As usual, a lot happened. The Democrats took over in Washington, but lost in New Jersey. Michael Jackson died. A plane crash-landed safely in the Hudson River. Another plane went down in Buffalo, killing a family in Bloomfield and a saxophonist in Glen Ridge. Restaurants and shops came and went, but Montclair Book Center turned 25. The iconic Fountains of Wayne closed on Rt. 46, but the iconic band named for it played a big school fundraiser in Montclair. Weekend train service came, but daily service deteriorated. The Benson Street station was sold. Bloomfield’s Foley Field stands were shut down right before July 4th. Gideons handed out bibles in Glen Ridge. Buses and trucks crashed into buildings. Storms came, trees fell. Presby Iris Gardens became an Essex County park. Luna left town. The Montclair Art Museum put on a major Cezanne exhibit. And, oh yes, Dressing for Pleasure went out of business after an illegal dungeon was discovered — but oh what a fight at city hall!
What was the biggest local story of the year? Go the the jump for our poll, and add your own favorites in the comments.


28 replies on “Baristaville, 2009”

  2. On this last day of 2009 (don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out), I would like to congratulate all Baristaville denizens on making it through one of the crappiest years, and one of the crappiest decades, in recent memory.

  3. The biggest story of the year was the addition of thumbs to Baristanet!
    So here’s a thumbs up for health and happiness to all of you in 2010 and beyond!

  5. I’m with you, Walleroo. When we hit the 21st century, I thought that things would improve. Boy, was I in for a big surprise. I hope that we’ve learned from at least some of our mistakes in the “aughts” (that’s one good thing–at least there will be no more lame discussions about what to call the decade between 2000 and 2010) and can move on to a more enlightened, prosperous and healthy future.
    The only good thing I can say about the last 10 years is that there have been many new scientific and medical discoveries designed to make our lives better.

  6. Folks– get off the “it was the worst decade” train.
    Like each one before, when we look back, it is both personal and communal.
    To that, for some, even the BEST decade will be considered the worst.
    Likewise, for some, even the WORST decade will be considered the best.
    So enough with the hand-wringing, because even in the worst moment 9/11, most saw and realized the best in their fellow man. Same with Katrina.
    The stories of folks helping folks they don’t know is what I take away.
    Finally, like most things, you need a little darkness to make the light seem brighter.
    And brighter days are always a day away….. TOMORROW, TOMORROW, I LOVE YOU, TOMORROW…….

  7. The “aughts” were very good to me:
    I married my DH
    Moved to Montclair
    Had my two daughters
    Dh got a new job in NJ, more time home.
    President Obama
    Barista Kids!
    Purchased our first home
    Started teaching again
    I can only wish that the next decade brings my family more prosperity and good health. Happy New Year!

  9. Prof:
    I was speaking from more of a geopolitical perspective, not from a personal point of view.
    Personally, as with Georgette, a lot of good things happened in my life:
    I met and married by DH
    We adopted The Greatest Dog in the World (TM)
    Bought my first home
    Held onto my job
    Became a serious runner and made a lot of new running friends
    Reconnected with childhood, high school and camp friends
    Welcomed a couple of nieces and nephews
    Got to travel to some places I haven’t visited before
    (I hope there’s more travel in my future, but not until they “fix” air travel)

  10. In 2009 I got to meet a few Baristavillians in person. That was pretty cool. My friend, Galaxyman, was very curious about my perceptions of the folks I met. All I could say was that they were all very nice, accomplished, interesting people and that I would not hesitate to share some pizza, beer and soda with them again, anytime, anywhere.
    Happy New Year to everyone here. The differences between us are miniscule compared to our similarities. Let’s continue to have fun in 2010.
    I wish all of you the best, prosperity, health, personal fullfillment in your careers and family lives.

  12. Even from a “geopolitical” perspective, this decade saw more freedom, more openness and more technology employed to solve problems than ever before.
    Was there war? Sure. There’s always a war somewhere. And poverty. And abuse. The aughts weren’t special in that regard.
    But you cannot overlook the explosion of technology and how it began to allow those without freedom to speak with a loud voice. THIS point, I think, will be the truest legacy of the Aughts.
    Again, I’m an optimist. So I have a problem with those willing to cosign an entire decade as “bad.”
    Like most decades, it had it’s extreme highs (the election of Obama), and it’s extreme lows (9/11, Katrina).

  13. For me it’s the continued stupidity of the political correctness crowd when it comes to protecting American airliners.
    Since the Lockerbie plane crash in 1988,every attack on a commercial airliner has been committed by foreign-born Muslim men with the same hair color, eye color and skin color. Yet men like my Father at 87 yrs old are inconvenienced for hrs at the airport so that ‘we’ don’t offend a terrorist.
    Are we really more concerned about not offending foreigners than protecting our citizenry?
    I’m just saying.

  14. For the New Year, I’m getting Iceman a fact-checker to review his comments before he posts them.
    Perhaps we should start referring to him as “Baristaville’s own Janet Napolitano”.
    Richard Reid was a British-born half-Jamaican, half-Brit.
    This latest a-hole was Nigerian.
    Jose Padilla was a Latino from Brooklyn.
    Tim McVeigh looked a lot like my nephew Dan.
    I’m not at all against profiling, by the way. And I believe that it goes on all of the time, though understandably it is not advertised.
    But this sort of simplistic, knee-jerk rot plays well on Hannity, not in the real world.

