WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:08.800 My name is Kim, and I don't mind if you 2 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:12.160 use my name. I don't have a Bigfoot story, but 3 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:15.679 I do have one that is just as strange. I 4 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:19.079 live in a small rural town in Tennessee. I have 5 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:22.640 an experience that I've been hesitant to share since it 6 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:25.920 happened in nineteen ninety four, when I was eighteen years old. 7 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:30.760 Today I'm forty seven, and since this happened, I've only 8 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:34.840 told maybe three people since the incident. I'm not sure 9 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:37.560 if the three people I told even believe me, because 10 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:41.320 I still have trouble believing it myself. It was after 11 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:44.920 I had graduated high school. I had a boyfriend who 12 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:48.320 lived on a well traveled highway between our small town 13 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:51.600 in Perry County and the bigger town we all commuted 14 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:56.000 to in Lewis County for shopping and eating. He used 15 00:00:56.039 --> 00:00:58.399 to always claim in high school that he had seen 16 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:02.759 aliens in Ufo on a daily basis. Well, I thought 17 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:05.599 he was crazy and had been smoking too much. Weaed 18 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:09.680 on a summer evening in nineteen ninety four, I made 19 00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:12.239 a visit to his house to watch his new satellite 20 00:01:12.359 --> 00:01:16.200 dish that his parents had just installed. Well, this was 21 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:19.120 back when the satellites were as big as a swimming pool. 22 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:22.640 I was sitting on the couch enjoying the thousands of 23 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:26.200 channels from all over the world when my boyfriend came 24 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:29.799 in and calmly said, Kim, come here, I want to 25 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:34.159 show you something. We walked out onto the porch into 26 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:36.519 the front yard and I looked at him and I said, 27 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:39.560 what is it. He pointed up to the top of 28 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:41.920 one of the trees in his backyard and he said, 29 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:46.319 just look at that. Five hundred feet away. I saw 30 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:49.840 a large, dark, circular disk right at the top of 31 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:53.920 the trees. There were yellowish looking lights that blinked in 32 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.719 a sequence, starting from the left of the object to 33 00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:00.879 the right, and then around again. I heard any noise, 34 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:06.079 no motor, no hum. It was absolutely silent. It was 35 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:09.360 the size of a basketball court, and it sat in 36 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:12.759 a perfectly still position, with just the movement of the 37 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:16.080 sequencing lights that seemed to chase each other from left 38 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:20.479 to right. Well, I was stunned into silence. I knew, 39 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:24.800 deep down, whatever was controlling that object was observing us. 40 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:28.360 I never thought I would react that way if I 41 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:30.960 ever got lucky enough to see one of these things. 42 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:35.120 I always pictured myself before it happened that if I 43 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:38.319 had ever seen one, I would be ecstatic and excited, 44 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:43.120 but I wasn't. I looked at him one more time, 45 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:46.280 not believing my eyes, and I asked him, like a dummy, 46 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:50.560 what is that? Even though I already knew what it was, 47 00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:54.759 thinking there might be a logical explanation. All he said 48 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:59.599 was to UFO. I knew whatever it was, it was 49 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:02.800 not to be there. And then, for some odd reason, 50 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:06.280 I felt the strong urge to calmly go back in 51 00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:10.360 the house, sit down, and continue to watch TV. And 52 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:15.120 that's exactly what I did, I guess. Fifteen minutes went 53 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:18.080 by and my boyfriend came back in and he went 54 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:21.360 to his room and he shut the door. Well, I 55 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:24.000 got up from the couch and I walked outside to leave. 56 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:27.159 I looked for the object while I walked back to 57 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:31.520 my car, and it was gone. After that, we never 58 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:34.879 spoke about it again, and to this day, I couldnot 59 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:38.159 figure out why why would we not mention it to 60 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:41.840 each other. I know what I saw was real, I 61 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:44.680 was awake, and I was not on drugs or alcohol. 