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Speaker 1: As far back as I can remember. As a child,

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my grandpa and dad taught me how to hunt. I

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was an only child that knew it would be up

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to me to carry on the family hunting tradition. My

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grandpa owned some land way up in the mountains, away

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from everyone and everything. On this land sat an old

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cabin that was built by my great grandpa back in

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the early nineteen hundreds. It took about an hour to

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travel to the nearest house or store, so this was

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a well kept private area that no one ever visited

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except the three of us. There was no electric or

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phone service at the camp, being as it was so

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far out in the woods. One learned to be careful

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because if something happened while at camp or hunting, then

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you were on your own. There was no way to

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get any help. When I was fifteen years old, we

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had planned a hunting trip up to the cabin, but

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I had come down with the flu and could not

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make the trip, so my grandpa and my dad left

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home to make that four hour drive to our hunting camp.

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Mam and I told them that we loved them and

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wished them the best of luck on their weak hunting trip,

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and off they went. Three days later, we get a

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call from the county police that something bad had happened there.

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We were told my dad was in the hospital and

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in very bad shape. Mom asked, what about Grandpa? Is

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he okay? They did not know anyone else was with

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my dad, so my mom told them about the camp

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and the police were dispatched to go find my grandpa.

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Mama and I jumped in the car and drove that

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long trip as fast as we could. Once we got

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to the hospital, we found out my dad had had

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a stroke and they found Grandpa at the cabin. He

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was covered with claw marks and his chest was ripped open.

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He was either dead from his wounds or he had

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had a heart attack before the animal attacked. Somehow, my

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dad was able to get in the truck and started

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to drive down the mountain to get help, but he

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did not make it all the way to town. Someone

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found him pulled over on the side of the road

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and took him to the hospital. After a couple of days,

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my father came to enough to explain what had happened

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that led to the long investigation. Both men were out

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in their deer stands hunting when my dad hears the

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most awful roaring, growling sound down in the woods where

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Grandpa was sitting. He heard yelling but could not make

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out what he was saying. Then a gunshot and more

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yelling came from my Grandpa. He then heard sounds from

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some kind of a wild animal. My Dad got out

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of his stand and ran to Grandpa. Dad was yelling

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where are you as he was scanning the area with

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his gun to his shoulder, trying to figure out what

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had happened. He could not see Grandpa and did not

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see anything moving around. It was totally silent when he

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got there. Dad made his way to grandpa stand to

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find him lying in some brush and he was bleeding

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very badly. He picked Grandpa up and headed to the

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cabin with him over his shoulder. When he reached the cabin,

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my father collapsed. He had had a stroke. He knew

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the only way to get help was to try and

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drive out of there. During the investigation, the police found

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where Grandpa was sitting, his rifle was broken in half

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and the barrel was bent almost into a U shape.

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Grandpa also had a handful of hair in his fist,

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and they never found out what kind of animal that

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this hare came from. There was also a blood trail

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leading down into the thick swamp, then went up into

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a tree and then vanished. They took samples of the

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blood but could not find any kind of match to

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tell what it had come from. There was a big

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man hunt put in place for days, but no one

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found anything other than that blood trail. Eventually it was

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classified as a bear attack. Only bad thing about them

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closing this case as a bear attack is there are

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no bears in this part of the country. Once we

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got Dad home, he told me the sounds he had heard,

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and from the claw marks on Grandpa and the gun

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being destroyed like that, he firmly believed it was a bigfoot.

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There are many rumors from other folks up in those

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hills saying that they had sighted them before and hear

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some creepy sounds in the woods at night. My dad

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made me promise to never go back up to the

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cabin and to stay away from that place. I have

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never been back up there since, and we all really

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missed my grandfather. Dad and I have never had too

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much in common, so we've always had a hard time

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finding things to do together. I never cared too much

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about hunting, but it seems to be the only thing

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my dad has interest in, so I pretend just so

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we can have some bonding experiences. Deer season in two

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thousand and nine is when this all happened. I was

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just out of college and was lucky enough to get

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a new job, but it wasn't starting for a couple

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of weeks, so we decided to go for a week

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long trip to Tennessee, where my dad had leased some

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land right on the border of a large park. Dad

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said he had a place picked out for us, about

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a ten minute hike from where we usually park the van.

