WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:09.519 I've been deliberating about sending my story for quite a while, 2 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:11.640 and I finally got up the nerve to go ahead 3 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:15.199 and send it. I guess my story really starts when 4 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:18.120 I was a little boy. My dad took my brother 5 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:22.039 and I on multiple fishing trips and camping trips. We 6 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:25.120 were never hunters because my mom didn't feel comfortable with 7 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:29.039 the guns and my dad always was sensitive to her request, 8 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:34.359 but we were always outside and enjoyed the outdoors. When 9 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:36.520 we were kids, he would take us out to the 10 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:40.719 Mississippi River Valley area, which is close to Bellevue, Iowa. 11 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:44.799 I think it was Pool Number eleven. We would spend 12 00:00:44.840 --> 00:00:49.719 weekends there in our pop up camper across the river. 13 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:54.039 There was an army depot and trespassing was forbidden, but 14 00:00:54.119 --> 00:00:56.359 when the water was high, we could get a rented 15 00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:59.520 boat in there and fish that area. As long as 16 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:03.439 we were not standing on ground, we were legal. We 17 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:07.920 would always hear strange noises, things that we couldn't explain, 18 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:11.640 and big splashes that my dad would say were beavers. 19 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:15.439 As I got older, I started camping and going fishing 20 00:01:15.480 --> 00:01:17.640 out there on my own, and of course, you get 21 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:20.439 smarter and used to the wildlife when you're not a 22 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:23.760 little kid and you realize that beavers don't make that 23 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:27.799 loud of a splash. While camping there as a kid 24 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:30.439 back in the mid seventies, we would have things thrown 25 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:34.640 into camp, and we also heard strange noises coming from 26 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:38.920 the woods that surrounded us. I remember a few nights 27 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:42.280 when we were awakened to buy those noises. We never 28 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:46.040 knew what they were. In later years, I became more 29 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:51.799 interested in bass fishing. I competed in several tournaments. This 30 00:01:51.879 --> 00:01:55.359 is where my story begins, as far as my encounter goes. 31 00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:59.519 I was fishing a bass tournament on the Mississippi River 32 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:04.480 around the Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois area. It was late spring 33 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:08.520 and we were fishing a qualifying tournament. I was considered 34 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:11.120 a boater and I had drawn a partner that was 35 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:13.919 a non boater, and we were heading out on the 36 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:17.479 second day of a three day tournament. I had the 37 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:20.879 basic equipment in a nineteen foot bass boat with one 38 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:24.159 hundred and seventy five horse Johnson on the back, and 39 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:27.319 I had all the gear. This was in the early 40 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:31.960 two thousands and GPS was not standard equipment at that time. 41 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:36.159 We decided to run down the river to find cleaner water. 42 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:39.919 We were after large mouth because they're bigger fish and 43 00:02:39.960 --> 00:02:43.439 they weigh more, and the small mouth bite was nonexistent 44 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:47.840 at this time. The Mississippi River is a vast system 45 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:51.360 and the backwaters and tributaries that run along the river 46 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:55.439 are immense. We had decided to make a run south 47 00:02:55.560 --> 00:02:59.800 on the river and lock down to another pool. We 48 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:02.879 finally got to the area that we decided to fish. 49 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:07.439 We had to navigate very carefully. Maps were unreliable due 50 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:11.520 to the water level, and again we didn't have GPS. 51 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:14.400 To get to the area we wanted to fish, we 52 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:17.840 had to go underneath a railroad trestle or bridge if 53 00:03:17.879 --> 00:03:20.719 you will. But because the river was up at the time, 54 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:23.680 we had to actually take the boat, plug out and 55 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:26.479 fill the boat with water so that our bass boat 56 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:30.400 would sit low enough to fit under this bridge. Once 57 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:33.800 we were past the bridge, we would build the water out. 58 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:37.000 I know that sounds crazy, but when you're after fish 59 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:42.319 and you're that driven, sometimes you do stupid things. In hindsight, 60 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:44.800 maybe it wasn't the brightest thing to do, but I 61 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:50.199 had actually learned the trick watching bass Master TV. After 62 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:52.639 we made our way around through the back area, we 63 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:55.680 found a great spot with clear water that we wanted 64 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:59.319 to fish. My partner had fished it before and he 65 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:01.639 said it was for sure a good spot and that 66 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:05.280 we should catch a limit. The lily pads were just 67 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:09.800 coming up and the vegetation was reaching the surface. It 68 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:11.960 was a little bit late in the spring, so there 69 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:15.879 was still some spawning going on, but mostly post spawned, 70 00:04:15.960 --> 00:04:19.079 and the bass started hitting top water through the pads. 71 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:23.079 The bank was mainly rock and sand, and behind that 72 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:26.560 was a dense forest. We were setting in a nice 73 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:29.360 little stretch all to ourselves, and we had a lot 74 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:32.000 of water to fish. It was going to take us 75 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:35.720 hours to cover this area. We were stoked and we 76 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:40.240 started fishing, trolling at a steady pace with top water baits. 