Goodbye, from here

I'm going to have to go buy a lottery ticket tonight. Nothing that'll make me wealthy, but I'm going to play 165, straight. Heck, maybe I'll box it and spend a whole dollar.
This is my 165th, and last, blog on the Opinion Page. I'm moving. Not far, but away from this page. I'll be blogging on our new Web site, www.jerseyshoremoms.com - best blog title I could come up with was Mom in Motion. The other two blogs are Teen Talk and the Diaper Diva, Clare's Blog just didn't sound right! Anyhow, my coworkers say it aptly describes me. The only time I sit still between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. is when I'm typing. But I'll be blogging about topics of interest (I hope!!!) to moms, working or not, who balance family, home, activities and all the other stuff in this hectic world we live in. We just launched the site Sunday at www.jerseyshoremoms.com. I'm really excited about the new site. I'll be blogging with two other moms. One has a very young child, the other has older teens. My family runs the gamut. The site also has forums up and running. Sign on and join the chat.
In the last year or so, I've waffled between blogging about home/family issues to politics. I'm going to stick to mostly the home/family/school/parenting stuff in my new digs, although I'm sure I'll go off topic from time to time when something from the news side fits right in.
C'mon over and see me sometime.

A lesson in courage

Reading over the words of Kathleen Weinstein, abducted and killed almost 11 years ago, I'm in awe of her. In what had to be the most terrifying time in her life, she held it together, and she got great identifiable evidence against her killer while secretly tape-recording their time alone in her car after he carjacked her and before he smothered her to death in the woods.

She managed to get details about his life, where he was born, that his parents were in the military, his first name, his mother's problems with her hands. And she did what I imagine any psychologist would tell you to do - have this creep see her as a person. She brought up God, she brought up wanting to go back to her 6-year-old son, she told him she could help him get a job, she talked about his own mother.

Many people, I imagine, would be too terrified to speak, or do more than beg to be let go. Kathleen Weinstein, knowing she was in great danger of losing her life, was tough. She got the tape recorder going, taped their conversation then hid the cassette in her pocket. What strength and courage. And what a loss.

I'm so glad that tape was deemed admissible as evidence. She deserves to have her voice heard this one last time, to identify the man who so heartlessly killed her, just so he could have her car.

To the person who stole my stuff . . .

Sunday morning, my husband decided to take the kids out for breakfast. We went to church Saturday night, the kids had no Sunday School, so I opted to stay home and finish cleaning the house with no "Mommmmmmm!!!!" interruptions. Why he decided to take my car, I don't know. But tucked into our carport on a cold Sunday morning, it was probably more inviting. But he's not used to my car. As the little ones took off toward the restaurant, he thought he hit the "lock" button. He must have hit the window button.

So, this is to the person who decided he or she had every right to open my car door and take my pocketbook: Didn't get what you wanted, did ya? No money. No credit cards. A worthless checkbook. (Trust me, there's no money in there either, but the bank knows about it already.) My driver's license (first time I ever had a good picture). My BJs card (they know about that too). My makeup (if you use that, well, you're just gross). My basketball tickets (for that alone, you deserve a special place in hell). A couple of pens.

You probably cursed me out for not providing you with some quick cash, eh? Well, I cursed you out too. A lot. I'm still doing it. You've probably tossed my meager belongings into a trash can already. I'm still stuck with a pit in my stomach, knowing that some creep took my stuff.

I was robbed once before. A classmate at Seton Hall stole my wallet from my pocketbook. He got about $3. But he gave his girlfriend my driver's license, back when there were no photos on them. She was under age, so she took her college ID and got my name typed in over it, then used my ID to get into bars. But she wasn't exactly the sharpest tack in the box. My license had my Avon address on it. This dingbat went to a bar in Belmar, where my brother's friend was working as a bouncer. He told her she wasn't me. Ms. Vapid tried to indignantly say that yes, she was. He told her he knows me, and that she was definitely not me (she was about 5-foot-2 and blonde - the reason for all those jokes) and I'm 5-foot-7 and brunette. Although they had a cop waiting inside, the guy was worried that I may have allowed her to use my license, so he held onto it and told her to take off.

What bothered me the most wasn't my license though. Her boyfriend stole my wallet a few months after my little brother died in a car accident. I had taken all my photos of him and put them in my wallet. Those were irreplaceable.
So thanks, creeps. You got nothing. I got heartache and headaches. Thanks.

Catchy commercials or annoying ads?

