Golf Joke

Nationality: American
Residence: NJ
Primary Language: English

Text/Interview:

PW: “A guy comes back home after a round of golf. Just like all men, he’s usually in a good move after a day on the course but today, he is really dragging. His wife looks at him when he walks in. After looking at him up and down, she notices that he is dragging. The wife asks him what is going on. He shrugs and says that he doesn’t walk to talk about it. After a bit, the wife presses again. Rather than getting into a fight, he relents. The guy explains that everything was going great on the first nine. However, when his best friend Fred went up to tee off on the back nine, he had a heart attack and died right there on the spot. “Oh no!” the wife says. “You’ve known Fred for twenty years. That’s awful!” “I know!” The husband responds. The rest of the round was hit the ball and drag Fred. Hit the ball and drag Fred.”

Context:

PW is an avid golfer and has been his entire life. He does not remember when he first heard this joke, but he knows that it was told to him by one of his golf friends during an outing. PW states that this is a fairly common golf joke and he will hear it in the clubhouse every now and again. He says that it never fails to make him laugh.

My Interpretation:

Golf, just like every other sport, has its own niche community. There are jokes and stories within the golf world that get perpetuated and spread. This is a fantastic example of one of them. This joke is something that a passerby may understand, but only golfers will truly get and find funny.

Spy House

Nationality: American
Residence: NJ
Primary Language: English

Text/Interview:

MW: “When I was in the Girl Scouts, we went on a field trip to this place called the Spy House. The lady who worked there said that it used to be a tavern during the Revolutionary War and the British would come and stay in the house. The Americans would be under the floorboards and behind the walls and they would spy on the Red Coats. Then, they would sneak out through a secret tunnel under the bay and give information to the other Patriots. The lady who worked there also said that the ghosts of Revolutionary War veterans lived in the house.”

Context:

MW lives in New Jersey and has been to the Spy House several times since that initial trip. Although she has never seen any of the ghosts, she claims to have seen the tunnel which goes under the bay and the hiding places behind the walls. MW says that, unfortunately, the Spy House has been closed for the past few years for general upkeep; however, she claims that the ghosts did not get the message and still haunt the house to this day.

Personal Interpretation:

I think that the Spy House has a very cool story. As a fellow resident of NJ, I have heard claims that the house never harbored British, nor is it haunted. However, I have also heard that the ghosts terrorize anyone who crosses the threshold. I think that the duality between these two stories is what makes the Spy House so unique. Some people claim it is real. Others shout hoax. However, you will never know until you visit it for yourself.

Annotation:

If you want to read more on the Spy House, check out this Weird NJ Article:

Weird NJ Author. “Is the Spy House ‘The Most Haunted House in America’?” Weird NJ, November 3, 2014. https://weirdnj.com/stories/garden-state-ghosts/spy-house/. 

Doorframe Superstition

Nationality: Chinese American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Pasadena, California
Primary Language: English

Text/Interview:

DS: “Yeah, according to my mom, it’s bad luck to kiss or hug underneath a doorframe. I’m not quite sure why this is, but I remember my mom told me it’s an old Chinese tradition.”

Context:

DS is a Chinese American who has lived in the United States his entire life. His grandmother lived in China and passed down many of her cultural traditions to her daughter. In turn, the daughter passed down these traditions to DS. According to DS, everyone in his family believes that kissing under a doorframe is bad luck. He does not believe in the superstition; however, he still lives by it. In his words, “Even though I think it’s silly, I still live by this superstition as it ties me to my family”.

My Interpretation:

Personally, I find this to be very interesting. Doorframes are a liminal space between two places. Liminality is often linked to magic and otherworldliness. I feel like the superstition may be tethered to that. Interestingly, when I first heard this, my mind immediately turned to mistletoe and how the West almost encourages kissing in doorframes. It is very interesting that there is a break between the two cultural ideologies on this subject. Although I do not believe in this superstition, I think the fact that DS still lives by it shows the power superstitions have in creating a sense of community.

Cooper and Whipporwill Valley Roads

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: NJ
Primary Language: English

Text/Interview:

TM: “There are these two haunted roads in Middletown, NJ. They are Cooper Road and Whipporwill Valley Road and the two are right next to each other.”

