WEBVTT 1 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:16.519 When I was growing up in South Carolina in the nineteen fifties, we never 2 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:22.600 heard stories about encounters with bigfoot or families of Bigfoot. When I had my 3 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:26.440 first encounter, I didn't know what they were or what to call them. 4 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:30.760 I think my dad must have known something about them, but he never talked 5 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:35.399 about it. We lived on a farm deep in the country, somewhere between 6 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:41.200 Honia Path and Greenwood. We kept all kinds of livestock, chickens, hogs, 7 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:44.799 and a few cows, and a couple of goats. Along with them, 8 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:48.320 we had dogs and cats, and there was no grass around the house 9 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:53.079 because the hogs and the chickens and the other animals roamed freely about eating everything 10 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:57.079 in sight, not to mention the damage that we three girls could do. 11 00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:00.840 Mom and Dad didn't have any sons, but my sisters and I were just 12 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:07.239 as tough and wild as any boys could be. Dad worked our little farm 13 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:11.280 while holding down a job at the fabric mill and were shoals. They wove 14 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:15.120 and printed the fabric and then shipped it off to various other places to be 15 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:21.959 made into clothes and such. And at that time they were printing camouflage material, 16 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:26.879 and that meant the deer hunters around there always had cheap, misprinted cameo 17 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:30.359 cloth to take home to their wives so they could make them into hunting clothes. 18 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:37.159 I remember one hot Saturday afternoon in the summer. Dad was busy with 19 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:40.480 the cows and Mom asked me to run to the store for her to pick 20 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:45.599 a few items up. It was a little corner store set on an intersection 21 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:49.680 in the middle of nowhere. Normally, my older sister would go with me, 22 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:53.719 but she wasn't feeling well that day, and my younger sister was still 23 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:57.560 too little. The store was only a half mile away and there were almost 24 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:01.200 never any cars on the road, but I was old enough to know betther 25 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:06.439 than to talk to strangers. Even if there had been a car, it 26 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.280 was likely to be someone we knew. Now. That was back when cochs 27 00:02:09.319 --> 00:02:15.199 were and nickel and snicker bars were three cents. I took my time getting 28 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:20.759 to the store. I remember a turtle that needed poking with a stick, 29 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:25.360 A few insects were begging for inspections, and I couldn't resist the wildflowers that 30 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:30.840 were in full bloom. But I eventually got there and handed my list over 31 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:35.439 to the storekeeper. It wasn't a long list, but there was enough on 32 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:38.599 it to tell me that Mama was getting ready to bake us a cake. 33 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:44.319 It was hot that day. I knew I would practically have to run back 34 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.800 to keep the butter from melting. Well. I liked running. For a 35 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:52.639 ten year old, I was pretty fast. Well on that day, I 36 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:55.800 was determined to break my old record. Lucky for me, I thought I 37 00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:00.800 had wasted enough time getting there that the sun was beginning to sink behind the 38 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:05.080 trees to the west. The shadows were getting longer, but that meant the 39 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:09.159 trip home wouldn't be quite so hot as the walk there. I had just 40 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:14.759 about reached the long dirt drive that led to our farmhouse when I noticed an 41 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:19.919 awful dead smell that wasn't there earlier. It seemed to be coming in wiffs 42 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:23.639 on the breeze from somewhere inside the tree line. Now those woods are thick 43 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:28.879 with pines, and so thick that it was almost like night once you got 44 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:34.439 past the outer boundary. We never ventured in there. Ever. Dad used 45 00:03:34.439 --> 00:03:37.719 to tell us that there might be bears in there. Well, we never 46 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:39.360 saw one, but if Dad said they were there, we believed it. 47 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:45.080 We didn't need to play in those old woods. Anyway, there was more 48 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:47.879 than enough space to play in the sunlight or under the big shade trees on 49 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:53.000 the farm. As I turned to head up the drive, that smell got 50 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:57.639 stronger, and I shifted my groceries from one arm to the other. The 51 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.960 rattle of that paper bag muffled an other noise that I was sure didn't come 52 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:06.120 from me. It was a crackling sound like sticks breaking somewhere beyond the trees. 53 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:11.719 And then I caught a glimpse of something moving to my right, just 54 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:16.879 inside the tree line. I assured myself that I was hearing squirrels or birds 55 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:23.680 and letting my imagination make giants out of shadows. I was making good time, 56 00:04:23.720 --> 00:04:27.160 but I couldn't seem to outrun the sun. I was sure it was 57 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:31.279 dropping faster than usual that afternoon, and even though the fear was starting to 58 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:34.959 creep in, I had to slow down. It was still pretty hot and 59 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:40.920 humid, and I was getting tired. The house came into view, and 60 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:45.639 so did something else. I didn't quite understand what I was looking at. 61 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:48.360 I just knew that something tall and dark was standing at the edge of the 62 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:53.920 trees ahead of me. There was an embankment there that went up the right 63 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:57.560 side of the drive, and the tall trees came to a point at the 64 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:00.720 top of it. That was where the tall, slender, black, hairy 65 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:06.680 figure stepped out. I could see its face clearly. It was almost human, 66 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.800 but not quite. I had seen pictures of monkeys, but this thing 67 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:16.839 didn't have a snout or a nose that protruded like one. Its ears were 68 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:20.879 small, and it had a pronounced brow line, with deep set eyes that 69 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:26.600 looked black or very dark brown. The hair on its body was kind of 70 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:30.319 long, but more so on its arms and around its head. It didn't 71 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:34.319 really have a neck, but its arms were long and almost to its knees. 72 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:38.920 Or maybe they just looked that way because it was stooped a little. 73 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:43.920 I thought it was smiling at me, but it was such a creepy looking 74 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:47.920 grin, and it made its wide mouth almost sinister. I don't think it 75 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:51.519 was trying to scare me, but it sure was doing a good job of 76 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:57.120 it. In an effort to figure out what I was looking at, I 77 00:05:57.160 --> 00:06:01.600 took a few steps closer to it. It took another step down the embankment, 78 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:05.560 and then I took another step, and it took another until it was 79 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:11.240 all the way to the bottom. That's when I stopped and I started screaming. 80 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:15.480 My kids have a high pitched scream that runs right through you. Out 81 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:19.560 there in the country. It really traveled. It was enough to bring Dad 82 00:06:19.639 --> 00:06:24.839 running with his double barrel shotgun. I never thought of my dad as being 83 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:29.399 small until I compared him to the monster. It must have been twice my 84 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:34.079 dad's height. The creature went back up the embankment, and it looked like 85 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:39.720 it dissipated into the dark forest. To this day, I'm not sure if 86 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:44.120 my dad ever saw it. He had a confused look on his face, 87 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:47.759 and I never heard him shoot. Either he didn't see it or he was 88 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:53.600 afraid of shooting me by accident. He stood there and waited as I ran 89 00:06:53.639 --> 00:06:58.079 to him, and then we both went inside. I don't know what I 90 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:00.759 was looking at that day, but I did. Now. I'll never know 91 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:04.360 what he wanted. Maybe he smelled what was in the bag and he was 92 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:10.600 hungry. I doubt anyone really knows what they are or how they managed to 93 00:07:10.680 --> 00:07:14.920 hide so well for their size. But what I do know now is that 94 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:15.480 I do believe in Bigfoot.