77 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.680 Fifteen minutes later, my partner put a seventeen inch fish 78 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.759 in the boat, and by eight thirty am we both 79 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:52.160 had our limits. After that we started culing fish. It 80 00:04:52.360 --> 00:04:56.319 was a perfect day. At around nine thirty I was 81 00:04:56.360 --> 00:04:58.879 pulling us up to a bank that we hadn't fished 82 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:02.360 and we heard some clapp acking, like rocks being clapped together. 83 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:06.079 We assumed it was someone working on a project out 84 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:08.720 of our view. But as we came around a slight 85 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.839 ben we saw a dark figure standing on the bank. 86 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:15.160 We thought it was a bear. It was hard to 87 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:18.040 make out. It really didn't look like a bear, but 88 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:21.240 nothing else made sense, even though they are rare in 89 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:25.600 this area. It was frolicking on the bank. It was weird. 90 00:05:25.720 --> 00:05:28.759 It looked like it was gathering mussels or crawfish and 91 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:31.480 having a great time at it. We just sat in 92 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:35.160 the boat and watched it. As we approached this animal, 93 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:38.120 we really couldn't make out what it was still because 94 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:42.120 we couldn't see its head. Soon we were close enough 95 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:45.920 that it hurt us and it stood up. This thing 96 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:50.600 was huge, standing there with water dripping from its black hair. 97 00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:54.639 I couldn't believe how big this thing was. We now 98 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:58.639 knew it was not a bear. My partner and I 99 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:02.319 looked at each other and basically, without even saying a word, 100 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:05.839 we understood the look of what in the hell is 101 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:09.560 this thing. I was on the front deck, high above 102 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:12.920 the water, working the trolling motor, and we stopped fishing. 103 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:16.920 Of course, Bigfoot never entered my mind at this point. 104 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:20.600 I had only heard of Bigfoot from pieces on TV. 105 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:25.839 And then this creature started wading into the water towards us. 106 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:29.279 Apparently it had some rocks in its hands, and it 107 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:32.800 threw at us two times. One of those rocks landed 108 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:36.839 in the boat. It was now swimming towards us. It 109 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:39.120 was at least one hundred feet away, and we were 110 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:42.439 in five feet of water where this thing was. The 111 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:44.839 water had to have been about the same depth, so 112 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:47.639 I don't know why it started swimming. It could have 113 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:50.000 walked all the way to us and never had water 114 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:54.600 to its waste, but it was swimming. The noises it 115 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:58.319 made while swimming were so strange. It was a huffing 116 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:02.319 sound that I had never heard anything like before. It 117 00:07:02.439 --> 00:07:06.959 sounded very deep and angry. It was time to go 118 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:10.959 because he was closing the distance on us fast. We 119 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:13.519 both dropped down into the seats and I fired the 120 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:16.879 outboard up. Thank god, it cranked on the first turn, 121 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:20.319 and I dropped it into gear. The sound of the 122 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:24.480 outboard apparently persuaded the creature to stop its advance, because 123 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:26.879 it turned and made its way back to the bank. 124 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:30.399 I wanted to slow down and watch this thing some more, 125 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:33.439 but I figured we better get moving, so we motored 126 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:36.959 out of the area. I got a bit concern when 127 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:39.879 we reached the railroad trestle, but we got back under 128 00:07:39.959 --> 00:07:42.120 it the same way that we got in, and then 129 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:46.240 we kept moving. We still had a lot of daylight left, 130 00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:48.959 and we should have wanted to keep fishing, but this 131 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:53.199 ordeal kept our minds occupied so that we couldn't concentrate 132 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:56.839 on what we were doing. We stopped in ate lunch 133 00:07:56.839 --> 00:07:59.360 and we talked about the whole thing for an hour 134 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:03.360 before head back to the ramp. We both had