Tales From 2nd Street

Joe is a "thirty something" Middle school Guidance Counselor, Coach, Volunteer Firefighter and occasional Bartender. Needless to say, he is an active member of his community. Joe is passionate about his role as protector and guide for his middle school kids.  Joe has avoided involvement in political matters and prefers to keep his views to himself. He finds political squabbling depressin...

What happens when a Financial Advisor at retirement age decides to leave the rat race to seek new meaning in life? Joe Scrocca hangs up his pinstripes and embarks on a career as a standup comic! With no comedy experience to speak of, he starts out with a stint at a Biker Bar then finds himself sharing the stage with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld at the Gotham Comedy Club in Manhattan. Joe shows us w...

A self-starting high school student embarks on a career as a restauranteur beginning as a dishwasher in a Japanese restaurant. Listen to Jay's story as he describes chasing his dream through assorted challenges including Hurricane Sandy and a pandemic named COVID. He found a former restaurant on Ocean City NJ's noted Asbury Ave, purchased it, reinvented it and the rest is history. Listen...

Chapter 3, takes us through Helen's teen years as she learns to cope with her powerful  extra sensory abilities. She didn't apply for her "gift," in fact she sometimes regarded her enhanced sensorium as a curse. Her birth provided the "on" switch and there was no off button. Purely the luck of the draw. We are all born with qualities and abilities we did not apply for...

Helen Moloney was endowed with a condition known as "accelerated empathy." She grew to understand how her special empathy worked and how she fit within her strange condition. Listen to part 2 in the story of the evolution of this remarkable young woman.   

Helen is a true Seer. She has been called a Fortune Teller but she refutes that characterization.  Helen is an Accelerated Empath where her gift provides her the ability to experience others at an unusually intense level. We are presenting her story in a serialized format and hope to introduce you to a unique and formidable young woman.

In late 2024, drones were plaguing the East coast of the United States. This phenomenon was casting a sparkling shawl over the state of New Jersey. Explanations for the explosion of night fliers ranged from hobbyists to Space Aliens, with the most extreme from a Federal legislator who  announced that a nefarious Iranian "mother ship" was off the coast serving as their launching and retri...

This is a true story and as is often the case,  truth can be stranger than fiction. I am an Irish Jew by birth, but was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition, in a predominantly German neighborhood, in post WWII Philadelphia...ach du what the hell!? Growing up, my buddies and I were always fascinated by emergent trends, often informed by hatred and ignorance. Sometimes  the prejudice targeted the...

Frank Allen, aka Boy of the Beach, safely returned from his service in Korea to rejoin his life in Ocean City. Listen as Frank  shares his experiences with us as he readjusts to civilian life.  

The late 60's and early 70's were in Aquarius. Change was in the air. What was usual and  accepted as the norm, was under scrutiny. We were in for a crash course in riding without training wheels. The  Age of Aquarius...what a ride!

A night out, a bolt from the blue.... what more could you ask for? More Natty and Joey in Chapter 4 of Natty and the Electricians. We are calling this episode: "Flying Saucers and Fish Sticks." Enjoy.

Frank was born and raised in an island community at the end of 1920's. We were interested in his experiences as an "islander," particularly in the so called "off-season." As we spoke, it became clear that his interests were elsewhere. Here is his story.

Episode 3 of the Natty and the Electricians series. It's not every day that you receive texts from a source that describes itself as extra-terrestrial. As Natty's buddy Joey wonders: "Is it the Russkies or some kid from over in PA.?" Listen and learn.

BFFs Natty and Joey, continue to trying to determine the origin of strange text messages appearing on a highly secure  emergency monitoring system. The sender appears to be a stranded traveler. The boys are at once thrilled and fearful of what they might discover.

Natty Pinski is a latter day Vulcan. He and his best friend Joey have been accidentally drawn into a relationship that strains credulity.  As a man with interests ranging from diseases of the Neanderthal to the evolution of HipHop in rural Scotland, he was as primed as any person could be, to confront the strange set of circumstances with which he was confronted. 

Strange and reassuring events can occur out of the blue, when you least expect. Like winning an emotional lottery!  Falling away may not be a bad thing after all. 

A story that tracks a relationship from cradle to grave...ish. Nicky and Joey are cousins as well as best friends. Following the twists and turns in their evolution proves  interesting, sometimes fun and at the end, tragic .

A brief homage to my favorite holiday: Hallowe'en. 

Summer at the Calypso!  A swim club as diverse as Captain Kirk's Enterprise.  We could have used a Scotty, but, its always something. Memories from summers past.

Did you  know that Monday's are  usually Plumbers' busiest days? Primarily because we DIYers love our weekend projects and have an overblown belief in our innate ability to fix stuff.  My Dad once decided that the gas range was in an inconvenient place in the kitchen. His last words before the explosion were, "...to hell with the plumber."  This tale is not in as critical a cat...

As Bill Murray warned in the movie, Meatballs, ",...the moon kills you know."  Well, I didn't know ... I also didn't know that doing a solid for a poor, solitary fern could send you into eternity. I wonder if Bill Murray knows that?  

Sometimes things get under your skin.  It's good to be able to talk about these kinds of irritants, but often a challenge to do so. Why?  Because people usually don't feel as strongly about other peoples' issues as they do.  Doug thought it would be good to speak with someone who cared...himself. 

Sometimes I have  the most vivid dreams.  Once, I remember dreaming that I had solved the very mystery of human existence. I awoke ecstatic,  knowing that I had knowledge foreign to the common human intellect. It was great until within seconds of awakening  that I had already forgotten the great unknowable.  What does this have to do with our story?  You'll see. Enjoy.   DS

It was a dark and stormy...what? Well you know, sometimes dark and stormy happens. Our story unfolds in the midst of one of those nights. No murder or mayhem. The storm  was the matrix where everything was happening.  Joey and Kelly decided to gamble fledgling careers  on a principle that today would maybe raise an eyebrow.  When is it acceptable to cry uncle?     

Sixty years makes a difference.  In retrospect,  time that passes seems like the blink of an eye, the flap of a sparrow's wing.  Ancient memories often appear clearer than things that happen or words  said 15 minutes earlier. Axons and dendrites. do their creaky dance clothed in robes, looking  like Father Time on New Year's Eve.  In this tale, our characters, "Sam & Jane"...