1 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:17,160 I was a truck driver in April of two thousand and five driving a dedicated 2 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:23,359 run from Mira Loma, California, to Northern California, delivering frozen food to 3 00:00:23,399 --> 00:00:30,199 Walmart stores. I was traveling east on Interstate eighty up and over Donner's Summit 4 00:00:30,359 --> 00:00:35,479 and into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Close to the Nevada border. There's two 5 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:40,280 lanes going east and two lanes going west, with a four foot concrete center 6 00:00:40,359 --> 00:00:46,119 divider in the middle that separates the two lanes. I was traveling east in 7 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:50,799 the far right lane when I noticed, about one hundred yards ahead and approaching 8 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:56,159 fast, something brown in the middle of the road. As I got closer, 9 00:00:56,399 --> 00:01:00,280 I saw that it was hairy and standing on top of the center divider. 10 00:01:02,479 --> 00:01:06,040 When I was only twenty five yards away, it stepped off the center 11 00:01:06,079 --> 00:01:10,400 divider and in two strides was standing on the shoulder of the road. When 12 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:14,359 I passed it, I thought it was a dude in a monkey suit at 13 00:01:14,439 --> 00:01:19,799 first, but there's no good argument in my head that it wasn't. First, 14 00:01:19,879 --> 00:01:22,680 it was too tall and way too big to be a guy in a 15 00:01:22,719 --> 00:01:26,680 monkey suit. The way it moved and looked was pure power. It was 16 00:01:26,719 --> 00:01:33,040 definitely proportionate to its size and weight. Have you ever watched a video of 17 00:01:33,079 --> 00:01:37,599 a silver back guerrilla run across its enclosure? Well, I wouldn't want to 18 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,319 be standing in front of that big bastard. It would be like standing in 19 00:01:41,359 --> 00:01:45,599 front of my truck. Neither way, You'll be in a world of hurt. 20 00:01:45,879 --> 00:01:49,760 That's how powerful this thing looked. When I passed it, I got 21 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,959 a better look at it. I only saw the right side profile and outer 22 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:59,879 shoulders and back of the shoulders. Its skin was black, and the hair 23 00:02:00,159 --> 00:02:04,159 was long off the shoulders and a little thin in the back, and it 24 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,599 had reddish brown hair. It was so tall that I could see it for 25 00:02:07,639 --> 00:02:13,360 a brief second from my driver's seat looking out across the passenger side window. 26 00:02:14,319 --> 00:02:19,400 I didn't see its face or even notice its head. I used to tell 27 00:02:19,439 --> 00:02:23,560 anyone who would listen that I had seen a bigfoot, but the reaction from 28 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:28,240 people deterred me from that after a while. It would be like cutting a 29 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:32,439 big fart during a job interview. People think you're crazy, so I don't 30 00:02:32,479 --> 00:02:38,159 tell anyone anymore. Y'all ever seen the movie Step Brothers. It's kind of 31 00:02:38,159 --> 00:02:42,319 a corny, cheesy movie, but they do that in the movie and it 32 00:02:42,479 --> 00:02:46,240 is so so funny. Anyway, back to the story, I'm not even 33 00:02:46,319 --> 00:02:50,639 sure if what I saw was a real bigfoot. Hell, it really could 34 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:53,560 have been a dude in a monkey suit. I was once asked, do 35 00:02:53,599 --> 00:02:58,120 you wish you could have seen it up close? And my answer was hell, 36 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:02,039 no, I was safe in the care of my freightliner. My driver 37 00:03:02,319 --> 00:03:07,560 mentor told me that you're going to see some weird, scary things on the 38 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:12,719 road, and he was right. Thanks for your channeling the hours of entertainment 39 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,680 when I binge listened to Dixie Cryptid oh Man, thanks for binge listening. 40 00:03:17,439 --> 00:03:23,080 Truck drivers, I've said it before, that's who's in my mind when I'm 41 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:29,759 recording these I can see them driving down these highways and roads and delivering their 42 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,800 freight at night and there's just nothing to do, and all the lights are 43 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:38,199 shining in their face from the dash, and all they're left with is their 44 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,159 thoughts. And it's really good to listen to some things that will entertain you 45 00:03:42,199 --> 00:03:46,039 and make the time go by. By the way, on the spriaker app, 46 00:03:46,639 --> 00:03:49,520 I have found several good podcasts. I'm gonna give you a couple of 47 00:03:49,639 --> 00:03:53,439 names of them, y'all can write them down or bookmark. I don't know, 48 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:58,520 just try to remember what I'm saying. But I like true crime podcasts. 