What I Like About New Jersey . . .

New Jersey has traditionally gotten a bad rap from outsiders. That’s mainly because most people 100 miles from outside any point of its borders know nothing about the Garden State, except what they have garnered from cynical late-night comedians or a drive-through on the northern end of the New Jersey Turnpike.

Many long-time NJ residents have come to focus on the shady side of this state – you won’t get any argument from me about the sad state of politics in this, what should be the proud third colony admitted to the Union.

This truly is a great state and an ideal place in which to live raise a family. I know . . . I know . . . I can see you gritting your teeth already and formulating choice expletives to fling at me. But look at it this way: Who made New Jersey what it is? That’s right: People – all of the schmucks and their sycophants who have misgoverned it.

For a state of its modest size, New Jersey’s geographic location has physical attractions and characteristics that rival those of many other states. And you are hearing this from a guy who was born, raised and educated in the heart of New England.

For example, the Delaware River which delineates our western boundary provides outstanding attractions, especially along the hills and valleys of the northwestern counties. The rolling landscape of Central Jersey features a balanced mix of businesses and residential communities.

To the east, there are over 100 miles of gorgeous shoreline that mid-westerners would die for. From the hills and valleys of the north, to the flatlands of South Jersey with its Pine Barrens that cover one of the largest aquifers in the east, New Jersey offers a living environment that is remarkable for such a compact state.

NJ has some of the best skilled, best trained, and motivated people in all endeavors of life. Just look around at all the acquaintances and friends you know who fit that description.

OK! There is the dark side also. If ever there is an example of what fallen man can do, the progressive misgoverning of New Jersey and its cities is a prime example. I sadly acknowledge that – and you will hear plenty about NJ’s shortcomings in other posts.

Today, I choose to walk on the sunny side of the street.

School Athletics: A Lesson in Life

Monday evening, Priscille and I attended our grandson’s graduation from the Cold Spring Elementary School in Potomac, MD. Next year, Danny moves on to Montgomery County’s Hoover Middle School.

The moving-on-up celebration was held in Rockville, at Richard Montgomery High School, a modern facility in the heart of town.

As we entered the building, a large banner on the wall to the left side of the brightly lit lobby caught my attention. I couldn’t help but notice its significance, as it hung promptly displayed next to the office of the Athletic Director. It is obviously intended to inspire an attitude of sportsmanlike conduct in everyone associated with student sports activities.

Parents and other spectators can get very passionate about the athletic ability of their children – often losing sight of the purpose of student sports played on the school and community athletic fields of Bridgewater and Somerset County.

When winning becomes the sole objective of athletics and, should a game official make a wrong or marginal call on a student player, a parent or other supporter can lose it – not to speak of an official who might do the same. I remember an incident in Massachusetts not long ago where the mood turned ugly during a school hockey match and resulted in a serious outbreak of violence between a spectator and a referee.

Is such aggressive behavior worth the public humiliation and the negative example portrayed by adults to the children of our communities? I admire what the Rockville banner implores everyone to do: “So please . . . Let the players play. Let the coaches coach. Let the officials officiate. Let the spectators be positive.”

Bridgewater Bits & Pieces

Theft in Our Neighborhoods: The Bridgewater Township Police Department is advising township residents of “an increase in evening car burglaries.” It seems that some not so neighborly people are roaming Bridgewater streets after dark when all is quiet, looking for unlocked cars.

You can guess the rest: According to police, “valuables left inside, including GPS units, cell phones, iPods, laptop computers, cameras and money,” are targets of choice. Be alert, because police also advise that these thefts are not restricted to any particular neighborhood.

An Increase in Flu Occurrences: The Superintendent of the Bridgewater-Raritan Schools announced on Friday that the first case of swine flu (H1N1) within the school district was diagnosed at the Eisenhower school. Additionally, Dr. Schilder reports, there has also been “an increase of confirmed cases of Type A influenza across the district.”

I’m not surprised: On Saturday, Priscille and I were scheduled to attend a dance recital for our two granddaughters. But it was not meant to be. The girls visited the doctor on Friday. He diagnosed their symptoms as the flu – not H1N1, and advised them to cancel their scheduled performances.

Although the disappointment of not performing on Saturday, after expending so much time, effort and money on preparation was a huge letdown, they are now recovering well.

This is Sport? Elsewhere, the Courier News reports that “a Bridgewater recreation coach has been indicted on a fourth-degree aggravated assault charge for punching a fan in the face.” I suppose that there, but for the grace of God go I. Still, it’s hard to fathom how civility seemingly continues to erode in so many spheres of our lives.

Congratulations, Garden Staters!

I found another online jewel in the tiara of the Somerset County Library: It’s called “Facts on File, the World Atlas.” Sounds boring, doesn’t it? But I like digging, so I started browsing, pulled up some numbers about New Jersey and a few other states, entered the data into an Excel spreadsheet, plugged in a formula, and here’s what came out:

Do you know that despite all of the lackluster governance at the state level; despite the highest real estate taxes in the nation; despite being at the center of one of this nation’s worst economic debacles; that we in New Jersey are – by one hard, irrefutable measure – one of America’s best economic producers?

That’s right, we are. According to figures from the U.S. Census bureau, New Jersey tops California, Texas and Florida when measured by Gross State Product per Capita, a prime economic indicator. Yup, we beat out three huge states which are much bigger than we are in population, land mass and, you would think, greater in economic power.

On a head-to-head comparison of economic output by citizen, we outdid all three. Per Capita GSP for New Jersey is $49.4 million per person, $4.92 M more than California; $7.61 M more than Texas; and $12.14 M more than Florida. Not bad for New Jersey where it seems at times that government is doing its best to de-incentivize so many of its citizens and businesses.

Those results prove that it’s hard to keep down a team of self-motivated citizens and businesses! Give yourselves a sound pat on the back, New Jerseyans. The facts corroborate it, and you deserve it.

Note: According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, “GSP is the state counterpart of the Nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), the Bureau’s featured and most comprehensive measure of U.S. economic activity.”

An Online Jewel at the Library

The Somerset County Library System offers what appears to be a superb set of online language-learning courses. I was browsing the County’s web site about a month ago and came across a plug for Mango Languages. It turns out that Mango is a company with which the Somerset County Library System has contracted to offer online language courses to patrons of the library system.

I tried it myself and may have become hooked on it. I’m already in the very early stages of Spanish and French – let’s see how long I persevere in this endeavor! I don’t expect that French will be very difficult since I grew up bi-lingual. But I’ve gotten very rusty and need a lot of review. There aren’t too many people hereabouts who parles Français! And I’m many miles and years from that long-ago French-Canadian community in which I was raised.

But Spanish! Ah, that’s a different story. There are so many people in this county who speak only Español, and I felt it would be a good idea for me to get on board a bit. I don’t think that residents of Somerset County who speak Spanish only are planning to go anywhere else anytime soon. Certainly, I don’t. So maybe learning a few common words and sentences will help both of us.

If you want to check out this offering of the Somerset County Library System, go to http://www.somerset.lib.nj.us/, click on “Search the SCLS WEBSITE,” and then enter “Mango Languages” in the search box.