From Tehran to Tenafly
My idea of the perfect state slogan: “New Jersey. So?”
Clearly the place has a mystique all its own:
In a television interview … on the CBS show 60 Minutes, reporter Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-Canadian, recounts the Revolutionary Guard’s obsession with the Garden State.
The guard seemed to believe sex and alcohol can be enjoyed easily in New Jersey.
“I think the words ‘New Jersey’ sounded to him like the most American place that you can be in your life,” said Bahari, who was held captive for 118 days in an Iranian prison.
“He hated me and he was jealous of me at the same time because I had been to New Jersey.”
We will not mention, for the moment, that signature song of Springsteen’s that idealizes getting the hell out of Jersey, or at least out of Asbury Park.
Me? I didn’t spend much time there, but I have fond memories of the Garden State, and of several drinks ingested there. (None of that other stuff, though.)
