It’s so easy to be happy living in the Bayshore, not only because of the beauty of the ocean, river and hills but also because of how kind, thoughtful and generous people always seem to be.
The Andy Rooney Swim meet is only one example of how close these communities and their people are. Teenagers certainly got to strut their stuff at that meet with so many entering into a competition that attracted all ages up through athletes in their late 70s.
What accomplishments. Charlie Rooney was so instrumental so many years ago in keeping alive what was originally the Andy Manning Swim Meet. It sprang back to life with his own hard work and that of others, and he did it in honor of his dad, the former Mayor who instituted the Swim in the first place.
Then the traffic along Shrewsbury Avenue in Highlands was literally brought to a standstill that same afternoon as so many turned out for the Amy Lynn Gill Celebration of Life honoring that late swimmer’s would-be 50th birthday. Her husband Brian got it right when he said she indeed left an overwhelming legacy.
Then at the Atlantic Highlands Council meeting, the well-known Zack and Morgan expressed disappointment but immediately had a solution for the problem they just encountered apparently caused by either a neighbor’s complaint or an over zealous code enforcement officer.
Regardless, they will appear to hear their case in court, and weren’t complaining about that. They simply wanted, in the meantime, to point out some very serious problems with the code under which they were charged . So they simply called on the governing body to review it and make changes.
The Mayor immediately agreed, and referred the directive to two separate committees to review and respond. Seems kind of ironic they were charged in the first place, considering this is a Tree City and more importantly, a National Wildlife Habitat community. One man’s weed may be another man’s flower, but both are vital to keep around and admire if we want happy birds,, honey-producing bees and a wonderful environment to surround us.
Then something else happened at the library, which always seems to be the site of so many fascinating ideas and intriguing programs for all ages. A lady came in to sign up as a new member of the library but brought along with her a beautiful, arranged vase of flowers to display in the library. So she got to see first hand just how wonderful that staff is and the many resources this library branch has for fun and learning and left behind a beautiful sign of nature for all to appreciate and admire..
If you’ve been to St. Agnes or Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, in the past couple of weeks, you’ve already seen how wonderful, friendly and ever smiling the new pastoral assistant, Father Thomas is. He’s also a walker, it seems, and thinks nothing of an evening stroll between Atlantic Highlands and the Captain Azzolina Bridge, with a stop in downtown Highlands to see how friendly those folks are as well.