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When we go there, my Dad would be using a

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tree stand and I would be in a blind. Since birth,

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I've had a bad knee that makes it impossible for

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me to climb ladders. We like to hunt together, so

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we were going to place my blind about ten yards

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from his tree stand. We had walkie talkie hooked up

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to an ear piece so we would be able to

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talk throughout the hunt. My first day we were there,

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it was just setting up blinds in his tree stand.

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His stand was a type that had a platform and

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was completely separate piece from the latter. Neither of us

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ever set that type up so it took a little

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longer than we wished for. We also put up ribbons

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along the path to be able to find our spot

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easier at night. On our way to and from the spot,

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I noticed several broken limbs up high. I didn't think

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anything of it at the time, but knowing what I

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know now, I can't help but think that they are related.

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On the second day we were on our trip, we

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left for our hunting spots an hour and a half

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before the sun came up. I was in the blind

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and could hear my dad getting all that up, but

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that wasn't all I could hear. I also heard something

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large stomping around the other side of the ridge. At

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the time, I just thought it was a really loud

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deer getting an early start. Even though it was a

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good distance away. I could hear the loud breathing. I

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could clearly hear that it was sniffing loudly, and the

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wind was blowing past us in that direction, so I

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knew it was winding us. My dad came through across

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my earpiece, asking if I could hear it. I told

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him I could, but I doubted that it would come

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this way, since it seemed like it was already winding us.

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The loud noise continued for another thirty minutes or so,

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and then it faded away. The third day is when

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everything happened. It started off like a normal hunt. We

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got there before sunrise and heard the little animals creeping

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along the floor. As soon as the sun came up.

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We had two squirrels in between my day and I

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playing for about an hour to keep us entertained, but

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overall we had no real action for the majority of

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the day. Around four pm, the woods went silent. I

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know you were thinking, oh, the woods went silent, cliche again,

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but it is a cliche for a reason. The woods

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went absolutely silent. My dad came over the headset and

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asked if I could see anything, to which I replied no.

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After about ten minutes of not a single noise being made,

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I started to see something behind my dad's tree. It

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was a dark figure, way too dark to be a deer.

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I couldn't tell what it was because the movement in

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the shape was all wrong. I told my dad that

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I could see something, but I couldn't make it out.

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The closer it got, the better I could see it.

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The body was so dark that it was almost black,

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while the head was a dark red color. It was

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working its way toward us, but not in a straight line.

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It would walk one direction, ducking behind bushes and trees,

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and I will only see it in small spots when

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it would change directions and work its way more diagonally

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toward us. My dad kept asking me what it was,

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but I quit answering. I didn't want the words bigfoot

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to be my answer, but that's all I could think

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it was. As it kept getting closer, I noticed something

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else strange. I couldn't hear it at all. I have

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no idea how such a big creature could be absolutely quiet,

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but it was when it was around thirty yards directly

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behind my dad. That's when I could see it in

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its entirety. It was massive, and it was definitely a male.

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It was around eight to nine feet and probably four

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feet across the shoulders. It was making its way directly

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towards my dad's tree stand. I could even see that

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it was looking right at him, without looking in any

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other direction. My dad was still coming across my earpiece,

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asking if I saw a deer, but when my eyes

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opened up large, he started to get worried and I

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could hear his anxiety over the headset. I'm not proud

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of this, but I couldn't speak. I couldn't think of

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what to say, and I was terrified. Everyone wants to

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see Bigfoot, but I can promise you, once you've seen

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one this close, all you want to do is go home. Finally,

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my dad figured out that it was making its way

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right for him. I saw the creature bend down and

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pick something up. It was a limb that was laying

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across the leaves, probably around five feet long. I had

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no idea what it was about to do with it,

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but I still couldn't speak. I wanted to warn my dad,

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but I couldn't say a word, and my hands were

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shaking so much. I don't think my mouth had shut

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for five minutes. As it came around my day dad's tree,

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he finally saw it. He screamed, and for the first

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time in my entire life, I saw my dad afraid.

