New Grace Period for Meters

We caught up with a parking meter reader was walking down Chestnut St. this morning looking for overdue parking meters.  He explained the town has instituted a five-minute grace period where when your time runs out, it'll simply register "minus 1,2,3,4," and then "minus 5," which will be when the red light begins to blink.

So now you have an extra four minutes to run and yell, "Wait, I'm coming. Don't ticket me!"

Late yesterday afternoon we came upon a woman lovingly washing one of the wooden benches on the side of the library. She introduced herself as Susan, sister of the late Sally Ann McCrea, who used to work at the library and passed away last year. The McCrea family has donated this bench in Sally Ann's memory and it's placed right by where her office used to be. Her father walks the length of Vets Field, then rests on this bench, as do various members of the family. Her sister Susan, visiting from Va., was washing and thinking about sis, she said.

-Linda Lynwander

Why hasn't the beautiful (at least from the front) Ackerman house at the corner of E. Saddle River Road and E. Glen Avenue sold by now? It is vintage, all right, being circa 1692, and the realtor said on a sign placed strategically out front that it needs someone to appreciate and love it. But it's been for sale for a long, long, long time. Come on history buffs, take a look at this Dutch abode!

-Linda Lynwander

"Pregnancies are just bouncing around," is how John the school crossing guard at Benjamin Franklin Middle School put it as he crossed a few kids just before 8 a.m. John, who's been doing the same thing for 12 years now, said that he used to cross as many as 80 kids a day but there are far fewer students to cross for some reason this year. He attributed it to a simple matter of babies being born in other parts of town. Well, it's a theory, isn't it?

-Linda Lynwander

How old is too old for a playground? According to a quick market survey (4 moms, 6 kids), by age 5 you really don't want to see or be seen at the library's playground anymore. By then you're more than ready to move up to the Duck Pond's playground with its more complicated equipment. We wonder how old 'til you're too old for that as well. There just aren't many playgrounds for adults these days, you know?

-Linda Lynwander

The US Tennis Open may be over (Rafael Nadal won) but the Upper Ridgewood Tennis Club's annual tournament (about 40 male players of all ages) is just beginning. Unlike the Open, though, there's no money prize involved. There is, however, a very handsome trophy. Play continues over next weekend; check it out if you get the chance.

-Linda Lynwander