I do, actually, come from Sussex County, New Jersey.

Here's the rundown on what it's actually like to come from Sussex County, New Jersey. I must refer to the county, rather than any specific town, as there are no towns large enough in the entire county for you to have actually heard of them. I sort of thought life there was relatively normal, but when I see its idiosyncracies lined up in a row like that (and, truth to tell, it's not an exhaustive list), I realize I had kind of a strange childhood and early adulthood.

I miss it, though. I miss the mountains and trees and the deeply quiet nights. In a way I miss things taking just a bit of extra trouble to obtain, due to the fact that the nearest store was five miles away and the nearest town of any size at all was another seven or eight past that. It made you plan, and think, and consume mindfully. (Australia is good that way, too — at least most parts of it: while right in the middle of the big cities things are there for the plucking, in the rest of the country, mindfulness is still the go.) I miss warm, warm rooms on cold, cold days. I miss utter solitude. I do not miss all the times bats got into our house.