62 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:48.719 But for some reason, I've always questioned myself as to 63 00:03:48.759 --> 00:03:51.719 why I reacted the way I did and why he 64 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:56.240 reacted the way he did. It was just a rare experience, 65 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:58.759 and I don't know if there was a higher power 66 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:03.199 involved pushing me to react the way I did. Well. 67 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:06.639 We eventually broke up and he moved to Utah. I 68 00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:10.120 heard recently of another sighting on that road about five 69 00:04:10.199 --> 00:04:13.639 years ago, while a girl I know was driving on 70 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:17.079 that highway. I know this was a short story, but 71 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:19.879 I thought I would share it. I thought maybe someone 72 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:23.040 out there listening may appreciate it. It may have been 73 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:27.000 through something similar. I enjoy listening to your podcast every 74 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:29.160 morning while I get up and get ready for work. 75 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:31.879 Keep doing what you do. You're doing a great job. 76 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:34.759 And she says, thank you, Kim, Thank you Kim for 77 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:39.639 the story. You did a great job writing this. That's 78 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:42.839 the biggest compliment, not that I'm doing a good job, 79 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:44.879 but you guys do a great job writing these. This 80 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:52.399 was an interesting story. I love these UFO stories. Okay, 81 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:58.240 fair warning. This story has a lot of places, has 82 00:04:58.279 --> 00:05:01.680 a lot of places that have spanned names and French 83 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.519 names that I may get wrong, so get ready for 84 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:07.199 a laugh. But I just can't pronounce them because I've 85 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:10.399 never heard some of them before Nielma edited this. She goes, 86 00:05:10.439 --> 00:05:12.519 there wasn't really much to do to it because the 87 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:16.319 person is a talented writer, and so this should be 88 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:18.959 a good story. And I'm reading this cold, so just 89 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:21.560 hang on to your weaves, all right. Here we go. 90 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:25.319 It's a bigfoot story. Growing up in the nineteen seventies 91 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:28.959 in the small town of Monroe, Louisiana, we heard all 92 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:31.920 kinds of stories about the history of the town and 93 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.560 that region of northeast Louisiana. For a sleepy little town 94 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:40.319 nestled in the curves of the Wachita River, the Bayous, 95 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:42.839 and the swamps, you would never guess that it had 96 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:46.439 been a place of habitation for several cultures going back 97 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:50.160 nearly six thousand years now. I spent a lot of 98 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:53.439 time sitting around and listening to my grandfather and one 99 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:57.040 or two uncles as they told stories of things that 100 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:00.879 they encountered on hunting trips, or why working around the 101 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:05.160 family farm, or the stories of what other relatives had 102 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:10.240 experienced in the bayou and swamp country around Monroe. As 103 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:12.759 a kid, I enjoyed all the stories, even if I 104 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:15.600 didn't quite believe them or thought there might have been 105 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:19.160 a bit of leg pulling going on. This syria had 106 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:22.160 been settled and lived in for thousands of years by 107 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:25.879 Native Americans, with the oldest mound complex found in the 108 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:29.879 Western Hemisphere and it dates back fifty four hundred years 109 00:06:30.279 --> 00:06:33.600 and it's found in the northwestern part of Monroe at 110 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:38.759 the Watson Breaks site. The Poverty Point World Heritage Site, 111 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:42.560 which is the largest known earthworks in North America, is 112 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:46.800 only a fifty minute drive to the east. Another facet 113 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:52.160 of the local history was the Spanish colonial past pastad 114 00:06:52.199 --> 00:06:55.839 do watchitall? That was stor I think it was. That 115 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:59.879 means post watchitall. I think that was started in seventeen 116 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:05.279 and renamed after the Spanish governor Estevan miro As Fort 117 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:09.560 Mirou in seventeen ninety one when the fort was constructed. 118 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:13.920 As the settlement expanded with French and Americans moving into 119 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:18.439 the area, the settlement would be renamed Monroe in eighteen 120 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:24.240 twenty after the arrival of the steamboat James Monroe. The 121 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:27.519 town was also part of the Vicksburg Campaign as a 122 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:32.240 supply depot and hospital during the Civil War. Some of 123 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:34.639 the stories told to me growing up were from the 124 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:38.839 Spanish and later American settlers and also from the earlier 125 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:43.759 Native American people. There were stories of giant, hairy manlike 126 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:47.079 creatures who lived in the deepest part of the swamps 127 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:51.600 and who did not tolerate trespassers. There were beings who 128 00:07:51.639 --> 00:07:55.160 could change their shapes to look like animals, and other 129 00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:58.120 stories were about people who would disappear out in the 130 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:02.360 swamps with never a tree to be found. Of course, 131 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:05.639 there were plenty of ghost stories around the Old Garden district, 132 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:09.160 and Monroe had more than its share of haunt houses. 