Perhaps the strangest experience in the Tunnel Diner was late one night (extremely early one morning?) A group of four JCPD arrived and went to the counter. One I knew and he sat next to me. They began to chat. “Have you seen (a woman’s name) lately? “I wish.” “Did you hear about me and (another JCPD)?” “No.” “We spotted (a woman’s name) in a taxi at Journal Square. We pulled the cab over and put her in the patrol car. The cab driver said ‘What is going on here?’ ‘Special investigation.”
I’m wondering to myself what to do when I get hauled in front a Grand Jury concerning the abduction of a prostitute. Memory goes blank from getting kicked in the head? Poor hearing from fireworks when I was a pre-teen?
Luckily, nothing ever came of it.
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About Anthony Olszewski
Anthony Olszewski has written on a wide variety of topics: cage birds, tropical fish, popular culture, the poetry of Amiri Baraka and a chapter on genetics for a veterinary text book, as a small sample. He worked as an editor at a magazine produced by TFH, the world's largest publisher of pet books. Anthony Olszewski is the author of a booklet on Hudson County history, Hudson County Facts, and a book of short stories, Second Thief, Best Thief, that are sold on Amazon.
Anthony Olszewski established PETCRAFT.com in 1996. A pioneer on the Web, the Site continues to provide unique information on a range of companion animals, focusing on birds and fish.
As a community service, he operates Jersey City Free Books.
Anthony Olszewski was born in Jersey City, NJ (Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital, 1956) and is a member of Mensa.
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.
