Edelstein may have grown up in Parsippany, but he considers himself a true-blue Mercer County man these days. A 1995 graduate of Rider University, Edelstein moved down here for good in 1999 when he accepted a position at The Trentonian.
Through the years, he’s held numerous positions at the paper, but the one he’s held he’s always wanted since he was a kid and first discovered the musings of syndicated columnist Dave Barry. Today, Edelstein says there’s no difference between him and Barry except for the latter’s collection of Pulitzer Prizes, best-selling books, and the sitcom based on his life.
In addition to his work at The Trentonian, Edelstein is also an adjunct instructor in the communications department at Rider. He’s been teaching there since 2004. He’s also dabbled in radio as a fill-in host on NJ 101.5, and he spent nearly three years on Fox 5 New York, where his columns came to life in a weekly segment he wrote, produced, and starred in called “Growls From the Man Cave.”
Married to his wife Kelly for 14 years and father to three small children, he’s looking forward to continuing to make his life in his adopted county. He’s grown too accustomed to tomato pie, calling that sinful morning treat pork roll instead of Taylor Ham, and he’s f nally mastered the Whitehorse Circle no matter which direction he’s coming from.
Describe your morning routine.
My mornings start with either my 1-year-old screaming or my 4 or 6-year-old climbing into bed with me and my wife. If any of this happens any time after
6 a.m., I consider it a success. From there, it’s downstairs, coffee, help get the kids ready for school, more coffee, shower, out the door. Hectic. Sometimes even fun.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Easily my favorite part is getting response from my columns. Happy responses, that is. I could do without the bad ones! But getting a note from someone and having them let me know that they got a kick out of something I wrote? That’s great. There’s also been plenty of times when I’ve actually been able to help someone out, right a wrong, because I had the power of the paper behind me. Feels good to be able to do that.
What are the qualities of a successful person in your industry?
It takes all types, but I’ll go back to what I said earlier: Honesty and trust both play a huge role.
What is your idea of a perfect day?
Used to be an old Elmore Leonard paperback, a beach chair, and maybe a cocktail or two. These days it’s different with the kids. When they have their perfect days, those are my perfect days. Still love Elmore, though. And the beach. And a cocktail or two.
How do you wind down at the end of a busy day or week?
There are nights when my wife and I won’t eat dinner with the kids, and after they go to bed, we’ll eat at a leisurely pace instead of stuffing food in our mouth between refereeing the action. That’s the best wind down I’ve got going these days!
What is one skill you would like to master, other than your own?
I was going to say “woodworking,” but I’d never work any wood. I suppose I would like to learn how to code. Probably keep me relevant in another decade or two.
What leisure activities occupy your time away from work?
Again, with the kids, my leisure activities usually revolve around them these days. But we’ve turned them, a bit. We can spend the day in Princeton, walking around, hitting a few parks, grabbing lunch. Not a character in a furry suit in sight. When I manage to sneak away—you know, tell my wife I had to work and stuff—well, I do love a good book. Including Elmore up there, some other favorite authors are Kim Stanley Robinson and Robert Charles Wilson, a couple of sci-fi writers.
Something people don’t know about me is—
That at my core, I’m actually an introvert. Weird career choice, newspaper columnist, but it’s true. I’m not, nor ever have been, the life of the party. I prefer small gatherings to large soirees. Name three things you need to survive on a desert island. A solid Wi-Fi connection, good pizza, and … actually, that’s it. I’d be good to go.