My Mom Saw the Jersey Devil
Yes, the Jersey Devil is in “The Sticks”
“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. And like that, poof. He’s gone.” ~ Verbal, The Usual Suspects
Mom had a serene and content childhood as a quiet, red-headed girl in the vibrant, predominantly Italian neighborhood of Nutley, New Jersey — just a block away from Martha Stewart, although they were not acquainted.
When she and her two younger hell-raising sisters (more about them later) were approaching their teenage years, my grandfather Lewis (“Poppa”) was smitten and bitten by the “let’s move the family to a rural area” bug, and he settled on the very isolated (yeah, backwoods) Hopatcong, New Jersey.
After a family summer vacation in the area, Poppa became enamored with the idea of lakeside living. He envisioned boat rides, swimming, his three daughters impressing him with their newfound love for diving, family picnics, fishing, and a yard complete with a pool — all the charms that Hopatcong had to offer. In stark contrast, Mom remained unconvinced. Apologies to the residents of Hopatcong, but Mom referred to the area as “the sticks” then, and continues to do so to this day. (Please bear in mind this was in the fifties, so it had a somewhat rustic “stickish” charm).
Hopatcong — go ahead, you can call it the sticks, if you say it with love — is filled with long and winding roads, hungry deer, possums, raccoons, and plenty of mosquitoes. Ugh, I cannot stand those little blood-sucking bastards
“The Lake” is the perfect place a guy like Tony Soprano would send out his wiseguys to dump a tattletale’s body deep in the woods after dismembering it on the basement butcher table over a few glasses of homemade red.
BADA BING!
Mom was NOT a happy camper at the lake, she was a city girl after all, on the verge of dating hot city guys with hot city cars, but she had no choice, so she made the best of it.
Soon, she’d tire of her newfound rural existence. To keep boredom at bay, she developed a voracious appetite for books.Mom was a voracious reader, at night she would curl up with her novel, a bag of the always greasy Wise potato chips, and bottle of Coca-Cola at her side. something she enjoyed all her life.
Speaking of mom’s book collection, when I was a little I remember looking through her collection of books in our hallway bookshelf as if they were candies displayed at the local dime store. Those titles and spicey book jacket descriptions (many with words I did not yet understand) those colorful covers — even the authors’ photos fascinated me. My imagination would run wild and I’d dream up my own little stories from mom’s books, and what made it more fun was I didn’t know the difference between fiction and non-fiction at the time.
(Italian Lesson: evil spirit = diavolo / the devil = il diavolo, il demonio)
Besides books, mom’s teenage years in the fifties consisted of a bit of drag racing adventures, plenty of shopping, and, of yeah, the Jersey Devil even made a cameo appearance. What the heck is the Jersey Devil, you might ask? Jersey D, as he is so affectionately known throughout the region, is a supposed mythical creature that has haunted New Jersey for the past 260 years. The rumor is that the little naughty bugger Jersey D. has terrorized towns and even caused factories and schools to close down. Yet, many people believe that the Jersey Devil is a legend, plan ol’ bullshit — a Sasquatch-esque beast simply originated from folklore.
Yes, Mom witnessed the Jersey Devil prancing around through the woods one snowy winter day. Maybe even peeking at her! And yes, she told me he was very red, very disturbing, and very sinister. She called out to her Dad, who nonchalantly remarked, “Oh yeah, that’s the Jersey Devil!”
WHAAAT?
Funny though, I always pictured that little red dude with his tiny pitchfork on the cans of Underwood deviled ham I’d see in the supermarket — what a creepy little shit, if you ask me!
Was that the little devil mom saw in the woods?
I have no idea, but it is a fact that over 260 people have sighting tales to share with the world, and although discrepancies in these stories exist, the origins provide some validity to the existence of the Jersey Devil.
OK, enough about that little red guy. I’m starting to get goosebumps.
Have you ever seen something NOT OF THIS WORLD?
DO TELL!
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GRAZIE!
