By: Merle Citron
For those female Lambertvillians who have repeatedly had UPS deliveries made to their homes, hoping to see that adorable UPS deliveryman, Fred Framo; girls, the news is bad.
Fred recently got married. Oh, well.
During post office visits, Al Gaspari of Delaware Avenue and Jimmy Cavallo, Lambertville mailman and New Hope resident, have spent many mornings beginning conversations with such openings as "So, whaddya think about those Yankees?"
All along, Al didn’t have the same faith in them that Jimmy had. Now Al says, "I’m an elated Yankee fan. Jimmy made a liar out of me."
And Jimmy says, "I knew that the Yankees could do it. I was always a believer." End of discussion.
So my dog and I walked north on the towpath last weekend, encountering every bicycle in Hunterdon and Mercer counties.
While dodging bikes, a guy rode past me, and it was only after he went by that I blinked my eyes in disbelief at what I saw. Attached above each of his handlebars was a 6-inch stick and on each stick perched a parrot. He kept going, but I stopped and asked him if the birds were tied.
"Absolutely not," he yelled back. "They’re as free as the wind."
So, there you have it. Two parrots out for a bike ride in the ‘ville.
"You’ve written about my neighbors who live on either side of me, now it’s my turn to be in Chit-Chat," Annie bubbled.
Okay, here we go!
Annie and Chris Hand and 4-month-old Charlotte live on Delevan Street.
They moved to Lambertville from Brooklyn in August. Chris knew about Lambertville because he had lived in New Hope for four years.
He then moved back to his mother’s brownstone in Brooklyn where he met Annie, who rented a room from his mother. They fell in love, got married and wanted to experience a better quality of life. So they moved to Lambertville! Welcome home, guys!
Dr. Jay Snyder and his wife, Carol, moved to Lambertville from New Hope last year.
They live on Ferry Street where "lots of nice people live," Jay noted.
The Snyders were touched by the friendliness of their neighbors.
"Lambertville is still very small town, and I like that," Jay commented.
Carol takes great pleasure in walking along the towpath with their beautiful golden retriever and was really touched her neighbors came over to welcome them to their new home.
Paul Gingold of New Travels on South Main Street keeps me on my toes concerning proper grammatical usage in Chit-Chat.
Paul assured me the correct spelling of chaise lounge is chaise longue from the French. I reassured Paul the American Heritage Dictionary uses both forms with chaise lounge having become the Americanized version.
Whew! I’m glad I looked it up before I printed it. Geez, Chit-Chat readers can be tough.
Jane Ficarro grew up in West Amwell and graduated from South Hunterdon in 1972.
She got married, moved to Hamilton Township and had children. Recently, Jane moved back to Lambertville.
"I prefer Lambertville’s slower pace. I feel safe here, and it’s good to come home to a place that feels familiar."
Jane’s daughter, Kathleen Reilly, who lives on South Franklin Street, agrees with her mother. She is glad to be in Lambertville, too.
As a high school student, Kathleen did not enjoy Hamilton High School. But now she enjoys attending Rutgers University where she is in her senior year, majoring in administration of justice. She’s proud to be a college senior and even prouder that she made her own education happen all by herself. Kathleen earned every dollar to put herself through school. You go, girl!
Alan Lightcap, who lives in "the firehouse" on Church Street, repairs automated musical instruments.
How’s that for an interesting occupation?
Alan’s friend, Patrick Hamilton of Washington, D.C., is just as interesting as Alan. He works for the U.S. Department of Energy and specializes in international nuclear issues, in particular, those related to India and Sri Lanka.
Both of them travel between Alan’s Lambertville abode and Pat’s Washington pied a terre, loving both ways of life. What’s not to love?
Paulette and Muncie Russell live in the grand Victorian on the corner of Jefferson and George streets.
The Russells have put much love and effort into their home and garden, which always looks picture-perfect. However, rather than talk about their house or garden, Paulette preferred to talk about her neighbors, Geoff and Loredana Cromarti, who have been their neighbors on Jefferson Street for more than eight years.
Sixteen months ago, Will Cromarti, their son, was born. Not only has Will changed Geoff and Loredana’s lives, but Paulette’s life has completely changed, also. She is in love with this child, totally and completely.
Paulette confided, "I am now a G.I.T. (grandmother in training). I love this little boy. He’s the cutest kid in Lambertville."
Muncie just listened and nodded his head.
Bambi and Paul Kuhl live on North Union Street.
Bambi and Paul are very busy folks.
Bambi works at both Lambertville City Hall and the West Amwell municipal building. She’s the lady who’s in charge of welfare for East and West Amwell townships and Lambertville.
If a full-time job isn’t enough, Bambi is also in graduate school at Rutgers University, getting her master’s degree in English. Never one to rest, she also does dog-walking.
Paul, who is the CFO of a Trenton based CPA firm, sometimes has a need to rest. Bambi recently volunteered their house for the Lambertville Historical Society House Tour.
Paul noted, "I couldn’t be more excited about our house being on the tour. I’m so pleased not to be able to lie on the sofa and watch television. Bambi won’t let me lie there while our house is under a severe ‘cleaning alert.’ "
So it goes with the Kuhls.
People move away from Lambertville, but many of them return.
Take Don Jordan, artist and New Hope resident, for example. Before Don was born his father, Angelo Cioppi, lived next door to the Gasparis in Lambertville.
After Don arrived on the scene, with the help of Dr. Lieby of New Hope, his father and his mother, Dorothy, lived on Church Street. Two years later, they moved out of town. Now, after many years away, Don is back. Welcome home.
Phil Mackey lives in the apartment house on Lambert Lane and has been hiking across Switzerland, up and down the Alpine mountain passes, over a period of years.
During this time, Phil has spent a total of 60 days hiking across Switzerland. He just returned from 14 days there, and he hiked during eight of them.
Phil explained, "I used to hike in Switzerland. Then I decided that I wanted to hike the hard way, from the French border of Switzerland to its Liechtenstein border. This is my magnificent obsession. I’m doing this because it’s there."
He estimates on his next trip to Switzerland, he will complete his obsession with about six days of hiking left. Where to next, Phil?
Sherry Baker and Cathy Creek of New Hope know good walking shoes when they find them.
Sherry and Cathy were doing the Lambertville leg of their walk when we encountered each other. After an intensely meaningful discussion about their walking shoes, I ended up buying those Cathy was wearing, more in keeping with my persona. They’re called, "Jungle Mocs."
Sherry, however, swears by her "Sketchers."
"They have these bumps that give you a constant foot massage, very much like therapy," she explained.
Why is it not surprising Sherry’s a therapist?
