Kristen:

No, it was north Jersey. I THINK people used "dog-leg" and "jug handle" interchangeably. Never quite got it straight. New Jersey was a tough adjustment in terms of driving. Years ago I got SO lost going to the Newark Airport from Basking Ridge. First time I ever went into a bar by myself (I was very young) because I was so ready for a drink by the time I found Newark.

And I had moved from Miami, which had a whole different set of challenges. Like all the highways have two names? There's the normal highway number, and it's ALSO the Dolphin Expressway?

And the turn lanes -- I grew up in the south, so I was used to them. Then I lived in the northeast for 20+ years and when I go back to Tennessee, those reversible turn lanes give me a panic attack. Yeah right, nobody's gonna drive right into me. Sure. Well, they never have but still.... 

Pam 

This thread's getting funnier and funnier.

frozenokie - you actually drove your truck into a river?  Made me think of another language difference - people out east drive  their CARS, SUVS, VANS - midwest, Texas, Oklahoma and other parts of the country drive their TRUCKS.  When I lived in the midwest the car was for church on Sunday - every other day was the pickup truck.   

KristenF - You are 25 miles outside of NYC and you are still in Jersey?  You sure your not in PA?   Just kidding!  There are a few of us Red Soxs fans here but the 7-11 crew just smiles every morning when I go in to get the papers.  The Quiki Mart crew on the other hand I think are Sox fans themselves.

We have jug handles here too and they drive me nuts - esp the ones that have no early signage and your still stitting in the left lane - yikes!  Then there is the - Is it a one lane jug handle or a two lane jug handle - no white lines, so how do you know if you are not a frequent driver of this particular one.  And when there is a jug handle on the opposite side of the road - Holy Crow!

Pam - Quite understandable getting lost around Newark Airport.  A nightmare of roadways and intersecting highways.  Never without construction/detours someplace or other.

 Ann

I was just telling someone here about the traffic circles in NJ. I lived in Philly and worked in Cherry Hill, NJ for a year or so. The traffic circles were a little scary for me - people would be very impatient if you were hesitant and slowed things down. I understand that many of them are gone now, but I have friends in Hazlet, NJ where they have jughandles. In Savannah there are squares in the middle of town, which are just an extra block in the center of 4 blocks, like little parks. When friends from NJ came to visit, I had to warn them that the squares are not like traffic circles - you have to slow down to go around a square! Here in Colorado, we have some RoundAbouts, just like in Ireland. They are not as scary as traffic circles...

Hiya !

I just did read this threat.....its so cool.. I am going to Lawton, Oklahoma on " holiday " lol ,like we Germans say when we talk english, for the second time now. The " slang " lessons I got on here sure gonna help me to make my stay much easier.......thanks!

Greetz from Germany, Diana

 

 

 

Hey Diana,

Oh, you're going on "Holiday" to Lawton, Oklahoma, have a great time.  I love the way you guys say "holiday".  Don't forget though, in the States you are on VACATION!  I'm from NY, but I am sure you will get some great Oklahoma "slang" from the people on this forum, especially the ones that live there.

ENJOY!!!...and have a great stay in the States. lol

Mimi

Traffic circles - very interesting. 

Many as you said are gone, some others have been reaarranged.  Traffic lights, multiple lanes into,  around and leading off, dirctional arrows on the roadway to guide drivers, and four lanes cut right through the center of the circle.  So does that mean it is no longer a circle?  Even if the traffic flow is around the circle as well as through the middle depending upon which light is which color?  Oh - and some of those lights allow a 'right on red'.  

OOPS - looks like rain here this a.m. - 'How High's the Water Mama?' from the flood prone NJ Meadowlands, (very pertinent to certain traffic circle traffic flow)

Ann

ann:

Traffic circles - very interesting. 

Many as you said are gone, some others have been reaarranged.  Traffic lights, multiple lanes into,  around and leading off, dirctional arrows on the roadway to guide drivers, and four lanes cut right through the center of the circle.  So does that mean it is no longer a circle?  Even if the traffic flow is around the circle as well as through the middle depending upon which light is which color?  Oh - and some of those lights allow a 'right on red'.  