49 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:00,759 And there's a podcast my wife and I've been listening to that's really good. 50 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:06,319 It's called now, can't you remember the name of it? Campfire true 51 00:04:06,319 --> 00:04:10,680 Crime. I think it is. If you go to the spreaker app, 52 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:15,560 if you download the Spreaker s p r e a k k e R s 53 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:24,079 p r e a k e R Spreaker app from the Place store or your 54 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:30,399 Apple store and look up Campfire true Crime or true crime Campfire. It's one 55 00:04:30,439 --> 00:04:32,720 of it's one of the others. It's one of the other, but uh, 56 00:04:32,879 --> 00:04:38,720 it's really good. It's two women who narrate crime episodes and they're funny 57 00:04:38,759 --> 00:04:43,199 and they give this funny commentary and they find the weirdest things. There's another 58 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:48,439 one called Morbidology. The woman who it's a true crime podcast and the woman 59 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:54,680 who does it is she's got a strange accent, like she has an Irish 60 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:59,800 accent, but she's tried to correct it. Maybe she hasn't, and I'm 61 00:04:59,879 --> 00:05:03,160 just never heard this accent before, but it's really pretty. She has a 62 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:10,000 beautiful voice, and her recordings are flawless. They're not like mine where I 63 00:05:10,079 --> 00:05:14,839 go off on these tangents like this and from a Bigfoot story talking about true 64 00:05:14,879 --> 00:05:19,240 crime podcasts squirrel, But it's anyway. I want to let y'all know that 65 00:05:19,319 --> 00:05:23,839 it just popped in my mind. Go to Spreaker, check out some of 66 00:05:23,879 --> 00:05:28,399 their true crime podcasts, and I think you'll be happy. It's great listening, 67 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,439 especially for the truck drivers. You guys would love this stuff. It's 68 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:39,600 some of the most odd true crime stuff I've ever heard. And there's I'll 69 00:05:39,639 --> 00:05:42,399 tell you. I have some other ones I listen to, and I'll tell 70 00:05:42,399 --> 00:05:46,160 you some more as time goes on. But this writer of this email, 71 00:05:46,199 --> 00:05:47,680 his name is Tony. He said, you can use my name. I 72 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:51,639 don't give a damn what people think now and then this is the very first 73 00:05:51,639 --> 00:05:56,040 sentence he says, So here's my story. So Tony, thanks for sending 74 00:05:56,079 --> 00:05:59,920 this email. That's a cool story. I love these drive by It's kind 75 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:05,120 of like a drive by a bigfoot story. Appreciate you, buddy. All 76 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:09,600 right, here's a Bigfoot story you guys are gonna love. It's not very 77 00:06:09,639 --> 00:06:13,759 long, but it's really good. The writer says, I'm a retired Navy 78 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:18,480 chief and I have visited over one hundred countries, and I've circumnavigated the world 79 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:24,279 three times, twice by sea and once by air. Oh man, that's 80 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:28,800 awesome. In nineteen eighty three, I had just moved back to the outer 81 00:06:28,879 --> 00:06:33,480 Banks of North Carolina. I was stationed at Little Creek, Virginia. In 82 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:38,160 July, my brother in law asked my family if we wanted to go on 83 00:06:38,199 --> 00:06:43,639 a fishing vacation in Canada for a week. I took ten days leave and 84 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,279 my wife and two children, Ben and Cindy, all piled into my nineteen 85 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:53,920 seventy three Vega GT pulling my fourteen foot aluminum boat and motor, and we 86 00:06:54,040 --> 00:07:01,519 drove to I can't pronounce this name, Senatorayate terre Quebec, Canada. Correct 87 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,839 me in the comments. I know you will. The last three hundred miles 88 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:10,319 of the trip was on a gravel road and the car I was driving didn't 89 00:07:10,319 --> 00:07:15,800 have air conditioning. It made for a long, hard drive. When we 90 00:07:15,839 --> 00:07:19,439 got there, we rented two cabins for four adults and five children and we 91 00:07:19,519 --> 00:07:25,360 settled in and began our fishing holiday. Fishing the lakes was great, and 92 00:07:25,399 --> 00:07:30,199 we were having a great time. On the third day, my brother in 93 00:07:30,319 --> 00:07:33,360 law asked if I'd like to go sturgeon fishing on the river that fed the 94 00:07:33,439 --> 00:07:39,000 lake. Any type of fishing is just my game, so I said, 95 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:43,639 heck, yeah, let's go for this excursion. We rented a twenty five 96 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:47,600 foot boat with a wide beam because the water was so swift. We took 97 00:07:47,639 --> 00:07:51,680 my nephews Stevie and Mike, and we left my son behind because he was 98 00:07:51,759 --> 00:07:58,279 too young. We got on the river about twenty one hundred hours and man 99 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,399 was that water moving. It was so fast that we had to use two 100 00:08:01,439 --> 00:08:05,600 anchors to hold the boat. I was in the stern and my brother in 101 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,439 law Tom was in the bow, and all night long we could hear fish 102 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:15,839 breaking water all around us. The fish were strong and the challenge was great. 