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Bigfoot had the limb in its hands and swung it

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like a bat. At first I thought it was swinging

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at him, but it swung the limb just below his feet,

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smashing the limb and the ladder instantly. The ladder was

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a light aluminum, but it was still strong enough to

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amaze me with the amount of force it would take

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to completely break the ladder in two pieces. It took

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the tree stand so hard that my dad dropped his gun,

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which is just as well, because I honestly don't believe

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that a slug would bring down this monster anyway. Luckily

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he had the type of deer standing platform and the

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ladder are separate pieces, Otherwise he would have fallen directly

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on top of the creature. The bigfoot then screamed. It

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screamed so loud that it took away my breath. It

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wasn't even facing my direction, but the scream was so

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loud I could feel it through my core. I can't

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even imagine what it was like for my dad, who

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was five feet away from its mouth. It then walked away, slowly,

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looking like it had a lot of confidence. It didn't

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care that it could be seen anymore. It was not

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hiding or trying to be quiet, just walking away slowly.

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I can't tell you why it did that, or why

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it didn't try to hurt him. Maybe it was just

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a territorial thing. We stayed put, not talking, for another

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hour before we decided to leave. I had to help

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my dad down since he didn't have a ladder. It

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was tough to get him down because of my leg,

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but he made it to the ground without getting injured.

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The walk back to the van was slow, with us

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looking in all directions the whole time. We never heard

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or saw anything else after the entire ordeal, I'm pretty

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sure that I never noticed him looking my way or

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acknowledging my blind Ever, the worst part about it is

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my dad could have seriously been injured, but I never

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warned him. I was just so scared, and I'm embarrassed

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at how bad I let him down. I also noticed

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that I never smelled it. I always hear about how

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bad they smell, but even me being so close, I

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never caught a whiff. I asked my dad if he

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smelled it, but he just said he didn't want to

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talk about it. In fact, he wouldn't talk about any

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of it and swore me to secrecy. It's a shame

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that people are mock for just being witnesses of something

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like this. Maybe if people had a safe way to

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talk about it, people would be able to share their

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experiences more. I've never been inside the woods since, and

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I never planned to go again. My dad still goes hunting,

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but he only hunts on small properties now behind the farm.

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Speaker 2: Being a cab driver in a small Ontario city just

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under one hundred thousand people means that you get out

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of town calls fairly regularly, drop off in pickups a

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half hour away or coming up to three hours away,

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maybe one every other month. Once a year or so,

243
00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,879
at least one driver will get a call five hours

244
00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:27,000
or more away. You wouldn't believe the company record, but

245
00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,200
that's another story. I've been lucky enough to get a

246
00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,120
handful of long distance calls over the seven years that

247
00:14:33,159 --> 00:14:37,120
I've been a cabby. The office knows that, unlike most

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00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,759
of the other drivers, I enjoy the long rides, especially

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00:14:40,799 --> 00:14:43,320
the part of the trip when I'm alone, just me

250
00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:47,039
and the music. I've also been lucky in that the

251
00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:50,399
customers on those long trips have been mostly pleasant, and

252
00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:54,639
the entire ride with each was uneventful except for the

253
00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:59,679
last one. That is. Dispatch got a call around four pm,

254
00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:02,360
one hour afternoon from a woman that had to get

255
00:15:02,399 --> 00:15:05,919
home as soon as possible due to a family emergency,

256
00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,960
but the RV that her and her husband were using

257
00:15:09,039 --> 00:15:12,200
to tour the province to mark their recent early retirement

258
00:15:12,399 --> 00:15:15,000
had broken down and the garage couldn't get the part

259
00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:18,120
for at least another day, so a cab was her

260
00:15:18,159 --> 00:15:21,840
only choice. I won't say where she was going beyond

261
00:15:21,879 --> 00:15:26,679
it being near the northwest corner of Algonquin Park. With

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00:15:26,799 --> 00:15:30,240
her address programmed into my GPS.

263
00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:30,720
Speaker 1: Off we went.

264
00:15:31,919 --> 00:15:34,440
Speaker 2: We chatted for the first half hour or so, and

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00:15:34,519 --> 00:15:37,440
she explained that her father had fallen from his roof

266
00:15:37,519 --> 00:15:41,639
while fixing some shingles and it hurt himself badly. She

267
00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:44,240
didn't have all the details, but what she did have

268
00:15:44,639 --> 00:15:48,240
had her worried. She asked if I minded if she

269
00:15:48,399 --> 00:15:50,799
nodded off, because she was going to be too busy

270
00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:54,360
to sleep once she got home. I assured her that

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00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,399
it was quite all right, so the rest of the