OOPS - looks like rain here this a.m. - 'How High's the Water Mama?' from the flood prone NJ Meadowlands, (very pertinent to certain traffic circle traffic flow)

Ann

You have to be decribing the Livingston Circle or the Tunnelle Circle (which is much better than it used to be!). LOL  They're not as much circles, as they are elipses with many tentacles, like a traffic octopus.

I guess I'm not exactly sure how many miles my house is-it could be closer to 20, but I'm Exit 47 on 80West, so I estimate to the GWB, even though it gets a bit curvy once it become 95. :)  And I'm still 45 minutes from PA. LOL  I grew up in Lake Hiawatha (Parsippany), our house is on the Rockaway River, and we were evacuated three times before I was a teenager.  Now I live top of Hook Mountain and I still get water in my basement-the water table is just so high around here!

Hi Kristen - The traffic circle I'm thinking of is the one where Rosie's Diner (the one in the commercials) used to be before someone bought it and moved it out to the midwest somewhere.  Tonnelle Ave !!!!  That place I avoid if at all possible - worst traffic on the planet, if it's the one you're talking about.  Haven't been there since I had to take the Holland tunnel to work in the morning.

Did you have a boat on the Rockaway River - as in a rowboat - they show pics on the news of people rowing their way out of those areas all the time when it floods.  Folks loose so much stuff in the spring and fall floods.  It's really sad.  Even along the Saddle River in this area the flooding can get pretty bad and you see all kinds of stuff at the curb on trash day after a heavy rains. 

It's amazing that you can live on top of a Mtn in Jersey and still have a high water table.  It seems like portions of the state are either all water or solid rock like the Palisades.

Interesting language thing - you are 25 miles from NYC and 45 minutes from PA.  Sounds like you have successfully negotiated both country-ese and city-ese.

Have a good one.

Ann

 

Hiya Mimi,

 

yeah I am sure I gonna have a great vacation in the States. It gonna be my 2nd time in Lawton, Ok and I have to say I love it there......I have been to the States a few times before and I have to say no matter in which part of the States I have been I always made some good experiences. Most of my fam comes from PA....and thats a totally different world compared to Ok.....but I still love it. Have to say....you guys & gals rock.....

Thanks again.......

Greetz from Germany 

Diana

ann:

frozenokie - you actually drove your truck into a river? 

Short answer .... YEP Sure did !!

Long explanation .... In a galaxy far far away ...... OK some odd 30 yrs ago back when I was 9' tall & bullet proof (or thought I was) Several of us would get together on Sunday afternoons & go '4-wheelin' in the river. We would go get our girls, go grab some liquid refreshments (usually made with barley & hoppes ), BBQ grills, steaks & munchies & head to the river. Now you got to picture a wiiiide sandy river. Most of the river bed is dry loose sand. The water channel would meander from one bank to the other usually only taking up only 10-20% of the river bed itself. Usually the river was sallow in most places 1-2' deep. Some places deeper but we tried to only cross the river in these sallow places. Well most of the time we did. I was in the #3 spot, my roommate driving a lifted jeep crossed first, then a Ford bronco, then me in a Chevy Blazer ... well channel is about 2-3' deep & the jeep made it, but the Bronco didn't. My turn. OK smart people would have said whooooo STOP! Remember what I said about being 9' tall & bullet proof, ok here I go too. In to the channel I go, a lil farther upstream(I’m not gonna get stuck like that dummy did), water squirting inside & around the door & POOF!! ..... my chevy drowns out too. And you see there is no way to re-start your truck once your in deep water, all the water rushes up the exhaust system, around the fan blades & even possibly could short out your starter. Well my poor ole Chevy would turn over but just wouldn't bust over ..... well SOB!! I'm stuck too!!! .... gimmie a beer!!!

