Please Don’t Let Me Keep You

And every time I’ve held a rose

It seems I only felt the thorns

And so it goes, and so it goes

And so will you soon I suppose

When someone departs this life, the first question is, “How old were they?”

The answer, if they were older than 80 is always the same, “Oh, they lived a good, long life.”

Carmen E. Arizmendi – December 22, 1940 to August 4, 2025 – passed away early Monday. She is a part of The Pear Tree Project’s Family. She was, is, and always will be our CPO Nyvia’s beloved mom.

Below we will continue our summer format of writing about the week’s past events. 

It will be brief. 

You may have heard this a thousand times, but today, please dedicate some time to remind those who inspire you, support you, reflect on your love, provide laughter, and help your song take flight – of their imperativeness.

And to you Carmencita ~   

“If tears could build a stairway,and memories a lane, I’d walk right up to Heaven and bring you home again.”

Saturday ~ This was not a music event; it was a deviation from the norm and an entrance into the sublime Greenwood Gardens, a 28-acre public garden surrounded by 2,110 acres of Essex County Park System’s South Mountain Reservation. The Gardens were a private estate until 2003, when the Blanchard family decided to transform them into a public garden.

Astride the western ridge of the Watchung Mountains and overlooking a vast preserve of forest and meadow, Greenwood is a contemporary garden and historic site rooted in the arts and crafts and classical approaches to garden design. With Italianate garden terraces, grottoes, meandering moss-covered paths, allées of London plane and spruce trees, ornamental trees and shrubs, and wildflower meadows, Greenwood Gardens is a place of horticultural excellence. (Pictures to follow in upcoming blogs).

Friday ~ The Winfield Carnival returned from Wednesday, July 30th, through Saturday, August 2nd.

Now in its 74th year, this annual carnival was held by the Winfield Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Squad and featured exciting rides for all ages, delicious food, (including zeppoles, which I consumed an entire bag of – mmmm dough that is fried and sugared in plentiful powder), games & prizes, beer tents, and more.

Sunday ~ The Sunday Summer Jazz Series @ the Gazebo, on Springfield Avenue in Maplewood began in 2022, with the inaugural event taking place on July 24th. The series ran for three Sundays that year, ending on August 7th. In 2023, the series returned on Sunday, July 23rd. Thank goodness for small favors, and this event certainly defines that old adage.

Lynette Sheard Live featuring the Glenn Merritt Quartet with Glenn Merritt on keys, Alan Hayes on bass, Scotty Phunky Jordan on drums and John Dubose on sax, intoxicated the crowd during the quickly fading weekend hours. (Pictured above is Lynette and the band).

Did You Know? Winfield Township in Union County, New Jersey, was established in 1941 as a federal housing project for defense workers. It was formed from portions of Clark and Linden townships. The town’s unique origin as a defense housing project led to its incorporation as a separate municipality, a distinction not shared by any other similar project in the state. (We will be performing a deeper dive into the enigma which is Winfield Park in upcoming newsletters).