to the foot of the bed to contemplate my predicament.  Where the heck does the bed skirt go?  I could have gone upstairs and simply seen where City Girl had it on our bed, but that would be admitting I couldn’t figure it out.  No way!

Then it hit me.  It must go between the box spring and mattress.  Voila.  That was the answer.  Ten minutes later I had the entire bed made.  It looked nice. 

Oops.  One more thing.  Standing back to admire my work, I realized that the bed skirt was very wrinkled.  It needed to be ironed.  City Girl, once she’s home, will immediately point out that I should have ironed the bed skirt. 

I thought for a split second.  No, I won’t iron the bed skirt.  If I did, she wouldn’t feel like I really need her, which I do.  I’d rather have her smirk and think to herself, “He’s just a guy!”

- Mountain Man

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Dumb Holidays

Friday, December 31st, 2010

There are three holidays that make no sense – New Year’s Eve (tonight)/New Year’s Day, Columbus Day, and Halloween.  All seem to be a poor excuse to celebrate and a great excuse to skip work.  They annoy me, plain and simple.

New Year’s Eve is a “calendar” holiday.  We are celebrating that we all need new calendars?  That’s stupid.  As for going out and getting drunk, forget about it.  For guys like me who like to regularly consume beer, New Year’s Eve is amateur night.  It’s when people who don’t know how to drink prove it.  They puke and make fools of themselves.  And since the police set up drunk checks at major intersections, drinking and driving is Russian roulette.  No thanks.  I’d rather have a few beers at the local pub on a weekday afternoon and drive home in the daylight.  And don’t even think I’m going to stay up at home until midnight so I can watch a few hundred thousand morons in Times Square, NY watch a lighted ball signal the exact stroke of the new year.  WFC! 

Columbus Day.  Give me a break!  Here’s a holiday dedicated to a man who deceived his Queen, discovered a land that already had a million residents, and directly or indirectly his actions led to many of them being enslaved.  Bravo, Christoforo.  Good job.  Maybe I’ll get in a rowboat and discover New Jersey next weekend.

Halloween.  What is this absurd holiday all about?  Not to mention, why do they start selling Halloween decorations and costumes in early September?  Oh yeah, it’s all about sales and money.  The by-product is all the money dentists and doctors make from the resulting poor health attributed to eating all that sugary candy.  But back to All Hallows Eve.  Do many people really know what this abstract holiday is about?  No, but they don’t care.  I guess it’s a chance for adults to escape from their droll existence and kids to load up on junk food.

Let’s do away with these three so-called holidays, or at least put an asterisk * next to them that denotes they are dumb. 

So that’s what I have to say about dumb holidays.  Oh, it’s 12 noon.  Time to mosey on over to the local bar to have a few cold ones!

- Mountain Man

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A Happy Ending?

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010

City Girl’s surgery took place on Sunday morning, the day after Christmas.  “The surgery went well,” said Dr. TJ, who performed the operation.  “The new ball snapped right into place and fit snug.  We didn’t have to bond it at all.”

That was good news.  The only trouble they had was resusciating her from the anesthesia, but they injected some drug and she soon regained consciousness.  I got to visit her about 2 o’clock in the afternoon and her spirits were high.  She was groggy, but she knew the operation was a success and we shared our relief.  They had her legs strapped together with a large padded block in between.  That would deny her any chance to twist her hip during sleep or while awake.

The next day they got City Girl up out of bed and she used a walker – with help – to travel a couple steps to a special chair.  She sat in the chair for a couple hours before needing to stretch out again in a bed.  They also removed her intravenous drip and oxygen hose.  Today, they gave her more rehab and at 4 o’clock this afternoon they are moving her to Court House Convalescent Center from her three day home at Cape Regional Medical Center.  The staff at CRMC was professional and friendly and we have no complaints.  Even the food was okay.

So now she’ll be spending a few days in “an old folks home” receiving physical therapy.  In Cape May County, New Jersey, there are no locales that do strictly physical therapy.  The only option, without traveling 40 miles up the Garden State Parkway to Atlantic County, is to spend time in a nursing home. 

Typical of City Girl, she has turned this chapter in our lives into a positive.  With me now charged with overseeing the daily operations of Jewell Real Estate Agency,  she will be free from the responsibility of showing properties, writing contracts, arranging inspections, and attending closings.  She is looking forward to being at home with her laptop computer and cell phone, tools which will enable her to follow up with contacts and prospect for new clients. 

