At the end of the school year, most teachers say goodbye for the summer. But Boonton Township science teacher Bob Fordyce is getting ready for his 16th annual vacation with his students.
Mr. Fordyce—the kids call him Doc—is the one teacher that everyone remembers from Rockaway Valley School (www.rvsnj.org). He happily shares his hobbies and his vacation with his extended family.
The Fordyce classroom colorfully reflects his passion for sports (football, auto racing) and is stuffed like a jungle with plants, lizards, and all things dissectible. He runs the school’s athletic program. And every summer, he drives cross country for a camping expedition with a dozen or so kids he invites to join him. Another teacher accompanies. The parents foot the bill.
We caught up with Mr. Fordyce at six on Tuesday morning. The four-week journey was about to start. He checked the tents, food, and other provisions that were carefully packed atop the commuter-type van. The students, ten of them, posed for pictures, said goodbye to their parents and boarded.
Why does he do it? He likes to drive, he says, besides “it’s a great summer job. It pays a lot of bills.”
This trip is shorter than some, only 7,000 miles. That’s because it includes a special Cataract Canyon rafting trip, which lasts four days.
Families and friends waved goodbye as the Fordyce Ford pulled out of the driveway. They would drive 700 miles Tuesday, heading for Indiana, then the swing through the southwest.
It’s a trip the kids will remember all their lives. With a teacher that doesn’t say goodbye for the summer.
When you Google “polo” the first thing that comes up is www.ralphlauren.com. But polo is becoming more than an insignia on a shirt, and an elitist sport.
The U.S Polo Association lists seven clubs in New Jersey (www.us-polo.org/clubs.htm#nj). Check out the local calendars and you are bound to find a tournament somewhere near you. Chances are, it is for a charitable cause.
We joined the Polo Classic on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alznj.org) at the Hillsborough Country Club (www.hillsboroughgolf.com) last weekend. More than 150 corporations pitched in and some pitched tents on the sidelines for their employees and families. It is billed as the most successful polo charity event in the United States.
There were no noses-in-the-air here. The only celebrity posing for pictures was Miss New Jersey, Amy Polumbo of Freehold.
A miniature train full of delighted toddlers circled the polo field. A clown on stilts juggled as the beer flowed and the barbeques glowed. The announcer advised the crowd that they should duck in the event the polo ball flew towards them at a high rate of speed.
Most of the players were from Argentina. A few participants in this so-called Game of Kings became de-throned (watch the video), but fortunately none was hurt.
For many in the crowd, it was the first time at a polo match. But it is a sport that needed little in the way of explanation. After all, it was first played by warriors—probably as a military exercise. A few thousand years later, they are still at it.
Players and their horses chase a ball up and down the field three hundred-yards long, on a spectacular June afternoon. They bump-pass-score. When the action breaks, the rush for the chow line starts. It’s polo for the masses: fun, food and good sport.
When Eric Levin of Montclair goes into the men’s room, he sometimes brings his camera. But it’s not what you’re thinking.
Levin’s photography (www.ericlevin.net) transforms ordinary, sometimes repellent, bathroom scenes into art. Don’t take our word for it, see for yourself:
Our favorite, a yellow air freshener badge splashes aromatic color against the drab grey walls and white pipes at a Montclair car wash.
Levin, whose day job is senior editor at New Jersey Monthly, (www.njmonthly.com) says he realized bathrooms contained “all kinds of interesting and odd, and sometimes strangely beautiful things that had nothing to do with the gross functions that one might think.”
In Levin’s world, hinges, faucets, and other fixtures are center stage. Bath rugs, soap dishes and mirrors become characters in his elevation of the mundane. Mold and mildew are imperfections that are acceptable. Levin calls it all “strange and beautiful, and kind of wondrous.”
The photos can be found at Raymonds, (www.raymondsnj.com) and various eateries around Montclair. They are on display for sale at the Jacklyn Kling Gallery (www.klingarts.com), in Montclair too.
Beyond bathrooms, Levin’s other photos find a quirky symmetry of ordinariness in walls, siding, fences, stop signs and power lines. The lines that we draw, and never see again.
