829 Southdrive

829 Southdrive

A New Jersey state of mind



Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Knit One, Purl Two




I've tried to sell coal to Newcastle many times in my life, so I feel
right at home with this particular accent.  Now if you'll excuse
me, I've got this dogsled full of ice bound for Alaska.

12 comments:

  1. When I was a very young man I had a girlfriend who went to the University of Newcastle. (She wasn't from Newcastle herself.) The first time I went to visit her in Newcastle I got off the bus and I literally couldn't understand a word anyone was saying. It was like being in a foreign country. Eventually my ear tuned into the accent and I learned to love that part of the country and their people. One of my grandmothers came from there too, although I don't think her accent was all that strong in her later years.

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  2. When I was a very young man I got my first full-time job and had to move from Philadelphia across the river to New Jersey. I literally couldn't understand a word anyone was saying. It was like being in a foreign country. Eventually, my ear tuned into the accent and I learned it actually was a foreign country.

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  3. When I was a very young man I moved with my family from Philadelphia across the river to New Jersey. I couldn't understand why there were no sidewalks and many people actually used the word 'aint'. It was like being in a foreign country. It ain't so bad now.

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  4. When I was a middle-aged man I moved with my family from England to New Jersey. I literally couldn't understand many of the words they were saying. It was like being in a foreign country. I couldn't understand why you got billed when you went to see the doctor, or why you had to work out your own taxes, or why everyone thought that young people at college weren't old enough to have the occasional glass of beer. Eventually my ear tuned into the accent and I learned it actually was a foreign country, so I moved to Rhode Island.

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  5. When I was a middle-aged man I moved from New Jersey to California. I literally couldn't understand many of the local customs. It was like being in a foreign country. I couldn't understand why you could wear a tee shirt in the middle of the winter, why you could buy wine in the supermarket, or why you could turn right on a red light. Eventually my ear tuned into the accent and I learned that, until then, I had been living in a foreign country.

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  6. When I was an old man I moved from New Jersey to Rhode Island. I literally couldn't understand many of the local customs. It was like being in a foreign country. But then I discovered that people in Rhode Island go Laser sailing all winter and ask for vinegar on their french fries, and realized that, at last, I was home again.

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  7. When I was a young man, I had to visit New Jersey to see my favorite side of the family. I literally couldn't understand many of the local customs, like nailing an eel to a tree and then skinning it, before pickling the meat. It was like being in a foreign country (i.e., Germany or Hungary). Eventually, I was overcome with delight as my taste buds discovered kale and knob salad, and I realized, at last, I was home again.

    ... and they pump very cheap gas for you.

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  8. When I was a young man I would hunt the wild and deadly Co-hog clam. I would shoot it first with a 12 gauge shotgun; just to make sure its dead and then nail (whats left of it) to a tree, bush, or telephone pole. Then we would discard the clam remnants and gorge on the delicious lead pellets, oh those where the days..

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  9. "Hon." John CorzineMarch 29, 2012 at 10:32 PM

    When I was the retired Chairman of Goldman Sachs, I moved to New Jersey from New York. I literally couldn't understand many of the local customs, which lead to my being a lousy and hapless Governor. It was like being in a foreign country, as when I forgot to wear my seat belt while my state trooper driver was doing 90 mph. Oops! Rehab was a bitch, but nothing like the heat I am getting for this MF Global mess. Eventually, my ear will be tuned to the accent of potential life in the penitentiary and I will be leaving soon to live in a foreign country.

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    Replies
    1. The first time I met this gentleman, he and his staff of young volunteers were in our restaurant celebrating his election win. On his way out that evening, feeling rather pickled, he was asked by another patron what he thought about New Jersey's outlook in the coming year. He quickly responded, "Tonight, Im drinkin', not thinkin'." Sadly, that's the most vivid memory I have of him. One of the servers working his party later told me that the Guvnah had 7 double Ketel Ones on the rocks that evening.

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  10. Baydog, If I had just been elected governor of the state that is home to the famous Goose Poop Beach Sailing Club I would have come to your restaurant and drunk your finest rums for about three days non-stop. I hope he left a big tip.

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  11. Sort of way off topic, but related to the video and the guy's phrase to remember the accent...

    Baydog, I was just at that job in West Point for a few days, and a contractor there literally spent 15 minutes complaining to me about round-abouts...specifically, double-roundabouts (so almost a figure 8). In fact, he blamed them on the DOT hiring a bloke from England who care over here just to design them.

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