  15. Iceman, “Muslim men with the same hair color, eye color and skin color” also run Saudi Arabia and Saudi oil exports.
    As long as we need Saudi oil, expect the USA to continue to need to be politically correct, so as to suck up to the Saudi oil man.

  16. Ice,
    With all the other obvious warnings this fool laid, to immediately go to profiling all “Muslim men with the same hair color, eye color and skin color” is as dumb as going after your father or a baby.
    Profiling is not JUST by skin/hair/nationality, it is behavioral.
    And here, paying cash for a one way ticket and, OH YEA– His father warned us about him, are what should be discussed.
    But go ahead and profile “Muslim men with the same hair color, eye color and skin color,” because the next one will be a tall, leggy blond…..

  17. I guess that Anne Marie Murphy would have made it onto a plane at Iceman International Airport. after all, she doesn’t fit the dark-skinned, dark-eyes, male and Muslim profile.
    Of course, she was carrying a bomb in her luggage when she got on the El Al flight in 1984. She didn’t know it, having made the mistake of falling for a terrorist Palestinian who impregnated her, then put a bomb in her luggage when she was heading off to meet the parents. The El Al folks found the bomb, so we had a happy ending.
    would she have made it past “profilers” here?
    Maybe.
    Especially if they were working off Ice’s script.

  18. I am gratified, Georgette, that this decade was good to you. Under duress I might have to admit that it wasn’t all bad for me, either, and I can all too easily imagine how it could have been a whole lot worse. Who knows, maybe in 2010 it will be! As one of my favorite lines from Bob Dylan, which I know I’ve quoted here before, goes:
    When you think that you lost everything
    You find out you can always lose a little more

  19. But their not the same skin color Ice. Wasnt this guy a black Nigerian?
    I’d be happy if they profiled single men traveling alone without luggage from middle eastern countries whose father warned security forces about.

  21. Croiag,
    I wish u knee jerk liberals would read my post before u go nuts. I specifically mentioned terrorist attacks of commercial airliners since 1988…period. U must take time to read and not get all judgmental before u finish reading.
    As for the rest of you simpletons, yes, he was from Nigeria but he was a Muslim.
    Look don’t see
    Listen don’t hear.

  22. While I’m not going to miss 2009, I guess I would look at it as a mixed year:
    The bad
    Our dog died
    Our friends parents died
    Our next door neighbors moved
    I’m making the same as I did last year
    The good
    We adopted a new dog
    We went on a nice vacation with our friends
    The new neighbors seem very nice
    I still have a job
    The family is healthy
    My son became an EMT in town
    Maybe is was not as bad as I remember
    May you all have a safe and Happy New Year.

  23. Hate to burst your bubble, but DFP closed due to financial trouble, just like most small businesses are. They actually won the case with city hall.

  24. Typical Ice name-calling, just like that which started the post.
    Reid was a airline terrorist, and was not born a Muslim — he converted and used his Western name. If you think that the others would not have gone after an airliner had they had the opportunity, and if you think that other non “dark” Muslims will not make the attempt, then you’re dreaming.
    Speak, don’t think.

  26. Iceman, calling people knee jerk liberals is hardly a well-tailored response.
    Happy New Year, and tidy up your facts before you build up a case for profiling anyone.

  27. he iconic Fountains of Wayne closed on Rt. 46, but the iconic band named for it
    Wait? There’s an iconic band named Fountains of Wayne?? I’ve only ever heard of the rather bland one-hit-wonder by that name.

  28. Ice, I guess you only mean flights you care about. Let’s not forget the guy in China who hijacked the plane to Taiwan and ended up killing a bunch of people when the plane collided with another. (1990) Or the Japanese guy who hijacked a flight there because he wanted to fly the plane under the Rainbow Bridge. He murdered the pilot and the rest of the crew managed to subdue him before anyone else was hurt. (1999)
    In 2002, another Chinese commercial airline crashed and killed everyone on board after a passenger doused the passenger cabin with gasoline and set it on fire. He had purchased seven air insurance policies in the days before the flight, so it was quite premeditated.
    In 2003, a Melbourne resident by the very foreign sounding name of David Mark Robinson tried to hijack a Qantas flight and stabbed several crew members before he was subdued. He wanted to go to Tasmania.
    In 2008, a Somali refugee in New Zealand hijacked a plane. SHE, yes she wanted to go to Australia. The woman had been in the news before several times, as she wasn’t adapting to New Zealand culture very well in her 14 years there.
    Now, you might not consider any of these actual attacks, as they weren’t meant as terrorist attacks. I excluded the Muslim men who hijacked planes not to kill people, not to scare people, but who are desperate to get out of their current situation and want political asylum in other countries.
    But I ask you, is setting a plane on fire because you’re in financial trouble and you figure insurance will take care of your family, any less of an attack than a bomb that fails to detonate, but just makes sure you never get to breed again?
    Turn off Faux News and pay attention to what’s really going on in the world.

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