Mitch's Blog logo Mitch's Blog

In my lunchtime web wanderings, I stumbled across this 1900 historical image from the town square in Newton, New Jersey.

I know that area very well—I lived a two-minute walk from that very spot for four years in the late 1980s, and worked as a reporter at the New Jersey Herald, whose offices were behind the courthouse.

Nearly 90 years later, the view from that spot was the same as in this photo, and I’m told it looked the same six years ago, too.

I got a follow request from a woman on Mastodon who wants me to be her sugar baby. I’m up for that.

The missus and I watched another episode of “Columbo” last night. The guest stars were Eddie Albert as a heroic Marines general who murders a fellow officer to cover up embezzlement, and Suzanne Pleshette as the sad, ditzy woman who witnesses the crime. I was unable to suspend disbelief — every second they were onscreen I thought, “That’s the guy from Green Acres and Bob Newhart’s wife.”

Also, Suzanne Pleshette’s character seemed sexist in a low-key ambient 1971 sort of way. She lives alone with her mother; they are both sad and the mother is bitter. It seemed to be the assumption that two women over 30 living alone without men would lead of course lead empty and sad lives. I am possibly overthinking this.

We’re slowly watching a few 1970s crime shows that were massive hits in the day, including “Columbo,” “The Rockford FIles,” “McMillan & Wife” and “McCloud.” Of them, my favorite by far is Rockford. I want to be Jim Rockford when I grow up and live in a trailer on the beach and go fishing off the pier with my father, whom I call “Rocky.”