133 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:12.120 I experienced a few of these things in some of 134 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:15.120 those two hundred year old homes that I can't explain. 135 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:19.040 But those are stories for another time. By the way, 136 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:22.480 if you ever feel like writing those stories, brother, please 137 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:24.759 send them in because I'll get them. I'll get them 138 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:28.720 on the podcast. Back to the story. In nineteen seventy five, 139 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:31.639 I had my own close encounter with a bigfoot out 140 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:35.840 along the Watchtaw River among those ancient Spanish moss draped 141 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:39.679 trees and waterways. My mom and I had gone on 142 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:42.840 one of the periodic camping trips our Baptist Church put 143 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:46.600 together for our congregation in the late summer of that year. 144 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:53.279 This particular camping trip was to Moon Lake, north of Monroe. 145 00:08:53.320 --> 00:08:57.279 This area is adjacent to the Black Bayou National Wildlife 146 00:08:57.320 --> 00:09:00.879 Refuse that has a long history of the range things 147 00:09:00.919 --> 00:09:05.440 happening and sightings of strange creatures. If you had a 148 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:08.639 canoe or a flat bottom aluminum boat, you could go 149 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:11.240 out on the switchbacks of the watch Taw River and 150 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:15.200 eventually you would cross over the Black Bayou itself or 151 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:20.679 by you Dissard, I think I pronounced that right, Disiard. 152 00:09:21.799 --> 00:09:24.600 The further up the side by us you went, the 153 00:09:24.679 --> 00:09:27.720 thicker the curtains of moss hanging from the trees would 154 00:09:27.799 --> 00:09:30.799 grow until you could see only a few yards in 155 00:09:30.840 --> 00:09:35.159 any direction. Now, back in the nineteen seventies, the area 156 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:38.960 around Moon Lake was still fairly wild and undeveloped, and 157 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:42.240 it was by you territory, with only a few scattered 158 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:45.440 houses and trailers off the old State Road five point 159 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:49.440 fifty three as the crow flies. It was only about 160 00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:53.080 five miles from my dad's house, but that short fifteen 161 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:56.240 minute drive would take you from the civilized comforts of 162 00:09:56.360 --> 00:10:00.799 town living to another world of moss, drape, tree and dabble, 163 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:06.440 sunlight and foggy swamps inhabited by alligators. And other creatures. 164 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:10.679 Our church used a camp at the lake for family 165 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:14.679 weekend getaways and for some retreats. The camp was on 166 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:16.960 the east side of the lake, between the road and 167 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:19.600 the main body of the lake, with the river making 168 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:23.080 the northern boundary. It was an old camp, but it 169 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:26.919 was well maintained, and the main camp was clear and level, 170 00:10:27.080 --> 00:10:31.639 but surrounded by old trees and bushes. On this weekend, 171 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:35.519 families had started arriving late Friday afternoon, with the rest 172 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:39.000 coming in early Saturday morning to set up their tents 173 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:43.440 and personal camp sites within the larger camping area. As 174 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:46.960 each family arrived, more of the kids I knew would 175 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:50.759 be running around and playing tiger chase or hide and seek, 176 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:55.000 And during one particular wild run through the camp, I 177 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:57.879 missed seeing a tent rope that caught me right across 178 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:01.519 my face, and I proudly wore that diagonal rope burn 179 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:05.240 across my face for several days and enjoyed my badge 180 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:10.159 of honor. Saturday progressed and we moved to exploring the 181 00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:14.559 area outside of the campgrounds, which included walking aways up 182 00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:18.840 the shallow river banks, skipping rocks across the slow moving current, 183 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:23.039 and looking for arrowheads. We didn't find anything, but we 184 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:25.879 had a grand time poking around in the soft soil, 185 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:29.559 and we made a full day of it. At dusk, 186 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:33.360 everyone was called in for dinner and visiting, and my 187 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:35.879 friends and I group together for a dinner of hot 188 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:39.639 dogs and chips and beans and potato salad. And while 189 