our limits, 135 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:06.319 and we qualified for the next tournament. I was real 136 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:10.279 happy about that. For sure. I never ran into that 137 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:13.720 guy again in any of the tournaments I fished afterwards, 138 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:16.199 so we never kept in touch, and of course I 139 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:19.439 haven't talked to him since. I kept the whole thing 140 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:22.519 quiet for years, only to tell a couple of close 141 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:26.839 friends later on. I figured whoever I relayed this story 142 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:29.839 to would think I was nuts, and I don't know 143 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:33.159 if the partner that day ever told anyone or if 144 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:37.559 he even remembers it. I still fish every chance I get, 145 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:41.159 but I don't fish tournaments much. I'm in my fifties now, 146 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.759 and I will never forget that fishing trip as long 147 00:08:43.799 --> 00:08:48.279 as I live. After that experience, I looked back at 148 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:50.759 my youth on the same river, and I wonder if 149 00:08:50.759 --> 00:08:53.159 those things that we used to hear when we were 150 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:56.720 kids were these same creatures. I used to fish a 151 00:08:56.759 --> 00:09:01.519 lot in southeastern part of Oklahoma and experienced other strange 152 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:05.039 things while fishing, but I never had a sighting or 153 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:10.799 can confirm anything but strange things or sounds. Bass fishing 154 00:09:10.919 --> 00:09:13.759 is a serious sport, and I'm just curious if your 155 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:18.159 viewers out there have had similar events. I'm quite sure 156 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:21.279 that I'm not the only one that has experienced something 157 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:24.720 similar while fishing. I would be really curious to see 158 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:27.879 if anyone maybe would respond and tell their story too, 159 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.559 because I just find it hard to believe that I'm 160 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:33.399 the only one that this has happened to while fishing 161 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:38.639 the places we fish, especially in the southern reservoirs as 162 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:41.840 well as the Mississippi River where there is so much 163 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:45.960 shoreline in deep woods. I think these creatures use these 164 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:49.919 rivers in tributaries as pathways or roads in a way 165 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:53.480 to migrate. I don't really know. I'm no expert, but 166 00:09:53.519 --> 00:10:00.000 it just makes sense to me. Now that my family 167 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:03.039 it has passed away, I can finally tell our story. 168 00:10:04.039 --> 00:10:08.080 In nineteen hundred, my family came from Russia and Germany 169 00:10:08.279 --> 00:10:12.600 to homestead up near the Canadian border. There, my great 170 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:17.559 grandfather cleared trees and started our farm. Back then, there 171 00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:20.919 were no chainsaws to cut the trees, nor any heavy 172 00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:24.799 equipment to move them. Once they were down. Fields were 173 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:28.519 plowed by the collaboration of man and animal, and then 174 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:33.120 planted and harvested by hand. It meant long hours of 175 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:37.399 hard work, but somehow my great grandparents pulled that farm 176 00:10:37.559 --> 00:10:41.399 out of the sweat of their brow. In nineteen ten, 177 00:10:41.559 --> 00:10:44.720 my great grandmother was staying in town caring for a 178 00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:48.960 sick uncle. My great grandfather was working on a large 179 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:52.320 wagon when it started to roll. He tried to stop it, 180 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:55.879 but it was too big. He fell under it and 181 00:10:55.919 --> 00:11:00.000 it rolled over his legs, pinning him to the ground. 182 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:02.519 He screamed with all his might, but Grandma was in 183 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:06.480 town and nobody else was around to hear him. The 184 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:09.799 sun began to slowly sink beyond the grassy fields, and 185 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.360 he heard a noise behind him in the trees. He 186 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:15.879 was in severe pain and unable to move, and he 187 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:20.480 was becoming sleepy. He thought the overwhelming need to close 188 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:23.440 his eyes, but he soon lost the fight, and he 189 00:11:23.559 --> 00:11:29.840 drifted into unconsciousness. The next morning, he was awakened by 190 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:33.320 a hand behind his head, and drops of water were 191 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:37.399 hitting his dry, parched lips. He put his hand on 192 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:41.320 the unknown person's hands for more water. Then he drifted 193 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:44.559 between sleep and awareness, and he opened one eye to 194 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:48.879 see someone dark looking down at him. He couldn't figure 195 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:52.360 out who it was, and his eyes were blurry from sleep, 196 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:55.639 and he was severely dehydrated from lack of water, but 197 00:11:55.720 --> 00:12:00.480 he knew there were no dark folks living anywhere near him. 198 00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:03.200 A minute later, his vision began to focus and he 199 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:06.360 realized he was looking at something he had never seen before. 