Weird Jerseyania

I've lived in New Jersey since 1989, and I've heard a lot of stories about strange goings on in this unusual state. Case in point: The Gatherers, a spiritual sect, naturalist commune and survivalist group located in the Pine Barrens, a forested area in the southern part of the state (which is also home to the legendary Jersey Devil). Here is their mission statement:

"We take human beings, born in captivity, re-educate them, and re-release them into the wild. In this way, we strive to teach people to become caretakers of the planet. Our efforts will allow the Great North American forest to be restored to 60% of its original size within the next 100 years."

Ambitious, no?

Part of what's interesting about this group is that they've created their own unique language. As detailed in a recent article in Weird N.J. magazine, they call a plantain a "910nagzmih" and refer to the land underneath their thatched huts as the "qckinz9zc." The numbers in their words have assigned sounds; for example, the number 4 "sounds like tl, a click Donald Duck would make using the tongue blowing air through the cheek." Uh huh.

"Mediocrity is the enemy," it says on the Gatherer Institute's home page. No doubt.