Only two things come from Belmar, cowboy...

Almost two years ago, exactly two months and a day before my 21st birthday, some friends and I went to New Jersey....I know. However, it was our friends birthday and with all of us scattered all over for the summer, we decided it might be nice to get together for a weekend. At the time, I was the only one in the group who wasn't 21, but it was a-ok, cause that night and all other nights I had to be 21 I was not Caitlin, I was Dana somethingorother from Annapolis, born Octobers 13, 1984.



Now, in the bars in my college town, if someone is caught with a fake ID, in general you are told to leave, and half the time they give the damn thing back to you. Not so much in Belmar, NJ. No, no...they took me to jail instead. I should also mention two of my 21 year old friends, INCLUDING the birthday gal, got to get arrested too. You see, they were aiding and abetting me. Obviously.



So there we are, three twenty something little girls, sitting in handcuffs in a police station in the middle of New Jersey. Finally, after a confusing time when they couldn't find my real info in MD's state system and told me they were going to charge me with terrorism if I didn't tell them who I really was (a joke and scare tactic, I'm sure, but damn if I didn't start to cry. Mean policeman. Bad.), and after an embarrassing moment I can only blame on adrenaline in which my friend and I sang the chorus of "Take Me Home Tonight" to our arresting officer (Eddie Money, we hardly knew ye), we were let go and told to come back in a month, go to court, and pay our fine.



$1200 later, I was done with the whole situation, and one may wonder why I'm bringing it up now. Unless you have been living under a rock like Allan and Charlie, you know the Gov. of New York was out screwin some whores. (Excuse me, they were high priced. Making love to some "call girls"), and that the hottie of the moment, Alexandra Dupri, is the one who finally brought him down....you can insert your own joke there. Well, I have nothing to do at work really besides read the news cause well, I work at a newspaper. So. Ms. Dupri is from.....Belmar, NJ.



....Really, NJ? Instead of spending time and money ARRESTING people for having fake IDs, maybe redirect those efforts into say....school programs alone the lines of "ok kiddies, when you grow up, don't have sex for money" I would have been upset if the bouncer had taken my ID that night and sent me on my way, but in all honesty I probably deserved that. I wasn't of age, whatever. But a record I have to disclose when I apply for jobs? That's excessive to the max. I had to make up that max part to drive my point home, because the word excessive just doesn't cut it there.



In closing, Belmar, New Jersey, I'm still boycotting you (sorry, Carolyn). Stop hanging out at the bars arresting 20 and ten month year olds. You have a lot to be proud of. Bruce, obviously. Bon Jovi. Jay and Silent Bob. Queen Latifah. And now, prostitutes!