I moved to Franklin Lakes from Asbury Park, in the early 70s, and was instantly hit with cultural shock --- single family homes the size of an apartment building, no public transportation, and women wearing tennis skirts to go shopping. But, it was beautiful, and I soon got over my reverse snobism, and enjoyed such new experiences as The Market Basket (if you don't like to cook dinner, Tony does it for you), the Shadow Lake Club (swim & tennis club), and starting a Democratic Club (little did I know I was only one of a few Dems in town.
My kids went to Ramapo High School, in the mid-to-late 80s. Unknown to me at the time was something called "The Wall." It was a gathering place where kids could buy/deal pot. Now, although I didn't try pot until I was in my 20s (ugh), I was well aware that kids are going to experiment with a lot of things parents don't necessarily approve of. Although I was always worried about how drugs might affect my kids --- peer pressure, getting in with the wrong crowd --- I felt secure that while they might try pot, they wouldn't "use" it. Today is an entirely different world --- one I would come to find out when my dear friends' daughter passed away very suddenly.
I was stunned (and so out of touch) to learn that heroin had replaced pot as today's high school students' drug of choice. I learned that somehow heroin is cheaper and easier to get than pot, and provides a longer-lasting high. As I write this, I still can't believe it. The people who sell this drug apparently "cut it" with something that makes it more dangerous to the user, but more profitable for the distributor. And teenagers think, as they always have, that they are invulnerable --- that they know how to use drugs carefully, and in doing so they won't get hooked. Even in the 60s, we were petrified of drugs like heroin. All we knew was people we idolized, like Jimi Hendrix and Janice Joplin, were rich and smart, and they died using heroin. How is it today's kids don't seem to have those fears? And what are the schools, towns, counties and states doing about it?
I read almost everyday about NJ Governor Christie's escapades, but not once have I heard him talk about the epidemic that is killing our children. I don't give a damn about his bridge scandal; that isn't killing anyone. Where is the outrage?
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