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:42.279 we were eating, we noticed the dogs that some of 190 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:45.240 the families had brought with them were tracking around the 191 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:49.840 campground and occasionally whining. And since we were among the 192 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:52.679 trees and therefore more to the north and west, the 193 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:55.960 setting sun made a long and broken shadow between the 194 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:59.200 trunks and the hanging moss, it made it difficult to 195 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:03.159 see what the dogs were reacting too. It did not 196 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:05.960 make much of an impression on me at the time, 197 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:08.840 and as soon as we finished eating, we ran back 198 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:11.600 into the woods for an evening edition of hide and seek. 199 00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:15.559 After about an hour, we went back and picked up 200 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:18.679 some flashlights so that we could continue our game until 201 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:21.799 our parents would eventually call us in for the night. 202 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:25.000 And we gathered back together and we stood talking at 203 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:27.879 the edge of the clearing, and a small stick was 204 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:31.279 thrown into our group from the area just outside the 205 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:34.559 lantern light. Well, we thought it was one of the 206 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:37.840 other kids, so we started trying to find them, but 207 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:41.519 we never saw anyone, but every couple of minutes another 208 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:46.200 stick would be thrown from the trees. Eventually, we started 209 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:50.679 concentrating our flashlights in one beam and swinging them back 210 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.440 and forth, and we tried throwing sticks and small rocks 211 00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:56.600 back to the trees to see if we could flush 212 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:00.279 out whoever it was, but we didn't have any success. 213 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:04.639 After another ten minutes of this, we still didn't see anything, 214 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:07.720 and then another stick came flying out of the trees. 215 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:11.919 This time it came from higher up. We swung the 216 00:13:11.960 --> 00:13:15.879 flashlight beams up about ten feet and at first we 217 00:13:15.919 --> 00:13:18.840 didn't see anything but a curt of Spanish moss hanging 218 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:22.559 from a branch close to the tree trunk, and then 219 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:27.720 a face pushed out of the moss. Our first thought 220 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:30.080 was one of the kids had climbed up the trunk, 221 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:34.320 but on closer inspection, though, we realized that the face 222 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:39.279 was not entirely human. After a stunned a few seconds, 223 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:42.240 a body that was fully ten to eleven feet tall, 224 00:13:42.519 --> 00:13:45.840 covered in shaggy brown hair, stepped out from the tree 225 00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:49.720 trunk and moss less than twenty feet away from us. 226 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.159 We started yelling and running back to the camp, while 227 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:56.879 whatever this was disappeared at a loping run back to 228 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:01.000 the north. The adults who came r at our yelling 229 00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:05.000 listened to our hurried description and then took off in pursuit. 230 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:09.159 They too, caught a few glimpses as the bigfoot ran 231 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:12.320 through the undergrowth and then dove into the river to 232 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:16.000 make its escape. When the adults came back to camp, 233 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:19.799 every family packed up and left that night without another 234 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:23.320 word being said about the events of that night, And 235 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:27.000 for several years after that event, you would hear stories 236 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:32.320 of strange happenings around the Moonlake area. Whoo, that's a 237 00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:35.240 There was a lot of lead up to the actual 238 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:38.600 apex of that story, but it was all important because 239 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:41.000 you kind of get a feel for the area and 240 00:14:41.159 --> 00:14:43.480 why they were there and what was going on in 241 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:48.000 the mood of the kids playing, and then the this 242 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:51.799 face pushes through Spanish moss. If you could see me, 243 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:54.559 I've got my shoulders all scrunched up behind my head 244 00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:58.440 because it's given me the creeps. Man, what a great story. 