Over the holiday weekend, I found myself driving through New Jersey a couple times.
Going North across the Delaware Memorial Bridge, I found myself wondering, “‘Memorial Bridge’? Did something happen to Delaware? Isn’t the state there anymore? And if it’s not, what did I just drive through?” This train of thought didn’t last very long though since as soon as I came off the bridge, I found myself entering New Jersey.
I’m certain New Jersey is a wonderful place to live. But between medical waste washing up on the shore and the road department attempting to pave every square inch of the state, it’s easy to see where some of the negative images come from. The sign I saw didn’t help things either.
On the New Jersey side of the bridge, there was a programmable sign spanning the road, flashing a pair of messages:

Welcome to New Jersey
If you’re in crisis, call… and the number for a crisis center.

Somehow I doubt the department of tourism was involved in programming that message.
The Southbound sign a few days later wasn’t much better.

Traffic Delay ahead
If you’re in crisis, call… and the same number.

All I could think was that if I’d bought a soda at the rest stop an hour earlier, I really would have been in crisis. But how could an 800 number could solve that?