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Went to Maplewood this weekend to check out the town, as it's a place we've been considering buying in.
First, I checked out the downtown, which is gorgeous. Lots of charming independent mom-and-pop stores.
I do my usual routine -- go for a run around the town. I check out the neighborhood, which is beautiful ... starting near downtown, down Tuscan road to Springfield ave (I guess I was in "Maplehood" -- wouldn't have known it though), then up Harvard ave, then all the way down Valley. Then up Shorthills road, up to West Orange and back to Maplewood via South Orange.
My wife sat down and people watched/read.
Then I came back. My wife quietly tells me, "the kids run the town here". It didn't take long to see what she meant. Yep, they were running the show, especially the ones in proximity of the ice cream store. Don't get between one of those kids and his/her ice cream if you know what's good for you!
We went in to Arturo's to try some thin crust pizza. The dining experience was just fine, except seated adjacent to us, were two couples with some very rowdy kids.
But while the kids were just hyperactive, one of the couples were obnoxious. This couple, Mr and Mrs Blowhard, were relating a story about a recent night out with some friends, and while the other couple stayed fairly silent, they proceeded to launch into ferocious criticisms of each "friend".
We discovered that one of the friends was 45 and single, and not terribly attractive, though not terribly unattractive either. A great person. Not terribly attractive though -- and single at 45.
Then another of their friends recently had a wedding, unlike their single friend. But they didn't think too highly of the wedding ceremony. The music was "hackneyed".
Then another one ... also "a great person" -- married to some guy who doesn't make any money. The guy works in finance, and is depressed. Mrs Blowhard confides, "we think he is an alcoholic". Mr Blowhard agrees. Both of them feel better about themselves for having friends who are not as good as the Blowhards.
Once done trashing their friends, Mrs Blowhard talks about a television show. It's about her, apparently (boy, isn't everything!) The TV show is like Seinfeld, it's about nothing (except her, of course), and who would she be ? An "over-educated" urban blowhard who begins a new life as a suburban blowhard.
(I hope they're not reading this)
The town was beautiful (though all those kids at the ice cream shop scared me).
I hope the blowhards are from out of town.
Last edited by elflord1973; 06-22-2009 at 08:31 PM..
Reason: oops .. left out the wedding
Nice story -- a little window into "a day in the life" of some annoying people.
Sadly, they're everywhere: the parents who let their kids run wild (because they're so special) and think the world revolves around them (when it's not revolving around their little princes and princesses, that is).
Maplewood is full of them; then again, so is just about every other "nice" town in NJ.
I try to think of them as wildlife; I notice them every once in a while, but mainly to point them out and then steer clear of.
sounds awful. but to be fair, pretentious, status-obsessed adults and spoiled, obnoxious kids are pretty commonplace in many of the region's nicer towns. unfortunately, that's the price of moving to a place where people think they're a big deal simply because of their income and educational levels.
i'm still unmarried and w/o dependents, so i have no desire at the moment to "move up" to an upscale, yuppified neighborhood, but stories such as yours have forced me to reconsider the type of town i'd want to live in once i'm married with kids. i've begun to think that it might not be a bad idea to raise my future kids in a relatively modest town that doesn't have a lot of hype but offers good enough schools from K-8th grade. beyond that, i can send them to a private secondary school if the local public high school isn't up to par. the hope is that my kids' formative years will have been spent with classmates who are more grounded than their entitled peers in the wealthier, big-name towns.
I think the interesting thing about your story is the part where they trash their friends. I used to do that all the time. Of course that was in the past, I could not help myself, I picked up that terrible quality from my mother who always trashed everyone. I have changed that quality I feel a hell of alot better about it too, and myself. This is a very common problem I dont know how to solve it but I really dont trash my friends anymore. I try to listen to them, and its sad but to think I was Miss Blowhard its amazing how we can change when we realize how pitful we look. Now I only do that to a few select hillbillies and they are not my friends. I will work on that too. This is what you will be dealing with , its funny now right????
elford, I'm actually looking in Maplewood too. I've been out in Maplewood for one dinner and didn't encounter any such nonsense. Actually, the wife and I had an early Sunday dinner at that Irish place (kevin st. james was it?) and there was a cool irish jam session going on, very entertaining. There were only a couple families there and their kids were dancing a little to the music, but nothing rowdy or obnoxious.
I get the feeling from Maplewood that the people are far less self-important and obnoxious than in other towns, but honestly, that feeling probably stems mostly from hearsay about some other towns' residents being snooty. Maplewood's reputation, as I understand it, is not the same as these other towns. They are diverse and "progressive" (ie highly democratic) and seem to be a pretty eclectic group of business commuters, brooklyn expats, musicians artists, white/black, straight/gay. The diversity draws people who desire or are accepting of diversity. The schools, as I understand it, are good but not the best, w/ Columbia high school ranking inthe 80s out of about 315 high schools. This school is shared with South Orange. The elementary schools vary from good to very good. The elementary/middle schools vary in terms of test scores and economic diversity/stability. Some of the schools have a much higher % of free and reduced lunch kids. This is something that gives me pause, frankly. Also, the taxes are beyond ridiculous.
Oh, and by the way, the blowhards were not me and the wife. :-D
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