245 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:01.720 I love that story. I appreciate the writer and regarding 246 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:05.480 the houses and whatever happened in the haunted houses that 247 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:09.279 you claim was a time for another story. I would 248 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:12.440 appreciate getting those from you. I'll be glad to put 249 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:14.120 them on the intern. I'll be glad to put them 250 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:16.840 on the podcast, because, dude, you know how to tell 251 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:19.559 a story. Anyway, Thank you for sending it. I really 252 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:25.240 do appreciate it. When I was growing up in South 253 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:29.440 Carolina in the nineteen fifties, we never heard stories about 254 00:15:29.559 --> 00:15:34.240 encounters with Bigfoot or families of Bigfoot. When I had 255 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:36.960 my first encounter, I didn't know what they were or 256 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:40.120 what to call them. I think my dad must have 257 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:43.000 known something about them, but he never talked about it. 258 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:46.720 We lived on a farm deep in the country, somewhere 259 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:52.960 between Honia Path and Greenwood. We kept all kinds of livestock, chickens, hogs, 260 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:56.200 and a few cows and a couple of goats. Along 261 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:58.639 with them, we had dogs and cats, and there was 262 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:01.159 no grass around the house because the hogs and the 263 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:04.879 chickens and the other animals roamed freely about eating everything 264 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:07.799 in sight, not to mention the damage that we three 265 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:11.559 girls could do. Now, Mom and Dad didn't have any sons, 266 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:14.360 but my sisters and I were just as tough and 267 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:18.720 wild as any boys could be. Dad worked our little 268 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:21.440 farm while holding down a job at the fabric mill, 269 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:25.360 and were shoals. They wove and printed the fabric and 270 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:27.879 then shipped it off to various other places to be 271 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:31.799 made into clothes and such. And at that time they 272 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:35.799 were printing camouflage material, and that meant the deer hunters 273 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:39.639 around there always had cheap, misprinted cameo cloth to take 274 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:42.200 home to their wives so they could make them into 275 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:47.600 hunting clothes. I remember one hot Saturday afternoon in the summer. 276 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:50.639 Dad was busy with the cows and Mom asked me 277 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:52.320 to run to the store for her to pick a 278 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:56.200 few items up. It was a little corner store set 279 00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:00.039 on an intersection in the middle of nowhere. Normally, my 280 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:02.519 older sister would go with me, but she wasn't feeling 281 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:06.119 well that day, and my younger sister was still too little. 282 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:09.759 The store was only a half mile away and there 283 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:12.799 were almost never any cars on the road, but I 284 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:15.759 was old enough to know betther than to talk to strangers. 285 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:18.759 Even if there had been a car, it was likely 286 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:21.640 to be someone we knew. Now. That was back when 287 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:25.359 cochs were and nickel and snicker bars were three cents. 288 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:30.079 I took my time getting to the store. I remember 289 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:33.240 a turtle that needed poking with a stick, A few 290 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:37.200 insects were begging for inspections, and I couldn't resist the 291 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:41.119 wildflowers that were in full bloom. But I eventually got 292 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:44.880 there and handed my list over to the storekeeper. It 293 00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:47.400 wasn't a long list, but there was enough on it 294 00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:49.680 to tell me that Mama was getting ready to bake 295 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:53.880 us a cake. It was hot that day. I knew 296 00:17:53.960 --> 00:17:56.720 I would practically have to run back to keep the 297 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:00.720 butter from melting. Well. I liked running before a ten 298 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:04.039 year old, I was pretty fast, well on that day, 299 00:18:04.279 --> 00:18:07.799 I was determined to break my old record. Lucky for me, 300 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:10.599 I thought I had wasted enough time getting there that 301 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:13.119 the sun was beginning to sink behind the trees to 302 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:16.759 the west. The shadows were getting longer, but that meant 303 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:19.200 the trip home wouldn't be quite so hot as the 304 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:23.400 walk there. I had just about reached the long dirt 305 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:26.519 drive that led to our farmhouse when I noticed an 306 00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:30.279 awful dead smell that wasn't there earlier. It seemed to 307 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:33.640 be coming in wiffs on the breeze from somewhere inside 308 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:37.119 the tree line. Now, those woods are thick with pines, 309 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:40.240 and so thick that it was almost like night once 310 00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:44.440 you got past the outer boundary. We never ventured in there. Ever. 311 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:47.799 Dad used to tell us that there might be bears 312 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:50.599 in there. Well, we never saw one, but if Dad 313 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:53.759 said they were there, we believed it. We didn't need 314 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:56.839 to play in those old woods anyway. There was more 315 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:59.480 than enough space to play in the sunlight or under 316 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:03.119 the big shape trees on the farm. As I turned 317 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:05.720 to head up the drive, that smell got stronger, and 318 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:08.400 I shifted my groceries from one arm to the other. 