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Speaker 1: My name is Bill, and the stories I'm going to

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relate can be considered a twofer. One is a UFO

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story and the other is well, I don't know what

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to call it. I have allowed myself to think it

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was a screech owl or a bobcat, but my best

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instinct says that it was something else, maybe a bigfoot.

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We owned property in southwest Arkansas that has been in

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the family since the eighteen fifties. It was farmed until

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my grandfather retired around nineteen sixty eight. After his death

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in nineteen seventy two, my grandmother moved into town to

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be near her children, but the farmhouse and the acreage

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remained intact in the family. Half of the total acreage

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is planted with pine trees, thanks to the USDA incentives

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offered at the time. However, as the property is located

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along the Gulf Coastal Plain, which marked the edge of

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the Gulf Coast in prehistoric times, the sandy lone quality

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of the soil is unfit to grow anything but cedar trees.

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In fact, for many years, families from our area harvested

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their Christmas trees from our property. Now I say all

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this because I spent much of my time growing up

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on this land, and I know it well. Some years ago,

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I had decided to camp in this cedar covered area

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over several weeks to determine the feasibility of building an

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off dred cabin. The site was way off the main

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road and way out of sight. This event occurred on

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the first night that I camped there. It was in

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April of two thousand and sixteen. Sometime after three am.

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I woke for no apparent reason, and I sat up

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in my cot. I looked around the tent, and I

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saw that everything was in order, and then I heard

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four heavy wax or thuds on the ground very near

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the Imagine the sound if you hit the earth with

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a baseball bat as hard as you could, only it

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was much louder than that. Next there came a scream

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unlike anything I've ever heard. Not only was it so

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loud that it made my ear drums distort, but it

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generated an immediate fear in me that I can only

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describe as primal. It wasn't like I felt like I

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was in danger, but rather the scream produced an authentic

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fear that I have never known. I imagined a banshee mask.

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I made in the third grade during a study of

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myths and legends, The phrase she screamed like a banshee

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came to mind. Had I heard a banshee? Immediately after?

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I heard what could only be described as bipedal steps

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running away from the ridge, and in an effort to

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rationalize it all, I assumed it was a screech owl

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that produced the scream, and the flappings of its large

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wingspan was what produced the sound of rapid footsteps. But

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that explanation provides an no rationale for what was thumping

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the ground. Now, bobcats can scream, for sure, but that

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doesn't fit with the other things I heard. I have

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come to terms with the fact that whatever I experienced

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that night was meant to inform me that I wasn't

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welcome there. Now I understand territorial mentality, but that's my

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family's land, so if I decide to build there, we'll

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have to learn to coexist with whatever that thing is.

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I know I can gladly go the rest of my

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life without having to hear that scream again. Though. Next

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is UFO related, and it happened around the year two

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thousand on this same property. Like many families who share

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land out in the sticks. We would often gather over

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a weekend of fish and cook out and mow grass,

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or just sit around a bonfire and hang out. The

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farmhouse could get a little when bedtime rolled around, so

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my crew would pitch a large tent in the back pasture.

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On this night, I was snoozing inside the tent with

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my middle school daughter when we both awoke to a

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fairly loud sound. It was vaguely mechanical, like a turbocharger

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on a semi pulling a load up hill, but big

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rigs don't travel on our highway. Feeling a heavy drowsiness,

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I went back to sleep, but when I woke again,

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the sound was still there. My daughter was standing at

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the door of the tent and she said, Dad, you

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need to come see this. But I couldn't rouse myself

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from my cozy dream state. You fathers who have daughters

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will understand this. As a dad, there's absolutely nothing you

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won't do for your daughter. On reflection, this should have

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been my first indicator that something was going on. Why

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did I not get up out of that sleeping bag

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and go look at what my daughter wanted me to see?

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It almost felt like the twilight sensation during an anesthesia procedure,

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just before the doctor tells you to count backwards from

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one hundred. When I woke the next morning, my daughter

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was safely tucked inside her sleeping bag. All was well

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with the world. But later that day she said, Dad,

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you really should have seen that thing over the pond

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last night. Well what did you see? I asked her.

