Mattes's Musings by KC2GIK

  I usually don't write about 9/11 but let me explain why I honor Robert D. Cirri SR every year. His callsign was KA2OTD and was a Port Authority Police Officer and Paramedic. We only knew each other only over the radio, never met in person, but I knew his voice. I would listen to him talk for his job and for enjoyment. I talked to him and like everyone else I talk to he was extre,mely patient with me. 9/11 disrupted a lot of communications, not ham radio. I remember being told to just listen, that's what I did for days, never picked up the microphone. Four days later I heard a ham radio operator driving all night from North Carolina looking to assist in New York. He was on the wrong repeater and I decide to get on the right repeater to get him some help. Well I was scolded. So I gave the ham from North Carolina the frequency, he programmed it in. When he got on the repeater HE said I HELPED HIM WHEN NO ELSE WOULD. I heard the entire thing and just went on listening. This

 Well  the Middle Thorofare Bridge connecting Wildwood and Lower  Township malfunctioned and  is stuck in the open position...  . It's one of a bout  a half a dozen bridges throughout lower Cape May County that people  I  never knew the name bridge but like thousands of other people I have travelled the bridge on my way to Wildwood, especially during the Firefighters convention in September. Now looks like I'm taking the long way home!!    According to reports there's a part hat  needs  to be replaced but since the bridge is so old, the part is very  hard to come by. There is even talk about having to manufacture the part from scratch or even taking i t for a bridge that isn't in use any more. I have my doubts about the last option because thar will leave another bridge disabled. However what ev The bridge closure isn't just a hassle for people commuting between Wildwood and Lower Township, it poses  a public safety  danger as ,well. Diamond Beach is covered by the

 Well the beaches of Cape May have a welcomed addition, accessible beach mats! These make it easier for people in wheelchairs and other mobile devices to navigate down to the beaach and enjoy the ocean air. I had to try it myself before the official grand opening the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend.  At first I was a bit nervous but I soon got over the doubt and have made a few laps. The best thing is going on the beach mats provides a differemt perspective of Beach Avenue when I'm on the scooter.l Mayor Zack Mullock pushed the  beach mats on Facebook and a woman, Barbara Maurer ressponded saying her son Sean, who has Cerebral Palsy like me would be able to to enjoy bn eing closer to the water.  It's a new sense of freedom of people with mobility problems like Sean and myself. The four of us were interview by the Philadelphia CBS  news station. While I understood that due to my speech  giving long answers would be difficult I was impressed that  CBS reporter Ryan Hughes  man

       For a few months there has buzz around Cape May NJ that Bob Dylan was coming to America's Oldest Seaside Resort. No he wasn't playing a concert at Convention Hall. For most of this weeks parts of 2024 Cape May,NJ was transformed into 1965 Newport, RI. A Complete Unknown is a new film about Dylan's conversion from acoustic  to electric guitar starring Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan is in production and the location scouting team decided that  Cape May today looked like Newport back in '65. Bob Dylan debuted  his hit song Like a Rolling Stone   at t he Newport Folk Festival. They even transformed Perry Street  into Belevedere Avenue. Shops along the Washington Mall were temporarily renamed to match shops up in Newport.  The Victorian Motel was baptized then Viking Motel for the film  Days prior I started seeing filming equipment  being transported into town.       Like most o f the town I was hoping to get glimpses of the stars but  the vehicles they used in the p

In honor of Billy Joel's 75th  Birthday I decided top do a Facebook tribit   This will only make sense to a couple of my friends. I don't care. Picture this a scene certain young musical writer from NYC who is riding high on a recent success feels he needs to escape for the weekend. He has never been to the Jersey Shore and decides to take a drive to for the weekend. He arrives at his hotel in Cape May County , checks in for the evening, picks up the local rag and sees a Billy Joel Cover Band is playing in North Wildwood, the writer scoffs but his girlfriend reminds him he was once a struggling writer and he needs to "pay it forward". They go to the bar and he is so blown away by the performance he goes "Back stage" to meet the singer. The writer and the singer hit it off and go to the bar to continue the conversation. After a few drinks and covering all topics possible the singer decides the time is right to get serious and mentions he knows a local wr

I heard about the devasation of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore while I was in Florida. Once I realized this bridge repair would be a extended operation, it became my goal to record  the marine safety broadcast. Waiting for the conditions to be just right, I was su rprised when the scanner stopped on the broadcast and it was pretty clear. I have done a few records before but this remains one of  the hardest ones catches/ Not much more to say other then the victims of the collapse are definitely in m,y thoughts