272
00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,279
trip was made in silence except for the radio. Of course,

273
00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:03,519
it had been a hot August day, but by eight

274
00:16:03,679 --> 00:16:06,360
thirty in the evening it was very pleasant, with a cool,

275
00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:10,120
light breeze that had blown away the day's humidity. My

276
00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,919
customer had woken up once we turned onto the fire

277
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,480
route that led to her house. A washboard section of

278
00:16:16,519 --> 00:16:20,519
dirt road will do that. At around the four mile

279
00:16:20,679 --> 00:16:24,440
mark halfway. It turned out to be we both saw

280
00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,320
a large black blur across the road at the faintest

281
00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:31,679
edge of my high beams. That's a good sized bear,

282
00:16:31,759 --> 00:16:36,039
I commented, a nervous little uh huh was all I

283
00:16:36,039 --> 00:16:40,200
got is a reply. I didn't inquire any further, assuming

284
00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:44,720
that bears frightened her. That's understandable. She had enough on

285
00:16:44,759 --> 00:16:48,279
her mind as it was. If you've ever driven on

286
00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,440
an interior fire route, you know that you can't go

287
00:16:51,679 --> 00:16:54,159
very fast on a lane and a half wide if

288
00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,919
you're lucky. But also because of the abundance of wildlife,

289
00:16:58,559 --> 00:17:01,200
so I wasn't surprised in the least, and I was

290
00:17:01,279 --> 00:17:05,359
kind of expecting some. Not giving it another thought, I

291
00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:09,200
continued on to the customer's house. I helped her with

292
00:17:09,279 --> 00:17:11,759
her luggage and wished her father the best, and then

293
00:17:11,839 --> 00:17:15,799
got back in the van and I left. Going back

294
00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,039
up the fire route, I looked for a good spot

295
00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:21,279
to pull the van over, at least partially off the road,

296
00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:26,440
because nature was calling rather insistently. I know what you're asking.

297
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,359
If you're on such a backwoods dirt road, why are

298
00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,960
you bothering to get out of anyone's way? Well, I

299
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,839
figure that my customer wasn't going to be far behind me,

300
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,319
and besides, the company I worked for drills it into

301
00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,720
us park out of traffic's way when picking up or

302
00:17:42,799 --> 00:17:45,839
dropping off people so that they aren't deluged with any

303
00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:50,440
more complaints than they already get. Really, though, it's just

304
00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:54,200
a polite thing to do anyway, it took quite a

305
00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,759
while to find a suitable spot, so when I did,

306
00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,839
I wasted no time turning the van off and getting

307
00:18:00,079 --> 00:18:02,640
out and over to the passenger side to take care

308
00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:06,720
of business. Feeling greatly relieved, I decided to have a

309
00:18:06,799 --> 00:18:09,319
smoke and soak in the piece and quiet for a

310
00:18:09,319 --> 00:18:12,440
few minutes and stretch before the four and a half

311
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:17,160
hour return home. Pacing slowly back and forth along the

312
00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:21,079
passenger side of the van, I noticed that my footsteps

313
00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:25,079
through the twigs and lee litter were unusually loud, so

314
00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:29,640
I stopped and listened to absolutely nothing. There weren't even

315
00:18:29,759 --> 00:18:35,119
crickets chirping. It was weird. Finishing my cigarette, I turned

316
00:18:35,119 --> 00:18:37,200
to circle the back of the cab and drop the

317
00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,279
butt onto the dirt, keeping my eyes down on it

318
00:18:40,319 --> 00:18:42,759
to make sure I stepped on it to grind it

319
00:18:42,839 --> 00:18:46,240
out as I lifted my eyes. There was enough of

320
00:18:46,279 --> 00:18:49,160
a full moon shining through the tree canopy for me

321
00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:53,279
to see two gigantic hairy feet just back from the

322
00:18:53,319 --> 00:18:58,319
opposite side of the road. I froze. Those weren't palls,

323
00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:04,359
These were definitely toes. A jolt of excitement shot through me.