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My daughter is very observational and painted a vivid picture

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of what drew her attention while I was dead to

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the world. The sound we heard was coming from this

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thing that was really moving slowly over our pond at

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about treetop level. She said. I couldn't really make out

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the shape of it, but it had two big red

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round lights at the back of it. It moved over

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the pond and kept going toward the north over the highway.

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As a point of reference, the pine is fifty yards

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from the farmhouse and where we were sleeping that night.

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Wondered if that sound we heard had the hypnotic effect

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of neutralizing me, Yet it didn't seem to affect my

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daughter in the same way. I've heard of abduction stories,

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but she had no recollection of anything other than watching

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the craft ease its way to the north. She remembers

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getting back in her sleeping bag and dozing off, but

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no one in the house heard or saw anything unusual. Well,

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those are my stories, and they're probably too long to use,

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but I feel better for having written them down while

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the details are still fresh in my mind. And I

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think it's important to share our experiences in a safe environment.

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It's not only therapeutic, but it builds a community that

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we all desperately need during these strange times. I live

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in the mid South, in a suburban neighborhood close to

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metropolitan Memphis. I went to school in Oxford, Mississippi at

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ol Miss and I married a Mississippi girl I met

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on campus. Life has been generous to us over the years.

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We are now in our seventies and we both have

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good health. We raised a family and all of our

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children have done well, and we are fortunate to have

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a lot of grandchildren who visit often. But there was

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one incident that changed our lives forever. Neither my wife

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nor myself have ever told this to anyone before I die,

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and the story is lost forever. It needs to be told.

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Every word I'm about to write is true. My wife

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and I graduated in the spring of nineteen sixty five

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and were married soon after. I landed a job back

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in my hometown of Memphis, and we rented a small

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duplex in the Berclaire area. I was making a decent living,

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my wife was making new friends in her new city.

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Things were great, and the sky was the limit as

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far as we could see. By nineteen sixty nine, we

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had two children, two of the most beautiful little girls

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God ever created. They were my life and I spent

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every waking minute with them. My wife's family lived in Smithville, Mississippi,

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and she would travel there with the children on occasion,

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sometimes staying two weeks at a time. I was happy

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she was close enough to her family that she could,

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in just a short trip, be back in her hometown

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to visit and stay. It certainly helped whenever she was homesick.

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Her parents loved the children as much as we did. Usually,

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on the last weekend of her stay, I would drive

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down after work on Friday afternoon to spend the weekend

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with all of them. On Sunday afternoon, we would return

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home in two cars. I must interject that in those days,

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it was unusual for a young family to have two cars.

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Our family car was a gift from my father in

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law to us on our wedding Dad, and the car

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I drove was a company car my employer allowed me

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to use as long as I compensated them for the

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mileage I put on the vehicle. My company car was

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usually packed with items for my job, so the girls

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always rode home with my wife, with me right in

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front of them or behind them all the way home.

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On a spring night in nineteen seventy one, we were

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leaving Smithville after spending the Easter weekend with my in laws.

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The weather had been good all weekend, but on Sunday afternoon,

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one of those violent fronts began to roll through the

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midst south just as we left for home. It would

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be a rough drive back to Memphis on a stormy night.

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We pulled out of the drive around five pm, not

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knowing the storms were so close. The first four or

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five miles down the gravel road were pleasant. The sun

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was beginning to set in the west. I could see

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those ominous purple storm clouds moving toward towards us quickly,

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but I didn't think too much of it. My wife

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is still a good driver today, and I knew my

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girls were in good hands. Before the rain began to fall,

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the wind picked up quickly. There was a steady blow

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with violent gusts often. It was not long before I

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suspected this system could produce tornadoes. My wife was a

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quarter mile ahead of me and I could not see

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her tail lights. She was creeping along the gravel road

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with her vision obscured. As the sheets of rain pelted

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the windshield. The wipers were not keeping up. She considered

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stopping and waiting the rain out, but making it to

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the main highway was her goal and would have given

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her a bit of confidence feeling the smooth black top

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surface under her tires, so she continued on. Normally, at

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this time of day, there would have been a hint

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of light in the western horizon, but the storm clouds

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in the thick forest lining the road blocked any light.