While I was watching the Super Bowl, the Geico ad with the cavemen came on. Since commercials were a hot topic that day, we all launched in on our opinion of that campaign. I think it's a riot. I can't believe they've been able to carry this theme so long. As soon as the commercial came on, my friend Mary started laughing too, saying she was surprised they've kept it going, but that she gets a kick out of it too. It's so strange, it's funny.
On YouTube, I saw a commercial featuring the Geico caveman golfing with Phil Simms. And there's a Web site now, http://www.cavemanscrib.com/ ... where you can take a virtual tour of the cavemen's apartment.
A few people thought the caveman series was the dumbest ad campaign going. Silly discussion, I know. But that exasperated look he gets when he's fighting for caveman-appreciation, and the "hey, check me out" look he had in the airport when he was trying to see if anyone noticed that he was the guy in the advertisement sign in the airport just crack me up.
Another bizarre ad that I stop and watch each time is the sleep-aid ad with Abe Lincoln and the Groundhog waiting for the guy to fall asleep so they can play chess. Has anybody noticed the guy in the old-fashioned diver costume behind them at the end? Strange! But catchy.
The Geico gecko, however, I've always thought was annoying. But they get the name recognition from all this, so I suppose their ad agency is earning its dough.

In the eyes of the beholder

I didn't have it too badly Wednesday morning with the weather. School was canceled for my high-schooler, and my younger ones had a delayed opening that delayed my arrival to work. By the time I got them all settled, the roads were pretty clear.
Looking across Route 66 from the newsroom, I remarked to several people how beautiful the view was. The trees were encased in ice, glowing against the dark blue, cloudy sky backdrop. With the late afternoon sun cutting through, it really looked incredible.
Not everybody agreed with that opinion. Those who were still without power, those who were chilled to the bone because they had to dig the ice off their windows, and those whose 20- to 30-minute commutes took triple the time didn't share my view.
I guess it's all how it affects you that day. I really like snowy days in the winter and thunderstorms in the summer, but only when I can watch the wild weather from the safety of my home. If the power goes off, lighting candles and looking up and down the streets to see how far the outage goes is exciting for the kids. The last time the power stayed out, it was bedtime and we all camped in one room, which was fun. Kind of. Fortunately, it didn't last more than a few hours. The only time I can recall being without power for days (the 1992 nor'easter), I was a little more like some of my coworkers today, and not so enamored with Mother Nature.

Does NJ even HAVE a slogan now?

New York is looking to upgrade its "I Love New York" ad campaign. Officials are seeking marketers to help them take advantage of new media, such as text messaging and podcasts. I can see podcasts, but text messaging?

I wonder if the governor has the "I Love New York" jingle as his cell phone ring tone.
I remember the first few years of that campaign - it started in 1977 - with all kinds of celebrities posed in different spots of New York singing to the jingle.

The only New Jersey ad campaign I can ever think of is "New Jersey and You, Perfect Together." And it's always with former Gov. Kean saying it. Do we even have any campaign or slogan now? I remember the fiasco a few years back, when they paid an ad agency a fortune to come up with something, and it was almost insulting, something like "New Jersey, We'll prove you wrong." That was followed by a contest opened up to residents. The state picked five lame choices for the rest of us to vote on. I think it was something like "Come see us now." Didn't that one get canned because it was too similar to another state's?

How much can you dig up for a grand?

My newsroom colleague Gretchen Van Benthuysen posed this question: How come it costs $1,000 to run a background check on a Republican, but background checks on volunteers at schools cost $85?

She's got a good point. On today's page 3, we read that the Assembly is looking into requiring criminal background checks on volunteers who work for schools and other facilities that serve children. The checks, the story says, would cost about $85. On page 1, we have an article on the Monmouth GOP's plan to have candidates pay for their own background checks at $1,000 a pop. OK, so the candidate checks will look beyond criminal history, into any matrimonial or financial disasters or liens and civil court stuff. But that adds $915 to the cost? C'mon. The investigator is going to run the person's Social Security number and driver's license through a series of databases and print out any potential problem areas.

Nice job for the investigator. GOP leader Adam Puharic won't say who it is. He says the name will be on the records, then everybody will know who it is. Why won't he say so now. Is he afraid people will try to sweet-talk the person ahead of time?

Rename the restaurant

OK ... first off, I made up this sign from a Web site. It's not real!

But the Trinity Restaurant planned in Keyport is, and to me, it's tacky and disrespectful. Am I overly sensitive? The use of the word "Trinity" at a church should refer to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, not a steak and ale joint.