200 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:10.039 He tried to back away, but his legs weren't working, 201 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:14.320 and he was overwhelmed by fear, and he passed out. 202 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:18.559 He didn't wake up again until the next morning. He 203 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.480 was laying there contemplating what he should do when he 204 00:12:21.559 --> 00:12:25.600 realized his legs were free of the clutching wagon wheel. 205 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:29.320 There's no way I lifted that wagon off myself, he 206 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:32.799 said to himself aloud. But how did I get free? 207 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:37.679 Even now I can't move? He saw something dark peek 208 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:40.639 its head around a tree, and fear gripped him like 209 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:44.360 a vice. He tried to swallow, but his throat was 210 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:47.559 as dry as the sands in the desert. He was 211 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:50.759 trembling with dread as he thought, what kind of beast 212 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:55.080 is this? My grandfather began to pray for the Lord 213 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:57.960 to protect him as the creature began to move toward 214 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:03.799 him in small, uncertain steps. It moved slowly forward until 215 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:08.000 it was standing right over my grandfather. Then it held 216 00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:11.320 out its hand and in it was a big chunk 217 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:17.159 of moss. The feeling of strangling fear vanished as my 218 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:20.919 grandfather realized this was the dark man he had seen before. 219 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:25.720 The beast knelt down and squeezed the moss while holding 220 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:28.480 my grandfather's head so he could drink the water dripping. 221 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:32.679 Then the beast disappeared into the trees, but it soon 222 00:13:32.799 --> 00:13:37.080 returned with a skinned out squirrel. It tore off bits 223 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:41.200 of meat and fed it to my grandfather. After an hour, 224 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:44.840 the beast picked up my grandfather and headed toward the farmhouse, 225 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:47.240 and it laid him on the front porch with the 226 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:52.279 moisture soaked moss next to him. A couple hours after that, 227 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:55.000 the sound of a trotting horse and wagon came down 228 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:59.320 the road and it was my great grandmother and her nephew, Eugene. 229 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:04.440 They pulled up in Grandma rando Grandpa asking what had happened, 230 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:07.159 and he told her the whole story and of the 231 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:11.399 new friend they had made. This would be the first 232 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:14.799 of many interactions my family had with a family of 233 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:18.440 Si squats living nearby, all the way up until the 234 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:23.840 nineteen eighties. I am handicapped now, so I'm unable to type. Well, 235 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:27.080 it may take some time to tell them all. At 236 00:14:27.159 --> 00:14:31.240 least now I can finally tell our story. And that's 237 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:35.519 the end. Can y'all see why I like that story? Oh? Man, 238 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:38.279 it was great. I mean, I love the old stories 239 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:41.120 that come from he said this happened in the early 240 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:45.799 nineteen hundreds. I thought it was fantastic. And now I'm 241 00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:50.480 going to talk about I'm going to do my I 242 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:52.759 have to do this about three or four times a 243 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:55.759 year and explain to people because we get a lot 244 00:14:55.799 --> 00:14:59.799 of new people listening and questions come. Most of the time, 245 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:04.080 questions are just pretty bland and vanilla. You know, hey, 246 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:06.279 are these true? How do you know if they're true? 247 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:09.480 Blah blah blah. Some of them are pretty nasty. I 248 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:11.559 got into it with some guy in the comments section. 249 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:14.840 I shouldn't do that, but they really pissed me off sometimes, 250 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:17.399 and I like to when they insult me, I like 251 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:21.799 to insult them back. This guy was just real adamant 252 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:25.480 about how we should be more diligent about making sure 253 00:15:25.559 --> 00:15:28.320 that these stories are true. He's probably one of these 254 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:34.240 Bigfoot purists who you know, has this omniscient ability to 255 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:37.320 be able to tell what stories are true and which 256 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:40.679 ones aren't. I can't tell that. I don't know which 257 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:43.720 ones are true and which ones aren't. And so here's 258 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:49.519 my here's my quarterly announcement to the audience. I don't know. 259 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:53.039 I've got three hundred. I'm pushing four hundred videos up 260 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:56.360 right now. Out of four hundred, three hundred and ninety 261 00:15:56.399 --> 00:16:00.559 of them or story videos. I have no idea if 262 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:02.840 any of these stories are true. There's no way for 263 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:05.639 me to check them, and there's no way to vet them. 264 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:08.960 And when people challenge me on that, I put it 265 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:11.679 back to them. If you can show me, if you 266 00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:14.919 can show me one Bigfoot story that you can prove 267 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:19.759 without a doubt that's true, then we'll talk. We'll talk, 268 