Fine, I'll say it: exit 4.

Sometimes it's tiresome being around so many Texans. This has nothing to do with them, personally (as many of my friends are Texan), but more with the fact that most Texans are so damn proud of being from Texas.

I, on the other hand, am from New Jersey. I challenge anyone to find someone who is from Jersey - suburban Jersey, not a nice shore town - who is truly proud of being a Jerseyan. Yes, we have some decent shore towns. Parts of the Pine Barrens are decent, and we do have a splended mythological state horror story (no Cherry Hill student, for example, got past sixth grade without at least shivering as they huddled about a campfire at Mount Misery, being told in gruesome detail the tale of Mrs. Leeds). Beyond that, Jersey has...uh...Hoboken, traffic circles, toxic waste, the Turnpike, and tollbooths at every exit out of the state. What is there to be proud of? (Anyone who answers Bon Jovi and/or Springsteen will be beaten soundly about the head with a plastic spoon.)

Actually, I think that people may develop more state pride, so to speak, as they get progressively further south and west. I must investigate this further.