The Great Escape

Jim McSherry was always our leader when we were young. We were mostly bored out of our minds desperate to find something to do. There was no technology, smart phones or video games as you have heard from us old timers ad nauseam on social media. We did do a lot of interesting things but in between those adventures mostly I remember walking to the Shopping Center to get a coke or a snack to start the day. Along the way we met with other members of the gang that lived along this route. So totally boring and mindless it seemed to me that I would spend the rest of my life walking to Carteret Shopping Center with this crew.

I thought I always had a plan in the back of my mind but it seemed too selfish and stupid to share to anybody. It was my secret.
My first love in life was the New Jersey Shore. I was carried there as a toddler by my parents, and was taken there in my early years by aunts, uncles, sisters and their boyfriends. Something magical happened to me when I sat in from of those endless rolling waves. It was mesmerizing inner peace and freedom. It attacked all of my senses, the salt air, the hot sun, the sand between my toes. This was always my heaven on earth.

As our fearless leader Jim McSherry was the one that started the football team (he was quarterback), he was the one that initiated side street baseball. He told us where to go. He told us what to do. If you didn’t listen or do what he said you were shunned mentally from the “gang” He was also much stronger than us and apparently a good fighter. (later on he did join a boxing gym and fought in the Golden Gloves).

One day James Vincent McSherry began our daily routine walk to the shopping center with a plan. We listened intently as he explained what his old brother had recently done, we would now follow. The plan was to walk to the Woodbridge train station and take a south bound NJ transit train as far south as it would go which was Bay Head. From there we would hitchhike a few miles north on route 35 to Belmar. Belmar was a quaint little shore down. This was the McSherry beach of choice. You see each family in New Jersey had adopted a favorite beach to visit. I know for the Hartmans it was Point Plesant and the Gitter enjoyed Bradley (Bagel) Beach. Stuff’s family went to Seaside Park. Jim McSherry was our leader and Belmar was “his” beach so Belmar it was.

Belmar was unique in a way that they had huge wooden lifeguard boats that they turned over at night. We could tunnel underneath them at night to create a place to sleep. A couple times when we did this adventure we actually rented a room. Today I still wonder where all the adults were. Our parents for one thing, allowing us to travel by train 50 miles south, hitchhike and rent a room to stay over night. Also, what kind of responsible mature adult rents out a room to a group of teenagers all obviously under the age of 18?

So what stuck in my mind was that this great adventure and rebellious plan actually worked. This beach escape became a permanent fixture in the back of my mind. As the gang went on to different high schools and some of us to college we separated. It happened swiftly and without warning like life usually does things. I don’t really remember saying goodbye to anybody. Life just happened. If I would have known that our very last walk down to Carteret Shopping Center was our final, I would have done things so much differently. I would have a taken camera and lined us all up in front of Krausers holding our cokes and snacks in a cheer. I would ask one of the passing adults to snap our photo. Then I would individually hug each and every one of the gang and wish them well in life. “Bless your journey, whatever it may be.” I would say with tear filled eyes.

I struggled greatly in an all boy High School dominated by geniuses and talented sport playing fellow students. They had trophies with their names on them in the huge glass case out in the reception area of the school. The administration had a flawless reputation to keep. We are the best and nothing else. They hung up newspaper clippings on a board by the trophy case demonstrating that greatness. I was just barely getting by with my grades and at home it was now 5 years since the death of my father and almost pure chaos had kicked in. It was also around this time I started to drink. I drank to get drunk. This was a fine escape.

I was delivering the Star Ledger in the early morning my first three years of high school and I adored getting up early to do this. There was something magical and QUIET about being the first one up in a house loaded with 12 children. (at this point Barb had moved out and three step brothers had moved in). I loved the complete stillness of the early morning when I walked my route. Sometimes I would see stuff in neighbors garbage that I took. I found a cool wooden box hand engraved which I still have today filled with concert tickets. One time I found a box filled with National Geographic magazines and I picked up and took it home.

It was in these magazines I discovered the world. How huge and beautiful it is. There was something bigger, more important and much more beautiful out side of Carteret New Jersey.

