JOURNEYS: I looked out on the front porch one day and saw my son sitting there, chin in hand. I know that forlorn look. I’ve had it myself. So I did what any involved mom would do: I took a deep breath and walked his way. “What’s up buddy?” “ ‘Nuthin’,” he muttered with a sigh, not looking up. I didn’t even have to ask to know what it was. I’ve sighed that way, too.
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The Good Life Journeys
The Good Life Journeys
Journeys
And they called it puppy love...
JOURNEYS: I looked out on the front porch one day and saw my son sitting there, chin in hand. I know that forlorn look. I’ve had it myself. So I did what any involved mom would do: I took a deep breath and walked his way. “What’s up buddy?” “ ‘Nuthin’,” he muttered with a sigh, not looking up. I didn’t even have to ask to know what it was. I’ve sighed that way, too.Foster father shows true meaning of love
JORGE ARAUJO: We recently received into our home a young girl, 1½ years old. Let’s call her Amelia. She came from a home filled with violence. And although she didn’t suffer any herself -- not to anyone’s knowledge, anyway -- she viewed it constantly. “How could you pour your heart and soul into this person and not know if she will stay permanently with you?” family and friends ask. Let me tell you how. How different are we from the homeless?
JOURNEYS: As I pulled up to the drive-thru window at McDonalds the other day, a strikingly handsome man slowly approached my car. His clothes were dirty and tattered, he had tattoos on his forearms, his eyes clearly told of many a sleepless night. 'Real Housewives of the Shore': Reality bites
JOURNEYS: New Jersey sure is seeing its share of “reality TV,” to use the term loosely. Between “Jersey Shore,” with its exaggerated 80’s-era Long Island wannabes, and “Real Housewives of New Jersey” 's uptight, mentally-challenged, plastic-surgered shriekers, our state’s image has actually hit a new low, if you can imagine that.Signed, sealed, delivered
When was the last time you received a handwritten letter -- be it from a friend, a sister, or even a lover? I remember the last letter I received: It was back in 1995 from a dear old friend from high school. My sister was in the fight of her life, for she had just received a diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer. And all the hope I had I held right there in my hand.
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Public Safety
National Preparedness Month: It's not a celebration
September brings us not only the anniversary of the worst attack on U.S. soil: It’s also National Preparedness Month, a time when those responsible for our safety ask whether we’ve done what we can to help protect our families. So: How about checking this list to see how YOU measure up?
Critics of Bergen's first gun buy-back program are off-target
Naysayers are firing criticism at a gun buy-back program that netted more than 700 firearms this weekend, but Bergen County Sheriff Leo P. McGuire says they’re way off the mark.
Amber Alert nixed, Terry Dusseault and son found
UPDATE: Terry Dusseault and his 8-year-old son have been found, and New Jersey State Police have cancelled an Amber Alert.
No 'Kyleigh's Law' decal repeal: 6-month study instead
If Gov. Chris Christie goes along with it, state authorities will have six months to evaluate an unpopular law that requires young drivers to have red decals on their license plates -- a far cry from the repeal sought by several Bergen-area lawmakers and tens of thousands of New Jerseyans.
Firefighters helped catch wanted serial bank robbers
ONLY ON CVP: It’s no coincidence that New Jersey has the highest percentage of bank robbery arrests in the nation, not when there are people like the firefighters who helped lead to the arrest of two accused serial bank robbers.
String of high-figure bank jobs solved, FBI says
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Nathaniel Barreto of Newark admitted to being "the Black Stocking Robber" and Juan Perez of Clifton the wheelman in a string of bank holdups in Paramus, Boonton and elsewhere from North to Central Jersey that ended when they were tracked down following an armed robbery Tuesday, the FBI said.
Cops find new tactic: The Facebook perp walk
Posting mug shots on Facebook seemed a sweet idea for police in a small New Jersey town within spitting distance of Philadelphia -- only some people aren’t too crazy about it.Connect
Shout Outs
Muscle Maker Grill celebration in Edgewater
No reason to let the weather keep you indoors. Muscle Maker Grill in Edgewater is celebrating an extremely successful first year down in Edgewater.
US judo champ Toni Marie Geiger of Dumont aims for 2012 Olympics
ONLY ON CLIFFVIEW PILOT: Because U.S. Olympic athletes don’t receive government funding, Toni Marie Geiger of Dumont -- the #1 ranked female judo athlete in the U.S. and a member of Team USA -- has to raise the money she needs to train, travel and compete herself to qualify for the 2012 Summer Games in London.
Hot on the teen scene: North Jersey's hard-rocking Odd Man In
Remember the days when you and your friends dreamed of starting a band? Well, it’s wonderful to watch a group of kids pursue their collective dream today -- which, in the case of Odd Man In, is a record deal. What makes it sweeter: The oldest is 15.
Beloved Union City educator taught students to believe in themselves
Jack O'Connor is being remembered with intense love and affection by hundreds of former students whose lives he touched. "He was a true man's man," former student John ODonnell Rosales said of one of Union City's most popular educators.
Ex-Passaic sheriff Englehardt, 80, 'sharp as a tack' after heat sends him to hospital, Speziale says
ONLY ON CVP: Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale was driving on Route 80 when the radio crackled with the report of a disoriented driver who had blown a tire hitting a curb on Garrett Mountain. Imagine Speziale’s surprise when he pulled up to discover the motorist was his predecessor, perhaps the most legendary of all Passaic County political figures.
Those who knew Justin Sanchez recall 'that beautiful, bright smile'
ONLY ON CVP: Among those trying to make sense of the death of Justin Sanchez is Lucille Stanziale, who was there when the happy-go-lucky teen suffered a freak accident that killed him.
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