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My wife was struggling and certainly scared for her children.

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I could still not see her tail lights, which in

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my view was a good thing. That meant she was

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still moving ahead. My right rear tire went flat. I

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had flats on this car and was quick at making

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a change, but of all days to have a flat,

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it had to happen on this night with no rain gear.

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I quickly jumped back to the trunk and extracted the flashlight,

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the jack, and the spare, and went quickly to work

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in the freezing rain. In another circumstance, I would have

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waited for the rain to ease up a bit, but

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I needed to catch back up with my wife if

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that was even possible. I went to work raising the

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rear end of the car. Approximately one mile ahead. My

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wife entered the worst of the storm. To this day,

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we believe a small tornado touched down a short distance

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away from her and then moved directly over her car,

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but the weather service back then had no way to

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confirm this. In those days, a tornado was confirmed after

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the storm had passed and damage was assessed. There were

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no warnings. She was only three miles from the main

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highway when the rain stopped abruptly. Naturally. She thought she

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had made it through the storm, but within a few

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seconds her car was hammered by large hail. The front

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windshield was laying in her lap and all over my

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three year old daughter, in chunks and in slivers. The

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wind was blowing straight into what was once a solid windshield.

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And then the wind picked up. Immediately, the trees on

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her left were breaking loose at the trunks and blowing

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across the gravel road in front of her. She mashed

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her brakes and was coming to a stop when a

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tree hit the car's left side, violently throwing the car

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into a deep ditch on the right side of the road.

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Due to the spring rains and the rain that had

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fallen that afternoon, the ditch was full of water. When

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the car finally stopped moving, my wife was on her

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right side against the right passenger door, crushing my three

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year old little girl, and they were both underwater. I

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heard the roar of that wind ahead of me. I

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was tightening down the first lug and I picked up

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the pace even more. Finally, the tire was secure, and

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I ran back to the driver's side door, leaving the

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old tire and jack laying in the middle of the road.

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My tires dug into the gravel and I was in motion,

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working my way through the gears as fast as possible,

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and I gained speed. I have no idea how fast

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I was going. When I hit the first tree that

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had been blown across the road. My body slammed into

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the steering wheel as the car lurched up over a

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large pine tree. When I came to a stop, I

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could not see anything through the windshield. It was covered

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with pine needles, and the rain fell in thick white sheets.

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I gathered my wits about me and threw the car

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in reverse to try and get off of the tree.

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The car would not budge. I kept on the gas,

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hoping my rear tires would grip something and free me

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from this tree. But it was no use. I got

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out of the car and jumped three feet to the

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ground through the mass of pine tree limbs. The car

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was off the ground, with the rear tires barely touching

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the gravel. I needed weight on the back of the car,

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but where would I get it, and there was nothing

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I could do. I was filled with rage. My three

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girls were in trouble and I could not get to them.

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My wife suddenly realized what was happening. She had raised

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her head above the water and caught a breath of air.

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She was alive, and her thoughts became clear and sharp.

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Mothers are that way when their children are in danger.

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There is something primal, almost animal like, that comes over

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a mother of any species that causes her to become

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crafty and clever in the most extreme conditions in order

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to do anything required to keep her children safe. My

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wife could feel our daughter under her, kicking and clawing

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for air. She had reached below her and pulled her

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daughter to freedom beside her. Suddenly able to take in air,

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our daughter began to cough and spit water she had

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swallowed and inhaled. It is not like the movies when

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a drowning person is pulled from the water and someone

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00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,320
does chest compressions causing the victim to spit water up,

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00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:38,039
and then the victim smiles and all is good. Know,

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when a human inhales water, it is very painful. Even

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more painful for the body to expel all the water

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from their lungs and throat. It takes a long time

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before they can fully breathe again. So our daughter suffered

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through the agony of expelling muddy ditch water from her

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lungs for days after this event. But as she coughed

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and vomited, my wife pushed her towards the driver's side door,

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which was above them. Now she reached to roll the

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window down successfully and finally sent our daughter into the

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falling rain outside, where she held on to the window

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edge to keep from sliding off into the ditch again.