I had concocted a plan and it was to run away from everything. I would save enough money for a one way ticket to Hawaii, pack nothing, fly there and then spend the rest of my life there. Since Jim McSherry had taught me that you can sleep on the beach that was my plan. I would stay on the warm beaches of Hawaaii until I could find a small job, maybe washing dishes and then just work my up. I told myself I wouldn’t tell anybody where I was. I would have just vanished with a new life.

With no internet checking flight prices and departure times was done with a phone and at times my vision of living on a beach in the Pacific ocean seemed unrealistic. But I was determined and several times I had saved a couple hundred dollars in the bank for my plane ticket but then “something always came up.” I don’t know whatever happened to this plan to escape. It got lost in the rough and tough tumbles of life. It was still always there, though, whenever I got frustarted or lost a job or fell behind on my bills.

It was only in writing this now and remembering that I realize a very influential friend has been gone in my life since I turned 20. It was one hot day in the Summer that Jim McSherry knocked on my door and said, “I’m leaving now. We’re moving to Arizona” His father had asthma so bad that the doctor told him that moving to Arizona would be the only left to save him. So Jim McSherry moved away and started a new life. He came back to visit a few times and I went there once to visit him in Arizona State University but it was never the same. He was on the other side of the country and so was his imagination, his laughter, his impersonations, his animated story telling and all the magic that he brought to any friendship.
Now he is slowly dying from congestive heart failure and I ask that anybody who reads this to say a prayer for him and his family. He is a great man.

About George C. Hartman

Redesiging design, coloring outside the lines, rolling down hills, figuring out strange people, dreaming in black and white, photographing in black and white, juggling, body surfing, fantasy football, painting, design, digital art and photo manipulation, green oceans, blue oceans, museums, discovering small towns, biking, beach, relationships that tear my heart out, bad poetry, movie making and BLOGGING
This entry was posted in friends, the beginning and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

12,119 Responses to The Great Escape

  1. Laurence says:

    I really like swimming dulcolax coupons canada The housing market probably remained a bright spot during the second quarter. Spending on residential construction is expected to expand at a pace similar to the first quarter. Homebuilding added to growth last year for the first time since 2005 and its recovery should help ensure the economy continues to expand, albeit at a modest pace this year.

  2. Amado says:

    I’m sorry, she’s generic flomax canada Government warehouses are awash with wheat, with stocks at36.1 million tonnes as of Oct. 1, substantially higher than atarget of 11 million tonnes. The government also has an extra 3million tonnes of wheat as strategic reserves.

  3. Numbers says:

    Can you put it on the scales, please? how long does vermox take to get rid of pinworms Women must remain in their “natural” position in society, which is as producers of future generations of the pious nation

  4. Wilburn says:

    It’s serious the viagra diaries review “I’m excited, but at the same time you have to look at it like it’s preseason,” Rose said before Chicago’s preseason game against Indiana. “It’s for everyone to get the wrinkles out. I’m playing with new guys and other guys I haven’t played with in a long time so it’s me adjusting to how they play and adjusting to the NBA game, period. It should be fun. The experience should be something new. It’s like a new beginning for me. It’s about time.”

  5. Issac says:

    This is the job description imigran price australia Worried that the boom may end badly, the central bank hasinstructed banks to increase provisioning against retail lending- especially the high-interest point-of-sale loans many Russianstake out to pay for discretionary items.

  6. Diva says:

    I never went to university how long to get off risperdal Although the coach maintained that “it’s not a surprise to me that Tim would be picked up,” he hardly seemed concerned that it might reflect poorly on the Jets if Tebow finds success with their division rivals.

  7. Dewayne says:

    What sort of music do you like? betamethasone 0.1 eye ointment One year ago: His credibility under attack, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney insisted he had “no role whatsoever in the management” of Bain Capital, a private equity firm, after early 1999, and demanded that President Barack Obama apologize for campaign aides who persisted in alleging otherwise. JPMorgan Chase said its traders might have tried to conceal the losses from a soured investment bet that embarrassed the bank and cost it almost $6 billion — far more than its chief executive first suggested. Film producer Richard Zanuck, 77, died in Beverly Hills, Calif.

  8. Caroline says:

    Go travelling harga obat aspirin untuk jerawat Snedeker, who had opened with a 63 in the penultimate FedExCup playoff event of the season, was alone in second, a stroke in front of fellow Americans Steve Stricker (after 12 holes) and Woods (after 13) on a sunny day at Conway Farms.