103 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,600 I had just broken a deep sea rod with a thirty pound test line 104 00:08:20,639 --> 00:08:24,600 on it. I changed tackle and immediately hooked him to a monster. And 105 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:30,560 after a battle, I landed an eighteen pound sturgeon. And if you've ever 106 00:08:30,639 --> 00:08:35,879 caught a large sturgeon, you know how they fight. From that point and 107 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:41,000 for an hour, the fish stopped biting. I was leaning back and relaxing 108 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,960 while the others fished. I had pulled in my line so one of my 109 00:08:45,039 --> 00:08:48,679 nephews could have a better chance of catching a fish. Now, when a 110 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:52,759 fish jumps, there are two different sounds, one when he breaks the water 111 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:58,840 and one when he re enters the water. I realized that someone was throwing 112 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,919 large rocks at the boat because it was just the sound of a rock entering 113 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,639 the water with a KerPlunk. I said as much to my brother in law, 114 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:11,639 and he said he noticed it too, but he wasn't positive, so 115 00:09:11,759 --> 00:09:16,039 he didn't say anything. And then he said, hand me my rifle, 116 00:09:16,799 --> 00:09:20,120 hoping it was a prankster. It would scare him away. And my nephew 117 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:24,080 Mike said, in a terrified voice, we don't have a rifle, Uncle 118 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,759 ben Well. I had brought a large sick Sell flashlight with us, so 119 00:09:28,879 --> 00:09:31,000 standing up in the bow, I held the flashlight up in the air and 120 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:39,600 I swept the bank a large head with the glowing eyes duck behind the bushes. 121 00:09:39,759 --> 00:09:43,879 We immediately pulled up the anchors and lines and got the hell out of 122 00:09:43,919 --> 00:09:48,080 there. And while we traveled back to the dock, my brother in law, 123 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:52,799 who had been there numerous times, remembered an incident that apparently came to 124 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:58,159 mine after seeing this creature. A few years back, he and some of 125 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:03,559 his friends had found a mature male black bear dead near their cabins. Its 126 00:10:03,639 --> 00:10:09,720 legs were in weird positions, like they had been broken or dislocated, and 127 00:10:09,799 --> 00:10:13,440 what was more terrifying was that its head had been twisted one hundred and eighty 128 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:20,039 degrees and rested on its back, its neck broken and its head hanging free. 129 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:24,440 Well, the story heightened the fear that we were going through at that 130 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:26,600 moment, and I told him to get us back to the dock as fast 131 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:31,720 as he could. The following day, we went back to the place where 132 00:10:31,759 --> 00:10:37,240 the encounter occurred, and the bushes that duck behind were seven feet high. 133 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:41,399 That sent a chill down my spine. We never knew what it was, 134 00:10:41,919 --> 00:10:48,720 but whatever it was, it was over seven feet tall. The next day, 135 00:10:48,879 --> 00:10:52,000 my engine blew in the Vega, so all nine of us climbed into 136 00:10:52,039 --> 00:10:58,399 my brother in laws nineteen sixty four, reconditioned to Chevy and paula two door, 137 00:10:58,879 --> 00:11:03,080 and we drove to their home in New Jersey. That in itself was 138 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:07,080 a great adventure. Well, cam that just about does it. Maybe I'll 139 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:11,159 tell you about my next bigfoot encounter that we may have had at our home 140 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:15,840 in North Carolina. You can use this and all the names if you wish. 141 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:18,120 Thanks for all you do, Ben Well, Ben, thank you for 142 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:22,559 the story. That's a great that's a scary story that reminds me of a 143 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:28,799 that reminds me of a documentary. I think I saw it on I don't 144 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:33,600 maybe the History Channel anyway. I think they were in Alaska. These guys 145 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:37,799 were fishing off the bank in Alaska, and this huge grizzly bear was standing 146 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:41,480 in the water. I may have told this before, and not normally I 147 00:11:41,519 --> 00:11:45,879 would say if I have stopped me, but you can't stop me because I'm 148 00:11:45,919 --> 00:11:48,159 recording it, so you got to listen to it. These