Dove in head first

When my folks put the Woodcliff Lake house on the market to move to Cape May, I made a promise to myself. I knew the Cape May had more opportunities for me for all kinds of reasons, but I needed to act quickly. The VFW next door provided a perfect n etworking tool. Unlike other bars where either my brothers and/or friends usually served as ice breakers, I marched into the VFW alone. It was again a struggle connect with folks who saw past the awkward body walking around, but I soon made friends without any external assistance. Over the course of my visits to the VFW I befriended the then police chief who immediately recognized both my skills, whit and fascination with politics. Being the radio geek and fire buff, I usually pester him with some police talk. He, seeing my genuine interest and perseverance was more than happy to comply. Of course during that time we formed a bond, hey I can't help it, and given my interest in both public safety and politics, saw me as a sounding board. It wasn't long until he was picking me up for a ride-a-long, not really just a tour in an unmarked car with his top lieutenant. I was made aware the police department and the mayor didn't always see eye-to-eye, the mayor is a real micromanager to the extreme and that caused scuffles. The current mayor resented the police chief and his head officers and has done everything to make their lives a living hell. Without tipping my hand thde chief unjustly, and in some opinions illegally, got demoted. The "ex-police chief" was, and still is, embroiled in a so-called "scandal" complete with trumped up charges and the whole nine yards courtesy of the mayor, I can't and won't go into details right now but there's no doubt the entire department is getting screwed because the current mayor is an overzealous prick. I honestly can't describe him any other way. He has to micromanage every single little things with the city, including the police, when the chief resisted, the mayor declared political war on the police. Of course me being an ardent supporter of law enforcement and my interest in politics, I managed to insert myself into this dust up. I ca n't tell you how upset I am over the treatment of the former police chief and one of his now retired lieutenants. It's weighing heavily on the entire department, every move they make under scrutiny because of a mayor intoxicated with his own power. The problem is this isn't the first time the mayor has injected himself into somewhere he doesn't belong.Being Cape May is a small town, all of this is buzzing arou faster than Flight of the Bumblebee! I could go into details but I more than likely make a major mistake and want this post to be as factual as possible! The retired lieutenant was burned and burned bad, he needed to do something. The current mayor has a history of overstepping his boundaries and the only way to stop him is to get him out of office! So my friend the lieutenant has decided to challenge the current mayor this November. This fellow has the will, desire and drive to bring honor back into the Cape May Mayor's Office. He needs a tech-savvy person to show him what happens when politics and the digital world intersect.. Take one part my interest in politics, my computer skills and my need to find a niche in my new hometown, I was drafted for the position! Now i'm assisting with Facebook updates, trying to explain twitter and getting a man into the position I feel only he can fill.

An Olympic Challenge

An Olympic Challenge The 2016 Olympic Games are in full swing in Rio! I go on Twitter to find top stories about the events down south, some Olympic and World Records being broken especially by Michael Phelps, Lilly King an Katie Ledekey. Ledekey broke her own world record in the 400 meter free-style race won the hearts of every American back home! Her post-race interviews are what you would expect from her, a mix of shock ,excitement and pride. Then there's Lily King who broke the Olympic Record for the 100 meter breast stroke. I have a special place in my heart for the aquatic competitions because of m y love for swimming. I think the free-style events are some of my favorites to watch, I have tried to mimic some o fmy favorite strokes to watch. She's caught a little flak for taunting her Russian counterpart, Yulia accused of using of doping. With Russia's behavior latel y in the word it is almost certainly true! .Ibtihaj Muhammad mad history in a different way becoming the first American to compete in the Olympic Games wearing a hijab, the traditional Muslim headdress. I saw the entire US Olympic team cheering on each other, celebrating their wins together and showing true sportsmanship throughout these games! This is what America is all about, showing pride in themselves and representing a country they love. Even though I love all the Olympic Games, diving is by far my favorite. I watched some of the synchronized diving where two divers are on the platform instead of one. It's just amazing how two people can perform the exact dive at the exact same time. You can tell how pumped up the divers are when they exit the pool!! The judges seem to have eagle eyes because the scores are so close. One little slip up can cost people a medal. I watched as athletes from all across American represent our country with pride. They remind all of us America is great despite it's occasional downturns. Whenever they step onto a field, dive into a pool, or step step into the ring, all of us need to support them. GO TEAM USA Here's a challenge I posted up on Facebook: A challenge, for me included, we take a break from politics during the Olympic Games to cheer on TEAM USA. No Trump, No Clinton, No Johnson just TEAM USA!! WHO IS WITH ME?????

