John Hart -- One of New Jersey's five signers of the Declaration of Independence

Born: 1713

Birthplace: Hopewell, New Jersey

Work: Farmer, Member of the New Jersey Assembly, 1761-1771; the Committee of Safety, Committee of Correspondence, 1775; Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Member of Provincial Assembly 1775; Elected to the Continental Congress, 1776.
Died: May 11, 1779



John Hart was a New Jersey farmer. His exact date of birth is not known. His father had moved from Connecticut to a farm near Hopewell New Jersey. He helped to build, and later inherited, that very successful farm and was a leading member of his community. His first public service was a justice of the peace.
In 1761 he was elected the New Jersey Assembly, there annually reelected until the assembly was dissolved in 1771.
In 1775 he was appointed to the local Committee of Safety, the Committee of Correspondence, and a judge to the Court of Common Pleas. He was elected to the newly formed Provincial Congress of New Jersey in 1776, and sent as a delegate for New Jersey to the Continental Congress that year.
Hart's property was looted in the course of the war. His Wife died on October 8, 1776. When the area was overrun by the British in November of that year, he was forced to hide for a time.
He was engaged in public service throughout the war, twice reelected to the Congress and also serving the Committee of Safety and as Speaker of the New Jersey Assembly.
On June 22nd 1778 he invited the American army to encamp on his farm. Washington had lunch with him, then had his famous Council of War at the nearby Hunt House.
Twelve thousand men camped on his fields during the growing season. After resting and preparing for battle the troops left on the 24th.
On Tuesday, May 11th 1779, he died at the age of 66.

Cut and pasted from www.ushistory.org; click on title to go there

Is there a miracle around the corner?

Behold the Honda Clarity, a ZERO emissions vehicle available right now in southern California, and one that could be in your driveway before the Yankees make it to their next World Series.
The Clarity runs on hydrogen fuel cells, and while the country is pretty much barren of hydrogen fill-up stations, and Exxon has no immediate plans to rectify that situation, don't despair; Honda may have solved this problem already with the creation of the home power station.

This little beauty -- no bigger than most furnace/central air units -- not only will top off your Clarity, but will also heat and light the house -- and more efficiently than your present system.

The Clarity performs like a zippy sedan, has a 270-mile + range, and will cost about what a medium-range luxo-box goes for today. There are 1500 of them running in California right now, on 3-year, all-free maintenance, $600 a month leases.



Learn more -- click on the title of this article.

If you like hamburgers...

From Louis' Lunch in Connecticut



...you gotta click on the above title; lotsa Jersey spots, but a little scrolling gets you across the country (We need the gas prices to come down first!)

I was pleased to see the White Castle double cheeseburger mentioned, along with a Johnny Rockets number -- just 'cause it's a chain doesn't mean it's in the Burger King league.
Over the years I've eaten at a surprising number of these joints, so I must be at least a minor-league expert. Tell ya what, though; I'm definitely hitting that Newark Brazilian joint over the weekend. That's a YOWZA burger (and here it is, on this page).

George Denis Patrick Carlin, 1937-2008

It's difficult to say anything about his death, because George wouldn't have liked it. He once said he wanted his epitaph to read: "He was here just a minute ago."


Indeed he was. Here's a clip of George at his best.

Keansburg has classic bumper cars!

For those of you old enough to remember, bumper cars were first called 'Dodgems,' and for a decade beginning in the 1920's they were the only game in town. Dodgems were almost totally undriveable -- you could spend half your ride just trying to turn around -- but it was still thrilling to have a chance, no matter how slight, to crash into your father.
But then came the fabulous Lusse Brothers cars -- steerable, with headlights and air bumpers, built from some kind of indestructible plastic -- YOWZA! You could CREAM Dad! You could race alongside him, cut him off, whack him into the siderails. Heaven for an 11-year-old!

The Lusse guys came out of Philadelphia, and their innovations quickly dominated the ride. Indeed, rides became so frenetic that many amusement parks hired security guards to stave off what surely was the birth of road rage -- despite "NO HEAD-ON COLLISIONS" warning signs, nose-to-nose crashes were like grand-slam home runs, and the joy of such bone-jarring hits was easily worth instant ejection from the premises.

Alas, most bumper cars today are imported from Italy. They are lighter and slower than the classic Lusse, and they don't 'bump' so much as nudge.

But as the Lone Ranger's narrator used to say, "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear!" The Keansburg Amusement Park still runs the classic Lusse Cars! The entire park, in fact, is like Jersey Shore time travel -- Skee-Ball, Fascination, funnel cakes, sausage and peppers and more people under 21 than over.

Go get some extra-hold Polident and have at it!

For the VERY interesting whole story, click on the title