guys were fishing 149 00:11:48,159 --> 00:11:52,879 and they saw this huge grizzly bear, uh, just kind of wandering around 150 00:11:52,919 --> 00:11:56,759 on the bank, maybe looking for some scraps to eat. I don't know, 151 00:11:58,279 --> 00:12:01,360 but they were watching the grizzly bear. Suddenly the grizzly bear lifts up 152 00:12:01,399 --> 00:12:07,480 on its hind legs and turns behind it, and then it runs like hell 153 00:12:07,759 --> 00:12:11,759 away down the bank and back up into the woods. And about then they 154 00:12:11,799 --> 00:12:18,080 say they saw a bigfoot walk out and stand on the bank, and they 155 00:12:18,159 --> 00:12:22,320 watched it for several minutes. Anyway, I don't remember the rest of the 156 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:28,000 story, but what I know is the grizzly bear is the apex predator in 157 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:33,960 grizzly bear country, and this grizzly bear ran like crazy when this bigfoot walked 158 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,320 out on the bank, or he knew it was coming and he tailed it 159 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:41,679 out of there, because I guess he knew he was in danger. Anyway, 160 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,480 the story about the bear with its head twisted back and dead and its 161 00:12:45,559 --> 00:12:50,200 legs broken reminded me of that story. So if Bigfoot is real and they're 162 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:54,759 that bad, bears are scared of them. That's my take on it. 163 00:12:54,919 --> 00:12:58,840 Everything is afraid of these things. So anyway, Ben, thanks for the 164 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,799 story. Hope I didn't mess it up there with that last little anecdote, 165 00:13:03,919 --> 00:13:07,080 but it just came to mind, and you know me, if I think 166 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,720 about it, I say it. You just got to deal with it. 167 00:13:09,759 --> 00:13:15,879 All right, Let's go to another story. All right. This is a 168 00:13:15,919 --> 00:13:22,279 story I got in my email inbox probably a year or two ago. I've 169 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:26,480 kind of held it. I don't know why I've held it, but Anyway, 170 00:13:26,519 --> 00:13:28,679 I came across it again and I want to share it with you, 171 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:31,679 guys. I do not know if it's true, but it's a good story 172 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:35,360 and the writer is a very good writer. And here's what he writes. 173 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:41,679 My name is Robert, and I'm a thirty seven year old homeless man living 174 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:46,200 on the streets of skid Row near the Arch District in Los Angeles. At 175 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,639 thirty seven, I may still be a young man, but looking at me, 176 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:54,759 you would think I was closer to sixty. My hair is prematurely gray, 177 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:00,639 and my skin is weathered and wrinkled from years of drug and alcohol abuse 178 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:05,200 and from the rigors of living on the streets for the last seven years. 179 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:09,399 This, however, was not always the case. I was once a promising 180 00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:16,559 young executive working for a prominent advertising firm and had just bought a new townhouse 181 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:20,159 on the West Side, and I was engaged to be married to the girl 182 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,679 of my dreams. This was ten years ago, and in some ways it 183 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:28,919 seems like just yesterday, and others it seems more like a lifetime ago. 184 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,120 It was my twenty seventh birthday, and I had much to celebrate. I 185 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:39,200 was heading an ad campaign for a new client, which launched earlier in the 186 00:14:39,279 --> 00:14:46,200 week and by all indications, was a huge success. Escrow had closed on 187 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:50,360 my new townhouse. It wasn't exactly new, but it was new to me 188 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,679 and I was set to move in the next week. Tanya, my fiancee, 189 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,720 had the next two weeks off for spring break, and this worked out 190 00:14:58,759 --> 00:15:03,480 per because she was eager to start moving our belongings from our apartment to our 191 00:15:03,519 --> 00:15:11,960 new townhouse. Tanya was working on her PhD in psychology at UCLA and still 192 00:15:11,039 --> 00:15:18,200 had two semesters left before graduating, and Tanya had arranged a surprise birthday party 193 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,399 for me. She pretended to forget that it was my birthday and told me 194 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:26,080 that we had to attend her friend's art show at a loft in the Arch 195 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:31,399 district. My friend Phil accidentally let the cat out of the bag one day 196 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:35,360 while we were at lunch. He told me to tell Tanya that he couldn't 197 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:37,639 make it to the party because he had to go out of town on business. 