Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Baby, Don't Joo Have A Mama, or a Wife...

..want to see joo alive again?

I used to drive over the road for a company out of Greenville South Carolina. Mostly I went to Laredo and El Paso. I went to Laredo at least 400 times. Went to El Paso over 100 times. I loved driving the big open roads of west Texas, rolling west through Big Spring and Pecos, to El Paso. No traffic and fantastic scenery.

One day, six years ago, I picked up a load in Laredo, and it was going to Camden New Jersey. This was weird, normally I took Laredo loads to the big BMW plant in Greer SC.
The trip to Camden was 3 days. On day two, I looked at my GPS and realized, I could push it and arrive in Camden at 10 pm on day three. I could just park before the terminal, and would be ready to unload at 8am. I had a half dozen terminals in Laredo where I just parked in front for the night, and I was first in line for the 8am unload. I did that 100 times. Of course, usually in Laredo I stayed at the big TA truck stop.

Not being familiar with New Jersey, but I had heard that traffic there was terrible, there on day two I called the terminal in Camden. I got a secretary on the phone, a Latina gal. And I said "Can I roll in there at ten o'clock tonight, do you have room for me to park in front?"

And she replied, "Baby, don't joo have a Mama, or a wife, who want to see joo alive again? Because, if you park in Camden for the night, next time your Mama going to see joo at you funeral."

I was taken aback. I hung up the phone. At first, I thought she was kidding. I'm a Georgia boy, I don't know anything about New Jersey. Then I realized she might be telling the real story.

I stopped at the big TA truck stop in Wilmington. That night I looked up Camden on the laptop. Good Lord my Latina gal wasn't kidding. Camden was a basket case. In 1945, Camden was one of the most prosperous cities in the world. Huge shipbuilding industry, most US destroyers used in WW2 were made there. World headquarters of Campbells Soup, and as well HQ of RCA records. Thousands of high-paying blue collar jobs. But, in 1970, Camden had a race riot. Half the city burned down. All the white people with jobs left.

The shipbuilding collapsed, and RCA and Cambells left town. Today, Camden has the highest rate of drug addiction in America, and is second in violent crime. Population 48 percent black and 47 percent Hispanic. As I drove around the town, I saw hundreds of beautiful brick apartment buildings, and 3 bedroom houses, built in 1910 and 1950, all abandoned.

Camden looked like a sci-fi movie, about life on earth, ten years after the nuclear war. A dystopian nightmare.

I made it in to Camden OK in the morning, actually the traffic wasn't too bad, and got unloaded by 9 am.




I took this pic of the building adjacent to the terminal where I unloaded, at the intersection of 16th and Mickle St. A multi million dollar 5-story commercial building, it was thriving in 1960, but in 2017 an abandoned ruin. The little 3-story next door, doesn't look too good, either.

I'm glad you called that lady and followed that advice.

Duly noted

Funny, but I totally believe it.

Missed my exit in St.Louie & took the next, or 3. After driving a coupleblocksI decided I didn't want to get out of the pickup, & entered a Mc Donalds drive through.

The little teenageblack girl at the window saw me & here eyesgot as big a saucers. She asked, Mr.what are you doin here. I asked if she could tell me how to get back on I64. She said no I don'tbut get out of here, turn right, & don't stop fo nuthin or talk to nobody till you drive 8 or 10 blocks,,,,,,,,,you don't need to be here.

Dammit, I'd seen part of a gunfight in E. St.Louie just a few years prior. I believed her.

Oh Lort

There used to be a Whataburger in the dark part of Dallas like that. Been there. Once after a gun show. 😬

Ain't no good reason for Caucasians to go north of Cincinnati.

Indeed.

Have you been to Wingfield's on S. Beckley? Great Burger, extremely dark.

simonkenton7, we had a bit if a similar experience!



Back in 1996, we (wife and I) were owner/operators home-based out of Commerce City, Co. working for a “fly by nite” trucking co. We made a delivery to the LA, Cal. area, and were told by dispatch that we were to go to a series of small Chinese owned/run warehouses in Culver City area for loads back to Denver.

In stead of giving us all of the business locations at one time, we would load, cal dispatch, wait a while for a new address…..then repeat. We finally arrived at our last warehouse, too late to load. We asked if we could park in their lot in front of their warehouse….in very broken English, he explained how dangerous it was to be there after dark. While my Chinese is pretty poor…..his message was easily understood! 🙂

The nearest truck stop was in Ontario, Ca., only about 55 miles from our location…..but a very long trip in LA rush hour traffic. It seemed we had barely gotten to sleep, and it was time to get up and head back into the jaws of hell! memtb

Wife and I lived in Houston when we were first married in 1973. One evening we were shopping and ended up in a very tough part of town. A police officer pulled me over. He said, “do you know where you’re at?” I said no, we’re kinda lost. He said you’re in the 5th ward and you do not belong here. He gave us directions and “orders” to leave, then he followed us till we were in safe territory. .

simonkenton7 nailed it regarding Camden, NJ. It went from a really decent city and place of employment - two minutes across the Ben Franklin Bridge/Delaware River from downtown Philly - to an utter mess and dangerous place in a very short time.

I was born/raised across the river and a few miles south of there - all along the river was significant manufacturing/industrial/ship building/financial area - and experienced Camden when it was very good. The place where I was born and schooled - Chester, PA - went a very similar route in the late 60s and onward - a very good city ruined.

That lady on the phone was one of the remaining helpful people there - glad you called her.

Uncle was doing some graveyard genealogy in an old cemetery in San Antonio. Cop pulled up and asked him if he had a death wish. Cop said he'd take his lunch break and watch after my uncle but gave him about 30 minutes to get done and depart.

Didn’t Blacks used to get told the same thing about being in White towns after sunset?





P

Camden sounds like a double of downtown Detroit.