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But there was another child in the back seat who

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had been asleep. It was our nine month old little girl.

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She had been laying in a baby seat in the

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middle of the bench back seat. My wife looked over

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into the back seat and saw her feet kicking, making

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small splashes in the water that filled the right side

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of the car. Still today, my wife has nightmares of

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those tiny feet wiggling in the water back at my car.

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My rage heightened at my predicament. In a fit, I

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jumped back onto the threshold of the door and climbed

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over onto the hood of the car, hoping to look

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ahead and see my wife's car. But the rain continued

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to fall. I did not see any other trees ahead

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of me. I knew if I could just get free

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from this tree and get past it, I might have

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a chance to keep moving. I began to curse and

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00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:15,599
jump on the hood of the car. I was very

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angry to be stuck here. I noticed the front of

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the car began to rock forward, and I kept jumping,

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causing the car to tilt or see saw back and forth.

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Then a loud pop, and the car settled onto the tree.

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A branch had broken, and the car fell some distance.

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I jumped back off and saw that the rear tires

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were now firmly on solid gravel. I started the car,

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and this time I put the car in forward gear

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and mashed the accelerator to the floor. The car lurched

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forward a foot or two, and then it stopped. I

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00:17:50,039 --> 00:17:53,920
punched the gas again, and I was moving inch by inch.

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Please keep moving, Please keep moving, I whispered to myself,

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over and over until I was free of the tree

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and rolling down the road again. My wife tried to

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crawl back into the back seat to save our baby,

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but she could not get over the seat. The muddy

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water made the vinyl seat cover slippery, and she was

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in a bad position to work her body over the seat.

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She reached and could feel our daughter's sock covered foot,

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but could not pull her free because she was strapped

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into the baby seat, which was loosely held in place

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by the old seat belts of those days. She began

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to panic and screamed at the top of her loans

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as she cried out to God to help her save

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her baby. The car moved. In her panic and agony,

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my wife felt the car move, then move again. She

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looked up at our oldest holding on to the car door,

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and saw her looking towards the back of the car.

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She had stopped coughing and her eyes were wide open,

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almost in a trance. As my wife looked upwards through

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the driver's word, a large, dark figure hovered above our oldest.

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Oh God, what now, my wife thought, and my oldest

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disappeared from view. Within seconds, a large hand reached into

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the driver's window and wrenched onto my wife's shoulder. She

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remembers it being very painful. She was lifted out of

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the car and gently set onto the muddy gravel on

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the road. It was a huge beet standing in front

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of and over the two women. Astonished at what she

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was looking at, and at a loss for words, she

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remembered our youngest and screamed at the creature that there

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was another child in the car. The creature cocked its

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head like a dog does when it hears a strange sound.

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My wife got up and ran towards the car, pointing

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at the back seat window. She then ran off down

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into the water and began to claw at the undercarriage

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of the car, grabbing mufflers, exhaust pipes, anything she could

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reach to get up to the side of the car.

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She fell back into the water, came back up on

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her feet, and tried again. She could not climb to

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gain access to her baby. I was moving at at

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least sixty miles per hour when in my headlights I

339
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saw a car lying on its side in the ditch.

340
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I could see figures standing on the road next to

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the car. Oh God, let it be someone else, I

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whispered to myself. The rain fell straight down, the wind

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was gone. I punched the gas pedal, and then I

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saw a large figure in the distance jump onto the

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side of the car. The car sank deeper into the

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ditch from the weight of this thing. I was closer

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00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,240
now and I could see clearly what was happening. I slowed.

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The dark figure lifted its leg and broke the glass

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of the window. It laid flat on the side of

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the car and was fishing with its arm for something

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in the back seat. I could see my oldest daughter now,

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and this confirmed my worst nightmare. This was my family.

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I came to a complete stop and jumped from the

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car and started running I could see my wife now

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in the water, clinging to the underside of the overturned car.

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She was crying and screaming at this thing on the car.

357
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I hit the ditch at a full run and climbed

358
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up the rear bumper, slipping and falling several times until

359
00:21:26,839 --> 00:21:28,839
I made it on to the side of the car.

