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Second Thief, Best Thief – An Old Jersey City Saying
The Jersey City Waterfront once was covered with warehouses and piers. Adjacent to these were miles of railroad yards dotted with innumerable sheds and small buildings for use as storage and as workshops for mechanics, machinists, and welders.
During the depression, children from impoverished families would climb onto the roofs of the outlying structures, both to hide and to gain a view of the surrounding area. From up there, they'd watch for workers stealing from the docks, the trains, or the warehouses. The initial crooks would sneak off into the weeds to hide the swag with the idea of retrieving it at the end of the shift. Seeing opportunity made available, the kids would wait a bit for the situation to cool. Then, they'd climb down, grab the goods, and make a getaway through the vacant lots.
Practitioners coined the saying "second thief, best thief" to describe this method of survival.
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Monthly Archives: December 2012
The Protohippy’s can of worms
Back before the dump behind the Statue of Liberty’s back had been turned into a state Park, the Protohippy (as luck would have it, a first cousin to the Uberhippy) was on one of his bench warming breathers between stretches … Continue reading
Roger Rajesh Chugh has found himself back in cyberspace, and he’s not happy about it.
An embarrassment returns to the Web Republican ‘remakes’ state official’s ex-site Thursday, December 12, 2002 BY JOSH MARGOLIN AND JEFF WHELAN Star-Ledger Staff Roger Rajesh Chugh has found himself back in cyberspace, and he’s not happy about it. Chugh, the … Continue reading
City Web site under police investigation
City Web site under police investigation Originally appeared in The Jersey Journal By Daniel Schiff Journal staff writer 07/23/01 Jersey City’s official Web site is now the focus of a police investigation. The Jersey Journal reported in Saturday’s editions that … Continue reading
Seventh Grade Art Class
One afternoon during seventh grade, I was in the art room with a few of my classmates (all guys). We were talking with the instructor and somehow the subject turned to photography. He said that what he found particularly interesting … Continue reading
The Irish Sweepstakes
When I was a kid, now and again there was talk of distant relatives winning the Irish Sweepstakes. Nobody ever actually knew one of the lucky; it always was a cousin of an aunt’s in-laws who’d emigrated to Australia. I … Continue reading