You Know You're From New Jersey....

[Chuck Smith]

I think I posted this once before, someplace "else"...

This is for lifelong New Jerseyans. It's a bit long, but I think you will enjoy it.

_ Ode to New Jersey

__ New Jersey is a peninsula.

__ Highlands, New Jersey has the highest elevation along the entire eastern seaboard, from Maine to Florida.

__ New Jersey is the only state where all of its counties are classified as metropolitan areas.

__ New Jersey has more race horses than Kentucky.

__ New Jersey has more Cubans in Union City (1 sq. mi.) than Havana, Cuba.

__ New Jersey has the most dense system of highways and railroads in the US.

__ New Jersey has the highest cost of living.

__ New Jersey has the highest cost of auto insurance.

__ New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation.

__ New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the Diner Capital of the World

__ New Jersey is home to the original mystery pork parts chub (no,not spam) Taylor Ham or Pork Roll.

__ Home to the less mysterious, but the best, Italian hot dogs and Italian sausage w/peppers and onions.

__ North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world, with seven major shopping malls in a 25 square mile radius.

__ New Jersey is home to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

__ The Passaic River was the site of the first submarine ride by inventor John P. Holland.

__ New Jersey has 50+ resort cities & towns, some of the nations' most famous: Asbury Park, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, Long Branch &Cape May.

__ New Jersey has the most stringent testing along our coastline for Water Quality Control than any other seaboard state in the entire country.

__ New Jersey is a leading technology & industrial state and is the largest chemical producing state in the nation when you include pharmaceuticals..

__ Jersey tomatoes are known the world over as being the best you can buy.

__ New Jersey is the world leader in blueberry and cranberry production
(and here you thought Massachusetts?)

__ Here's to New Jersey - the toast of the country! In 1642, the first brewery in America opened in Hoboken.

__ New Jersey rocks! The famous Les Paul invented the first solid body electric guitar in Mahwah in 1940.

__ New Jersey is a major seaport state with the largest seaport in the US, located in Elizabeth. Nearly 80% of what our nation imports comes through Elizabeth Seaport first.

__ New Jersey is home to one of the nation's busiest airports at Newark Liberty International.

__ George Washington slept here. Several important Revolutionary War battles were fought on New Jersey soil, led by General George Washington.

__ The light bulb, phonograph (record player) and motion picture projector, were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park, NJ laboratory, and mass produced in West Orange.

__ We also boast the first town ever lit by incandescent bulbs.

__ The first seaplane was built in Keyport, NJ.

__ The first airmail (to Chicago) was started from Keyport, NJ.

__ The first phonograph records were made in Camden, NJ.

__ New Jersey is home to the Miss America Pageant held in Atlantic City.

__ The game Monopoly, played all over the world, named the streets on their playing board after the actual streets in Atlantic City.

__ And, Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world.

__ New Jersey has the largest petroleum containment area outside of the Middle East countries.

__ The first Indian reservation was in New Jersey, in the Watchung Mountains.

__ New Jersey has the tallest water-tower in the world. (Union, NJ!!!)

__ New Jersey had the first Medical Center, in Jersey City.

__ The Pulaski SkyWay, from Jersey City to Newark, was the first skyway highway.

__ NJ built the first tunnel under a river, the Hudson. (Holland Tunnel).

__ The first baseball game was played in Hoboken, NJ, which is also the birthplace of Frank Sinatra.


__ The first intercollegiate football game was played in New Brunswick in 1889. (Rutgers College played Princeton.)

__ The first Drive-in Movie theater was opened in Camden, NJ, (but they're all gone now!)

__ New Jersey is home to both of "NEW YORK'S " Pro Football Teams!

__ The first radio station and broadcast was in Paterson, NJ.

__ The first FM radio broadcast was made from Alpine, NJ, by Maj.Thomas Armstrong.

__ All New Jersey natives: Sal Martorano, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jason Alexander, Queen Latifa, Susan Sarandon, Connie Francis, Shaq, Judy Blume, Aaron Burr, Joan Robertson, Ken Kross, Dionne Warwick, Sarah Vaughn, Budd Abbott, Lou Costello, Alan Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, Marilynn
McCoo, James Gandolfini, Flip Wilson, Alexander Hamilton, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money,Linda
McElroy, Eileen Donnely, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Walt Whitman, Jerry Lewis, Tom
Cruise, Richard Wojewodzki, Joyce Kilmer, Bruce Willis, Caesar Romero, Lauryn Hill, Ice-T, Nick_ Adams, Nathan Lane, Sandra Dee, Danny DeVito, Richard Conti, Joe Pesci,Joe Piscopo, Robert Blake,John Forsyth, Meryl Streep, Loretta Swit, Norman Lloyd, Paul Simon,Jerry Herman, Gorden McCrae,Kevin Spacey,
John Travolta, Phyllis Newman, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Eva Marie Saint, Elisabeth Shue, Zebulon Pike, James Fennimore Cooper, Admiral Wm.Halsey,Jr., Dave Thomas(Wendy's), William Carlos Williams, Ray Liotta, Robert Wuhl, Bob Reyers, Paul Robeson, Ernie Kovacs, Joseph Macchia and of course.........Frank Albert Sinatra, Jeff Friedman and "Uncle Floyd" Vivino.

