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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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Author Archives: Anthony Olszewski
’71 — my father’s car appeared in a NYC police surveillance photo
Back in ’71, my father took me to see The Anderson Tapes when it opened over in Times Square. Early in the summer evening, he parked the car — a distinctive black and white Buick Wildcat — on 47th St. … Continue reading
EDEN’S GATE by David Friedland
EDEN’S GATE I woke in the reflected light of Lucifer’s Moon frozen, as shadow eyes hunt me glowing brighter as the Spirits commune I wait at Eden’s gate for the serpent to shed his skin and let me in His mate … Continue reading
A week or so after the abduction and murder of Butch Cap, . . .
In 1977, a week or so after the abduction and murder of Butch Cap, Tommy — a dealer in rare powders — was back in his North Bergen cliffside location and I visited him there. Partly from his pack rat, … Continue reading
Crime at City Hall in Jersey City
In the mid-60s, a protohippy (as luck would have it, a first cousin to the UBERHIPPY), and two accomplices, went to City Hall in Jersey City during normal business hours. Once inside, they hid and waited until the dead of … Continue reading
The Protohippy celebrates New Year’s Eve
One New Year’s Eve in the mid-’70s, a by now through-the-mill Protohippy (a first cousin to the Uberhippy, as luck would have it) and his brother faced a dilemma. They were stuck inside Mom’s Greenville apartment without the cash to … Continue reading
The Kiss by David Friedland
The Kiss They told me I would die. I have died a thousand times, often without crying , at times by will as when I left behind, the desiccated skin I called my life . I died the moment I … Continue reading