The Garden State

New Jersey is the Rodney Dangerfield of the United States. From Ben Franklin's comment that it's a keg tapped at both ends to Andy Warhol's quip the the state bird  is the mosquito, Jersey gets no respect. Jersey is the only "New" state that regularly drops the first word in its name. The others don't say York, or Mexico or Hampshire. but ask someone from the Garden State where they live, and you will get a succinct, Jersey.

The first thing to understand about the state is it's schizophrenic nature. In colonial times, it was West and East Jersey. Now it's North and South Jersey. That indeterminate line lies somewhere around Trenton. This dual personality harks back to Franklin's comment as the state is overshadowed by New York City and Philadelphia. 

My home state is known as a dump for garbage and the mob's dead bodies, for syringes and condoms lapping up on our beaches, for toxic waste and chemical plants. In size, population density, percentage of open versus populated land and industrial development, New Jersey is comparable to Connecticut. But the latter is seen as a beautiful piece of New England and the former is seen as a smelly piece of...you get the idea. 

A reason for this could be that the two major highways through Connecticut amble past pastoral greenery while the Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway bisect oil refineries and electric plants. 

Jersey has miles of beautiful beaches, the best diners, delicious tomatoes, juicy blueberries and the Pine Barrens - mysterious home of the Jersey Devil. Plus you never have to pump your own gas! Only someone raised in the loving, yet callous, bosom of New Jersey could persevere the brunt of endless jokes, the disdain of the other 49 states and remain the epitome of cool. - as ever - BB

"The curtain rises on a vast primitive wasteland, not unlike certain parts of New Jersey." - Woody Allen