198 00:15:39,559 --> 00:15:43,480 Apparently he didn't know it was supposed to be a surprise party and he 199 00:15:43,559 --> 00:15:46,399 felt bad about it, but I told him not to worry. I already 200 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:52,080 suspected something was up when Tanya never mentioned anything about my birthday. She wasn't 201 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:58,039 the type of person to forget those things. I assured Phil that I would 202 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:03,879 act totally surprised when the time came On the night of my twenty seventh birthday, 203 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,960 both Tanya and I were running late because most of our clothes had already 204 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:14,440 been packed in boxes and preparation for the move. Tanya seemed a bit frantic, 205 00:16:14,559 --> 00:16:18,360 saying that we had to be there by seven thirty. So I played 206 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:22,159 the part of the ignorant boyfriend and I asked Tanya, why don't we have 207 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,799 to be there by seven thirty, and all she said was hurry up and 208 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:30,879 get ready. By seven point fifteen, we were dressed and in the car. 209 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,840 Luckily, traffic was light that evening, and it took us about fifteen 210 00:16:34,879 --> 00:16:40,799 minutes to drive from the West Side to the Arch district. Apparently there was 211 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:45,200 some type of event going on in Little Tokyo, which resulted in congested traffic 212 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:52,720 and made it nearly impossible to find parking in the adjacent Arch district. All 213 00:16:52,759 --> 00:16:56,639 the parking structures were full and there wasn't a single spot available on the street. 214 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:02,279 And I could see that Tanya was getting anxious as we kept driving around 215 00:17:02,279 --> 00:17:04,759 the block. I told her that I could drop her off and I would 216 00:17:04,799 --> 00:17:10,079 find parking a little further south and walk back to the Arch District to meet 217 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:12,960 her. She insisted on staying with me, and saying that it was a 218 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:18,319 little rough down that way and that I would need her protection. Well. 219 00:17:18,359 --> 00:17:22,839 We both laughed a bit as we proceeded to drive south of the Arch District. 220 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,240 This actually was a pretty rough part of town, made up of mostly 221 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:33,039 old warehouses. There were plenty of homeless people in the area. We finally 222 00:17:33,079 --> 00:17:37,599 found our parking spot near an old rundown building next to a liquor store. 223 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:42,960 I felt fairly safe parking there because there were plenty of nice cars parked around 224 00:17:44,039 --> 00:17:48,319 us. They were all doing the same as us, parking in the area 225 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:52,640 and walking back to Little Tokyo or to the Art District. As soon as 226 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:56,519 we got out of the car, we were struck by the overpowering smell of 227 00:17:56,799 --> 00:18:00,920 urine. We were half a block away away from a homeless encampment, and 228 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:07,680 there were a few intimidating people in the area. A light rain started to 229 00:18:07,759 --> 00:18:11,400 fall, so I looked in the back seat and luckily my niece left her 230 00:18:11,559 --> 00:18:15,519 Dora the Explorer umbrella from the last time I drove her to school, and 231 00:18:15,599 --> 00:18:21,279 we both shared the space under it as we walked north toward the Arch District. 232 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,440 As we walked past the liquor store, a homeless man standing on the 233 00:18:25,519 --> 00:18:30,319 sidewalk was staring directly at us. I was thinking of stopping to give the 234 00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:33,000 man a couple of bucks, but Tanya pulled my arm to keep me walking. 235 00:18:33,839 --> 00:18:37,319 She said that normally I would stop and help someone in need, but 236 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:42,359 there's something about that man that's making me feel uneasy. Because we're already late 237 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:47,920 too. We picked up our pace a bit as I glanced behind us, 238 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,720 and the man by the liquor store was walking toward us, and when he 239 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:56,039 saw me look back, I heard him yell something. His pace quickened, 240 00:18:56,079 --> 00:19:02,160 so we started walking faster. He began yelling and began running. I told 241 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:06,000 Tanya to run, and as we headed down the street, I looked back 242 00:19:06,039 --> 00:19:10,440 again and the man was still chasing us. I yelled at Tanya to make 243 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:12,640 