Leave it to City Girl to turn lemons into lemonade!

- Mountain Man

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A Good Deed Turns Sour

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

“No good deed goes unpunished” is the old expression.  Now we know exactly what it means.

We woke up Christmas morning and I had an idea in keeping with the seasonal spirit of love and charity.  City Girl & I would go down to Rio Grande and find the homeless guys who live outdoors near the railroad tracks and take them out for a hot meal, or at the very least see if we could bring them some warm food and coffee.  We knew they lived there in the warm months and had been recently told they were still there.  We felt an extra incentive to do this kind deed because the soup kitchen we founded, The Free Meal Center, was still undergoing renovations and not yet open to the public.

We parked our truck near the railroad tracks and proceeded to walks the tracks north to find the down-on-their-luck guys.  After a couple hundred feet, City Girl fell and landed with a thud.  She couldn’t get up.  She couldn’t even move.  She is in top shape, exercises every day, and weighs barely over a hundred pounds, so we knew her injury was for real.  Her upper right leg was in agony.

I called the Middle Township police and in just minutes two police cars and an ambulance were on the scene.  They brought in a gurney and took her back to the ambulance.  The ride to the hospital was quick and she was in the Emergency Room right away.  For hours we shared a concern about how severe was her injury?  Hopefully it was just a bad bruise or maybe a sprain.  Unfortunately, the worst case scenario played out.  The hip was broken.  The hip ball was so far out of the socket that hip replacement surgery was necessary.  Since it was Christmas day, they scheduled the operation for the next day, Sunday, December 26th.

So now, just five hours before the operation, I spent an almost sleepless night worrying about my life partner, my best friend.  I’ll give an update on her condition later today or tomorrow.

In lieu of flowers or cards, City Girl asks that you send a donation to The Free Meal Center, PO Box 863, Cape May Court House, NJ  08210.

- Mountain Man

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The Land of Plenty, … and Poverty

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

Cape May County, New Jersey is known for its beaches, the Atlantic Ocean, fishing, boating, golf courses, the zoo, and a myriad of other leisure venues.  Cape May, Avalon, and Stone Harbor are known for their multi-million dollar homes – McMansions, actually – that are second homes to the rich and famous.  Ocean City, Sea Isle, and the Wildwoods attract a mix of wealthy and middle class, all pursuing a relaxed escape from the hectic pace of their everyday lives in metropolitan Philadelphia or New York City.

To many, the county is shangri-la, a place to attain nirvana.  They associate it with “the good life”.

Unfortunately, year-round residents see past that illusion.  They know the ugly truth.  Of 42,000 year-round households, over 4,000 families live below the poverty level, which is an embarrassingly-low $22,050 for a family of four.  Can you imagine trying to make it on $22,050 per year?

Recently released statistics show that the worst conditions are in Woodbine, where 24% of families live in poverty.  Wildwood is next at 20% under the poverty line, with the median income just $30,974.   To extrapolate, that means that another 30% of year-round families in Wildwood make between $22,050 and $30,974.  Yikes!

Families are also struggling in Wildwood Crest with 11% in poverty, West Cape May with 10%, West Wildwood with 8%, and North Wildwood with 6%.

Here’s another telling statistic.  Cape May County had 317 homeless people in 2010.  That number includes 54 families totaling 157 people.  Another 160 individuals were labeled homeless and nine more were classified chronically homeless, meaning they’ve gone a full year or more without a home.

So where do they all live?  Why don’t you see them pushing around a shopping cart with all their possessions, like in Philly or Atlantic City or any big city?  The answer is that the NJ Social Services Department uses a half dozen local motels to house the homeless.  Since most don’t have a vehicle, driving past one of these motels gives the illusion that the rooms are mostly vacant, but they’re not.  Families, couples, and individuals are living in these motel rooms, with little more than a couple beds, a bathroom, microwave, and old TV.  But, at least they have heat.  Some other families are put up in temporary housing provided by churches.  Sadly, some live in the woods, under the Boardwalk, or in dilapidated abandoned homes.  These poor folks don’t have heat in the winter, and stay warm by piling on layers of clothes.