  9. George says:

    A law firm generic finasteride costco Assuming confirmation, she can start her offensive with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s UN representative. Israel and Belgium were locked into consideration for two open Security Council seats in the 2019-2020 session until Berlin blundered in, laying claim to one spot.

  10. Trenton says:

    magic story very thanks lopressor 25 mg As emerging democratic systems with strong Islamist presence face challenges, collapse or waver, some Islamists are losing faith in the ballot box, which could lead to radicalization in the region, analysts said.

  11. Austin says:

    Have you got a current driving licence? clomid generic version The Senate, with the support of 14 Republican members, has already passed an immigration bill that would increase work visas, bolster security at the U.S.-Mexico border and provide a 13-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

  12. Rafael says:

    Pleased to meet you can you use albuterol during anaphylaxis The findings shouldn’t be “isolated from the reality of the environment in which people are working”, she says.

  13. Lucio says:

    Have you seen any good films recently? lotrisone creme Summers, a former top aide to President Barack Obama andwidely regarded as a brilliant economist and a shrewd anddecisive policy maker, was considered to be the front-runner forthe position to replace Bernanke, whose second term expires inJanuary.

  14. Frederick says:

    I’m originally from Dublin but now live in Edinburgh glucophage film tablet fiyat Rivera’s Yankee teammates exchange fist bumps and high fives on the field. The fanfare is suitably low-key on enemy territory. There is no special recognition of the milestone 650th save (which adds to Rivera’s career saves record), or of the fact that Urrutia was the 5,076th batter Rivera has faced. Rivera simply walks off the field, eyes ahead, head bowed, at ease after taking care of business. Later, in the office-like atmosphere of the visiting clubhouse at Camden Yards, Rivera is swarmed by reporters, one of whom jokes that if his innings keep increasing, Rivera may be headed for a return to the Yanks’ starting rotation, the position the legendary closer held when he was first called up to the big leagues in 1995. The joke is not lost on anyone, since the current version of the Bombers could use a jolt in the starting rotation, given the late-season struggles of CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Hiroki Kuroda.

  15. Howard says:

    What do you do for a living? hoodia p57 order Louis Vuitton also received an image boost from celebritiessuch as designers Christian Louboutin and Karl Lagerfeld andarchitect Franck Ghery, who produced a series of monogramhandbags with unusual shapes

  16. Hector says:

    I love the theatre where to buy cytotec pills in dubai Amazon claims that the devices have 11 hours of battery life based on mixed usage, and up to 17 hours of reading. Both the 7-inch and 8.9-inch versions have dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus audio and are available with 4G LTE wireless.

  17. Nevaeh says:

    I’d like to withdraw $100, please viagraonline pharmacy viagra “We are committed to determining the cause of this tragic accident and will utilize every resource throughout this process,” Parker said in her statement. “It would be a disservice to the family to speculate regarding what transpired.”

  18. Katherine says:

    I’ll call back later norvasc online ordering They expect Drew will probably get a multi-year deal elsewhere, and they’ll probably try to do a two- or three-year deal with Saltalamacchia to serve as a “bridge” to Christian Vazquez, their top catching prospect whose “catch and throw” attributes have drawn comparisons to Pudge Rodriguez. They would like to retain Ellsbury, but will likely draw the line at five years, and probably have the best chance of re-signing Napoli, whose hip condition will likely preclude him from getting any offers beyond two years.

  19. Johnnie says:

    How would you like the money? buy viagra 50 mg Sometimes its best to hear it straight from the source, that’s why people love our interviews. Get to know the people that make the devices and media that you love. Choose a recent interview on the left or click INTERVIEWS above for the whole list..

  20. Edgar says:

    I’m training to be an engineer coming off effexor xr side effects Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the practice ofinjecting water, sand and chemicals underground to crack rockformations and free up oil and natural gas. The technology makesit possible for oil companies to unlock California’s vastMonterey Shale deposit, estimated to hold 15.4 billion barrelsof recoverable oil.

  21. Dirtbill says:

    We need someone with experience tetracycline liver “Unless you know the trade, people here won’t really care to talk to you,” he said.

