I get annoyed when people feel the need to trash my home state. There has to be more to their discontentment, if they feel the need to overlook all the WONDERFULl things about New Jersey. I mean, all you have to do is open your eyes and take in the beauty. In New Jersey, within a few hours you can drive to the city, to the shore, to the farmland, to the mountains, to the 'burbs, to 5 malls! We have the privilege of being within a few hours of amazing cities chock full of history, museums, theater, restaurants and the most amazing blend of people in the country. A few hours more, and you are in our country's capital.
It is NEVER ever boring here. It keeps your heart pumping to hear those honking horns, which I have learned to take with a grain of salt! Our people are in a hurry, its true! But not EVERYONE...I have decided to make it my mission to respond with a smile. People are amazing, and just want to be heard. Some ARE obnoxious,
but I purpose to care about them too!
The seagulls! I love the seagulls...I realize that they are also referred to as Sea Rats, but I really do love them. I love the way they sound, I love feeding them. It really makes me happy!
and the FOOD! Who can argue with the tantalizing tastes available here in New Jersey! Seafood, bagels, pizza, pork roll, salt water taffy, Italian Ice, Jersey Mike's, hard rolls with butter, ALL Jersey produce. Just go to any New Jersey diner! You can find it all!!! My mouth is watering!
The landscapes! The beauty! We have the mountains, we have the beach, we have beautiful trails, parks, forests, exciting cities...I have my own personal favorite road to drive on in the Autumn, when the leaves are fiery orange, yellow, red--ablaze with color. Red Hill Road in Middletown. It is worth taking a ride to see it, in my opinion! Garden State Parkway to the Middletown exit 114. SO GORGEOUS!
This wonderful state is NOT just an oil refinery...it does NOT stink (everywhere..lol) Where I live, we are in full blown autumn glory-- I get to smell the sea air, the crispness of the leaves, and often, the yummy smell of diehard barbeque-ers, who grill all year long. I hear the haunting sound of the foghorns, the cry of the gulls, the sound of the train taking people to exciting places all up and down the NJ transit line. I LOVE NEW JERSEY...
I have my own beaten path which takes me to: Carmella's, Community Baptist Church, Great Pacific Frame Shoppe, Wa Wa, the OB Diner, Shop Rite, Rite Aid, Vinnie's, Quick Chek, Monmouth Mall, WalMart, Target, Michael's, Stop N Shop, Barnes and Noble, Cosco, Home Depot. I have fond memories of good times in such locations as Delicious Orchards, Central Jersey Christian School, Red Bank (circa 1979) , Asbury Lanes, the Shrewsbury Diner, Ocean Grove (the boardwalk, the dentist, Day's Inn, the Great Auditorium, Freedman's), Shark River Park, Shark River Hills (met and married Craig there), Shrewsbury Assembly of God church, the Avon Pavillion, First Baptist Church in Asbury Park, Sweetwater Casino, the Cracker Barrel (in the Hills), Atlantic Highlands (Llook-out point--where we almost got engaged lol), Ocean Avenue in Belmar (where we DID get engaged), the McDonald's on the Belmar boardwalk (circa 1985) ,the "circuit" in Asbury, the Hazlet drive-in, the scary road right off of King's Hwy in Middletown), the Count Basie theater, Casola Farm, Holmdel Park (summer, OR winter), Allaire State Park, Turkey Swamp park, Newark Airport, the little luncheonette in Jersey City..and so many more!
I have lived in Ocean Grove, then Middletown, then Ocean grove again..and again, and again, and again, then Neptune, then Spring Lake, then Ocean Grove again, then Shark River Hills, then Ocean Twnshp, and then our cherished Point Pleasant, where we have now been for 21 years. And I LOVE IT HERE!
I am quite aware of the situation with our economy, both on the state and national levels. I am aware of the front page news, for sure. But, just like in a family, who doesn't have heartache and trials? and also like a family, you love them in spite of the failures and flaws, and sometimes betrayals. Face it, we all have those, both within ourselves, and in our families . But we hang in there, and do our part. We are committed. And hopefully we learn about speaking the truth in love, and we pray that others do the same for us. I choose to hang in here, in my beloved state, with the people I love most in the world. My forever friendships were all born here..I met and married my best friend here--my children were all raised here...my family and friends are mostly close-by , although little pieces of my heart are scattered as far as California, Minnesota, North Carolina, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Texas, Alabama and Virgina.
God has planted my heart here, in my dear old New Jersey, and as far as I am concerned, God can bury the rest of me here too, someday. New Jersey and me-perfect together!
'Mid pleasures and palaces
Though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble,
There's no place like home.
A charm from the skies
Seems to hallow us there,
Which seek thro' the world,
Is ne'er met with elsewhere.
Home, home, sweet sweet home,
There's no place like home,
There's no place like home.
I gaze on the moon
As I tread the drear wild,
And feel that my mother
Now thinks of her child;
As she looks on that moon
From our own cottage door,
Thro' the woodbine whose fragrance
Shall cheer me no more.
Home, home, sweet sweet home,
There's no place like home,
There's no place like home.
An exile from home,
Splendor dazzles in vain,
Oh, give me my lowly
Thatched cottage again;
The birds singing gaily,
That came at my call:
Give me them and that
Peace of mind, dearer than all.
Home, home, sweet sweet home,
There's no place like home,
There's no place like home.
Written By: John H. Payne
Though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble,
There's no place like home.
A charm from the skies
Seems to hallow us there,
Which seek thro' the world,
Is ne'er met with elsewhere.
Home, home, sweet sweet home,
There's no place like home,
There's no place like home.
I gaze on the moon
As I tread the drear wild,
And feel that my mother
Now thinks of her child;
As she looks on that moon
From our own cottage door,
Thro' the woodbine whose fragrance
Shall cheer me no more.
Home, home, sweet sweet home,
There's no place like home,
There's no place like home.
An exile from home,
Splendor dazzles in vain,
Oh, give me my lowly
Thatched cottage again;
The birds singing gaily,
That came at my call:
Give me them and that
Peace of mind, dearer than all.
Home, home, sweet sweet home,
There's no place like home,
There's no place like home.
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