Sorry to shock you John, but if you want a fun read get yourself down to the nearest Barnes and Noble and look for a copy of “Notorious New Jersey” by Jon Blackwell, published by the Rutgers University Press. I got mine in the Paramus B&N on my last trip North. Let me quote from the introduction: “The work to rehabilitate the state’s image has been admirable. This book will make no such effort.”
It’s a history of assorted criminals and various no-goodniks from Colonial times to the present. An entertaining and fun read, if at times a sad one. Oh well, “Wild Bill” O’ Reilly from the Fox News Channel said it best: “People get the government they deserve!”
I would say “Amen, Brother” except for the fact they’ve got their own voting habits to blame, most of them, going back generations. When I saw that wasn’t going to change anytime soon (back in the late 80’s) I left NJ for Virginia. Virginia’s run pretty efficiently, the population is treated like adults, and the politicians are honest, although some ARE full of themselves like other politicians are. The crooked politicians and bureaucrats are so dumb they get caught pretty quickly.
All that being said, I still miss New Jersey, the variety, the color, and the diversity both of the people and the landscape AND the food! I’m a Virginian by adoption (during the Civil War years I’d have been called a “Galvanized Yankee”, blue inside with a grey coating outside) but I’ll still be a Jerseyman 'till the day I die. I hope things change for you soon but I wouldn’t bet the ranch on it.
Actually I think Rutgers is a good candidate for notoriety. Not too many years ago it cut academics to provide more money for football. Meanwhile football players use scholarship money (that is tax dollars) to rent hotel rooms and bring in local ladies for entertainment.
I left Jersey virtually for college in 1961 and have never had the yen to really return…but I love going down there to ride NJT, MNRR, LIRR, MTA, SEPTA, AMTRAK,etc…but not to live., no way…