Congress St Command on the Air

Congress Street Command

One of the most exciting things about moving to Cape May was getting a new desk and shelves. My room in Cape May is smaller than the one in Woodcliff Lake, so that has made me get rid of most of the junk, which makes mom very  happy. It all has made me setup my scanners better than sliding all over a shelf when I go to change a setting or two. The mount was purchased from Scanner Master and is designed perfectly to fit that corner of my desk. My old desk required me to take my eyes totally off the computer screen to see who was talking which usually meant my hands off the keyboard. Now a quick glimpse is simple and I have even perfected my touch typing even more. Those two white wires are going to an antenna splitter on top of the shevling  Everything is in a hands reach even the switch to the overhead lamp  just out of view of the picture!! The top scanner is my workhorse, the BCD99T which I loaded with 90% of the Cape May County frequencies. I also dumped some Cumberland, Atlantic and even some Delaware stuff in there. Plus I activated the marine search system, which is always hopping.It's a must!! 90% of the traffic is on Marine Channel 16 (156.8000) and Marine Channel 9 (156.4500) but every now and then the other channels pop, which makes for some good stuff especially during the summer.
The other big thing is the Coast Guard base down here. The biggest monitoring target is aviation, namely military aviation!! I have monitored "Giant Killer" out of the based in Atlantic City on 255.00 and 249.8000.  Trying to get more UHFstuff in but it will all come. On the VHF side I get both Atlantic City, Dove and Philadelphia approaches which is cool because up north I only got! It's still a work in progress but the potential is absolutely amazing!!

All in time

As a writer you would think I'd have some profound words to express my deepest gratitude, I will try to do my best The whole night I had firefighters I've known for 10,15, 20+ years shake my hand including former fire chiefs! People who have laughed with me cried with me, shared a beer or two or three with me. Who have ALWAYS treated me as one of their own ! I also need to mention both Chief Joe Higgins and Honorary Chief George J. Fusco, both of whom I know are sitting up there looking down and just smiling! To be made an Honorary Member of the Woodcliff Lake Fire Department by a fire chief who I went to school with as well as one of the most recognizable firefighting names in the Pascack Valley area is something I will ALWAYS treasure. I again want to thank Chief George Lucia Jr. and ALL the members of the Woodcliff Lake Fire Department for this incredible honor. I am PROUD to call all of you brothers! THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART
P.S. To answer a personal question, yes it made the TOP FIVE!!!

Support Rob Sheehan

I just posted this on the Cool Cape May Facebook page in support of "Captain" Rob Sheehan. The use of quotation marks is denote Rob should really be Chief of the Cape  May Police While I can't go into details the basic Chief Sheehan got railroaded by a corrupt mayor and city manager. They took petty misunderstandings and  blew them into some kind of  criminal activity. After a year of court battles and mudslinging all charges against Rob were dropped, although technically he's still fighting the city

 It is really a shame what Rob Sheehan has gone through., I may not know him as long as some of you but I can tell you one thing there's not a nicer guy around Cape May. As for being police chief, Rob fits Cape May perfectly because he grew up here and understands how to run the department to keep the city, its residents, business owners, their employees,and visitors safe. There's something everyone needs to remember, even though Rob got demoted, he still has all the responsibilities as a police chief, without the title. This needs to be corrected and needs to be corrected NOW! Usually there are two sides to every story, not in this case. Those responsible for this nonsense took a simple oversight and just blew it way out of proportion just to drag Rob's name through the mud.. They have done everything they can to rip him to shreds...........but it hasn't worked. Rob is a good man and respects everyone he meets. As much as we all love Cape May, this entire debacle put a black eye on the city. Rob and his family need and deserve our continued support