Weird New Jersey? I Beg Your Pardon

National Dragster, Jun 4, 2004 by Frey, Bob

Richard Brady is one of the many great photographers who cover the races for National DRAGSTER. As such, you can imagine that he has seen his share of really nice cars over the years. But like many photographers, Richard enjoys shooting things other than race cars, and since he drives to the races as opposed to flying, he spends a lot of time on the back roads of America, where he takes some wonderful shots of the things that make this country great, things like waterfalls, rivers and streams, wildlife, and, occasionally, a stray moose. Lucky him, he actually gets to see moose, but that's an old story by now, and I'm over it. Anyway, like all great photographers, Richard is always looking for that special shot, that one picture that no one else will get. You know what I'm talking about: the picture of the mother and baby eagle together in the nest, the waterfall that creates a rainbow as it cascades down the side of a mountain, or the bumblebee as it hovers gently over a flower (that's what bees do, right, they hover?). Well, with the Englishtown race coming up, Richard told me about some of the great shots he hopes to get when he's in New Jersey. Actually, "great" may not be the right word; "weird" would be more like it. Let me explain.

Everyone who has ever visited New Jersey, or those of us who are lucky enough to live here, know that there are certain characteristics that make this state unique, or, as some would say, weird. New Jersey is one of only two states in the country where you can't get out of your car and pump your own gas. Actually you can, but you'll get yelled at. I won't mention the other state by name because I don't want to embarrass the people of Oregon. Oops!

New Jersey is the state where you have to get in the right lane to make a left turn. And we are still one of the only states that has the infamous traffic circles. For those of you who have never experienced a traffic circle, it's a lot like a "crop circle" only not as easy to explain. And, of course, we are called the Garden State, although visitors to the Garden State who fly into the Newark airport and never travel farther south than exit 10 on the turnpike often wonder what it is that we actually grow. Some think it's smokestacks, but I think they're only kidding. Oh yeah, we also have a magazine that's called Weird New Jersey. Honest!

Richard was the first one who pointed this magazine out to me, and he wanted to know if the things in it were true. Things like, Is there really a Jersey Devil? Does New Jersey actually have a road where you can put your car in neutral and it will roll uphill? And what about that rock in Kinnelon; is it for real? Hey, Richard, this is New Jersey, and all of those things are true, and there's more, lots more. Like the guy in Kendall Park who collects children's rocking horses, and while that may not be all that weird, the fact that he displays them all on his front lawn is. Of course, he only started doing that after a New Jersey judge made him take his previous collection off the lawn because it bothered the neighbors. Imagine getting upset just because your neighbor has hundreds of bowling balls arranged nicely on his lawn. Only in New Jersey.

Just down the road from where Tom Stalba lives is a little town called Deptford, and that's where you'll find the "Pebble Palace," a home that has beautiful landscaping that features miniature buildings, bridges, canals, and other structures. The really weird part is that the whole thing is made out of colorful stones and glass that the homeowner picked up while on vacation with his wife. And Diana thought that our vacation was pitiful because we didn't see any moose. I should have her give the guy in Deptford a call. Or better yet, I'll have her call his wife! After a day or two taking pictures of that architectural masterpiece, Richard can stroll down to Galloway Township and visit the "Insulator House," another example of fine New Jersey lawn ornamentation. This little beauty features glass telegraph-wire insulators that the homeowner has collected over the years while walking over abandoned railroad tracks throughout the state. Weird but true. Hey, I couldn't make this stuff up.

In addition to the latest copy of Weird New Jersey magazine, USA Today also recently featured these New Jersey treasures in its travel section, which means one of two things: Either the travel editor was out sick that day, or the folks at USA Today are as weird as those of us who live in New Jersey. Of course, if Richard Brady wants to combine his two passions, cars and photography, he could always swing by Linden and take a shot of the Mercedes-Benz 240 Diesel ... tombstone! This little sculpture took over a year to make and cost slightly more than $500,000 to build. Weird, or as we like to say here in the Garden State, "only in New Jersey."

That's it for now; I'll see you at the races. I'll be the one reading the latest copy of Weird New Jersey magazine.

Oh, by the way, no part of this article may be reproduced without the express, written permission of Jim McGreevy, Jim Dunn, Mike Dunn, Mike and the "Mad Dog," "Mad Max," Max Tofoya, Larry Maxwell, Larry Dixon, Larry Dixon, Larry Piper, and Richard Brady - especially Richard Brady.