Proud to be from Joisey

As a life-long Jerseyite....or Jerseyan....or Jerseyer....or whatever you call it, I have come to the realization that there are some things every native of the Garden State should do in their lifetime...

1) Visit Six Flags and ride a roller coaster. Yeah, it's not Disney World but it's the closest thing we've got to it. Plus, we all should attend once, because we don't need Bugs Bunny developing an inferiority complex. Look what happened to Elmer Fudd, people.

2) Attend a Bruce Springsteen concert. I'm not a fan of Mr. Springteen (especially when I found out he wasn't Jewish and I had to start playing up the "Hey, Ed Koch is Jewish guys! And he's cool, right?" and don't particularlly like most of his music (yes, I know.....rip me), but when a ticket was made available to me by Reako, I couldn't pass it up. The show was entertaining, and I don't remember yawning once. I did see Paul O'Neill (uniform number 21) two sections over from me dancing to his music. And no, he wasn't practicing his batting swing in the audience.

3) Use the restrooms/Drop a Batch at each campus at Rutgers, the State University of Nw Jersey. (No wait....that's on my Things Rutgers Students Should Do During Their Lifetime List. Nevermind.)

4) Walk any boardwalk at the Jersey Shore late at night. There are few things more comical than the disasters that come out late at night down the shore. For optimum disaster, go to the Seaside boardwalk to see Mustangs and various other sports automobiles complete with black lights underneath and sound systems so loud that even people in China go deaf. Wondering what a "wifebeater" is? Head to Temptations. Whoops! Wrong link. Try this one.

5) Bet on a horserace at the Meadowlands. Extra points for doing it while donning a varsity jacket. Seems like that or chewing on a HUGE cigar are prerequisites for making a wager at that place anyway.

6) Order breakfast at midnight at a diner. I still can't believe diners haven't turned into a nation-wide phenomenon. There are Greeks in Arizona, right?

7) Travel to all parts of the Parkway and Turnpike. It's the only way to see the state.

Which brings me to the final key thing on the list.

8) Drop $100 at a casino in AC. It's taken me 30 mins to accomplish this feat. There are some times when I stare for like 5 mins. at the elaborate lighting for some of the casinos and think to myself, "I paid for all that."

And last but not least...

Attend a Bon Jovi concert.

Well, I got that last one out of the way Saturday evening. My boss took about 19 of us to his box at Giants Stadium for the show. While I am not a huge fan of the fifth favorite band on Mr. Sandman's list, they did put on a good show.

At first, I wasn't exactly elated when Jonathan Bon Jovi told the crowd that he planned on rockin' until Sunday morning, but the guy was very energetic throughout. Unlike the Counting Crows concert which I attended earlier in the week where Adam Duritz turned many of his harder tunes into ballads (stench), Bon Jovi pretty much stuck to his tunes. Even in the disgustingly humid weather, the guys hung out there for 3 1/2 hours. I was quite impressed.

Overall, a good time was had by all.