324
00:19:04,799 --> 00:19:08,960
I'm seeing a real life sisquatch, I thought. Cold fear

325
00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:13,839
soon followed. I didn't hear it coming. The van was off,

326
00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,359
everything else was eerily silent, and I had not heard

327
00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:22,000
a thing. I slowly raised my eyes and saw calves

328
00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,000
as big as my thighs, and then thighs at least

329
00:19:25,039 --> 00:19:28,839
as big a round as a car steering wheel. After

330
00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:31,319
noting that it was a mail, I stopped when I

331
00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:35,720
was looking straight ahead into a hairy stomach. It's funny

332
00:19:35,839 --> 00:19:38,640
what can go through your mind during times of stress.

333
00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:43,119
I kept seeing clips from nature shows about gorilla behavior

334
00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,440
in the wild, hoping that these could be at least

335
00:19:46,519 --> 00:19:51,400
somewhat applicable. My curiosity and excitement beat out my fear,

336
00:19:51,519 --> 00:19:56,599
forcing my eyes to continue upwards. A barrel chest led

337
00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:01,519
into shoulders over four feet wide. As my eyes crept higher,

338
00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,640
they came to a long chin resting on a little

339
00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:09,759
to no neck. Finally our eyes met I saw his

340
00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:13,880
thin lips part as he let out a long, low growl.

341
00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:18,640
My heart dropped into my stomach. Just then, a car

342
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:22,079
came over the hill about fifty yards back to my left,

343
00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:26,720
illuminating the whole area. The sasquatch took a step back,

344
00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,480
turned to look at the approaching car, finished the one eighty,

345
00:20:30,599 --> 00:20:33,160
and walked back into the dark of the bush in

346
00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:38,079
a few long strides, disappearing entirely. I couldn't turn my

347
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,279
head away from the direction that the heavily muscled harry

348
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:44,359
back had went until the car slowed to a stop

349
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,359
in front of me. The passenger side window glided down,

350
00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,200
and I leaned over to see my customer. She had

351
00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:53,920
a very concerned look on her face as she asked,

352
00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:58,200
are you okay? My brain seemed incapable of getting my

353
00:20:58,319 --> 00:21:04,480
vocal cords to work, so I just nodded, follow me out, okay. Again,

354
00:21:04,759 --> 00:21:08,400
I just nodded. My body seemed to be moving on

355
00:21:08,599 --> 00:21:12,039
autopilot as I straightened up and finished the circle around

356
00:21:12,079 --> 00:21:16,400
the van, jumped in and started it up, pulling out

357
00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,200
behind her. When she passed, I followed her out the

358
00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:23,079
country road She stopped just short of the pavement and

359
00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,240
got out and walked back to the cab. Are you

360
00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,359
sure you're okay, she asked, after I rolled down the window,

361
00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:34,359
finally able to speak. I nodded and I said, yeah,

362
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:36,960
I think so. Thank you so much for showing up

363
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:41,759
when you did. I don't know. You're very welcome, she

364
00:21:41,839 --> 00:21:44,759
cut in, But I really have to go. I'd love

365
00:21:44,839 --> 00:21:47,319
to discuss this with you, but I don't have the time.

366
00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:50,640
I have to go see my father. With that, she

367
00:21:50,759 --> 00:21:53,440
turned and walked back to her car, and off she went.

368
00:21:54,759 --> 00:21:57,680
I didn't follow right away, taking the time to set

369
00:21:57,759 --> 00:22:01,440
my GPS for the shop and to light a cigarette.

370
00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:05,039
To my surprise, my hands weren't shaking at all. That

371
00:22:05,319 --> 00:22:08,480
changed as I was putting the van into gear. An

372
00:22:08,519 --> 00:22:13,359
inhumanely loud howl split the air, sounding no more than

373
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:16,640
one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet away. My

374
00:22:16,759 --> 00:22:20,799
blood almost stopped flowing as the transmission dropped into gear

375
00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,079
and I stomped on the pedal, throwing dirt and gravel

376
00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:27,279
out behind me in a rooster tail. I can take

377
00:22:27,279 --> 00:22:31,640
a hint. People find as zen in their own ways.

378
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:37,559
For me, it's driving long distances alone usually it does anyway,

379
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:42,440
this time not so much. I played the experience over

380
00:22:42,599 --> 00:22:45,480
and over during the drive back to the yard, making

381
00:22:45,519 --> 00:22:48,759
sure to secure every detail that I could to my memory.

382
00:22:49,799 --> 00:22:53,559
I am five foot eleven, and a level gaze had

383
00:22:53,599 --> 00:22:57,720
me looking directly into its stomach. I figure his height

384
00:22:57,799 --> 00:23:01,119
to be somewhere between eight foot six nine feet tall.