We broke all the chains we had trying to get the Bronco & my Chevy out. O well back to town for more chains & cable . The last thing I did was place a carton of Marlboro ciggys on the dash ( so they won’t get wet) & we all headed back to town after more chains. By the time we got back it was almost dark. We drove back up river crossing the channel where we had ealier in the day until we got to where the Bronco was stuck. There is was stuck on the far edge of the channel, leaning to the drivers side. You see this river bed is sand & when rushing water & loose sand met, the sand washes away, OK. We hooked on to the Bronco & tugged & tugged ..... poop out it came!! But wait what is this floating by .... well it’s brand new packs of Marlboro smokes ... who in their right mind would throw away perfectly good smokes in the river ...... oh NOOOOOOO!!

Yep, when we got to where my truck was & I do mean WAS, all that was showin was my 2 CB antennas. The river had washed all the sand out from underneath & around the truck. The ole South Canadian was about to swallow my Chevy. It took all 3 trucks pulling in tandem to pull that water logged Chevy out. By this time it’s starting to rain & of course where are we at ... a river bottom & no way to pull this thing out tonite. We pulled it over to the bank, used some of the chain we had, a padlock and chain my poor Chevy to a large tree. I thought well the river might get up & try to wash it away again, this way it won’t go far.

It rained for 3 days, 3 looooong worrisome days. I would drive down to the bridge & look up river (river had been bank to bank full). People telling me stories of many trucks lost in the river. About a drilling rig lost during a rain storm ... ohhhh woooo is me.

Now that a over a week had pasted I found someone that would help me retrieve my poor truck. There we were just Gene & I on his 4wd Massey Ferguson tractor, not a small one either. That ole tractor crosses that river like no body’s business (next time I’m drivin a tractor I say) We find my truck still chained to the tree, a lil down in the back side since the river had gotten up. Gene hooked on to my chevy, told me to unlock the steering wheel & to hang on here we go!! Down the river we went crossing the channel several times me in the stinky Chevy & Gene just a grinnin on the Massey.

$2800 & 6 years later I finally sold my old Chevy Blazer, never told the buyer it wouldn’t float let him figure that out for himself like I did.

To this day I have never set foot back on the South Canadian River ...... I got smart!

True story.

Tony

p.s.

Almost forgot.  Yes it was covered by my insurance under the 'comprehensive' provision.  $25 deductible (miss the cheap ins days)

LMAO  I can just imagine your poor chevy..

Well now that I've stopped laughing - for the moment - I'd like to Thank you for the story.  Especially since it is raining like crazy here and I'm still driving my Chevy Blazer.  Yep - a Chevy Blazer - love my Chevy Blazer.  Just hope it wasn't imported from Oklahoma - YIKES.  What color was yours and did you paint it before you sold it?  Good to know it doesn't float - especially if I have to negotiate RIVER ST. a few towns over.  Very aptly named since it floods whenever it rains and the River water backs up into the whole neighbor hood.

Have you considered writing for short story magazine!  Great story.  So sorry you aren' nine feet tall and bullet proof - coulda had a great career in the movies  Sorry - I've been running around all day and am a bit fatigued:)

Thanks for the story about your poor Chevy Blazer:(

Ann

Tony........Now that's a STORY!!!!   Loved it and I too LMAO with it.   Would that be only a crazy guy thing????  Sorry just had to ask that.    This thread and all the "OFF TOPIC" stories have been a blast to read.    Nothing better than sitting alone at the computer and having a good deep belly laugh!!   (And then a voice from the other end of the house saying "are you OK Mom")

Love and peace........Anne Marie

Diana,

Great to hear you supporting the troops from over in Germany.   Just want to wish you safe travels and pleasant visit into the US.    Is the exchange rate good????  That's always a PLUS!!!     Have a great time ........

Love and Peace........Anne Marie

Great story Tony,  used to work for an ins. co., surprised you were covered but glad you were.   But what memories huh?

Reminds me of our younger days when we still raised cattle, now they're fun memories.  While they were happening I used to keep telling myself  'someday you'll have a good laught about this" and we have!

Hope Sgt Sproul is getting lots of support now,

Anita