It’s a shame, a disgrace, that our country with so much has so many folks with so little.  Our government “by the people and for the people” isn’t exactly for all the people.  We need to change that.  As individuals, we have compassion.  But as a nation, we have less compassion than we should.  When will we all truly care?

- Mountain Man

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Help Us Fight Hunger

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

As realtors, we get inside a lot of homes during the course of a year.  Sometimes, what we see is appalling.  Senior citizens subsisting on Saltine crackers the last few days of the month and financially-strapped families bulking up on white bread and big generic bags of potato chips and cookies, so called “feel good” nutrition-deficient foods.

Three Cape May County, NJ realtors decided to do something about it and formed a non-profit corporation called “The Free Meal Center”.  The goal is to serve lunch Monday through Saturday, plus breakfast on Saturdays.  The double meal on Saturdays is targeted at kids, who often don’t have a decent meal after school lunch on Friday until returning to school for free breakfast on Monday.

TFMC takes possession of a 4,000 square foot former restaurant on March 15th, just 12 short days away.  We’re still $4,000 short.  We hope to be open to the public by Memorial Day.

Check out our website at http://www.FreeMealCenter.com .  Perhaps you can see it in your heart to make a small donation.

Thank you for caring.

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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Our Blizzard Drama

Friday, February 12th, 2010

The big blizzard of February 5-6th, 2010 dumped about 22 inches of snow on Cape May County, New Jersey.  The wet, heavy snow paralyzed a peninsula that rarely receives more than 7 or 8 inches of snow in an entire winter.  February 9-10th, another blizzard blessed us with another half-foot of sleet/rain/snow mix.

While at one point in the first storm there were 80,000 people without electricity and roads were impassible, we had our own drama.  Yes, we also went 34 hours without power, unlike 4,000 less-fortunate that still don’t have power a week later.  But that’s not our story.

We saw Fluffy, our 11-year old long-haired orange & white neutered male cat, at the food bowl on the back porch Friday afternoon of the first storm.  It snowed through the night and all day Saturday and we never saw him or Rusty, his 11-year old and lifelong best buddy cat.  But, heck, it was whiteout conditions so who could blame them for not coming out from under the safety and security of our garden shed.

Sunday afternoon, as we shoveled out, a weary Rusty appeared.  We happily greeted him and quickly got him a bowl of catfood and a bowl of warm water.  But where was Fluffy, the chowhound of the pair?   That boy loves to eat.  It wasn’t like him to miss a meal.

By Monday, we were real concerned.  Rusty was acting strange, as he had on Sunday.  He was standoff-ish, even maybe afraid.  He seemed to be sending us a message:  Fluffy was dead.  We were despondent.

Tuesday afternoon the second storm hit.  Rusty had been around all morning and we assumed he sought out his sanctuary under the garden shed to sit out the storm.  But Wednesday Rusty never appeared.  We called and called for him, but no reply. 

By Thursday morning, we were beginning to figure that maybe Rusty was so upset over the death of Fluffy that he too had perished.  Kinda like an old couple where one dies, then the other goes a few days later.  After all, they were best of friends since they were kittens.  They were all they knew, the constant in their lives, along with us two humans.

Late Thursday morning we returned to our house and a couple minutes later Rusty appeared.  We were so relieved.  We petted him and fed him and loved him.  He loved us back.  It had been 48 hours since we’d seen him and that had never happened before.

And so Friday morning, as we settled into life with just one feline friend, a miracle happened.  Fluffy appeared.  It had been seven days.  We petted and petted him.  He reveled in the attention.  We quickly got him a bowl of catfood and twenty minutes later he still had his head in the bowl chowing.  Just like old times.

Our drama came to a fitting conclusion.  Fluffy and Rusty were back.  All was well.  And we appreciate them more than ever.

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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Feeding the Hungry in Cape May County

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

We just couldn’t stand by any longer and do nothing about the hunger and nutrition problem here in Cape May County, New Jersey.  It was time to act. 

In a county that has hundreds of multi-million dollar vacation homes overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay, there is a flip side to the coin.  Of 42,000 yearround families, nearly 4,000 households live under the poverty line ($22,050 for 4) and another 9,500 have social security as their sole source of income.  The unemployment rate is around 13%, and when you add in those who have basically given up ever finding gainful employment the jobless rate approaches 30%. 