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I was about to jump onto the creature that was

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reaching into the car, when suddenly its body lifted upright

362
00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:39,119
in a quick motion. There was a wet yellow blanket

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00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:43,160
in its huge left hand, my daughter. It had my

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little girl. I started to lunge and try to pull

365
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her from its hand, but the creature reached over me,

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clinching down on the back of my leg. It lifted

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me straight up, upside down and jumped with my daughter

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in one hand in me and the other to the road.

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It gently laid me onto the gravel. It then moved

370
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to the ditch and moved my wife out onto the

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road beside me. If this was not strange enough, it

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00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:14,039
lifted its left hand to see what it had removed

373
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from the car. My daughter's legs hung limp between the

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creature's fingers. There was no life there. My wife began

375
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to cry and moan and begged the creature to hand

376
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my daughter to her. But the beast just looked at

377
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the baby in its hands. It clearly knew it held

378
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a baby, and I saw a gentle posture come over

379
00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:40,519
its whole being, taking a deep breath with a long exhale,

380
00:22:41,039 --> 00:22:45,000
the massive right hand moved over my daughter's body, and

381
00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:50,079
one large index finger gently pressed on my daughter's tiny chest.

382
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My wife went silent. All I can remember was silence

383
00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:59,079
and rain, And in the glow of those headlights, I

384
00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:03,839
watched a female sisquatch gently pushed water from my daughter's lungs.

385
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One small amount of water spit above her little mouth,

386
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:13,000
and then another, and then another, and then she coughed,

387
00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,279
and then she cried, and we all cried, and the

388
00:23:17,319 --> 00:23:20,319
beast looked at us and smiled in a strange way.

389
00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:24,599
She lowered herself on to one knee and handed our

390
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,839
daughter to my wife. Then she stood up. She arched

391
00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,039
her back as if to say this was a good day.

392
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She inhaled a massive amount of air and expelled it

393
00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:41,559
with a loud moan. It sounded like a thousand pound wolf.

394
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:46,079
I heard others inside the trees. She stepped into the

395
00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:49,759
flooded ditch and came up on the other side. She

396
00:23:49,799 --> 00:23:54,839
looked aback once and then she was gone. Headlights from

397
00:23:54,839 --> 00:23:57,640
a tractor broke us from our trance. It was my

398
00:23:57,759 --> 00:24:01,400
father in law. He had no idea what was happening

399
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:03,880
and had thought to patrol the road to make sure

400
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:07,359
no one needed any help after that storm. He didn't

401
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,039
know he would drive up on his own daughter's family.

402
00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:13,440
We had to wait in my car for an ambulance

403
00:24:13,519 --> 00:24:15,559
to get to us and take my girls to the

404
00:24:15,599 --> 00:24:21,079
hospital to be examined. It seemed like ours. On the

405
00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:24,640
following Wednesday, we were back in Memphis and my girls

406
00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:30,079
were okay. We were a family again. It became obvious

407
00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,839
two years later that my youngest daughter had suffered minor

408
00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:37,839
brain damage from lack of oxygen on that day. There

409
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,720
were no tests then to see what the effects had been,

410
00:24:41,079 --> 00:24:44,799
so we had to wait. The disability is not bad,

411
00:24:45,079 --> 00:24:48,039
and she is now a productive member of society now.

412
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,880
The damage was not to her learning abilities. It was

413
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:56,200
only to a few motor skills and physical abilities. But

414
00:24:56,319 --> 00:24:59,200
she still plays softball with a group of girls she

415
00:24:59,319 --> 00:25:02,480
grew up with, so it has not affected her ability

416
00:25:02,599 --> 00:25:06,640
to enjoy her life, nor did it affect her chances

417
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,279
to become a veterinarian. She works for one of the

418
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:14,720
largest zoos in the nation and specializes in and cares

419
00:25:14,839 --> 00:25:18,839
for primates. My wife and I go back to that

420
00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,279
spot in the road every Easter Sunday and leave a

421
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,880
huge bag of goodies a short distance into the woods.

422
00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,440
We don't know who takes the bags, but the next

423
00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:32,759
morning they are always gone. We like to think that

424
00:25:32,799 --> 00:25:34,799
the sisquatch remember us too.

