and the winner of the bordentown slogan contest is…well it was hard to pick one winner. my favorite is probably the most obvious. “Bordentown: Let’s get…BORED!” -Diane’s friend Elle. Kendall, our guitarist T, and some other folks had very similar ideas. it’s hard not to be bored in bordentown, really. using borders was also a popular direction. some were “Bordentown, NJ smells like it borders your bathroom” -Rochelle, and simply “Bordentown- the town with borders” - Diane

some others were “Bordentown. It’s Boring…but Mastori’s is swell.” - K Lake (urging us to try Mastori’s Diner while we’re here) and “Bordentown- home of the GOOD Bonaparte” -Diane. she explains “Bordentown, NJ, was the home of Napolean Bonaparte’s eldest brother, Joseph (former king of spain and the indies), for seventeen years.” I’ve also learned that it was founded by Quakers.

thanks for playing the contest with no real prizes and no awesome rules!

today we had an okay day. i’ve had a bit of a fever and a sore throat all week but i’ve been trying not to talk about it. we went to Red Bank, NJ. it is a very nice town. quaint and almost ritzy looking. kinda like manayunk PA i guess, only not as hip.

there was no one at the club when we arrived, so we tresspassed onto the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club docks and caught the end of the sunset.

walked around town for a little while. went to a CD store where a lot of Chasing Amy was filmed. Kevin Smith is from Red bank. i think Bon Jovi lives there and Bruce Springsteen too.

no soundcheck. the house sound guy had a bit of a new jersey attitude. for example “what is the order of the bands tonight?” soundguy: “i really don’t care.”
“what’s the best place to park the van and trailer?”
“where are you guys from?”
“Cincinati.”
“that’s probably the best place to park it.”
the show was alright. there were some people there, but the room was a little too large. just seems like we have had some trouble making stuff happen in new jersey. i don’t know why that is. just something off.

we had an impromptu meeting with one of our managers’ co-workers after the show, and headed back. we had an incident on the way.

on the street we’re staying at in bordentown, there is a large median that makes turning left into our hotel impossible. so tonight on our way home, i made an illegal U-turn just up the road. right in front of a cop.

we were pulled over. i explained what we had just come from a rock show (as if long hair, the trailer, our clothes, etc. didn’t give it away) and that we were staying just up the road. he asked why my eyes were glassy. i said it was because i was really tired from the shows and driving. i was telling the truth. fortunately as usual i was 100% sober. had not a drop to drink. so naturally i began my ABC’s: A, B, C. And then, G.

that’s right, A, B, C, G.

sweet. sing it with me a b c g e f d. shortly thereafter i had to step out of the van, and did some dancing and walking to prove my sobriety. i finally asked “look if you guys have a breathalizer i’ll gladly–”
“no it’s fine. you passed the tests. ”
so i was allowed back to the van where we waited and waited. they let us off of the moving violation. but unfortunately our tags were expired, so we’ll have to deal with that. that was one of trav’s less enjoyable responsiblities that is now probably T’s responsibility.

anyway we made it the last few hundred yards, and it is now time for sleeping. i am going to try and relax and have some fun at dewey beach the next couple days. don’t know if i’ll write a journal or not.

take care!
joe