a turn at the next alley because I knew it led to a much busier 244 00:19:12,799 --> 00:19:18,880 street and we would be much safer around the other people. But halfway down 245 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,119 the alley, Tanya tripped and fell to her knees, and I stopped to 246 00:19:22,279 --> 00:19:26,400 help her back up, and as I looked back, the man had turned 247 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:30,279 the corner and was at the mouth of the alley. We made a sprint 248 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:33,160 toward the end of the alley, but Tanya was limping, and I told 249 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:37,400 Tanya to keep going and not look back. I gave her just a small 250 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,640 push to get her going, and if she could make it to the end 251 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,559 of the alley and out into the street, she would be safe. I 252 00:19:45,599 --> 00:19:49,000 picked up a bottle from the ground and turned to confront the man, and 253 00:19:49,039 --> 00:19:53,279 as I did, I heard the sickening sound of breaks screeching, followed by 254 00:19:53,319 --> 00:19:57,160 a dull thud, and as I looked up the alley, I could only 255 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,599 see the side of a red sedan stopped on the street at the end of 256 00:20:00,599 --> 00:20:06,400 the alley, and I screamed out Tanya's name, and a moment later I 257 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:10,920 heard my own voice echoed strangely in the alley, and I dropped the bottle 258 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,119 and ran to the end of the alley, and there lying on the pavement 259 00:20:14,519 --> 00:20:18,359 was Tanya. I quickly ran to her and cradled her in my arms, 260 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:26,319 but it was no use Tanya was gone. That moment marked the turning point 261 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,559 in my life. I was never quite the same person after that. I 262 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:34,839 soon turned to alcohol to fill the void left in my life, but that 263 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:40,160 didn't help. I began using drugs and that seemed to help me forget, 264 00:20:40,319 --> 00:20:45,839 but only temporarily. I began missing more and more days of work, until 265 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:49,000 eventually they had to let me go, and with no source of income, 266 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:55,319 I soon lost my townhouse. Without Tanya to share the townhouse with me, 267 00:20:55,400 --> 00:21:00,359 it didn't seem to matter much anyway. I stayed with friends here there, 268 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:04,079 but being constantly drunk or high, I soon wore out my welcome and I 269 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:08,920 lived in my car for a time until it was repossessed. The next thing 270 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:12,440 you know, I'm living out on the street. I don't know why I 271 00:21:12,559 --> 00:21:18,119 chose this area to live, perhaps being close to the place where Tanya died 272 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:22,400 it seemed fitting. The first few years of living on the street was difficult, 273 00:21:22,839 --> 00:21:26,799 and in the beginning I tried to maintain some sense of self dignity. 274 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:33,519 I would bathe regularly at the Union Rescue Mission, and I washed my clothes 275 00:21:33,559 --> 00:21:37,000 once a week at the laundromat, and I tried to stay at a motel 276 00:21:37,079 --> 00:21:41,079 whenever I could. But after a while, though, it just seemed easier 277 00:21:41,079 --> 00:21:45,759 to let myself go. There is a sort of freedom when you're no longer 278 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:52,119 concerned with cleanliness or personal hygiene. The only thing that concerned me was getting 279 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:56,839 high. I applied for disability a couple of years ago, and each month 280 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:00,079 the government sends me a check. The checks are mail to the liquor store, 281 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,759 where the owner is kind enough to receive the checks and cash them for 282 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:10,279 me. Between the disability checks and occasionally panhandling, I have enough to keep 283 00:22:10,279 --> 00:22:15,799 myself drunk or high most of the time. Yesterday was my thirty seventh birthday, 284 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:22,319 exactly ten years to the day that my life changed forever, and somehow 285 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:26,880 I relived the worst day of my life, not just metaphorically, but I 286 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,839 actually relived it. And when I woke up, I knew it was the 287 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:34,279 tenth anniversary of that tragic day, and I will never be able to forget 288 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:40,960 it because it will always fall on my birthday. On this particular birthday, 289 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:45,000 I wanted so hard to forget, so I started drinking for the moment I 290 00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:48,480 woke I drank all morning until around noon, and then I fell asleep on 291 00:22:48,519 --> 00:22:53,880 a bus bench. I slept all day until I was awakened by light rainfall. 