Fresh Jersey

Drunk at Giants Stadium

My column today about the lewd, drunken fans at Giants Stadium seemed to touch a nerve.  Indeed, one of the dirty secrets of life at Giants Stadium has been the obnoxious behavior of some fans, mainly during Jets games.  Here are two lengthy comments I received in my email box today.  What do you think?

The behavior of the fans that go to pro football games at Giant Stadium begins in the parking lot.

A few weeks ago my son and I went to the Giant-Dallas game.  We parked in lot Y, which meant that, after parking, we walked from essentially

Paterson Plank Road

to the stadium through most of the stadium parking lots.  The parking lots looked like a convoy of garbage trucks had unloaded their contents.  Bottles, cans, food, wrappers, newspapers, plastic containers – you name it – were littered everywhere.  We had to navigate our way around all the strewn garbage.  People walking toward the stadium were gleefully stomping on beer bottles to break them. 

When we were going through security before entering the stadium I overheard one man boast that to his friend that he had deliberately plugged up one of the port-o-johns and was sorry that he could not stick around long enough to see what happened when the next person used it.

My son’s comment was that these people are not coming to see a game, they are coming to an “event”, a drunken frat-type party.  In fifty years of attending Giant games I have never seen such a scene.

I agreed with my son that the next time we come to a game we will probably see a car overturned and set on fire.

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Thank you for your reporting the situation at the stadium in reference to the drinking and lewdness.

There are more problems than you can believe! Fans drink to the extent that they urinate in the parking lot rather than go to the portable toilets. For some reason, known only to stadium personnel, there are fewer trash receptacles, so fans drop bottles and cans wherever they land, risking your tires or your skin if you fall. Also, where do the traffic control people go after a game? They are next to invisible; political job, I guess.

Going to the stadium is fun, whether the Giants win or not; but it is becoming apart at the seams. Too much drinking, outrageous food and drink prices, food service personnel who move like they are stuck on glue, filthy rest rooms, lewd behavior, poor traffic control,  so what else is new? I have been complaining for years; I pay for my tickets and parking, but the place is getting ridiculously out of hand. The construction going on seems to point out that there is a factor that money talks, the development of the entertainment facility near the arena is going to totally destroy traffic in the area, but who cares? You need an indoor ski slope? I don't see the need for another shopping mall either, but they are building them. What happens if the current energy problem worsens to the point where fewer people drive to malls etc? Well, that's a story for another day.

On WABC radio with John Gambling

John Gambling of WABC talk-radio, called and interviewed me on the air about my Monday column on a proposal by NJ business leaders to eliminate the scandalous pay-to-play games among state policians. Click here to listen:  Download WABCNY-Gambling-Kelly-11-27-07.mp3

Corzine and the photo

The hot political story of the day is from Governor Corzine's office.  But this isn't about taxes or the death penalty or even the state's weird budget balancing act.  This is about a photograph.

The Asbury Park Press published a photo illustration last Sunday in which Governor Corzine was depicted as a street peddler, opening his coat and selling items -- in this case state highways such as the New Jersey Turnpike.  The photo illustration was clearly doctored. In other words, it wasn't real.  But Corzine's chief of staff complained.  Now the photo, which was seen only along the Jersey Shore where the Press circulates, is now getting national attention.   Didn't Corzine's staff think this through before complaining.  And why complain anyway?  What will happen when Corzine's folks really have something to complain about?

From "Fresh Jersey's" California Correspondent

New Jersey residents think globally, right?  Of course.  Well, the "Fresh Jersey" blog thinks globally too, with a series of special correspondents with Jersey roots who are scattered all over the planet. Here is the latest dispatch from our California correspondent, who was born in Bergen and is now a 30-something TV writer in Los Angeles.  These days, however, he's walking a picket line, not the red carpet.

New Jersey is alive and well in California.  Being the son of two Jersey transplants, who moved out here when I was in 3rd grade, the Garden State was always an influence on my outlook.

I live in Lost Angeles now, and I think there may be more East Coasters than Californians in L.A.  Half the people I know and work with are from New Jersey or the outlying areas.  When my father comes down to visit, we make sure to stop by every restaurant that reminds him of the places he would frequent back East.

Which brings me to an odd phenomenon:   Living in California, a place like New Jersey is considered "back East," while California and its neighbors are "out West."   As though "back East" is ultimately everyone's true place to hang their hat, we're all just taking a long sabbatical "out West."   I always think of coming to visit friends and family as heading "out East,"  then when my trip is over, I go "back West."  This hasn't caught on just yet.  Maybe next time I have some vacation time,  I'll just head "down South."

Wait a minute, Mr. Postman !!!

My Sunday column about the bone-headed decision by the U.S. Postal Service to institute all sorts of legal rules to its 80-year-old "Operation Santa" gift-giving program for needy kids brought an interesting reply from a postal worker.  I'm attaching it below, with this question: What do you think the Postal Service should do?

