One road connects them all in a giant circle, the binding loop of the entire development: Deep Run Drive. One Road to rule them all, and One Road to bind them.
As with many communities set up this way, there was an association of 6 or 7 board members, a fellowship, if you will, who would meet once each month and make decisions for the community, about snow or leaf removal or whatever.
By 2003, my father, and current roommate, Martin, decided it was time for some new blood on the board, and campaigned along with some of his homowner friends for spots on the board. They won, and within months, you could literally see the effects of their political strong-arming. Better management, streamlined maintenance, soda in every water-fountain!
But power corrupts, and by 2004, Martin decided that he thought it would be a good idea to install speed bumps on Deep Run Drive. Why? No one knows. He claimed people drove too fast, children were in danger, babies were being crushed. But nothing like that had ever happened before, so why bother now?
To every home owner's dismay, as well as anyone who visited from the outside, 4 gigantic speed bumps were installed on the loop, which were so high off the ground, they tore up the bottom of half the cars in Deep Run. I don't even think they were installed correctly. They were just big lumps of cement, that protruded like 10 inches off the ground. You'd think Martin paved them himself. These behemoth, yellow monstrosities were unsightly, and utterly useless.
Widespread community outrage plagued board meetings for months to follow, not to mention internal family drama, but Martin and his conservative majority wouldn't budge. Those speed bumps were staying as long as he was on the board!
In August of 2005, we moved out of Deep Run, to Ocean NJ, and in September, the speed bumps were removed, never to be mentioned again. So much for the Silverberg legacy. Reports from the demolition suggest that people rejoiced in the streets, and I think the scene probably looked very similar to this:
I thought that was the last time we'd ever see these speed bumps... but was it?
As you all know, I started my job a few weeks ago, and even though I've only been there 2 weeks, I can report that I am having a blast. When I was a kid, I thought artist management and representation was limited to actors, because I was one, and I had limited brain-using capabilities. My firm, however, represents people in the fashion industry (not models), like stylists, and hair and make-up designers for labels and photographers.
So basically, if you open any issue of Vogue or Elle or Harpers, or any of the major fashion mags, flip to the fashion editorials, and look for the styling credits on the last page of each story, we represent THOSE people.
Fashion week was a fascinating time to start working, because while the office was probably the busiest it will be all year, I was able to immerse myself in the industry and learn so much in a very short period of time.
As a perk, I got to go to a show that one of our stylists was working on. I was on cloud 9, totally enamored by the people and activity swirling around me.
So work is wonderful, and living at home is alright, but socially, I'm in this very strange limbo. I'm not in Boston. I'm not technically in New York, nor do I want to be on my days off. Most of my friends from Old Bridge have gone back to college. And here I am. In Ocean. And not too many people are around. It's a transitional period. But it feels like someone's hit the breaks. Things are slowing down.
Speed Bump, Straight Ahead.
The day I started my job, our NEW development, named Hidden Meadows, began a major repaving project for the main road. Hidden Meadows has street names like Tanya, Daniele, Stacey, and Jerod (please). There were no speed bumps to speak of, and a management fellowship that my dad had absolutely no part of.
Yesterday, they finished the repaving project, and christened the newly paved Hidden Meadows Drive with a newly paved...you guessed it:
What exactly is going on here? I don't really know what conclusions to draw from this. Why are these things popping up everywhere I go? What are they trying to tell me? Where's Frodo when I need him? (It should be noted that the road sign in the above photo clearly says "Speed Hump")
With everything else going so well, I've got to figure out a way to move past this social speed bump. Some late night demolition may be in order. Personally, I find it kind of funny that something so small can cause so much mischief. But then again, that's what they said about me.
-Evan
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