__ You know you're from Jersey when....

__ You don't think of fruit when people mention "The Oranges".

__ You know that it's called Great Adventure, not Six Flags.

__ A good, quick breakfast is a hard roll with butter.

__ You've known the way to Seaside Heights since you were seven.

__ You've eaten at a Diner, when you were stoned or drunk, at 3a.m.


__ You know that the state isn't one big oil refinery.

__ At least three people in your family still love Bruce Springsteen and you know the town Jon Bon Jovi is from.

__ You know what a "jug handle" is.

__ You know that WaWa is a convenience store.

__ You know that the state isn't all farmland.

__ You know that there are no "beaches" in New Jersey -there's the shore and you don't go to the shore, you go "down the Shore". And when you are there, you're not "at the shore", you are "down the Shore".

__ You know how to properly negotiate a Circle.

__ You knew that the last sentence had to do with driving.

__ 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?)

__ You know that a "White Castle" is the name of BOTH a fast food chain AND a fast food sandwich.

You consider putting mayo on a corned beef sandwich a sacrilege.

_ You don't think "What exit?" is very funny.

__ You know that people from the 609 area code are "a little different". (Yes they are!)

__ You know that no respectable New Jerseyan goes to Princeton -that's for out-of-staters.

__ The Jets-Giants game has started fights at your school or localbar.

__ You live within 20 minutes of at least three different malls.

__ You refer to all highways and interstates by their numbers.

__ Every year you have at least one kid in your class named Tony.

__ You know the location of every clip shown in the Sopranos opening credits.

__ You've gotten on the wrong highway trying to get out of the mall..

__ You know that people from North Jersey go to Seaside Heights, and people from Central Jersey go to Belmar and people from South Jersey go to Wildwood. It can be no other way.

__ You weren't raised in New Jersey -- you were raised in either_ North Jersey, Central Jersey or South Jersey.

__ You don't consider Newark or Camden to actually be part of the state.


__ You remember the stores Korvette's, Two Guys, Rickel's, Channel, Caldor's, Woolworths, Bamberger's and Orbach's.

__ You also remember Palisades Amusement Park.

__ You've had a Boardwalk cheese steak and vinegar fries.

__ You start planning for Memorial Day weekend in February.

__ And finally...

__ You've NEVER, NEVER pumped your own gas!

~Chuck

[Honest Mike]

Yep, those are all true too Chuck. I got that samething in an e-mail the other day. It was a good read I thought, I learned alot from it too. :) Mike :)

[jakegypsum]

Yep! I just received that same list via email back in December.
It does make one think. There are a lot of things pertaining to "Jersey" that most do not know. Gotta love those tomatoes. The taxes are a different story. Jake.

[90plow]

NJ! haha yea thats us in a nutshell. Jake where are you from in NJ? Is that your company that delivers the sheet rock?
Eric

[jakegypsum]

Eric, Yes it is. It's a family business that I grew up in. Been there since day one.
As for location, I'm just outside of Atlantic City. Jake.

[Honest Mike]

Oh, you're way down south then. Im northern. Im in East Hanover. You are like exit 37 off the GSP and Im exit 145. Hey wasnt that in the list above? Something about NJ people use exits to say where they are from? :D You will probably get more snow out of this upcoming storm than we will up in northern NJ. Mike :)

[jakegypsum]

Hey Mike

Yep, I'm on the south end of the Parkway. Exit 36 actually which is 1/2 mile further south. (Same area anyway).
I do come across the "exit jokes" from time to time. The first time I heard that joke was when Joe Piscapo used it on Saturday Night Live back in the early 80's.
It does sound like we are going to get something down here. Either way I'll be ready. Several of our accts need to be cleared reguardless of amount. (Medical building complexes).
I had one customer call about clearing a parking lot just after the dusting that we had yesterday. All you needed was a landscaper's blower :grinz . Go figure. Jake.

[chtucker]

and don't you always pay a toll to leave the state? (Never to get in)

[BRL]

Yep, we're gald to pay to get the heck outta here, but they couldn't ever get people to pay to come here ;)

[jakegypsum]

It is kind of a bite in the butt for all of the tourists who leave after a long weekend down at the shore. Imagine, you have your vehicle packed to the hilt, the family all piled in, your tired and your cash has dwindled down from all the good times. It still can be a bit of a suprise even though you have know of the toll for years.
It hits me the other way. I travel to PA all of the time. Work and play. We pick up building materials weekly. I go to Phila to see ball games and shows. It see the toll complex as I'm leaving and there is nothing to pay. It's almost like, "Get out of here crazy Jersey driver", lol. Just kidding.

Jake.