Monday morning notes and thoughts.

Marathon Steak & Potato Company
Marathon Steak & Potato Company (Kevin Williams, Townsquare Media NJ)
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Clearly the most popular location in Seaside Heights right now is anywhere you can get a good view of the Jet Star roller coaster which of course is sitting in the ocean off the Casino Pier.

For that reason the most popular business in the resort town right now has to be the Marathon Steak & Potato Company, which is a food stand on Ocean Terrace and Sheridan Avenue. They were doing a brisk business on a brisk Sunday because it’s the one place where you can actually got a good view of the roller coaster as most of the beach area is restricted and watched over by local and state police.

You had to see all the people pouring through the restaurant to get a closer look and take pictures. they could have made a small fortune by charging a dollar and calling the area an observation deck.

Jackson Memorial Band Director Bud McCormick
Jackson Memorial Band Director Bud McCormick (Facebook)
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Congratulations to Jackson Memorial High School Band Director Harold “Bud” McCormick who learned Sunday of his election into the National High School Band Directors Hall of Fame. McCormick is only the second high school band director from New Jersey to earn the honor with the other being the man who nominated him back in August, Frank Hughes who was the band director at Toms River North for some 30 years.

It’s been a terrific year for the Jaguars band as they played in the Rose Bowl Parade and the President’s Inauguration Parade back in January.

I spent Saturday at the Pine Belt Arena where the Region VI Wrestling championships were held and discovered that often the best sites are not necessarily on the mat but often around it. It is really interesting to watch the parents, mainly the fathers of these high school wrestlers as they try and extend their seasons and often their careers in a pressure-packed atmosphere.

Only the top three finishers in each weight class advanced to this week’s state championships in Atlantic City so often the real gut-wrenchers were matches in which kids were just trying to keep the dream alive. Some fathers were actually embarrassing with their antics and criticisms but I watched one who had it right. As his son came off the mat in tears with his career over his father hugged him, told him to take a deep breath and stay in his arms for as long as he needed.

When his son finally composed himself enough to walk away I turned to the parent and said “that’s what a father is supposed to do” and he simply nodded in agreement.
Others could learn from that.

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