Mattes's Musings by KC2GIK

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 frequencie...

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...

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 al...

Well last Monday  night there was another  good thunderstorm down here in Cape May and  lightning hit two houses over on the other side of town. Of course the famous Cape May fire horns w ere going full blast however it was the thunder bthat woke me up! I grabbed the scanner tuned it to Cape May fire and boy was it busy. Lightning DID strike more than  once because a row of houses caught fire. Pretty soon trucks  from Lower Township and even Wildwood were racing into the city I was still half asleep but knew this was going to b e big!The radio traffic bounced between the main Cape May Fire frequency and their fireground. Since Lower Township is just north of Cape May they got dispatched to the scene first but stayed on their own frequency while their chief talked to Cape May directly.   The Coast Guard has \a base down in Cape May and hey're very active in the community! So when Cape May has a fire they call the Coast Guard for mutual aid. Cape May Cou...

Like all other conventions getting there and the action on the trading floor is only  part of the fun. Nestled between the Wednesday Welcome Reception Dinner and the Friday Night Auction is Thursday night which usually means an actual night on the town. Clark Wothe usually acts as our recreation director and always finds something that emphasizes the city we're in. This time it was a boat ride through part of the Erie Canal system. Around five thirty a bunch of us assembled in the hotel lobby and piled into our cars to make the twenty minute trip from Rochester over to  Lockport where after a quick bite we b/oarded the boat to travel the Genessee River and the  Erie Canal. I have never traveled on a canal before and while I have seen the process on TV and understand how it works, sitting on a boat while it rises  is a completely different adventure. The boat we were on was originally the west coast and the pilot gave a little history of how it got to t he Erie Can...

Every time folks on the ALPCA Listserve moan about the costs of going to the annual convention I feel the need to explain to them I pay a price no dollar can cover. That being said I have no idea if I'll even make it out to Fort Wayne Indiana, but it just felt like folks needed to be reminded of some genuine dedication to the hobby Fellow Convention Attendees Every time I read about people complaining about the costs of getting to a convention I have to sit back, take a swig of Pepsi and just smile. I have often been accused in numerous circles I don't know how much money it takes to get to our annual event, but let me share with you another perspective. While you all are questioning prices, I'm talking to my folks about how I'll be careful. I get constant reminders "They can't hop on a plane to come help me if I get stuck". While you folks complain about driving for hours, I'm trying to find someone to room with, because that's t...

RIP Aunt Millie, my first penpal, my 3rd grandma. I will miss your letters, playing "office" with the cousins and all the chats. You always knew how to cheer me up. Say hi to grandma, grandpa and Uncle Jack............until we meet again These days when someone passes people remember them b y posting a Facebook status. Friends of the mourner "Like" the comment and reply with condolences. As much as I have been on both sides of this kind of Facebook status, I feel there are certain times where more  needs to be said, a lot more. I found out earlier this even my Great Aunt Millie, my mom's aunt, grandma's oldest sister passed away earlier this week. Like me she was the oldest in here family, she had four younger sisters.  Aunt Millie didn't have grandchildren until much later in her life, so when she visit  my grandparents house, she " borrow" u s for a week. Back when it was just my  brothers and two or three cousins she devote one ful...