As realtors, we get the opportunity to go into a lot of people’s homes every year.  In one home we had listed last year, we noticed that the five kids had different colored lips.  We soon discovered why.  The only food in the house was those frozen sugar-water ice pops that come in tear-away plastic tubes.  The refrigerator was empty except for condiments and the freezer was full of different flavored ice pops.  It’s sad.  In the homes of the elderly, we have seen them subsist on Saltine crackers the last days of the month.  They are proud and they don’t complain.

While so many have so much, these others have so little.

This month, we organized “The Free Meal Center” with a volunteer Board of Directors and incorporated as a New Jersey secular, non-profit, charitable organization.  By the way, the politically correct term nowadays is “meal center” and no longer is “soup kitchen”.  We found a 4,000 square foot former restaurant centrally located in the middle of the county on the main highway, Route 9, and negotiated a purchase price.  It has four dining rooms, four restrooms, a large kitchen area, and parking for 40 cars on the 2.2 acre property.  We will be able to seat 100 or more at a time.

We take possession of the building March 15 and hope to be up and running by Memorial Day.  We will serve lunch Monday through Saturday, plus breakfast on Saturday.  Meals will be free and open to anyone who walks through our doors.  We won’t even ask their names.  Our volunteers will treat everyone with respect and dignity.

The building does need a bit of work.  Part of the roof needs repairs, the interior needs painting, the bare kitchen needs equipment, and we need tables and chairs.  A few other repairs may become evident once we’re in the building, but its all no big deal.  We can do it.

We’ve undertaken becoming a 501(c)(3) tax deductible entity and expect to be approved in the spring.  Our website, http://www.TheFreeMealCenter.com should up on-line by next Tuesday, February 16, 2010.

If you’d like to help us help these less-fortunate folks, you can donate through our website next week, or mail a check to The Free Meal Center, PO Box 863, Cape May Court House, New Jersey  08210.  We’ll mail you back a tax deductible receipt.

Thanks for caring.

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ  08260    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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Phil, Say it Ain’t So

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

The phone call yesterday went something like this: 

“Your boy got accused of cheating,” I said, speaking of PGA Tour golf icon Phil Mickelson who also happens to be City Girl’s favorite golfer.

“That’s impossible,” she replied.  “There’s no cheating in golf.”

You be the judge.  The PGA Tour outlawed golf clubs with square grooves, effective this year.  They reasoned that they give the golf ball more backspin, hence lessening a player’s necessity to actually make a skillful shot.  So at the PGA Tour’s fourth stop of the year at Torrey Pines GC outside San Diego, tour player Scott McCarron accused Mickelson of cheating by using a square-grooved wedge.  At least three other players have used the same square-grooved club this month – John Daly, Hunter Mahan, and Dean Wilson.

The golf club in question is a Ping-Eye 2 wedge.  It seems that in settling a court case brought by Ping against the United States Golf Association (USGA), any Ping-Eye 2 iron built before April 1, 1990 was deemed legal.  The PGA Tour agreed to abide by the USGA’s concession in 1993.  The Ping irons in question were manufactured from 1985-1989.  No other golf club company manufactured square-grooved clubs.

 So knowing that square-grooved clubs would be illegal on the PGA Tour this year, some savvy tour players scrambled to find the still-legal vintage Ping wedges.  While at least Mickelson, Daly, Mahan, and Wilson succeeded, most tour players weren’t even aware that the obscure rule existed.  Technically, the four did nothing wrong.  They stayed within the rules. 

But, golf is known as a gentlemen’s game.  What other sport has players call penalties on themselves, even if no one else saw the infraction?  They – in most cases – could get away with it, but it’s an honor system.  “Gentlemen, honor” – that’s a heavy responsibility.  It’s not the type of lingo you’d associate with the NBA or NFL.

Did Mickelson and the others cheat?  Mickelson says, “No.”  McCarron says, “Yes.”  In question perhaps is the spirit of the rules versus some technicality.

Perhaps tour pro Robert Allenby’s take is appropriate.  “I think cheating is not the right word.  But it’s definitely an advantage,” Allenby said of the Ping-Eye 2.  “There’s only a certain amount of players that can find them and I think it’s not right if you’re using them.”

The entire controversy may soon be a moot point.  Don’t be surprised to see the PGA Tour find a way to outlaw the Ping-Eye 2 in the next week or so.