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:21.720 and you give maybe you can rub some of that 269 00:16:21.879 --> 00:16:24.480 magic off on me so that I can figure out 270 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:27.240 how these are true. But I can't do it. And 271 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:30.120 so when people send me stories, I read them, you 272 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:33.360 have to decide if they're true. I don't consider it 273 00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:36.480 my job to figure out which one of these are 274 00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:39.759 true and which ones aren't. Because like this story we 275 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:45.480 just read, it is an outlandishly crazy story. But could 276 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:48.679 it have happened. Absolutely, it could have happened. If you 277 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:52.120 believe Bigfoot exists, then you have to believe that the 278 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:56.360 at least believe that this story could have happened. And 279 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:59.240 if it did happen or didn't happen, it does not 280 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:02.080 matter to me. What matters to me is was it 281 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:05.279 a good story? It was a fantastic story. And on 282 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:07.960 the off chance that this is true, and I'm not 283 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:11.039 saying it isn't I'm not saying it is. On the 284 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:13.559 off chance that this story is true, wouldn't it be 285 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:16.319 a waste if we If I just took this story 286 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:19.480 and put it in my trash folder, it would have 287 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:22.480 been a waste and a shame to leave the story 288 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:25.720 out of this podcast. So there you have it. There's 289 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:28.359 my I have to I can't. I have to do this. 290 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:33.200 Some people ask me if the Steve Lilly stories are true. 291 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:35.799 If I do a fictional story, I'm going to tell 292 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:39.559 you it's fiction. And if I don't tell you it's fiction, 293 00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:43.240 I'm kind of assuming that you know it's fiction by 294 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:47.160 the way it's written, by stating who the author is 295 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:49.960 and telling you that he has two dozen books out 296 00:17:50.039 --> 00:17:53.000 right now. I love to read stuff by other authors. 297 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:57.240 It's fun, it's ready to go. It helps them sell books, 298 00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:01.960 it gives me material to include the podcast. And so 299 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:08.319 sometimes when people ask me are this Steve Lily stories true, 300 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:12.000 I'll come back with, really, are you really asking me 301 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:15.599 that question? And I think it insults some when I 302 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.480 do that, and that's not what I don't mean that 303 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:22.559 that way. I'm like flabbergasted that anybody would think one 304 00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:26.119 of those Steve Lily stories is true. But to answer 305 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:29.599 your question, they're not true. They're fiction. They're made up 306 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:33.960 and my twisted imagination, and they're fun to write. Their 307 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:38.200 fun stories. They're fun stories. And look, guys, we can 308 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.240 have fun with this bigfoot topic every once in a while. 309 00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:45.680 It doesn't have to be like the Bigfoot purists make it. 310 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:48.519 It can be fun. People can have fun with this 311 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:51.279 and if they don't like it, they don't have to listen. 312 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:54.680 I think I'm getting a little bit off topic, but I 313 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:57.799 just wanted to be clear. I don't do any of 314 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:00.680 these stories trying to pass off something that I know 315 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:04.680 is false it is true, I don't. I'm not being dishonest. 316 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:07.599 I would never try to do that. I'm straight up 317 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:11.440 with everybody, and I tell everybody I have no idea 318 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:15.440 if a single story I have ever read, even the 319 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:18.400 ones told to me by other people that I've written 320 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:21.759 stories around, I have no idea if they're true. But 321 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:25.640 they're damn good stories. They're damn good stories, and I 322 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:29.000 love doing them. So that's the deal with this channel. 323 00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:32.440 And if you don't like that, don't comment. Don't don't 324 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:35.400 comment and give me your opinion on if we should 325 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:39.240 do vetted true stories or not. Don't because there's no 326 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:43.160 one can prove a story is true. Do it. If 327 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:45.440 you think you can do it, do it, show it 328 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:49.000 to me. So don't comment and give me that bull crap. 329 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:53.559 Let's just enjoy a good story, everybody, relax, Let's have 330 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:55.720 a good time. You can tell I'm a little aggravated 331 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:58.839 at some of these people, and it's ninety nine percent 332 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:02.440 of the comments on channel are fabulous. We have the 333 00:20:02.599 --> 00:20:06.359 nicest people on the internet, but there's one out of 334 