Though I entered Saddle River County Park from Fair Lawn, that’s not the only suburb encompassed by its 577 acres. It also runs through five other Bergen County towns: Glen Rock, Paramus, Ridgewood, Rochelle Park, and Saddle Brook.
I can
never get enough of bodies of water, and though the crisp air may have kept
more people from venturing outside, I was happy to take the path around this
pond without bumping into crowds.
William Shakespeare died on this day in 1616 at age 52, but his influence reverberates to this day.
Following decades of Tudor authoritarianism, Shakespeare knew that it was safer to project his insights into distant times (King John’s death predated the playwright’s by four centuries) and even distant lands (in the case of The Tempest, a small, remote island in the Mediterranean).
His
history play King John is one of his thornier and less performed works,
but such was The Bard’s genius that even in this passage from the play, he served
as a profound analyst of how corruption and tyranny at the highest government
levels lead inevitably to rampant conspiracy theories and contagious fear.
Eva [played by Eszter Balint]: “Yes.
I'm not hungry. Why is it called ‘TV dinner’?”
Willie: “Um... You're supposed to eat it
while you watch TV. Television.”
Eva: “I know what a TV is. Where does
that meat come from?”:
Willie: “What do you mean?”
Eva: “What does that meat come from?”
Willie: “I guess it comes from a cow.”
Eva: “From a cow? It doesn't even look
like meat.”
Willie: “Eva, stop bugging me, will you?
You know, this is the way we eat in America. I got my meat, I got my potatoes,
I got my vegetables, I got my dessert, and I don't even have to wash the
dishes.”— Stranger Than Paradise
(1984), screenplay by Jim Jarmusch and John Lurie, directed by Jim Jarmusch