  22. Nathaniel says:

    I live in London fosamax plus dosage Henkel has around 4 billion euros ($5.3 billion) availablefor acquisitions and recently said it was looking at around 80different targets. Analysts expect Henkel will announce a dealthis year, possibly in the United States.

  23. Wilford says:

    I’m a member of a gym vigora 100 power Eight people received minor injuries when a Greater Anglia passenger train, travelling from Great Yarmouth, struck an empty, stationary East Midlands train as it arrived into Norwich at about 12.15am on Sunday. They were taken to hospital and have now been released.

  24. Grady says:

    Please call back later maxalt rpd 5 mg The speed of his action was criticised as were aspects of the efforts to improve teaching standards, such as student feedback being used to measure teacher performance and pay. There was also opposition to teachers being asked to engage in professional development once a week.

  25. Tyrell says:

    What do you like doing in your spare time? buy protonix veramyst The IHCA also insisted out that if this issue is allowed to continue, the result will be that fewer patients are treated in private hospitals and at a higher cost

  26. Mariah says:

    Whereabouts are you from? ampicillin tr 500 mg Asked about remarks made by Obama in an interview with the New York Times last Saturday and then repeated this week in a speech, Harper told reporters in Quebec City that Canada’s perspective was well-known by everyone in Washington.

  27. Incomeppc says:

    I’d like to order some foreign currency para que sirve el medicamento plendil de 5mg     Riley confirmed that the Heat made an effort to retain undrafted guard Ian Clark for the Las Vegas summer league after the 3-point specialist thrived for the Heat in the Orlando summer league. Clark instead is playing with the Warriors’ summer team in Las Vegas.

  28. Fermin says:

    I’m training to be an engineer amoxicillin costco U.S. crude for delivery in November also fell inchoppy trading, finishing the session down 16 cents to reach$102.87. The U.S. benchmark hit a session low of $102.36, nearits 100-day moving average of $101.99.

  29. Scotty says:

    I’m on business achat cialis generique belgique Last week Siemens rattled shareholders by abruptly abandoning its margin target in a brief statement that left investors clamoring in vain for more information. Two days later, Siemens said its supervisory board would decide at a meeting on Wednesday on CEO Loescher’s early departure.

  30. Young says:

    I love this site cialis online 5 mg
    Caitlin Hayden, Obama’s National Security Council spokeswoman, said the U.S. would continue to consult with Britain but Obama would make decisions based on ‘‘the best interests of the United States.’’ It was not certain the U.S. would have to act alone.

  31. Deandre says:

    Have you seen any good films recently? weaning off lamictal bipolar Google announced Chromecast in July. The thumb-sized device plugs into a TV’s HDMI port and brings smart TV functionality such as Netflix and YouTube streaming to larger screens. The device’s functionality is limited only to a few online services, but its low price has made it an attractive buy. It competes with Roku’s Roku 3 and Apple’s Apple TV, both of which are $99.

  32. Quinn says:

    Photography generic toprol xl pictures PDL leaders have presented a list of demands to Letta as the price for their continued support of an awkward coalition of traditional rivals, forced to rule together to end months of post-election stalemate in April.

  33. Antoine says:

    very best job inderal la online shopping “We can’t enter into details, but the information was absolutely faithful. The communications are absolutely accurate,” Rubino said. Pressed by a government radio host to say whether Fernandez could be out for a month, he said, “Some need less, some need more.”

  34. Jamal says:

    Three years citalopram uk forum BP spokesman Geoff Morrell claims that the billions of dollars in losses to the Gulf Coast tourism industry predicted by the U.S. Travel Association did not occur. He first cites tourist spending in New Orleans as proof. New Orleans was miles from any shoreline touched by oil and thus is not an accurate gauge.

  35. Elbert says:

    I can’t get a signal drospirenone ethinyl estradiol coupon
    By the end, with Mont-Saint-Michel rising majestically in front of him from an islet off the Brittany coast, Froome wasn’t far from catching Alejandro Valverde, even though the Spaniard set off three minutes earlier than him from Avranches.

  36. Pitfighter says:

    An estate agents tretinoin cream usp 0.05 obagi The network “is eager to make an agreement in line with the kind it has struck with every other cable, satellite and telco provider, and has continually sought reasonable term extensions to get that job done,” CBS said.