In a world of sameness, these photos stand out for their insights into our creativity and showcase Levin’s ability to read the writing we’ve left on the wall.
We thought you had to marry the doctor to get this kind of service.
But Dr. Joseph Cervone’s (www.conciergeskincare.com) high profile patients can reach him 24-7 on his cell. He even carries their prescriptions in his PDA, in case he has to perform a digital intervention. The patients also get to keep electronic copies of their medical files.
Dr. Cervone, who practices out of West Orange, is an internist with a blossoming beauty practice that tightens, lightens, lasers, lipos and de-veins 5,000 patients.
Beauty is skin deep. Your health may be too. “Patients who look good, feel good,” he says definitively.
The practice—there are three other doctors—also focuses on preventative medicine; from screening for heart disease to weight management.
But it was that “Concierge” medical service that caught our attention.
Dr. Cervone is frustrated with the limits of insurance reimbursements and its bureaucracy, and has a clientele willing to pay out of pocket for his services. He decided to make that personal service the hallmark of his practice.
It isn’t just about answering their calls when the laser mark lingers too long. The idea of being accessible all the time, he says, means he gets to patients quickly with important test results, and ultimately he says, that helps prevent more serious problems.
No more dealing with “the service” after hours, when you call this doctor. He may not be able to cure what ails you. But he’ll pick up his own phone.
Forget that she wore velvet in June. The simple act of picking shabby antique chic over any one of the world’s top designers gives vintage and recycled clothing a label all its own.
If Ms. Jolie had gone to New Leaf Consignment (www.newleafconsignment.com) in Madison, she might have paid a few dollars more but could have picked the newer flirty black Maria Bianca Nero (www.biancanero.com) selling for $150. The original $300 price tag was still in place. There are also a fair number of summer sun dresses (Betsey Johnson, Ann Taylor) for less than $50.
She’d be singing a different tune at Duet (www.dueteveryday.com) in Livingston. Truly the Cadillac of couture consignment where a few hundred bucks gets you a thousand dollars worth of dress. Not to mention the like new Hermes Birkin Bag (www.createursdeluxe.com) for a bargain $9000.
If she had opted to shop online, we suggest Ms. Jolie browse our favorite vintage website, www.dandelionvintage.com, run by Carol of Ocean View. Carol has been buying and hoarding vintage clothing for twenty years. We’ve noticed her black dresses with any kind of velvet are selling out fast!
Thanks to Ms. Jolie for making it fashionable to recycle. Whether new or vintage, Cadillac or Ford, sometimes second hand, is not second best.
Tonight the full schedule of shows begins at The Music Man in Lavallette (www.njmusicman.com). It’s a small town ice cream parlor with musical performances, and it adds a sweet finish to a day at the beach.
You get a huge ice cream sundae, and you’ll be entertained by a group of college-age kids who scoop, squirt, serve, sing and dance until your dish is scraped clean and your kids are completely mesmerized.
The wet walnuts, home-made fudge, and boat of whipped cream blanket your ice cream and make you forget the crowds, the traffic, and your diet.
You may also be called on to participate; you’ll have to twist if someone orders the Chubby Checker (waffle, three scoops vanilla, mountain of whipped cream).
We caught a special performance on Father’s Day. The small but appreciative crowd got a ninety minute vaudeville act with a cast of eight up-and-coming singer/dancers who clearly see the Music Man as a great launching pad for their next gig off-off-Broadway. They sang (Broadway tunes, pop and kid-friendly favorites), danced, and poked fun at the audience and each other with a chorus line that wove between tables in the restaurant.
The Music Man is another good reason to book a trip to the Jersey Shore. Where else does an order of ice cream get you a ticket to a show? Bring the kids and your appetite, and prepare for a caloric cabaret, down the Shore.
At the end of the school year, most teachers say goodbye for the summer. But Boonton Township science teacher Bob Fordyce is getting ready for his 16th annual vacation with his students.
When you Google “polo” the first thing that comes up is 
When Eric Levin of Montclair goes into the men’s room, he sometimes brings his camera. But it’s not what you’re thinking.
In fashion blogs and chatrooms throughout the land, they are still buzzing about Angela Jolie’s $26 dress.