PAR: “What makes these roads haunted?”

TM: “Where do I begin? So basically, on Cooper Road, there’s this tiny stone bridge. The story is that once a baby drowned in the river below and if you stop and turn your car off at night, you can still hear its screams. However, you don’t want to stop your car on this bridge. If you turn it off, it won’t start back up again.”

PAR: “Does that really happen?”

TM: “It did to me and my friend once. I’m not sure if it has something to do with the spirit of the baby or the witch trials.”

PAR: “Witch trials?”

TM: “From what I’ve heard back in colonial times, there were a bunch of witches in Middletown. Over the course of a month, these women were discovered and taken to Cooper Road and Whipporwill Valley Road late at night. There, they were burned at the stake. But before they died, apparently they cast a curse on the surrounding land.”

PAR: “That’s crazy.”

TM: “I know! The craziest part is that I’m not even finished yet. The most recent evil thing to happen on this road is the KKK. From what I’ve heard, they have a secret house on Whipporwill Valley Road and hold marches and meetings there super late at night. These roads are the most evil place in all of New Jersey!”

Context:

TM lives in Middletown, NJ and has driven down these roads multiple times before.

My Interpretation:

There is a lot going on with these two roads and there are various historical legends tied to them. What I think is most interesting is the performative game teens can play. They can go late at night and turn their car off and see the Folklore in action themselves. This makes it into a ritual, as they have the capability of acting on what they believe.

Annotation:

For further research, check out this Weird NJ Article:

Weird NJ Author. “Whipporwill Valley and Cooper Roads: Middletown’s Scariest Byways.” Weird NJ, September 5, 2014. https://weirdnj.com/stories/roads-less-traveled/whippoorwill-valley-and-cooper-road/. 

The Turkey Bowl

Nationality: American
Residence: NJ
Primary Language: English

Text/Interview:

BR: “Every year, we have the Turkey Bowl. It’s our annual Thanksgiving tradition.”

PAR: “What happens at the Turkey Bowl?”

BR: “Funny you should ask, because the same thing happens every year.”

PAR: “So you guys plan it out ahead of time?”

BR: “Nope. Virtually no planning goes into it whatsoever. We have a text group chat no one ever sends messages in and that’s about it.”

PAR: “Then how do you know what’s going to happen?”

BR: “We’ve been doing this for so long – the past 15 years I think but I really don’t remember how it started – and everyone just kind of knows what to expect.”

PAR: “And that is?”

BR: “Well we start off the morning by staking out our territory. We have always played on the same field and, no matter what time we show up, there is always a group ahead of us. As the group finishes up their game, the other families show up with the essentials: donuts, coffee, and beer. Eventually, the group ahead of us finishes and we get on the field. It is at this point that the C family shows up. They always arrive late – like clockwork. We pick teams and somehow they always end up the same. From there, cousin J insists on kicking off the ball. He runs up to it and has the ball pulled out from under him Charlie Brown style. I kid you not, this has happened literally every single year for the past fifteen years.”

PAR: “You’re joking.”

BR: “Somehow I’m not (laugh). Anyways, the game goes on and aunt S shows up. Everyone always tells her to not come because she will get too cold, yet she does anyway. Just like we all said, she gets too cold and complains about the temperature. Then she yells at her kids for not wearing enough clothes. After making several remarks that the game should be over, she leaves. It is around this point that uncle Z thinks he is still a Division 1 athlete and sacrifices his body on a play. He totally hurts his knee and we have to help him off the field. Now the game is winding down. The last play always results in the game being a tie. From there, we go and kick field goals for 20 minutes before heading home to catch the tail end of the parade.”

Context:

BR lives in NJ with his family and has done the Turkey Bowl annually for the past 15 years. He claims that it is a way for all of the extended families to see each other on Thanksgiving before heading their separate ways. BR is unsure as to how the Turkey Bowl actually started; however, the ritual has managed to repeat itself every year since its inception.

My Interpretation:

I think it is extremely interesting that the same events have unfolded annually for the past 15 years without any outside intervention. I think this goes to show that people enjoy ritualistic tradition and will subconsciously and uniformly repeat themselves.