You hit the nail on the head about the post office and their policies.  I work for them, and the longer I do, I realize that it's individuals who have the least to do, using situations as now (concern about terrorists/molesters), gives themselves job security.  They overcomplicate simple tasks, and jobs  become harder to perform and service to the public suffers.  For example there is a relatively new rule which tells us that any piece of mail over 13 oz. mailed out with stamps on it, (versus a meter postage or self printed postage), even if the customer is known by us, cannot be picked up at their home or business. They must instead go in person to the window, wait in line for it to be accepted by a clerk, who will ask the standard questions whether there's anything hazardous, perishable etc. about it.  Why the trouble?  Will the clerk determine what's in the package better than a mail carrier?  Why the 13 oz. threshold?  The corner mailboxes are being removed in many spots, for similar reasons (anti-terror), and because of decreased first class volume.  (On line billing/banking etc.).  Some customers are reluctant to leave outgoing letters in their own mailboxes for security reasons.  Others don't want to go all the way to the post office to mail them. 

The employees who accept, move and deliver the ever increasing loads to the public (despite management's claim that volume's down), are the backbone of the postal service.  The ones bringing it down are those in the position of keeping up with the competition by using their "creative" ideas that ultimately will bring growing customer dissatisfaction, and hopefully not it's own demise.

Post Thanksgiving Reflection

On the morning after Thanksgiving, I was struck by two thoughts. One connects to something old; the other is about something all too new.

The old:  Did anyone notice that Nov. 22 -- Thanksgiving Day -- was the anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy?  I was struck that there was almost no mention of that tragedy, anywhere.  I'm not sure why this happened.  This year was, after all, an odd anniversary -- the 44th.  Maybe next year, more attention will be paid to the date.  But the connection between Thanksgiving Day and that tragedy seemed worth mentioning and reflecting upon.  I know I privately thought about the connection -- and how America has much to be thankful for despite such terrible moments as the JFK assassination. I hope others did too.

Now the new:  I know retailers are nervous about making a profit during this year's holiday selling season, but some stores opened at 4 a.m. today. What gives? The manager of Macy's in Manhattan told WCBS radio this morning that up to 3,000 people were lined up at the door by dawn.  Radio traffic reports told of highway congestion in Paramus before dawn today.  Maybe we're making profits -- and getting bargains.  But at what cost?

Here's hoping you all enjoy Black Friday.

Audio Column: My Thanksgiving Wish List

For years, I've written a column on Thanksgiving.  Always there is much to be thankful for.  But life is not perfect. So, therefore, there are many Thanksgiving wishes -- people and things and events I'd like to give thanks for, but can't, because they have not come through.  Here then, is the audio version of today's Thanksgiving Wish List:  Download Tdaycolumn.mp3

Flasher alert

State officials in charge of Giants Stadium had some interesting news this week.  They reported that 148 fans had been ejected from the stadium during Jets games and another 174 during Giants games.  No surprise there.  When you put thousands of beer-drinking football fans into a stadium, odds are a few will get rowdy.  But here is the real news: Of those ejected from Jets and Giants games, nine were women who exposed themselves.

Much of this flashing appears to take place at half-time of the games along the pedestrian ramp near Gate D of the stadium.  The ritual is right out of Animal House.  Men congregate along the circular ramp and call out for women gathered below to flash them.Most women ignore these idiotic men.  Some flash, however. This routine remained a secret of Jersey life for years until it was reported (finally) this week by the New York Times. 

It's about time.  Good work by the Times. Maybe now the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which runs the stadium, will wake up and eject the hundreds of boorish men who call out for women to flash themselves.

Stem Cell Breakthrough

The news that scientists can develop embryonic stem cells from human skin is nothing short of startling. Embryonic cells are considered key to stem cell research -- which, of course, is considered vitally important to finding cures for all manner of chronic ailments. Until now, it was believed that the only way to create these important cells was to extract them from a woman's egg soon after it had become fertilized.  This process destroyed the fertilized embryo -- and understandably set off important and passionate political and religious debates over the ethics of destroying fertilized human eggs.  Now it appears science may have found a way to by-pass the ethical issue.  There are dangers to this process -- namely, the potential for cancer in skin that has been used to develop these embryonic cells.  But scientists who participated in this research believe these dangers can be overcome. If all this turns out to be true, this is good news. 

Audio Column: The River Edge Turkey Drive

In my column today in the Record, I told the story of how a group of volunteers from St. Peter's Catholic Church in River Edge take time out to collect Thanksgiving turkeys and given them to poor people.  Here is an audio rendition of that column.  Download WS_30110.mp3

Some background:  For the last six months, I've produced audio versions of some columns.  These are an attempt by me to experiment with a new form of story-telling, in a new format -- the Internet.  Today's audio column is another step -- in this case, the actual column recited by me.  For those who have trouble reading, this might be an easier way to "read" the column.

Let me know what you think.