Charles Merla's looking for a liquor license for the restaurant that he's renovating from a former church. Musicians will perform on the altar, DJ's will be spinning records from the pulpit, an outdoor area will be fashioned in a similar church atmosphere with bricks, wrought-iron fencing and period lamps so people can smoke while they down drinks at the former church.

It's quirky, and it's not the first time a church was made into a bar. But I just don't like the name. I once went to an after-hours nightclub in a former Philly church called "Revival." Scary place. Our group called it "Survival."

Will this new restaurant call the upstairs seating the "heaven" section and the basement lounge, well, you know. Are they going to serve Bible Burgers, Resurrection Roast Beef, Prophet Pasta and - ouch - Adam's Ribs? How about a Sodom and Gomorrah martini bar?

Lost in space

Hell hath no fury and all that, but to hear of an astronaut who drove 900 miles, apparently to bump off a rival is bizarre. The pictures to the left show Lisa Nowak, a 43-year-old astronaut ... first is her in a March 2005 NASA portrait, the next one is after she was arrested a few days ago in Florida, where she was charged with the attempted murder of a woman she believed was romantically involved with a fellow astronaut who Nowak, a married mother of 3 who apparently split with her husband a few weeks ago, was also involved with. People are fascinated with the fact that Nowak wore diapers -- the kind astronatus wear in space -- so she wouldn't have to make too many potty stops between Houston, where she and the male astronaut involved in the triangle live, and Orlando, where she confronted the other woman. Nowak was in a trenchcoat and wig, armed with a BB gun and pepper spray, and -- this is creepy -- had a steel mallet, a knife and rubber tubing in her car.

What freaks me out is, she must have passed some serious psychological testing to become an astronaut ... she was just up in the shuttle in July. It's scary to think how obsession and emotion can destroy someone who must have been able to pass muster as a strong, stable person.

Get this ... a NASA spokesman said he was concerned about the people involved and their families, but then he added, “We try not to concern ourselves with our employees’ personal lives.” Sounds like a policy that needs revisiting, pronto.

Why bother with a primary?

Good for Monmouth County Freeholder Anna Little for coming out against the Republican Party's new "screening process." First, it wants candidates to pay $1,000 for a "recommended but voluntary" background check, which party chair Adam Puharic said they should consider "vulnerability assessments on themselves," digging out information such as past criminal histories, divorces and bankruptcies.

Seems to me the candidates already know of their past criminal histories, divorces or bankruptcies. The information dug up, Puharic said, "will be completely private" and only go to the candidate, not to the committee. Can you see the investigator revealing anything new?

Investigator: "Hey, Candidate X ... hate to break this to you ... but you got a divorce back in '87!"
Candidate X: "Holy crap, I did?"

Then, The Party wants them to sign a contract saying that if they who go through the screening and are not the Chosen One, they will not run in June and "waste the party's money in a contested primary." Why should The Party commit any money at all to the primary? Endorse a favorite if you want, but save your money -- clearly, too much of a focus here -- for the general election.

The Party should let the registered Republicans of Monmouth County choose who will represent them, not just go along with the leadership's Anointed. What's the point of having a primary if multiple candidates can't seek their party line based on votes from ALL members?

Straps and strep

Timing can be everything. I'm a big seatbelt proponent and a lecturer to anyone who gets in and doesn't buckle up. I have been since I was a teen and got banged up in an accident, long before seat belts were required. I started buckling up before the state told us we had to. My kids follow the rules as they've been added - car seats, then booster seats, then seat belts after they're 8 or 80 pounds.

Coming back after seeing Disney on Ice in Trenton early Saturday afternoon, my 9-year-old in the middle of our van had been complaining of a very sore throat - we found out after we got home that it was strep. Before we left in the morning, I threw a box of juice pouches in the back, and when my older daughter sounded miserable, I asked my 7-year-old to grab them. She reached around; they were a bit too far so she promptly unbuckled and climbed out of her booster seat so she could extend her hand the extra few inches across.

Like I said, timing is everything. I caught sight of her in my rearview mirror, and no sooner had I blurted out "Get back in your seat and buckle back up!" that I saw the flashing lights zooming my way. An expensive juice box, it turned out to be. "Do you know why I pulled you over?" asked the trooper. "Yup, because my daughter unbuckled and got out of her seat." "That's it," he said. He was pretty decent about the whole thing, particularly as flustered moi took a while figuring out which among my collection of registration cards in my glove box was the current one.

Looks like it's going to be about a $45 juice box, but it also gave me a chance to talk about safety with the kids, and how I could have pulled over, that if we were in an accident she could have been badly hurt. If that kind of opportunity isn't "priceless," it at least makes the ticket not sting so much.