292 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:59,759 This is just perfect, I thought to myself, What an appropriate way 293 00:22:59,799 --> 00:23:03,799 to cap off my birthday. I picked up my bottle of vodka to take 294 00:23:03,839 --> 00:23:08,119 a swig when I saw the bottle was empty. Damn, I really need 295 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:11,720 a drink, I thought. I started walking to the liquor store when I 296 00:23:11,799 --> 00:23:18,079 noticed a girl who looked exactly like Tanya. Wait a minute, that is 297 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:22,119 Tanya and she's walking with me, I thought, I mean twenty seven year 298 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:26,640 old me. She was walking with twenty seven year old me. A couple 299 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:30,480 were walking down the street right past me under an umbrella, and I was 300 00:23:30,519 --> 00:23:34,799 in shock and all I could do was stare at them. I don't know 301 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:40,720 how, but somehow it was ten years ago. It was witnessing the events 302 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:45,960 of my twenty seventh birthday. This was my chance. If I could alter 303 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:49,200 the course of events over the next few minutes, I could get a second 304 00:23:49,319 --> 00:23:53,160 chance at life that was taken away from me. And I called out to 305 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:59,720 them, but they started walking away faster. I didn't have much time. 306 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:03,799 I started running and yelling out for them to come back, and when they 307 00:24:03,839 --> 00:24:07,200 saw me running, they started to run, and I kept desperately trying to 308 00:24:07,279 --> 00:24:11,480 call them back. When they turned into an alley. Oh no, I 309 00:24:11,559 --> 00:24:15,920 thought, it's happening all over again. And I ran down to the entrance 310 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,599 of the alley and I stopped. I didn't want them to see me running 311 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:23,440 after them, but it was too late. And I heard that sickening sound 312 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:29,519 of break screeching in that awful dull thud, and I yelled out Tanya's name, 313 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:34,000 but I already knew what had happened. The next thing I knew, 314 00:24:34,279 --> 00:24:38,440 I woke up on the bus bench. It was the morning after my thirty 315 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:44,680 seventh birthday. Was that all a bad dream? It seemed so real? 316 00:24:45,799 --> 00:24:48,599 I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and as I looked down at 317 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:52,000 the bench I was sleeping, one lying next to an empty bottle of vodka 318 00:24:52,039 --> 00:25:00,319 was a Dora the Explorer umbrella? Was it a bizarre coincidence? Is it 319 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:03,279 also odd that this is the first time in many years that I don't have 320 00:25:03,319 --> 00:25:08,279 the urge to drink or get high, none at all. In fact, 321 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:12,799 I have decided that I'm going to clean myself up, buy some fresh clothes, 322 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:18,200 and get a haircut. I know the mission has some resources to help 323 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:22,799 find jobs for people willing to work. Maybe I'm getting a second chance after 324 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:30,720 all. Wasn't that last story good? I think it's fiction. I think 325 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:34,279 it is, but it may not be. And it's a you know, 326 00:25:34,839 --> 00:25:41,079 I'm a believer in the Bible and in Jesus, and maybe sometimes God uses 327 00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:45,599 these kind of experiences to wake someone up or to get them to accept what 328 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:49,359 has happened in their life and accept the suffering that goes along with being a 329 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:52,680 believer. Anyway, I just thought it was a great story. It was 330 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:59,720 written really well, and if it's true, I hope this guy's life has 331 00:26:00,079 --> 00:26:03,039 taking a better turn. And if it's fiction, to the writer, you 332 00:26:03,039 --> 00:26:07,119 have a great imagination and you should keep writing. I really appreciate it. 333 00:26:07,279 --> 00:26:11,759 Anyway, thank you all for listening to this podcast. It wasn't as long 334 00:26:11,799 --> 00:26:15,519 as some of the others, but you know, that last story, there 335 00:26:15,559 --> 00:26:18,319 was no need to do another one. That was just It's kind of a 336 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:25,440 moving little story. I don't know. Maybe I'm a little emotional after reading 337 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:26,640 that, but I thought it was good. Okay, I'm going to end 338 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:37,799 this podcast now. Thanks for listening. We'll see you guys on the next one.