The Jersey Shore

This in defense of New Jersey - although they/it do not need it. As a native Philadelphian I was first exposed to the South Jersey shore as an infant. Later, circa 1938, our family spent one summer week in a third floor walkup in Sea Isle City where the iceman would climb three flights with a cake of ice for the icebox. (Don't forget to empty the drip pan.) We walked everywhere - the beach a block away and a back bay pier for dropping a fishing line in the water. I recall at age nine standing outside a local cafe listening to the Joe Louis - Billy Conn fight on the radio. As teenagers we all liked to go "Dinah Shore" to escape the summer heat as there was no air conditioning.
In later years we rented in Ocean City - another spit of sand - all affected by Storm Sandy. My wife's family introduced me to Cape May at the southern tip of the Garden State - exit Zero! - a charming Victorian town. As adults we bought a home in Union County in the mid-1980s when mortgage rates were 14% which no fault of the governor. So I have a fondness for New Jersey and I don't need to hear Jon Stewart's bleeping comments. The place has been the butt of jokes for too long. The current political contretemps will pass and I look forward to continuing my love affair with the Jersey Shore.
tjs