00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:09.279 a thousand that'll pop up. And I don't know where 335 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:12.039 these people come from. I don't I got an email 336 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:14.759 the other day from some guy. He's all been out 337 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:18.440 of shape because I spend thirty seconds in two videos 338 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.920 per month and I talk about Yetie bar soaps and 339 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:25.160 he says he's gonna he's not gonna listen anymore because 340 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:28.440 he has to fast forward three or four minutes through 341 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:32.799 to get past it. Now, you think he's over overstating 342 00:20:32.839 --> 00:20:35.440 that a little bit. So my response to him, I'd 343 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:38.119 love to tell you his name, because he's a real jackass, 344 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:41.720 but I'm not gonna do that. I don't want to 345 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:44.920 draw attention to him. And I'll bet you he's listening. 346 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:48.440 I bet you he's listening, because sometimes they just can't 347 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:52.440 go away. My response to him was, the only person 348 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:55.640 I really want to lose this week from my podcast 349 00:20:55.960 --> 00:20:58.279 is you, brother. You're the only one I want to 350 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:02.519 want to lose. Do these Yetti bar ads for the 351 00:21:02.599 --> 00:21:05.920 Yetti Brothers not because there's any money in it, because 352 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:09.400 there isn't there isn't any money in it. They pay 353 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:12.279 me a little stipend, a little bitty piece of a 354 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:15.960 sale if you use that DC ten code. That makes 355 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:20.400 me an affiliate with their company. But hey, if it 356 00:21:20.680 --> 00:21:24.079 really hacks you guys off that I talk about my buddies, 357 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:28.319 the Yetti Brothers and their soaps. There are other podcasts 358 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:32.799 doing ads for them now, Nance at Buckeye, Bigfoot, Nioma 359 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:40.720 Finn with the Nioma Finn channel, Brian Brian with Sasquatch Odyssey, 360 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:45.319 he's doing ads for them. You guys, use their codes, 361 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:48.880 don't use my code. Use their codes. I do these 362 00:21:48.920 --> 00:21:51.400 ads because I love these guys and I want to 363 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:55.400 see their business do well. Sometimes when I talk about 364 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:57.960 their soap, they get a big boost in sales. I 365 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:00.279 don't know why. I don't know why any but he 366 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:03.559 listens to me. But it's a great product. It really 367 00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:07.440 is a great product, and it's the only soap I use. Now, 368 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:10.200 I'm not saying my wife does. She has her own 369 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:13.640 soaps that she uses. But as a dude, I love 370 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.319 the way those soaps smell and I use them. But 371 00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:19.920 don't use the code DC ten. If it really gets 372 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.079 under your skin that I'm selling that I'm helping these 373 00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:26.680 guys try to build their business. It just blows me 374 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:31.079 away that people can't take a thirty second little uh. 375 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:34.960 I guess it's an ad for two guys hustling trying 376 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:37.880 to make a soap company go so to show you 377 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:41.559 that it's not for the money. Use somebody else's code, 378 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:45.319 give it all to use Neoma Fenn's code, or Nance's 379 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:49.799 code or Brian at Sasquatch Odyssey, Lily, what are you 380 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:53.160 barking at? Use their code and let the commissions go 381 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:55.519 to them because I don't care about it. But I'm 382 00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:58.680 going to continue to help those guys, and about every 383 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:01.759 I don't know, every third or fourth podcast, I'm gonna 384 00:23:01.799 --> 00:23:05.000 talk about those soaps because they're just good people. And 385 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:07.880 I love good people, and if I can help good people, 386 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:10.799 I'm gonna do it. Oh man, that turned into a rant. 387 00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:14.480 I don't know if these stories are true. I've never 388 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:18.359 claimed one is true or one isn't. Anybody else could 389 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:21.200 read the same story I read, and that's happened before, 390 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:23.680 and what I hear from them is, oh, he's an 391 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:27.720 old BS guy, blah blah blah. And I'll read the 392 00:23:27.720 --> 00:23:31.480 same story and I get comments from people those same people. 393 00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:36.119 I don't know. It just it is amazing how twisted 394 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:38.079 it is in this bigfoot world. And you know what, 395 00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:41.359 it makes me want to quit doing Bigfoot stories. It 396 00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:45.519 really does. I hate to say that, but the Bigfoot community, 397 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:49.720 I can't stand them. I cannot stand the Bigfoot purists. 398 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:54.039 They make they drive me insane. Okay, that's all I'm 399 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:57.440 gonna say. And I think you guys know what I'm 400 00:23:57.480 --> 00:23:59.599 talking about. All you have to do is you'll find 401 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:02.359