385
00:23:01,839 --> 00:23:04,680
His weight had to be at least five hundred pounds.

386
00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:09,279
He wasn't proportioned quite like a human. The car headlights

387
00:23:09,319 --> 00:23:12,640
gave me a good enough look, albeit short, to see

388
00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:16,000
that his arms were longer than hours, with his fingers

389
00:23:16,039 --> 00:23:20,799
reaching past mid thigh. The nails, and they were nails,

390
00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,039
not claws, were jagged, like he spent a lot of

391
00:23:24,079 --> 00:23:28,640
time digging in rough terrain. The hair was dark, almost black,

392
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,480
seeming longer on the shoulders and arms than elsewhere. His

393
00:23:33,559 --> 00:23:38,880
barreled chests slowly expanded and contracted with each enormous breath.

394
00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:44,000
The lung capacity must be staggering. His face was dark

395
00:23:44,079 --> 00:23:46,799
skinned and hairless, giving me a good view of his

396
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:51,319
thin lipped, wide mouth, broad flat nose, and deep set

397
00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:55,799
eyes under a prominent but smaller brow ridge than I expected.

398
00:23:56,839 --> 00:23:59,839
I have the impression of him having a cone shaped head,

399
00:23:59,839 --> 00:24:03,400
but I can't say for certain. His turn and walk

400
00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:07,240
into the darkness was amazingly fluid and graceful, even while

401
00:24:07,319 --> 00:24:11,960
taking strides twice as long as mine. By no means

402
00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:16,319
was he a lumbering giant. After giving it a lot

403
00:24:16,319 --> 00:24:18,839
of thought, I decided that he never really meant me

404
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:22,680
any harm. My initial dread at the imagined reason for

405
00:24:22,799 --> 00:24:26,240
his stealthy approach was muted when I realized that if

406
00:24:26,279 --> 00:24:28,359
it did want to hurt me, it could have done

407
00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,799
so before I even knew it was there. I think

408
00:24:31,839 --> 00:24:34,880
that it only growled like that because I made direct

409
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:39,640
eye contact with him. It remained as motionless as I

410
00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:42,680
had been, but I don't doubt that it was checking

411
00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:45,240
me out and must have come to the conclusion that

412
00:24:45,319 --> 00:24:49,319
I wasn't a threat and would not challenge him. His

413
00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:53,359
almost nonchalant manner he had when the car arrived left

414
00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:56,480
me thinking that he was quite familiar with the comings

415
00:24:56,519 --> 00:25:00,359
and goings around the area, and my customer was very

416
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:04,039
familiar with him. By the end of the drive, I

417
00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:07,119
decided that I wouldn't tell anyone what happened except for

418
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,240
my family. Well, I might have told one of the

419
00:25:10,279 --> 00:25:13,519
other drivers at the very worst, he would think that

420
00:25:13,599 --> 00:25:17,240
it was a good story. As for my customer, I

421
00:25:17,319 --> 00:25:19,880
was tempted to get her phone number from the office,

422
00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:24,000
but ultimately decided against it. She had problems of her

423
00:25:24,039 --> 00:25:26,640
own and probably wouldn't want to answer a million of

424
00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:31,559
my questions. Imagine my surprise when a couple of weeks later,

425
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,359
when I got into work, there was a message waiting

426
00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,960
for me. The office manager said that the customer had

427
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,920
called to thank us for getting her home safely, and

428
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,720
that since I had been so concerned about her father,

429
00:25:44,039 --> 00:25:46,079
that she wanted me to know that he had been

430
00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:48,720
touching go for a week, but he was doing much

431
00:25:48,759 --> 00:25:52,119
better now. She had asked for my phone number and

432
00:25:52,319 --> 00:25:55,799
had understood when the dispatcher told her that he could

433
00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:58,720
not give the phone number out, but she insisted that

434
00:25:58,799 --> 00:26:01,559
he give me her number and to call her when

435
00:26:01,559 --> 00:26:05,440
it was convenient. We've since become good friends and we

436
00:26:05,519 --> 00:26:09,160
actually talk often. She has given me permission to write

437
00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:12,400
up her stories, so you'll probably be hearing from me

438
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:14,240
a few more times at least