  37. Willis says:

    Until August buy doxycycline over the counter uk “We aim to sell tens of thousands of fuel cell vehicles ayear by sometime in the 2020s,” Managing Officer Satoshi Ogisotold reporters earlier this week in Tokyo where Toyota showedoff its advanced technologies.

  38. Winston says:

    US dollars penegra 100 uk Radical Berlin theatre director Frank Castorf, who had teased, challenged, mocked and scandalized the audience over the four-opera cycle that featured slinky Rhine Maidens, simulated oral sex and gangster-style characters stood center stage acknowledging the audience’s displeasure for some 10 minutes at the end of “Gotterdammerung” (“The Twilight of the Gods”).

  39. Erasmo says:

    I’d like , please seroquel 300 mg tablet “This family has been reaching out for help. They have been reaching out to agencies, reaching out to folks to get help, and you know from what I hear they have been told the crime isn’t big enough,” Smith told the TV station. ‘He hasn’t done anything bad enough for him to be put into our program.'”

  40. Ruben says:

    Do you like it here? meclizine otc strength “Is the commissioner going to fine one of the most popular guys, one of the most high-profile guys, if he doesn’t adhere to this rule?” Duquette asked

  41. Nathan says:

    How do you do? lamictal reviews weight loss Several years after the March, it became clear that a continued struggle for economic civil rights was necessary. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders of the SCLC pivoted towards the Poor Peoples Campaign and planned a new march on Washington. King described the scope of the new campaign to striking sanitation workers in Memphis the night before he was assassinated, saying, “It didn’t cost the nation one penny to integrate lunch counters. It didn’t cost the nation one penny to guarantee the right to vote. The problems that we are facing today will cost the nation billions of dollars.” The goal was to create a framework wherein the nation’s poor and working class could procure their share of the nation’s prosperity.

  42. Landon says:

    I’ve got a full-time job amantadine medscape
    The original plan for the study was to randomly assign some children to a brace and to simply watch others to see whether the curve of the spine became too severe. In either case, progression of the curve to 50 degrees or more indicated that the assigned treatment had not worked.

  43. Jamison says:

    I’m in a band buy sizegenetics australia FGTS, which is managed by Brazilian state-owned bank CaixaEconômica Federal, is made up of millions of individual workeraccounts and financed by payroll taxes. While workers own thefunds, with few exceptions, they have no say over how the moneyis invested.

  44. Roscoe says:

    How do you do? buy gabapentin online cheap Reports in official Chinese media said that Li, at a StateCouncil meeting on Friday, urged officials to keep up the paceof reform implementation and reiterated that the policy focuswill not be changed.

  45. Clifford says:

    Withdraw cash medrol e pillola anticoncezionale The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment fell to 76.8 in September, the lowest since April. That was below August’s 82.1 and the 82.0 reading economists had expected this month.

  46. Kaitlyn says:

    Cool site goodluck 🙂 buy crestor rosuvastatin Kenneth Allen Keith, 48, was accused in the shooting deaths of pawnshop owners Mike and Angela Hockensmith, and a customer, Daniel P. Smith, prosecutors said. He was arrested Wednesday afternoon and is being held without bond.

  47. Michel says:

    A few months clearpores skin cleansing system
    Ornish is the author of six best-selling books, including “Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease”; “Eat More, Weigh Less”; and “The Spectrum.” He is a physician consultant to former President Bill Clinton and was appointed by President Barack Obama to the White House Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health.

  48. Trinidad says:

    I hate shopping buy adcirca canada But Stewart’s tweets then appeared to draw the ire of Applepublic relations unit. She tweeted later on Thursday: “i cannotbelieve that Apple Public Relations is mad at me for tweetingabout my Ipad and how to get it fixed! steve jobs gave it tome!”

  49. Flyman says:

    I’m interested in cialis 5mg private prescription House Republican leaders and the White House sought to reassure those furloughed federal workers that they will be paid when the shutdown ends, but resolving the crisis remains a politically difficult task since both sides see broader strategic implications to the outcome.

  50. Donald says:

    I’m from England himcolin wikipedia A hip patient would see the overall rating, and would be anxious or want to go to a different hospital for no reason whatsoever.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *