1 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,679 All right, let me see if I remember how to do this. I've 2 00:00:14,679 --> 00:00:18,679 been busy so long, something been gone so long, But I'm back, 3 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:24,519 and I hope people are still around to listen. Let's jump into Mark's story 4 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:29,239 here. He's from southern California, and here's what he writes. You recently 5 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:33,280 said that you didn't know if there were bigfoot in southern California. Well, 6 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,520 I can assure you that there are, and they have been there for a 7 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:41,119 long time. In fact, one of the very first bigfoot encounters I heard 8 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:46,679 online was around seventeen years ago, and it came from a former marine stationed 9 00:00:46,719 --> 00:00:52,159 at Camp Pendleton Marine Base. My ranch was nine miles up the canyon from 10 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:57,119 the back of the base. Bigfoot stripped my fruit trees every spring. It 11 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:02,320 scared my big dogs into their beds. They silenced the millions of frogs and 12 00:01:02,399 --> 00:01:11,239 Deluze Creek nightly and roam the canyons around Fallbrook Temkula Vista. I'm sorry if 13 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,840 I didn't pronounce that right. And I went to the border of Mexico lost 14 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:22,120 mastros de la Fonterra. The monsters of the border are no joke to the 15 00:01:22,159 --> 00:01:26,439 Mexican people crossing the border illegally in southern California. A route they used to 16 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:32,239 take through the back of De Luz had so many people disappear it isn't used 17 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:38,280 anymore. Sheriffs, rangers and border patrol agents and ranchers all have stories to 18 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,359 tell. If you're among the trusted to keep your mouth shut now, I 19 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,840 too have had encounters. Once scared me so bad that my bones turned to 20 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:51,040 ice. At night, I would sit on my back patio with my two 21 00:01:51,079 --> 00:01:56,159 eighty pounds all business ranch dogs and smoke a cigar, have a beard, 22 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:00,480 watch the stars. This was how I relaxed after running my business all day. 23 00:02:01,519 --> 00:02:06,519 The frogs in the creek would shut up around eleven PM. At the 24 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:10,840 same time my dogs would slink into their beds in the garage. No amount 25 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:15,319 of coaxing could get them to come back out, and I let them room 26 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:19,520 free. And some nights they would be out late and then come racing back 27 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,439 into their beds without stopping to sit with me. One afternoon, my share 28 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:29,120 friend came down my entry road and headed straight up to the barn without stopping. 29 00:02:29,759 --> 00:02:31,759 I was working up at the house, but he motioned for me to 30 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:36,360 come on down to the barn, which was curious to me well. I 31 00:02:36,439 --> 00:02:38,719 met him there and he asked if I knew of any holes around, meaning 32 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:45,479 graves and waiting for thieves and the avocado groves, which include hundreds of acres 33 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:49,159 in the area. Then he wanted to know if I'd seen a couple of 34 00:02:49,199 --> 00:02:53,520 suspicious guys around my property in an old pickup. He went on to explain 35 00:02:53,560 --> 00:03:00,280 that these guys were junkie thieves and they had disappeared a week earlier. Their 36 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:02,800 goals that they were going to rip off my barn because they knew I had 37 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:07,400 expensive equipment, and I guess the girls had cased my place with the guys. 38 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:12,240 I told him that I hadn't seen anyone or anything, and then he 39 00:03:12,319 --> 00:03:16,400 went on his way. Two days later, I awakened at two am to 40 00:03:16,439 --> 00:03:22,520 find my two dogs facing the barn and growling loudly. I dressed and walked 41 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:27,199 down to the barn with my shotgun and my two fierce dogs. I decided 42 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,240 it was better to go through the trees and stay off the road in case 43 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:34,360 I was about to surprise the junkie thieves. But when I got to the 44 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,680 barn, I reached in and flipped on the lights. As I leveled the 45 00:03:37,719 --> 00:03:40,360 gun and there was no one there. There was nothing but me and my 46 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:46,479 two brave canine companions. And then I heard a noise from down behind the 47 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,919 barn in the equipment area. So I turned out the light and I acted 48 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,439 like I was heading back to the house, but instead I headed around the 49 00:03:53,439 --> 00:03:59,199 barn the other way. Again, nobody was there. I crept along the 50 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:03,080 eighty foot tap, a five foot in diameter eucalyptus trees that lined up most 51 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:08,039 of the groves. Well, that was when I discovered that my fierce guard 52 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,479 dogs were no longer at my side. Now I looked back to see them 53 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:15,400 standing at the barn fifty feet away, staring at me like I had lost 54 00:04:15,439 --> 00:04:18,079 my mind. Get down here, you cowards, I yelled at them, 55 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:23,439 and as I yelled, I turned my back on the eucalyptus tree I had 56 00:04:23,439 --> 00:04:27,879 been walking around. The dogs took off like a shot and ran full boar 57 00:04:28,079 --> 00:04:30,800 all the way back to the house and into their beds, whining all the 58 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:35,639 way. It was at that moment that I realized that someone or some thing 59 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:40,680 was behind me. If it had been a person, I knew my dogs 60 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:45,639 would have tore into them. It was their ranch and nobody ever entered without 61 00:04:45,639 --> 00:04:49,560 my permission. And then I smelled it. It was a gagging smell that 62 00:04:49,639 --> 00:04:55,560 I've heard described on YouTube so many times, that was followed by a low 63 00:04:55,759 --> 00:05:00,959 moan. I dropped the gun barrel to face the ground. I let go 64 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:02,759 of the trigger and I held it by the stock. And then, with 65 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:08,079 every ounce of courage I possessed, I walked slowly away, straining my ears 66 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:12,079 with each step to see if it was following me. Well, thankfully, 67 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,920 I heard nothing. I reached the barn, turned all the lights out, 68 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,759 inside and out, and then I jumped on my four wheeler and I raced 69 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:24,000 to the house. When I checked on my dogs, I found them still 70 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,439 shaking and sweating. I got a beer and a cigar, and I sat 71 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,399 in the garage floor with them until they calmed down. And in reflection, 72 00:05:30,759 --> 00:05:35,720 I was thankful to be alive. Why didn't I turn around. It's because 73 00:05:35,759 --> 00:05:40,439 I was afraid it was a dog man. I already knew from the terrible 74 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,800 experience a friend of mine had that you should never look at them, if 75 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:47,279 at all possible. Well, a few days later they found the truck of 76 00:05:47,319 --> 00:05:54,000 the two thieves hidden in a defunct overgrown grove nine hundred feet from my barn. 77 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,639 They searched for the thieves, but they were never found dead or alive. 78 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:00,560 To this day, I don't know if I was spared because I was 79 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,720 at my ranch in the Bigfoot eight my fruit that year, or if it 80 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:09,800 was because I had a shotgun and didn't level it on the Bigfoot, or 81 00:06:10,079 --> 00:06:15,079 maybe it was another reason. God only knows, but I am grateful now. 82 00:06:15,079 --> 00:06:19,439 In my life, I've known two Vietnam War veterans who were tunnel rights. 83 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:25,439 They were the soldiers who searched the NVA tunnels and killed those they encountered. 84 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:30,120 I met these two men forty years apart. Their stories were identical. 85 00:06:30,879 --> 00:06:35,879 Unfortunately, so were their mental issues. They both carried a selection of knives 86 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:40,399 and a forty five to do battle in the dark tunnels, so it's no 87 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:45,279 wonder they were ordered to carry the guns loaded, but one shot would bring 88 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,399 hordes of NV eight to them. Stealth was what kept them alive, so 89 00:06:48,519 --> 00:06:54,360 they actually didn't shoot the guns inside the tunnels. They weren't willing to take 90 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:58,560 a chance. I'm telling you both of their names because they were brave men 91 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:03,079 and they deserve to be honored for their sacrifice. Bud was the brother of 92 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,800 Renee, a girl I worked with in high school. When he came home 93 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:11,160 from his third tour, I met him. He was a scary, being 94 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:15,680 a truly dark presence. The week after I met him, Renee woke up 95 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,199 to find him on top of her holding his ke bar to her throat. 96 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:23,480 She had to yell at him several times before he got a grip on reality 97 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:27,879 again. The next morning, he said his goodbyes and headed off to do 98 00:07:27,959 --> 00:07:30,920 his fourth tour, and it would be his last. He never came home. 99 00:07:31,519 --> 00:07:36,319 May he be in God's house today. The other person's name was Phil. 100 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:41,240 I met him four decades later when I put my fifth wheel on a 101 00:07:41,279 --> 00:07:46,000 campground by a river in the Arizona Desert for the summer. Phil was a 102 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:50,279 hard man by this time, deeply troubled by his war experiences. People thought 103 00:07:50,319 --> 00:07:54,360 he was crazy, but he was my neighbor and I spent a lot of 104 00:07:54,399 --> 00:07:58,600 time sitting by the fire feeding him beers and cigars, so I had time 105 00:07:58,639 --> 00:08:03,120 to study him. I soon learned that he used that persona as a mental 106 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:07,199 fence, but we did become friends. He didn't have much, but he 107 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,959 was a grateful guy. I took him boating and bar hopping at the waterfront 108 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:16,759 bars. Phil found in me someone he felt he could share his life experience 109 00:08:16,879 --> 00:08:20,279 with. But little did he know I was a counselor for years. I 110 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:26,720 was empathetic and I employed my craft without him realizing it. He was broken 111 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,519 his bud and my heart broke for him. Well. One weekend, I 112 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,840 arrived early on Saturday morning. I knocked on Phil's door and expected him to 113 00:08:33,879 --> 00:08:39,080 be ready for breakfast and going for a boat ride. His car was there, 114 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:43,440 but he didn't answer. Strangely, all the windows were covered in full 115 00:08:43,519 --> 00:08:46,720 and paper from the inside. And I went to my place and made breakfast 116 00:08:46,759 --> 00:08:52,200 in coffee, but still there was no Phil. It wasn't until five pm 117 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,799 the day that he appeared. He was pale and nervous and looking around like 118 00:08:56,879 --> 00:09:00,960 someone was going to jump in. I asked him what was but he wouldn't 119 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:05,000 talk about it. That evening, I made a fire and I sat down, 120 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,399 and Phil came out to the fire cautiously. He took a beer and 121 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:13,600 sat for half an hour without saying a word, and finally, in tears, 122 00:09:13,639 --> 00:09:16,840 he said, I want to tell you what happened, but you'll think 123 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:20,120 that I've lost my mind. Well, I laughed and said, hell, 124 00:09:20,159 --> 00:09:22,720 Phil, I already think you've lost your mind, and he punched my arm 125 00:09:22,759 --> 00:09:28,320 and he laughed too. Okay, he said, well, last night I 126 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,879 was watching TV about eleven thirty when something hit my motor home. It sounded 127 00:09:33,039 --> 00:09:35,879 like a slap. I looked out the window and I couldn't see anyone. 128 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:41,559 And then a minute later there were three or four more loud bangs. This 129 00:09:41,759 --> 00:09:45,919 time when I looked out the window, there was this werewolf looking thing standing 130 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:50,799 there looking at me. Phil took a deep breath and added and then three 131 00:09:50,879 --> 00:09:54,440 more appeared behind him, and they started circling my trailer and they were slapping 132 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,480 it. The biggest one stepped out and stared at him. He said it 133 00:09:58,519 --> 00:10:03,080 was telling him to come outside. He could feel it. He couldn't hear 134 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:05,120 it, but he could feel it. He went and got his gun and 135 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,759 laid on the floor for hours, thinking they would get in at any moment. 136 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:13,720 I told him that we would look for the tracks in the morning, 137 00:10:13,799 --> 00:10:16,039 but his coach was sitting on gravel, so I knew where they wouldn't find 138 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:20,559 any Mostly, I wanted to take his mind off of it. We went 139 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:24,879 through the motions the next morning, and I was right. We weren't going 140 00:10:24,919 --> 00:10:28,840 to find any tracks in the gravel. And Phil told me he had decided 141 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:33,919 that it was a prank by Hollywood film students. He was guessing. So 142 00:10:33,039 --> 00:10:37,399 these guys drove six hours, put on costumes at nearly midnight, hung out 143 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:41,600 for hours, and filmed our coach and went back to Hollywood. I asked, 144 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:46,919 does that make sense. He looked at me with fear in his eyes, 145 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,559 and he said, it's what I have to believe or I'll go crazy. 146 00:10:50,759 --> 00:10:54,519 I told him that I understood that, but pointed out that they didn't 147 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:58,440 hurt him, they only scared him. I asked around the camp to see 148 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:03,799 if anyone else had seen or heard anything strange, and many of our fellow 149 00:11:03,879 --> 00:11:07,759 campers were up by their fires at that time, and none of them heard 150 00:11:07,759 --> 00:11:11,759 a thing. Plus, the gates are locked at ten PM. A week 151 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:16,120 later, Phil pulled up stakes and he left. Another week after that, 152 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:20,519 I woke up at two am to the sound of a loud bang on the 153 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:24,000 side of my coach. I sat up and grabbed my twelve gates just before 154 00:11:24,039 --> 00:11:28,600 another loud bang rocked my forty foot fifth wheeler. I could see a shadow 155 00:11:28,639 --> 00:11:33,879 through my curtain, and I realized that this thing had to be eight feet 156 00:11:33,919 --> 00:11:37,000 tall for me to see its head. I reached to open the curtain, 157 00:11:37,279 --> 00:11:41,879 but then I pulled it back when I remembered what Phil said about the wolf 158 00:11:41,919 --> 00:11:46,399 thing, trying to mentally get him to go outside. Instead, I yelled, 159 00:11:46,759 --> 00:11:50,720 I'm not Phil, and I racked my shotgun the universal sound forget lost 160 00:11:50,799 --> 00:11:56,440 or get dead. Whoever or whatever was out there evidently got the message. 161 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:01,279 It ran through the gravel to the fence, up the hill to the other 162 00:12:01,399 --> 00:12:05,840 side. The next morning, I found giant handprints in the dust on the 163 00:12:05,879 --> 00:12:11,759 side of my coach that were eleven feet up. There were scuffle marks in 164 00:12:11,799 --> 00:12:16,559 the dirt on the hill, and since then dog Man has been confirmed on 165 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:20,360 that part of the river. I noticed later that people quit walking around the 166 00:12:20,399 --> 00:12:24,600 park after dark. I never told a soul, and I'm pretty sure Phil 167 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:30,600 didn't either. Now, look, they're real. I've seen donkey kills. 168 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:35,480 While donkey kills in the desert, They're not the cute and fuzzy creature portrayed 169 00:12:35,519 --> 00:12:41,039 in some be movies. They're ugly and vicious looking. And that's the end 170 00:12:41,039 --> 00:12:43,159 of his email, And that sometimes I couldn't tell in this story whether he 171 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:48,039 was dealing with bigfoot or dog man. But this guy knows what's going on. 172 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:50,919 I think in the first story, when he was at his barn, 173 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:56,840 it could be he first thought it was a dog man, but then reconsidered 174 00:12:56,879 --> 00:13:01,240 and figured it was a bigfoot. But his buddy then that he knew from 175 00:13:01,279 --> 00:13:07,080 the Vietnam War. This guy Phil absolutely says he saw something. Why would 176 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:11,440 he make that up? I don't know. I don't some of these stories. 177 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:15,240 I'm not sure what to make of them, but I do know they 178 00:13:15,279 --> 00:13:18,720 are great stories. And this was a good story. This was a good 179 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:26,000 story. Okay, here's a story from the Northeast. The writer doesn't say 180 00:13:26,039 --> 00:13:28,480 to use their name or not, so I won't. I grew up in 181 00:13:28,519 --> 00:13:33,519 southern Maryland, surrounded by cornfields and forest. It's kind of place where a 182 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:39,879 kid's fun is instigated by their mother kicking them out of the house until dark. 183 00:13:39,879 --> 00:13:43,759 We spent a lot of time in the woods. When we went out 184 00:13:43,799 --> 00:13:46,000 for a walk at night, the moon was our only light. Now, 185 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:50,039 granted, we lived on the Chestpeake Bay, so we had a lot of 186 00:13:50,159 --> 00:13:54,480 light bouncing off the water. My family's beach house was only a few miles 187 00:13:54,480 --> 00:14:00,879 from the Point Lookout Lighthouse, which was once a military hospital turned poa camp. 188 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:05,799 During the War of eighteen twelve. One of those major television ghost hunting 189 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:09,679 shows did an episode from there once. Now ours was an eerie play, 190 00:14:09,879 --> 00:14:13,480 so it was not uncommon for us to have a creepy feeling or to have 191 00:14:13,639 --> 00:14:18,759 strange things happen when we were in the back part of our property. Our 192 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:22,639 lights were always flickering, even when a new bulb was just put in, 193 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:26,440 and we'd see dark figures in the back near the creek. We always stayed 194 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:30,799 close to the house, or we went out front to the beach and we 195 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:35,600 avoided the back where the creek was after dark. Now, I've always had 196 00:14:35,639 --> 00:14:39,279 experiences with the ghosts and demons and cryptids. There was a house of a 197 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:43,720 buddy of mine where strange things would happen to me at night. I learned 198 00:14:43,759 --> 00:14:48,759 that his brother had drawn a pentagram on his bedroom floor with his own blood. 199 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,200 Sometimes I would feel someone sit down on the bed beside me when no 200 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:58,600 one was there, or between three and four am, I would feel the 201 00:14:58,639 --> 00:15:03,000 sensation of someone's wiping their hand across me. While I slept under the covers. 202 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:09,480 At another friend's house, we would often see dark figures. One was 203 00:15:09,519 --> 00:15:13,559 a tall man in black dress clothes wearing a top hat. Once, when 204 00:15:13,559 --> 00:15:16,679 I was in the basement, I saw a dark figure with a body like 205 00:15:16,759 --> 00:15:22,720 a spider and a face of a human but completely dark. I thought it 206 00:15:22,759 --> 00:15:26,879 was going to attack me, but then it suddenly withdrew back into the shadows. 207 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:31,120 When we would ride our bikes along the path by the marsh, we 208 00:15:31,159 --> 00:15:35,559 always had the feeling that someone was watching us, in the sensation that something 209 00:15:35,679 --> 00:15:37,919 was telling us to get out of there. But there was one time in 210 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:43,200 particular that still has me a little biffle. I'm twenty four years old now 211 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:48,360 and I live in Washington, d C. My parents divorced when I was 212 00:15:48,399 --> 00:15:52,240 younger, and my dad moved to San Antonio. I only got to travel 213 00:15:52,279 --> 00:15:54,360 out there to see them twice a year, so we would try to pack 214 00:15:54,399 --> 00:16:00,600 everything into those short week long stays. When I was fifteen, we went 215 00:16:00,639 --> 00:16:03,919 to visit a friend of my step mom's who had a ranch about two hours 216 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,840 from the border. It was near a town that was so tiny that they 217 00:16:07,879 --> 00:16:14,600 had a one room school house with a bus that was actually an old limousine. 218 00:16:14,679 --> 00:16:18,320 The ranch was located down a seldomly traveled road in a small valley that 219 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:23,440 wasn't much bigger than a ravine. The house was actually a double wide trailer 220 00:16:23,559 --> 00:16:27,720 with a shipping container on the side, and the water was a five hundred 221 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:33,000 gallon tank that had to be brought in. The closest neighbor was a mile 222 00:16:33,039 --> 00:16:37,120 away, and we were there for three days. The first two days were 223 00:16:37,159 --> 00:16:41,720 not bad. Everything was quiet that first night. The second day, my 224 00:16:41,799 --> 00:16:47,480 father and I decided we'd hunt some boar and ride the ATVs around the place. 225 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:52,639 There were paths all over the woods there, and my stepmom's friend pointed 226 00:16:52,759 --> 00:16:56,200 us in the right direction and we had it out. My father was not 227 00:16:56,279 --> 00:17:00,759 a hunter. He was being loud, so I knew nothing was going to 228 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:03,640 come our way. He couldn't help himself. He was an it guy with 229 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:08,480 a pinstriped shirts and the business pants hiked up to his rib cage. It 230 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:12,039 didn't matter though. We were having father son time, and that was all 231 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:17,480 that I cared about. While Dad rambled on, I began to get an 232 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:21,880 aery feeling like I was being watched. I looked all down the trails, 233 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:25,680 hoping to spot a deer or some other animal watching us, but I didn't 234 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:30,119 see anything. At dark, we gave up and headed back to the house 235 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:34,440 to eat, and after supper we built the fire outside. The adults were 236 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,119 all talking, but I was staring at the fire and realizing that I didn't 237 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:42,680 have anything in common with them. Sometimes I'd look up and the stars and 238 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:48,559 mentally compare the sky to how it looked back home on the beach. Now. 239 00:17:48,599 --> 00:17:52,359 I don't know how long I sat there before an eerie feeling of being 240 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:57,440 watched started coming over me again. I started scanning the woodline. Then just 241 00:17:57,519 --> 00:18:00,960 beyond the fire, looking back at me was a pair of eyes, and 242 00:18:02,079 --> 00:18:06,920 it felt like our eyes connected. Something was telling me not to make any 243 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:11,759 sudden moves, not to move at all. Mentally, I was running through 244 00:18:11,759 --> 00:18:15,000 the possibilities of what I was looking at. Was it someone who had crossed 245 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,400 the border to rob us? There was a lot of that going on at 246 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:22,759 that time. It wasn't a headlamp. It would have produced a lot more 247 00:18:22,839 --> 00:18:27,160 light as close as it was. But while I watched, I was blindly 248 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:33,519 searching for my flashlight and phone without moving too much, and finally had to 249 00:18:33,599 --> 00:18:37,920 accept that I had left both in the house. But sometime had gone by, 250 00:18:37,079 --> 00:18:41,519 so I felt safe enough to get up and grab the flashlight. Unfortunately, 251 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:47,160 when I came back out, those eyes were gone. I sat back 252 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:49,759 down and thought about what I had looked at. The color was sort of 253 00:18:49,799 --> 00:18:55,640 orangeish red. If it had been headlamps, it would have been two people 254 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:57,720 who were up in a tree because it was eight feet off the ground, 255 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:02,799 and they almost would have had to have their heads right next to each other. 256 00:19:03,799 --> 00:19:07,079 Eventually, the fire died down and we all went inside. We got 257 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:11,839 ready for bed and played a few hands of Texas, Hold Them and Blackjack 258 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,799 before turning in. I had asked my dad to sleep in the other bed 259 00:19:15,839 --> 00:19:18,519 in my room the night before and to keep a gun with him. There 260 00:19:18,559 --> 00:19:23,119 had been a lot of break INDs down there by border jumpers. An older 261 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:27,400 couple was even held hostage and killed, and I was terrified that someone would 262 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:33,480 try to break my windows and kill me. At three am, my stepmom 263 00:19:33,599 --> 00:19:37,480 came to the door and started yelling for my dad to wake up. Someone 264 00:19:37,559 --> 00:19:41,480 was making a lot of noise outside her window. He got up and loaded 265 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,200 his gun and went to check the windows and doors. I assume he didn't 266 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,680 see anything, because he went back to bed, and I didn't hear anything 267 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:52,759 else from him the rest of the night. Of course, I couldn't sleep 268 00:19:52,799 --> 00:19:56,359 now, and I lay there staring out the window, certain that something was 269 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:00,440 going to happen, And finally I began to feel drowsy. But just before 270 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:04,359 my eyes closed, I heard what sounded like the boards creaking on the front 271 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:10,640 porch that was to the right of my window. The footsteps moved across the 272 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:15,240 porch, and the silhouette of an extraordinarily large human being covered the shades. 273 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:18,759 When I got to the window, it stopped and turned, and I saw 274 00:20:18,799 --> 00:20:25,240 those reddish orange eyes again. I couldn't make out any detail because the blinds 275 00:20:25,279 --> 00:20:32,400 were opaque to obliterate its features, but those eyes were clearly visible. It 276 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:36,039 did a motion as if it was trying to look in on either side of 277 00:20:36,079 --> 00:20:41,039 the blinds, and then it moved on. I was wide awake now it 278 00:20:41,079 --> 00:20:45,720 would be quite some time before I would manage to fall asleep. When we 279 00:20:45,759 --> 00:20:48,880 all got up the next morning, everyone went outside to look around. There 280 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:53,000 were crushed pots and the grill was open with grates lying on the ground. 281 00:20:53,759 --> 00:20:57,119 It looked like someone had dug through it and had stepped on the pots in 282 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:03,119 the process. The adults all blamed border jumpers for the mess, but I 283 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:07,880 kept wondering why they hadn't taken the pots and pans that were out there, 284 00:21:07,599 --> 00:21:11,880 or why hadn't they tried to steal the four wheeler. We hadn't locked the 285 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:15,599 shed, and there was a lot of other things in there as well, 286 00:21:15,319 --> 00:21:18,839 none of it was touched. And why would they take the time to bend 287 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,960 up and break and crush the pots when they could have taken them to use 288 00:21:23,039 --> 00:21:27,519 or sell. Later that day, when we saw the Border patrol drop by, 289 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:33,599 the adults pointed and nodded knowingly. I wasn't so easily convinced. I 290 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,119 still think that it was a bigfoot that stepped up on the porch that night, 291 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:41,119 and I think it was a bigfoot watching us by the fire earlier that 292 00:21:41,279 --> 00:21:45,079 night, And it was a bigfoot that watched my father and me in the 293 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:49,200 woods that day, Now that I think about it, that would have been 294 00:21:49,319 --> 00:21:55,559 the veritable paradise for one. With all the boars and deer and farm pond 295 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,359 up the road, not to mention all the trees for covered, a bigfoot 296 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:03,599 could live a pretty lavish lifestyle right there. Well, that's a good story. 297 00:22:04,039 --> 00:22:07,519 You never you saw eyes, but you never really saw the creature. 298 00:22:07,759 --> 00:22:12,200 I think you said you saw a silhouet. That's kind of interesting. Austin, 299 00:22:12,279 --> 00:22:18,039 Texas, down in close to the border, you know, there's a 300 00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:21,400 lot of people coming across the border. Now. I don't know if they're 301 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:25,880 coming across there, but wonder if Bigfoot's given them any trouble. This was 302 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:29,079 a good story. I really appreciate the writer and thank you for sending it. 303 00:22:30,519 --> 00:22:33,640 All Right, that wasn't a long podcast. It's my first podcast that 304 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:40,480 I've recorded since Thanksgiving, and I've been so busy. You guys have heard 305 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:44,079 this story over and over. But I'm done with my work and I'm going 306 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:48,440 to be semi full time podcasting for the next few months. So you can 307 00:22:48,559 --> 00:22:52,119 expect the upload schedule to pick up steam, the podcast to get longer. 308 00:22:52,599 --> 00:22:56,839 Hear more Steve Lily on the Steve Lily channels. I'm writing one of those. 309 00:22:57,279 --> 00:23:02,200 I'm actually about to finish one. Get it recorded, get it up 310 00:23:02,279 --> 00:23:04,680 soon. I've got audio books. I'm working one that I want to get 311 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:10,759 out. For the very few people who've waited for me to get back into 312 00:23:10,799 --> 00:23:15,599 this, I'm here. I'm back into it full time. Not full time, 313 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:18,119 but pretty much full time, and this podcast would be longer, but 314 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:22,200 through the last six months, I have spent so much time in this office 315 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:29,319 working on other projects that are part of my regular business that I haven't spent 316 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,880 much time with my wife. So I'm going to cut this podcast short. 317 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,480 It's about noon on Friday. I'm going to go in there and see if 318 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:40,279 she wants to go to dinner and maybe to a matinee this afternoon, and 319 00:23:40,319 --> 00:23:42,680 her and I just spend the rest of the day and evening together, and 320 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:47,839 then this weekend, I'll be recording podcasts all weekend, so I hope to 321 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:52,799 get several podcasts up over the next week or so. And I've also got 322 00:23:52,839 --> 00:23:56,039 a lot of fun things planned, different formats, different ways to present stories 323 00:23:56,440 --> 00:24:00,519 that have been crossing and running through my mind as working on this other stuff 324 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,440 that I think should be fun. They're going to take a little time, 325 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,480 but I got to figure out how to do them quicker. But it should 326 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:11,599 be add a little spice to everything for me, so I'm excited about that. 327 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,440 Anyway, I've got some good stuff coming. And for those of you 328 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:18,640 who stuck around the audience who's stuck around, I really appreciate you. All 329 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:22,400 Right, that's enough talking. I'll see you guys on the next video. Thanks.