02-20-2002, 12:15 AM
Thanks for French Bread Pizza for bringing this to my attention...
<font size="3">The Book of Steele: NJ is heaven with a couple of smokestacks</font>
by Nick Alexopulos
Greyhound columnist
I would try not to make a baseless blanket statement and designate myself as spokesman for this issue, but I need to for dire reasons. Pay attention: Every New Jersey native is sick and tired of getting ridiculed by the rest of Loyola because we are "from New Jersey? What exit?"
Exit 8A off I-95 and damn proud of it, so shut your hole and go back to being bitter.
Not one day of college has passed that has been free of New Jersey jokes methodically hurled toward me from every direction by ignorant, other-state naysayers, and it is about time I took a public stand.
If you can still rag on us Jerseyites after reading this article, more power to you. But I just want to let you know one thing: You are wrong and we are not listening.
Why not start with the blasphemous fluff that most of us just tune out? People who do not live in Jersey will approach me with a single 'bust,' if you will, to start things off.
"New Jersey is dirty."
Gee, that is deep. I guess these are the people who consider all of Jersey to be four smoke stacks in Newark, the Turnpike and the set of The Sopranos.
Hey geniuses, there is more of New Jersey than you think. I would be willing to bet these are the same people who glance wide-eyed out of plane windows on transatlantic flights when the pilot announces, "We are now passing over the equator."
New Jersey does have a few "dirty" parts in its urban areas. But so does every other state, so show me the difference. Oh, I found it - people in N.J. figured out how to make the best use of a small area.
Wonder why New York state looks cleaner? Well, there is simply more mileage between the "dirty" parts. I'm sure New York would be beautiful if you squeezed everything into say, a tenth of the land area. Believe me, I've seen enough of New York to be sure that this idea holds water.
I chuckle whenever I hear someone attempt to support the myth of New Jersey's inferiority with reasons glorifying other states. One of my friends (after chanting "New Jersey is dirty") asked me, "What does New Jersey have besides crap?" I told him our beaches are awesome, and he laughed at me, stating that the N.J. shore is full of garbage.
This certain friend is from Illinois.
Yes, Illinois. Half the population of Illinois will never see a beach except for, as I was told, the gorgeous beaches of Lake Michigan.
Let's get something straight: Lake Michigan is not an ocean. It is a pathetic baby pool for Cubs fans. People from Illinois defending Lake Michigan are like people from Manitoba defending the Hudson Bay.
In New Jersey, we have oceanfront property that gives Pennsylvanians something to do over the summer besides visit the Amish. On the way to the shore, they can enjoy a stop at the highest-rated Great Adventure in the country - but I forgot, if it is 'good,' then it can't really be in Jersey.
Other states are associated with nothing but their largest city, but there's something special about every corner of New Jersey. That is why we say we're from "Jersey," unlike those faceless souls who boast being from "the Boston area."
Jerseyites, here is the rest of your ammo. Everyone else, try to compete.
N.J. is the headquarters for the Sarnoff Company (they invented the color TV).
It is the richest state in the nation, with an average income per household at $54,266 per year.
We have the cheapest gas and it is always full service.
The Jets and the Giants play home games in N.J. Bon Jovi, The Boss, Jack Nickolson, Danny Devito, Woodrow Wilson and Jay and Silent Bob are all from N.J.
Princeton University is one of the best colleges in the country overall (I hear their lacrosse team is pretty good, too).
N.J. residents are only an hour from NYC and 45 minutes from Philadelphia without the punishment of actually living in either place.
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in N.J.
Jersey is the only state that allows you to tan at the beach, ski and go camping all in the same season.
If you are from N.J., post this on your wall and refer to it every time someone tries to knock the place you call home.
If you are not from N.J., you probably have trouble reading in the first place. So go back to unscrewing your own gas caps in the pouring rain and let us sit in our cars in peace.
Edited By Keyser Soze on Feb. 19 2002 at 7:17
<font size="3">The Book of Steele: NJ is heaven with a couple of smokestacks</font>
by Nick Alexopulos
Greyhound columnist
I would try not to make a baseless blanket statement and designate myself as spokesman for this issue, but I need to for dire reasons. Pay attention: Every New Jersey native is sick and tired of getting ridiculed by the rest of Loyola because we are "from New Jersey? What exit?"
Exit 8A off I-95 and damn proud of it, so shut your hole and go back to being bitter.
Not one day of college has passed that has been free of New Jersey jokes methodically hurled toward me from every direction by ignorant, other-state naysayers, and it is about time I took a public stand.
If you can still rag on us Jerseyites after reading this article, more power to you. But I just want to let you know one thing: You are wrong and we are not listening.
Why not start with the blasphemous fluff that most of us just tune out? People who do not live in Jersey will approach me with a single 'bust,' if you will, to start things off.
"New Jersey is dirty."
Gee, that is deep. I guess these are the people who consider all of Jersey to be four smoke stacks in Newark, the Turnpike and the set of The Sopranos.
Hey geniuses, there is more of New Jersey than you think. I would be willing to bet these are the same people who glance wide-eyed out of plane windows on transatlantic flights when the pilot announces, "We are now passing over the equator."
New Jersey does have a few "dirty" parts in its urban areas. But so does every other state, so show me the difference. Oh, I found it - people in N.J. figured out how to make the best use of a small area.
Wonder why New York state looks cleaner? Well, there is simply more mileage between the "dirty" parts. I'm sure New York would be beautiful if you squeezed everything into say, a tenth of the land area. Believe me, I've seen enough of New York to be sure that this idea holds water.
I chuckle whenever I hear someone attempt to support the myth of New Jersey's inferiority with reasons glorifying other states. One of my friends (after chanting "New Jersey is dirty") asked me, "What does New Jersey have besides crap?" I told him our beaches are awesome, and he laughed at me, stating that the N.J. shore is full of garbage.
This certain friend is from Illinois.
Yes, Illinois. Half the population of Illinois will never see a beach except for, as I was told, the gorgeous beaches of Lake Michigan.
Let's get something straight: Lake Michigan is not an ocean. It is a pathetic baby pool for Cubs fans. People from Illinois defending Lake Michigan are like people from Manitoba defending the Hudson Bay.
In New Jersey, we have oceanfront property that gives Pennsylvanians something to do over the summer besides visit the Amish. On the way to the shore, they can enjoy a stop at the highest-rated Great Adventure in the country - but I forgot, if it is 'good,' then it can't really be in Jersey.
Other states are associated with nothing but their largest city, but there's something special about every corner of New Jersey. That is why we say we're from "Jersey," unlike those faceless souls who boast being from "the Boston area."
Jerseyites, here is the rest of your ammo. Everyone else, try to compete.
N.J. is the headquarters for the Sarnoff Company (they invented the color TV).
It is the richest state in the nation, with an average income per household at $54,266 per year.
We have the cheapest gas and it is always full service.
The Jets and the Giants play home games in N.J. Bon Jovi, The Boss, Jack Nickolson, Danny Devito, Woodrow Wilson and Jay and Silent Bob are all from N.J.
Princeton University is one of the best colleges in the country overall (I hear their lacrosse team is pretty good, too).
N.J. residents are only an hour from NYC and 45 minutes from Philadelphia without the punishment of actually living in either place.
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in N.J.
Jersey is the only state that allows you to tan at the beach, ski and go camping all in the same season.
If you are from N.J., post this on your wall and refer to it every time someone tries to knock the place you call home.
If you are not from N.J., you probably have trouble reading in the first place. So go back to unscrewing your own gas caps in the pouring rain and let us sit in our cars in peace.
Edited By Keyser Soze on Feb. 19 2002 at 7:17