My sister (in NJ) bought that t-shirt for my husband one Christmas. He loved it until it shrunk and no longer fit him. He gave it to my oldest son, who also gets a kick out of wearing it and wore it on Mother’s Day just for me - “Look Mom, I’m wearing your favorite shirt!” :\
Oh please! :rolleyes: I came in here wanting to chime in that New Jersey is actually pretty nice, that I like it there, I enjoyed living there, but then you had to go and say this. New Jersey drivers are some of the worst in the nation, New York drivers are some of the best in the nation. The problem here is that New Yorkers expect people to know how to drive their cars, not just as cattle following the signage but to actually be paying attention to the flow of traffic. New Yorkers can drive within inches of each other and there is rarely a wreck.
People from New Jersey on the other hand, well the Jersey turn says it all. That’s when you put your nose out into oncoming traffic, stop, THEN look both ways. It’s truly horrific and it’s an epidemic in New Jersey.
If there is one thing you can truly make fun of New Jersey for it’s their drivers. The vast bulk of New Jersey is actually rolling green fields.
I don’t think we do. I’m not sure where that ‘Jersey accent’ comes from that I hear comics using. I’ve lived here 36 years and I have never once heard someone say something like “New Joisey”. Nor has anyone in any other state pointed out my ‘New Jersey’ accent.
Agreed. The “Joisey accent” (used for a time on SNL – “Are you from Joisey? I’m from Joisey” isn’t from New Jersey at all. I’ve never heasrd anyone from New Jersey with it. If anything, it’s an exaggerated Brooklyn accent. Although I don’t know if anyone from Brooklyn still speaks like that, either.
Sometimes people seem to think an exaggerated Long Island accent is typica;l New Jersey (“cuppa KAW-fee”), but I can’t say that sounds realistic to me, either.
It’s not the uniqueness of the areas, it’s the proportion.
I grew up in (northern) NJ. My most prominent ‘accent incident’ happened in New Orleans (Mardi Gras). Yeah, I was pretty drunk, which I’d guess made my accent more pronounced, and some gals snickered at it. At the time, I didn’t even realize I had an accent – y’know, that’s when other people talk funny. With it brought to my attention, I started to notice just how pronounced the verbal tics were.
Then I started work on correcting them. Since then, I’ve had people all over the country tell me they’d never have guessed I grew up in NJ. Although I do have to say that if I get excited and start talking fast, the accent is most definitely still there.
Some friends and I were in Kentucky once, chatting with some locals.
“Y’all sure do talk funny”, one of them mentioned.
“Huh? Us? Well, I guess it’s a matter of what you’re used to, since it sure sounds to me like you’re the ones with an exaggerated accent. Can you describe how we sound to you?”
“Y’all talk like the people on the TV”.
Ah-hah…that hit it right on the head for me. They considered our complete and utter lack of any kind of regional accent – the default, really – an accent.
I won’t deny that it would be an excellent service, one that could/should be provided by a business.
But for the state to take such an authoritarian role as to tell people that if they were to pump their own gas that they would end up burning down whole towns, that speaks to an arrogant level of government that can’t be trusted in other matters.
Well Trenton is not that great any more. But just outside of Trenton is wonderful and Monmouth County is great.
Camden is about the worst place in the US and yet still has the redeeming value of the Aquarium and the Battleship New Jersey. I go about once a year on average.
A common experience of anyone that doesn’t have to drive just the turnpike or just in the North East of the state.
But the jokes started before him. Even my user name predates Joe.
Who the heck pumps their own gas? It’s so uncivilized! If I ever move out of this state, it would have to be to Oregon (the only other non-self-serve state). If Jersey ever legalizes self-serve gas stations, society will collapse and our land will break off the mainland and into the Atlantic (I’m hoping we end up somewhere near Barcelona). What would they legalize next, rape and murder? I once got gas in NYC and it was a disaster. I would have rather been punched in the face than go through that experience again.
Because when you can’t pump your own gas, you have to wait. And to complete the transaction, some guy has to go back and forth with your cash/card while you wait some more. If the place is busy, one guy will be running from car to car, meanwhile you’re sitting there long after your tank is full.
Full serve should be an option, not a requirement. Great prices, though.
And my location field predates your user name. So there!
I actually find that hellish industrial landscape of refineries and container shipping cranes strangely beautiful. I’m not sure how to put it into words.