We Don't Pump Our Own Gas in New Jersey

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[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.

[Huck]

Sounds great. The Olympics and the Cascades. Both very beautiful ranges. Went all the way out to the Straits of Juan de Fuco several years ago, at the utmost western tip of Washington. Now I'm headed for the Rockies to put down roots. Buttered rolls ain't worth the hassle.

[discostu]

You got lazy friends in Michigan. They came out in the freezer here (Tucson is where I live now, Chicago will always be home though), bought one of the first ones for the trip down memory lane, not the same though.

What kind of nicknames do you guys have for them in Jersey? Back home we called them sliders, greaser, gut bombs and mighty whitey onebites.

[Focault's Pendulum]

I live so far south in Jersey Gas Stations won't take my used oil.

Run over to Gandys Beach and float it over to Delaware.

[LoneGreenEyeshade]

brought me here to Seattle 30 years ago

I grew up in North Jersey. Moved to Tacoma a few months ago. Photographed elk in the Hoh rain forest on the Olympic pennisula two days ago. I'm never going back (except to visit my kids!) Rain and all, I love it here!!!

[Archaeus]

...Boardwalk cheesteak with vinegar fries...

Mmmmmm...

Watch the tram car...watch watch watch the tram car please.

[Atticus]

I'd replace #9 with "You think Bruce Springsteen is a sell-out (but you'd wait on line to see him anyway)".

Also add, "You have at least one neighbor who is reputed to be 'connected.'"

[Cagey]

Great Post!

You know you're from the Jers if you recognize this guy in Asbury Park.

[gridlock]

BTW, they are going to replace the World's first cloverleaf intersection, in Woodbridge NJ, at the intersection of 1 and 35. It just doesn't have the capacity to keep up with the flow of traffic anymore. That and the fact that the acceleration lanes are about 10 feet long.

From the Woodbridge, NJ government home page:

In 1929, the first Safety Engineered Super Highway intersection was built at the intersection of US Rt. 1 and NJ Rt. 35 in Woodbridge. We believe this to be the first such intersection built in the United States or the world. It was known as the Woodbridge Cloverleaf. When the NJ Turnpike opened in 1951, it created the famous intersection with the Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge. (Known locally as the Spaghetti Bowl)

[deadhead]

What kind of nicknames do you guys have for them in Jersey? Back home we called them sliders, greaser, gut bombs and mighty whitey onebites.

We call the belly burners :-)

[muggs]

But, I wonder, who sells the most "White Castles." I used to ship them to friends in Michigan. And yes, you can buy them in the freezer case too although I do not approve except in cases of extreme emergency!

I'm not from NJ, but I know White Castles. My husband bought me 2 of them the other night. Two, just two, can you imagine, just two of those little things. Sheesh.

[AlaskaErik]

42. You've never pumped your own gas.

I was there about seven years ago and I pumped my own gas at the big Exxon station.

[js1138]

Does turning right in order to turn left count?

[LoneGreenEyeshade]

The Hoh Rain Forest has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. I was there two days ago. The weather was bad, snow and rain and ice. But, having been raised in Northern NJ, a little bad weather does not stop me. I was, quite honestly, the only person in the park. I did not see another human being. I spent over an hour sitting in the middle of a herd of elk, nervously clicking my camera. Some of the most beautiful shots I have ever taken and I have been a nature photograper for 20 years. If I had seen a photo first, I would have thought it was something that was created for a sci-fi movie in Hollywood. Drapping moss on huge, really huge, trees, with ferns, BIG ferns growing on the limbs, all dusted with snow. Pristine beauty that even my photos do not begin to convey. Can't wait to go back! Thought I would today, but I am looking out the window as it is snowing here in Tacoma. A rare event for this elevation. I would make the drive, but the park may be closed.

[Tiger28]

What kind of nicknames do you guys have for them in Jersey?

Murder Burgers! PS- love this list LGE!- I am from Oakland NJ-i left 10 years ago and now i am back (well, closeby in NY state)

[FatherFig1o155]

My friends called them "Belly Bombers."

Question is, how many would you order? I think our record was, like, 26.

[LoneGreenEyeshade]

Does turning right in order to turn left count?

Ah yes, THE JUG HANDLE. Unless of course you are at the Eastern end of 22, where you may turn left in order to go right, depending on whether or not you just missed the entrance you were looking for and need to cut through one of the parking lots in the median to turn around!

[Teacup]

I left NJ in June. I lived there for 2 1/2 years.

You have to bag your on groceries too. That freaked me out, LOL. In California you pump your own gas, and your food gets baged by a a bag boy. And what's with the "No U Turns?" Those "Jug Handles" drove me nuts! I still liked it there.

[LoneGreenEyeshade]

I think our record was, like, 26.

We ordered by the "bag", not the "burger." 3 doz was my limit---usually over two shifts!

[LoneGreenEyeshade]

Here in Tacoma, the first time I went grocery shopping, a young man actually took my bags to the car. And I'm a young, healthy woman!!!! (Well, sort of young---at least no gray hair yet!) I was suspicious and carefully eased my mace into my pocket!!!

And do you know that here when you ask where something is located in a store, the helpful employees actually walk you to the item. They stop what they are doing and cheerfully walk you to what you need. Unheard of in NJ!!!!!

[LoneGreenEyeshade]

now i am back

I visit from time to time. I have teenage kids that live with there Dad in Central NJ. My son visited here in Washington over the Holidays. He can't wait to come back in a few weeks. The pace here is really different and the people have time to smile!!!!