And another Ken Goldstein, of The Illustrated Donkey has a very informative and entertaining blog, originating just up the road from me.....in New Jersey.
I travelled through New Jersey on my way home after being stationed in Ballston Spa NY. I had heard all about how dirty is was, and how the people were rude and unfriendly. Being from the south, I figured I shouldn't even stop there, but should drive straight through.
Fate had other plans for me though, and my car broke down on the Turnpike right in front of the toll booth in Paramus. I hae to tell you that if you are going to break down, directly in front of a toll booth is the place to do it.
The tow truck was there within 3 minutes, had me jacked up, lashed down and on our way. The driver took my car to his shop, where they discovered I had a bad alternator. The manager told me it would take 2 days to get the alternator and fix my car.
I told him I had planned on seeing NYC anyway, so that wasn't going to be too much of a problem. The manager then took me in his car to a nearby motel, and got them to charge me the local's rate. He then showed me where the bus stop was to go into the city, and told me to call him for a ride back to the shop when I was ready to go on.
I stayed maybe 20 minutes from the Port Authority terminal, in a decent hotel, for about $45 a night for 3 nights. I paid no parking fees, and they only charged me $120 for the tow and the repairs. I figure breaking down on the turnpike saved me about $300.
Don't let anybody tell you anything about the people from New Jersey. In my experience, they're just as nice as people anywhere else, and will go out of their way for somebody in a fix.
The Jersey cops, on the other hand, well, that's another story.
Posted by Rich at February 20, 2002 5:25 PM