This is why I don’t tell people I’m from New Jersey when I travel

A woman from New Jersey, whose identity is so far not known to the public, was fined $800 for jumping off a sightseeing boat in Maine.

The incident occurred this past July and allegedly occurred as the boat, The M/V Acadian, was about to dock. She apparently made the jump on a $500 bet with her brother.

Apparently, she was rescued from the water, whether she was in peril or not, is not clear from the information we have. She could have been given up to a $25,000 fine for her antics, but the judge went fairly easy on the woman and settled for an $800 fine.

Sometimes when you're on vacation and maybe have a few cocktails on a sightseeing boat, jumping off on a hot summer day seems like a cool thing to do.

I've been up to New England the past two summers. Two years ago, I was on a ferry to a small island just off Portland, Maine. This past summer we took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard from Cape Cod. Massachusetts. Never did it occur to us to jump off the boat as it docked. I guess we're cautious that way.

We're also careful about telling people where we're from, because this is what the rest of the country thinks people from New Jersey do. And yes sometimes they do.

There are plenty of examples of "a New Jersey man...." that did something hideous or illegal all over the internet. The game is really about "a Florida man..." But if you google a Jersey man or a Jersey woman, you'll find we're catching up to Florida.

We still have a long way to catch up to Florida for nutjobs making the news, but it's a new year and we can dream.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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