How are the players mentioned doing at Torrey Pines?  After two rounds McCarron and Daly missed the cut and were sent packing.  Maybe that’s a factor in McCarron’s strong accusation?  Allenby is three shots off the lead, Mickelson four, and Mahan six shots behind the leaders.

Don’t worry, City Girl.  Your boy still has a chance to win again this week.

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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One Take on ‘Avatar’ and the Vatican

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

The movie ‘Avatar” doesn’t have enough “curb appeal”, as we realtors say, to get us to go pay $12 apiece to see it.  It’s just not the kind of movie we like.

So when the Vatican gave the movie a thumbs down, it piqued our curiosity.  This morning we read a Letter to the Editor in the Atlantic City Press by Sharon Hutchinson of Buena Vista, NJ.  Here’s her take on the Vatican’s reaction to the movie:

“As a nontheist, I am amused at the Vatican’s condemnation of the movie ‘Avatar’ as nature worship.  A respect for and communion with nature is one of the most positive experiences that a person can undergo.

“The fact is, we depend upon nature for all the necessities of life.  The religions that worship land – yes, those awful pagan religions – develop a respect and appreciation for our planet that is sorely lacking in our modern society.  The belief that Earth’s resources are put here solely for man’s benefit has led to not only an estrangement from the natural world around us but also the plunder and devastation of the world.

“If I were to choose a religion, it would make the most sense to worship that which provides the necessities of daily living, rather than some ephemeral being who has supposedly placed man above all creatures.  The destruction of the Earth and its resources is the result of such mythical and arrogant thinking.

“It is no surprise to hear this protest from the Vatican, as Catholicism and other forms of Christianity continue to lose ground as science and reason grow.  That ‘Avatar’ has struck such a nerve is but another sign that religions are aware that more people are coming to the realization that it is the ground under our feet, not some spirit in the sky, that helps to sustain our very lives.”

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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Teaching Life Lessons

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

It’s kinda sad that so many “twenty-somethings” in America have no clue about how to manage their lives.  They make bad decisions when it comes to the financial aspects of surviving and thriving.  However, they’re not entirely to blame. 

We were both excellent students in school.  We did our homework, got good grades, and didn’t cause trouble.  What more could a school expect from us.  We did our part.

But in retrospect, the schools didn’t hold up their part of the bargain.  Upon graduating from high school (City Girl in Philly, Mountain Man in a Boston suburb) it was time to strike out into the great, big world awaiting us.  We weren’t prepared.

Like most our age, we had never been taught in school how to manage our lives.  We had never been schooled in how to rent an apartment, buy a house, finance a car, pay our utility bills, and set ourselves on a monthly or weekly budget.  We hadn’t been taught how to apply for a job, do our taxes, or raise a family.  Through 12 years of school, we had never been offered a course on LIFE.

Fortunately for us both, we were quick learners and we each navigated the bumpy road of life.  Like every twenty-something, we still made our share of mistakes.

Today’s post-school young adults have had a different experience than us.  The majority can’t form a complete sentence.  They were more interested in MTV and video games and texting than what we called “book learning”.  Much of that can and should be blamed on the parents.

We had three young men – 18, 19 and 20-years old – working for us a few years ago.  None were married, but each had at least one infant kid.  One had an apartment but was constantly behind in rent and facing eviction.  The other two had their kid and girlfriend living with them and their maternal unit - one a mother and the other a grandmother.  They had no financial responsibility for house bills as the mother and grandmother – both only semi-literate - had become “enablers”.  Only one of the three young men even owned a vehicle.

One particular week, the guys worked long hours and on payday each received about $600.  As we paid them, each was warned to spend it wisely.  “Don’t blow it,” we said in a big brother-type way.  Each had children to feed and clothes to buy.

Monday morning, they each returned to work with big grins.  “Guess what we did?” they said proudly.  Unbelievably, each rolled up their sleeve to reveal their new $300 tattoo.  “You mean you each spent half your paycheck on tattoos?” was our heartbroken reply.

And so it goes.  Each is trapped into a life of underachievement and wasted potential and hardship.  The parents didn’t have the intellectual tools to give proper guidance.  That said, didn’t our educational system drop the ball on several generations? 

- Mountain Man and City Girl    http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com

The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ    http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

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