A Night for Scholars and the Mets

The theme of last night’s Toms River Student Loan Fund Recognition Dinner was supposed to be the honoring of the 19 current Teachers of the Year in the Toms River Regional School District along with three outstanding high school seniors.

It actually was although the Master of Ceremonies made it sound like the evening centered on ending everything by 8:07 p.m. which just happened to be the scheduled first pitch of game five of the Mets-Dodgers National League Playoff Series. Sometimes things come together perfectly on all accounts.

Without rushing matters or taking away from the honorees yours truly said good night and drove home safely in time for me to get home just after first pitch. More than three hours later I screamed in ecstasy when Jeurys Familia struck out Howie Kendrick to clinch a gut-wrenching 3-2 victory as for the first time in franchise history the Mets won a series-deciding game on the road.

Boy did it get quiet in Dodger Stadium in a hurry.

I will be honest in that I did not enjoy the game at all as being a Mets fan I live in the “glass is half-empty world” and just kept waiting for something  bad to happen. I was so pumped up when the game ended I could not sleep and watch the post-game show until after midnight. I will pay dearly for that today.

As for the Student Loan Fund Dinner, it was a nice evening which saw Toms River Schools Superintendent David Healy and Toms River Education Association President Kathy Egan help honor the teachers. However what really stood out were the brief speeches given by seniors Kathleen Keogh of Toms River East, Megan Green of North and South’s Kevin Amici. The three were chosen by their guidance departments as ideal representatives of their school and community and gave impressive speeches about their education, teachers and experiences. They were then presented with $500 each to help with their college costs by Student Loan Fund President Peter VanDyke. All that and we ended by 8:07pm.

22 football games around the Shore Conference this weekend with the biggest being a game for the bragging rights of Red Bank as the Bucs host the RBC Caseys in a matchup of undefeated teams that has stirred a lot of passion among students, faculty and alumni. That is our Jersey Mike’s Game of the Week on the Shore Sports Network powered this week by the Shrewsbury office of Gloria Nilson Real Estate.