Darlings, Who Would Have Thought Morristown, New Jersey, Would Be Such A Swinging, Happening Place??????????????????????

                                               "A Trip To The Library,
                                                Has made a new girl of me,
                                                For suddenly I can see
                                                The magic of books."
                                                 --Barbara Baxley as Ilona Ritter
                                                    in "She Loves Me" (Bock and
                                                 Harnick, 1963)


                                       Back in my Seton Hall days, I knew this guy, Jason,(no, NOT Jason Voorhees!!!!!!!!!!) a science student.  He was not only attuned to science, but to his sexual
orientation, which is how I got to know him.  He hailed from Morristown, and from the way
he said it, you would have thought it was Middle Class Nowhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          Well, that may have been then, but this is NOW!  When we visited our friends, Linda and Marilyn, at their palatial estate in Morris Plains, we weren't prepared for the excitement that awaited us.

                                            The first sight we saw, as we pulled up to the residence, was the sight of a group of policemen questioning this white haired woman, sitting on a bench, who, I kid you not, was dressed in Mrs. Voorhees!!!!!!!!!!  This was a very rural area, so she was probably running around those wooded areas, crying "Kill her, Mommy, kill her!"  I mean, it is Halloween time, and "Friday The 13th" is being screened this week at Chelsea, so the timing was just perfect.

                                               Next, we went into Morristown proper.  Now, when I am off from work, libraries are the last place I want to visit, but you have got to see this one.  It looks like Manderly, and inside, it has the feel of another age--quiet, stately, respectful of those who are there for serious purposes, not just to technologically jerk off, or whatever other nonsense in the name of technology people think they are doing.  Even the librarians here seem genuine and human; not like the caricatures of most whom you see in the city!!!!!!!!!!  Believe me, I know!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                 I always judge a library by its Fiction collection.  And this one is pretty impressive.  How about "The Song Of Bernadette" by Franz Werfel?  Oh, my God; you better believe it!!!!!!!!!  And all of Taylor Caldwell's books!  I did not check, but if they have Taylor, you better believe they have Frances Parkinson Keyes!!!!!!!!!  And they had the complete Jane Smiley Oeuvre, including--are you ready--"The Greenlanders," and in hardback!!!!!!!!!!   I had such a time trying to order this book online, and I had to content myself with a paperback edition, which is in mint condition, but I had never expected to see a hard backed copy of this book anywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh, and Helen Hooven Santmyer's "And Ladies Of The Club!"  I am telling you, I wanted to scoop up all of these books, and take them with me!  But cooler heads prevailed!!!!!!!!!!   So, someday I am going to have to spend a couple of days in this place, reading my way through the Fiction collection!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   As for the night life, it is a jumping place!  We dined at The Dublin Pub, hosted by this woman who needs to see a casting agent, because she could be the next Christine Baranski.  The best chicken and bacon sandwich, with Cole Slaw, one could ask for.  And right across the street from The Community Theater, where all kinds of performances take place.

                                                     The Episcopal Church, which we visited earlier that day, was like something out of the Cloisters, in Manhattan.  I visited the garden of St. Peter, and meditated.  I have not done that in a long time.

                                                       The Village Green of Morristown is beautiful, and I loved the statue of Morris Frank and Buddy, pioneers in the Seeing Eye Dog movement, which happened up there.  I was deeply moved!

                                                         However, I was not moved by the fact that there was a Century 21 nearby. Which, being with my beloved, we went to!  Not the highlight of my visit, by a long shot!!!!!!!!!!

                                                         What was more exciting was spending the night, windows opening, overlooking a hilly knoll leading up to a nursing home, where, at night, we could hear, from our beds, the plight of the aged!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                        But, I am telling you, darlings, who thought there could be such life, outside the city?????????  And in Jersey, yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                         Take a ride to Morristown, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet some of you are sure to score some action!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!