The Connections Bernards-Ridge June 2019

www.theconnectionsnj.com Celebrations & Events Serving European Style Pastries, Housemade Croissants & Breakfast Pastries, Wedding Cakes, Tarts, Cookies, Soups, Sandwiches, Quiches. All Cakes and Pastries Made from Scratch Menu Available Online Open 7 Days: Mon-Fri. 6:30 am - 5 pm, Sat. 7 am - 5 pm, Sun. 7 am - 3 pm 161 Main Street • Peapack, NJ 908.781.5554 www.cocoluxepastry.com @cocoluxefp Bought Elsewhere? Store with Us! • On Premises Cold Storage Vault • • Expert Cleaning, Repairs, and Remodels • • Guarino Family Owned and Operated since 1946! • REMODEL & RESTYLE SAVE WITH SUMMER PRICES PREPAY & SAVE STORAGE $ 51 95 ON ANY FUR, LEATHER OR SHEARLING REG. $56.95 Expires 6/30/19 GUARINO FUR SERVICES +TAX Mon - Sat 10:00-5:30 Thurs 10:00-7:00 Sunday 12:00-5:00 No Trades or Additional Discounts. Expires 6/30/19. All Furs labeled to show country of origin. COMPLETE REMODEL SPECIAL 20 % COMPLETE REMODEL Jackets, Vests, Liners Capes and more! Excludes prior purchases. Can be combined with other discounts or coupons. Expires 6/30/19 OFF -TAKE- All Full Skin Sheared Mink Jackets and 3/4’s 50 % 25 % Market Value Prices No trades or Additional Discounts. Ends 6/30/19 OFF OFF Less Less In my early teens, I played in a monthly poker game with five friends. Our high stakes betting con- sisted of chips worth pennies, nick- els, and dimes. All of us, except our friend David, would start the evening by opening our wallets, retrieving two or three one-dollar bills and exchanging them for chips. David, however, stored his poker money in a beautiful, handmade, lac- quer puzzle box, like the one pic- tured. Opening the box was the puz- zle. It required a precise set of steps, moving slim panels, embedded in the ends of the box, to the left or right or up or down. As best as I recall, David made well over 20 moves to get his box open. Closing the box required executing the steps exactly in reverse. Since graduating high school, I’ve seen David once, at a high school reunion. David has lived in California for many years, working as an ani- mator at Disney Studios. About five years ago we exchanged emails, as I was looking for help from his broth- er, a filmmaker, in researching my family tree, as we had a possible branch in Hollywood (but that’s another story). This past March, my wife, Abby, and I visited Japan on a vacation. It is an amazing country, which I didn’t fully appreciate when I visited on business a few times many years ago. One leg of our trip took us into the mountains near Hakone, about 75 miles from Tokyo. During our stay there, our guide, Yoshie-san, took us to a shop, Hamamatsuya, where a 7th generation craftsman, about 60 years old, showed us the method he uses to layer different types and col- ors of wooden strips. He uses them to create parquet patterns from which he makes an assortment of artistic and functional pieces. After the demonstration, Abby and I browsed his shop. Among the items for sale were a variety of puzzle boxes requiring anywhere from 4 to 72 steps to unlock. I remarked to Abby that my friend David had such a box when we were growing up. When we got back to our hotel that afternoon, Abby posted some scenic pictures on Facebook in which she commented about Japan and tagged me, which caused her postings to be visible to my Facebook friends as well. Later that day, David, who is my Facebook friend, made a one-word comment, “Tokyo?” I wondered if it was the father or grandfather of the artisan Abby and I met, that made his poker puzzle box 50 years ago. CLOSING A BOX OPENED 50 YEARS AGO By: Dan Rosenberg PAGE 50