319 00:19:09.319 --> 00:19:12.599 The rattle of that paper bag muffled another noise that 320 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:15.279 I was sure didn't come from me. It was a 321 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:20.000 crackling sound like sticks breaking somewhere beyond the trees. And 322 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:23.240 then I caught a glimpse of something moving to my right, 323 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:27.680 just inside the tree line. I assured myself that I 324 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:31.480 was hearing squirrels or birds and letting my imagination make 325 00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:35.599 giants out of shadows. I was making good time, but 326 00:19:35.640 --> 00:19:38.640 I couldn't seem to outrun the sun. I was sure 327 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:42.640 it was dropping faster than usual that afternoon, and even 328 00:19:42.680 --> 00:19:45.359 though the fear was starting to creep in. I had 329 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:48.079 to slow down. It was still pretty hot and humid, 330 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:52.200 and I was getting tired. The house came into view, 331 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:55.880 and so did something else. I didn't quite understand what 332 00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:59.160 I was looking at. I just knew that something tall 333 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:01.519 and dark was st at the edge of the trees 334 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:05.079 ahead of me. There was an embankment there that went 335 00:20:05.160 --> 00:20:07.599 up the right side of the drive, and the tall 336 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:09.880 trees came to a point at the top of it. 337 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:15.200 That was where the taller, slender, black, hairy figure stepped out. 338 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:19.440 I could see its face clearly. It was almost human, 339 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:24.079 but not quite. I had seen pictures of monkeys, but 340 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:26.759 this thing didn't have a snout or a nose that 341 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:30.759 protruded like one. Its ears were small, and it had 342 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:34.079 a pronounced brow line, with deep set eyes that looked 343 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:37.839 black or very dark brown. The hair on its body 344 00:20:37.880 --> 00:20:40.759 was kind of long, but more so on its arms 345 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:43.920 and around its head. It didn't really have a neck, 346 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:47.079 but its arms were long and almost to its knees. 347 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:49.720 Or maybe they just looked that way because it was 348 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:53.960 stooped a little. I thought it was smiling at me, 349 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:56.640 but it was such a creepy looking grin and it 350 00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:00.640 made its wide mouth almost sinister. I don't think it 351 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:03.279 was trying to scare me, but it sure was doing 352 00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:07.160 a good job of it. In an effort to figure 353 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:09.440 out what I was looking at, I took a few 354 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:13.000 steps closer to it, and in turn, it took another 355 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:16.440 step down the embankment, and then I took another step, 356 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:18.839 and it took another until it was all the way 357 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:23.000 to the bottom. That's when I stopped, and I started screaming. 358 00:21:24.200 --> 00:21:26.920 My kids have a high pitched scream that runs right 359 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:30.319 through you out there in the country. It really traveled. 360 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.480 It was enough to bring Dad running with his double 361 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:36.599 barrel shotgun. I never thought of my dad as being 362 00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:40.079 small until I compared him to the monster. It must 363 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:45.000 have been twice my dad's height. The creature went back 364 00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:48.359 up the embankment, and it looked like it dissipated into 365 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:51.359 the dark forest. And to this day, I'm not sure 366 00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:54.880 if my dad ever saw it. He had a confused 367 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:57.559 look on his face, and I never heard him shoot. 368 00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:01.000 Either he didn't see it or he was afraid of 369 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:04.960 shooting me by accident. He stood there and waited as 370 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:07.640 I ran to him, and then we both went inside. 371 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:11.079 I don't know what I was looking at that day, 372 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:14.599 but I do now. I'll never know what he wanted. 373 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:17.039 Maybe he smelled what was in the bag and he 374 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:20.880 was hungry. I doubt anyone really knows what they are 375 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:24.319 or how they managed to hide so well for their size. 376 00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:26.759 But what I do know now is that I do 377 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:28.000 believe in Bigfoot.