Posted on 01/25/2002 12:11:36 PM PST by LoneGreenEyeshade
New Jersey, Love It or Leave It---I left it but still love it.
You know you are from Noo Jersey if:
1. You've been seriously injured at Action Park.
2. You don't think of citrus when people mention "The Oranges"..
3. You know that it's called Great Adventure, not Six Flags. .
4. You've ordered a hard roll with butter for breakfast. .
5. You've known the way to Seaside Heights since you were seven. .
6. You've eaten at a diner at 3 a.m. .
7. You remember that the "Two Guys" were from Harrison. .
8. You know that the state isn't one big oil refinery. .
9. At last three people in your family still love Bruce Springsteen and you know what town Jon Bon Jovi is from. .
10. You know what a "jug handle" is. .
11. You know that a WaWa is a convenience store. .
12. You know that the state isn't all farmland. .
13. You know that there are no "beaches" in New Jersey - there's "The Shore", and you know that the road to the shore is "The Parkway", not the "Garden State Highway"..
14. You know that "Piney" isn't referring to a tree. .
15. Even your school cafeteria made good Italian subs. And you call it a "Sub" not a "submarine sandwich" or worse yet, a "hoagy" or a "hero"..
16. You remember the song from the Palisades Park commercials. .
17. You know how to properly negotiate a Circle. .
18. You knew that the last question had to do with driving. .
19. You know that this is the only "New..." state that doesn't require "New" to identify it (like, try...Mexico, ...York, ...Hampshire - doesn't work, does it?) .
20. You only go to New York City for day trips, and you only call it "The City"..
21. You know that a "White Castle" is the name of BOTH a fast food chain AND a fast food sandwich. .
22. You consider a corned beef sandwich with lettuce and mayo a sacrilege. .
23. In the 80's, you wore your hair REALLY high. .
24. You don't think "What exit" is very funny. .
25. You know that the first "strip shopping center" in the country is Route 22. .
26. You know that people from 609 area code are "a little different"..
27. You know that no respectable New Jerseyan goes to Princeton - that's for out-of-staters. .
28. The Jets-Giants game has started fights at your school or local bar. .
29. You live within 20 minutes of at least three different malls. .
30. You can see the Manhattan skyline from some part of your town. .
31. You refer to all highways and interstates by their numbers. .
32. Every year, you had a least one kid in your class named Tony. .
33. You know where every "clip" shown in the Sopranos opening credits is. .
34. You've gotten on the wrong highway trying to get out of the Willowbrook Mall. .
35. You've been to at least one mall in Paramus. .
36. You Know that people form North Jersey to go Seaside Heights, and people from South Jersey go to Wildwood. It can't be the other way around. .
37. You were not raised in New Jersey. You were raised in either North Jersey, Central Jersey or South Jersey. .
38. You don't consider Newark or Camden to actually be part of the state. .
39. You remember the stores Korvette's, Rickel's, Channel, Bamburger's and Orbach's. .
40. You've eaten a Boardwalk cheesteak with vinegar fries. .
41. You start planning for Memorial Day weekend in February. .
And finally... .
42. You've never pumped your own gas.
Took me a couple of days to get used to that concept too. If you want to turn left on a major road, you need to move over to the right lane.
I guess the part of New Jersey I live in is still a lot like you seem to remember. I've been bowled over by how inteconnected our neighborhood is. Everyone knows everyone else and everything that is going on with them, it seems.
And it's peaceful out here too. I guess it depends on where you go in New Jersey. There are still some good places out here.
BTW, as for item 12, until I moved out here, I didn't know there was ANY farmland in New Jersey, let alone how much there is. The western end of Morris County and just about all of Warren seems to be covered with it. It's really nice out here.
My thoughts exactly. There's a lot of difference between Warren, Sussex, or Hunterdon counties and Bergen, Essex, Union, and Passaic counties. ;-)
By the way, I just came back from a trip into Newark today. Ugh -- how I hate that city. However, I hate all big cities, so it's not that unusual.
Anyway, I was driving down the main street (Broad Street, I think it was, but I'm not sure), and it just struck me how the Prudential building sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest of the dirt-colored buildings. I think that they intentionally built that thing from the whitest stone possible just so it could put the rest of the city to shame.
Also, why would such a big corporation such as Prudential want to base itself in Newark, anyway? They must of gotten quite a tax break.
But, hey, as lifetime Jerseyan, I love this state, even though most of it seems to be a cesspool. It does grow on you.
That's because Paramus is in Bergen county. The Dutch who settled in Bergen county, have saddled it's people with blue laws which prevent sale of most items on Sunday. Since Every thing is closed on Sunday, they put the disclaimer 'except in Paramus'.
For More NJ oddities, check out this link:
Bill
I moved to Panorama City, within 14 miles of my job out there once, thinking at least the commute would be ok. I worked at UCLA at the time. It still took me an hour or more each day to get to work. We spent the whole year we lived there looking for somewhere else to live. The worst that year was New Year's when instead of the occasional and irregular pop and bang from idiots shooting rifles and pistols into the air, I was awakened to the very very regular pop-pop-pop-pop-pop of someone firing what had to be an AK-47!
I rode my bike to work one day up and over Sepulveda Pass and it took an hour and fifteen minutes. I figured out that the reason the traffic stops on the 405 over Sepulveda Pass is tradition. We stop there because we always stop there. (It would jam up there at 2:00PM on a Saturday!)
Anyway, in my experience with traffic, the closest thing I've seen out here to Los Angeles area traffic was the two weeks this past year when I-80 was shut down both directions because the fire from a crash of three fuel trucks severely weakened an overpass. In fact, that was the event I thought of when I read the entry on your list about finding three different ways to get someplace to avoid traffic.
Growing up, I always thought there was something wrong with Paramus.
And now I see I was right!!!
If it is the one I think it is, it is still there --- almost under the Parkway? !Small!, but packs a wallop with those eggs fried in a pound of butter on an iron skillet. I can see the name --- but I can't think of it for the life of me!!!! I've only eaten there a couple of times, but my husband considers it the diner of diners!
I was born and raised there until aged 13. I went back to my roots and work at the local hospital now as an RN. So it you ever get hurt in that town, go to the hospital and ask for me, I'll take care of you:)
Oh come on, you're kidding right? Ashley's was a night club right behind Rowemanse, next to the bowling alley. I used to go to "teen night" there all the time.
Oh, yeah...well, I'll keep bumping you so you can be lurkin', lurkin', lurkin' and I won't take it personal when you don't return the bumps.
Good luck and good health, my FRiend...MUD
That's the place! A true Jersey Classic.
To the Poconos? That bastion of heart shaped culture? Right.
LOL, that's very good. It is the bastion of heart shaped culture, I love this, it's brilliant! SO glad I skipped to the last, so I could see this. The Pocanos, Beautiful country, horrible culture.
I'm a native of the Big Apple, very happily living in Bayonne. It's a very patriotic NJ town, that still has the old values many crave. If my daughter manages to get through the High School (definately a weak link) and into college, I'll give Bayonne high marks for a great upbringing for her.
Thanks New Jersey, from a NY refugee!
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