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<v Speaker 1>I have had reservations about telling anyone the events that

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<v Speaker 1>have happened, but I figure if I get this off

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<v Speaker 1>my chest, it'll help me. I was driving back from

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<v Speaker 1>a family thing in Kansas, just past the border into

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<v Speaker 1>Missouri where the highway curves after a turn off around

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<v Speaker 1>Cleveland going to Freeman. It was past midnight, and as

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<v Speaker 1>I picked up speed, my attention was drawn to the

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<v Speaker 1>right side of the road. With my own eyes, I

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<v Speaker 1>saw the biggest figure I had ever seen, standing in

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<v Speaker 1>a ditch. I drive a Hommer and it has great headlights,

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<v Speaker 1>but what I saw shook me to the core. It

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<v Speaker 1>was no less than four solid feet across at the shoulders,

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<v Speaker 1>and the head was covered in long hair, not a cone,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was round. As my headlights hit the figure

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<v Speaker 1>dropped down to its belly in the ditch, like it

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<v Speaker 1>was dropping for cover. The mass of this thing was unbelievable.

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<v Speaker 1>I drove past, never thinking about stopping, and I couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>believe my eyes. And for the next hour driving home,

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<v Speaker 1>I replated in my head, well, this weight on me

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<v Speaker 1>because I was never a believer in the momo booger squatch,

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<v Speaker 1>or whatever the kids call it these days. A week later,

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<v Speaker 1>I went back to the spot where I had seen

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<v Speaker 1>this thing, and when I pulled off the highway to

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<v Speaker 1>look where it stood, I was shocked to see that

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<v Speaker 1>based on where it had been standing in the ditch,

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<v Speaker 1>which was at least four feet deep, this thing was

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<v Speaker 1>at least eight feet tall. Now, if you skip forward

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<v Speaker 1>to the winter, the kids and I went for a

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<v Speaker 1>nature hike outside of Clinton, Missouri. It was the first

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<v Speaker 1>nice day that winter, and we walked a good three miles.

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<v Speaker 1>That day, I took the camera for kid picks, and

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<v Speaker 1>we got a little more than we anticipated. In the

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<v Speaker 1>frozen ground. We found some deep, barefoot tracks crossing the trail,

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<v Speaker 1>and for the life of me, I could barely make

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<v Speaker 1>a dentt in that ground with my own boots. The

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<v Speaker 1>tracks were eighteen inches long with a stride of around

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<v Speaker 1>six feet. My daughter is a complete doubter and made

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<v Speaker 1>fun of my excitement. But as we moved on down

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<v Speaker 1>the trail, we came across a second set of prints.

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<v Speaker 1>They were not the same size, but they must have

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<v Speaker 1>been heavier because they were stamped a lot deeper into

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<v Speaker 1>the frozen ground. As I was taking pictures, my daughter

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<v Speaker 1>got scared and demanded that we go home. Not long

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<v Speaker 1>after that hike, I asked the newspaper editor if he

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<v Speaker 1>would put my pictures in the paper, and to my amazement,

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<v Speaker 1>he said it wasn't the first time he had seen

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<v Speaker 1>tracks like this, but he could not print the pictures

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<v Speaker 1>because it would draw the wrong kind of attention to

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<v Speaker 1>our area. I was caught up by the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>this type of thing is already known, but nothing has

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<v Speaker 1>been said or done to bring the truth out, and

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<v Speaker 1>that just kills me. I work out in the country

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<v Speaker 1>on a large piece of property for some good people.

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<v Speaker 1>I worked pretty much by myself, and I've had some

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<v Speaker 1>unsettling things happened to me out there. Last summer. As

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<v Speaker 1>I was clearing trees and gardening, I would occasionally get

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<v Speaker 1>a gut feeling that someone was watching me. This time

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<v Speaker 1>went by. The feeling intensified. One day I was talking

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<v Speaker 1>to one of the owners. It was around noon and

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<v Speaker 1>we were standing by the lake when we heard owls hooting,

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<v Speaker 1>one right after another. It wasn't like anything I had

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<v Speaker 1>ever heard before, and the intensity of it was alarming,

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<v Speaker 1>one from one side of the lake and the other

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<v Speaker 1>from the other side, and I commented that it was

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<v Speaker 1>the strangest sounding owl I had ever heard, but the

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<v Speaker 1>owners quickly changed the subject. Days later, I was out

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<v Speaker 1>again clearing brush, and it was the dog days of summer,

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<v Speaker 1>and at the end of the day, and I told

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<v Speaker 1>myself I was going to fish in the backbond and

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<v Speaker 1>then go for AHM afterward. The end of the day

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<v Speaker 1>came and I jumped in a john boat and rowed out,

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<v Speaker 1>And as I fished, I had another gut feeling, this

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<v Speaker 1>time a little different than usual. It was almost a

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<v Speaker 1>nauseating hunch that I was in for it, like I

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<v Speaker 1>was a kid and you knew your parents were just

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<v Speaker 1>about to notice that you did something wrong, and you're

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<v Speaker 1>just waiting for the whooping. I'm talking toolshit whooping, if

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<v Speaker 1>you know what I mean. I threw my bait out

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<v Speaker 1>and caught a catfish and reeled it in, and then

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<v Speaker 1>I heard something in the woods by the lake crashing

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<v Speaker 1>and breaking branches. It scared me to all ends, but

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<v Speaker 1>I had it in my head that I worked this

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<v Speaker 1>damn land and I earned my R and R time.

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<v Speaker 1>My thought was that when I was done on the boat,

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<v Speaker 1>i'd go confront whoever was making their presence known. Unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>we have a lot of poachers that come on the land,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's nothing to have to run off a crackhead

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<v Speaker 1>with shotguns on a weekly basis. When I threw the

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<v Speaker 1>fil back in the water, the woods sounded like a

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<v Speaker 1>tornado was crashing through. It was more intense than any

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<v Speaker 1>poacher could have been, and that gut feeling I had

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<v Speaker 1>only intensified. Of course, I didn't listen to it. I

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<v Speaker 1>threw my bait out again, and the same thing happened,

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<v Speaker 1>even louder than before, until finally a feeling of pure

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<v Speaker 1>terror hit me. I finally listened to my gut and

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<v Speaker 1>rowed back to the shore and got out of there.

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<v Speaker 1>The next day, I knew I had work to do

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<v Speaker 1>on the dock of that same pond. I had shaken

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<v Speaker 1>a man's hand and it would be done. And that

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<v Speaker 1>kind of thing means something in these parts. I loaded

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<v Speaker 1>up my tools and went out early the next day.

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<v Speaker 1>I replaced the boards on the dock, keeping one eye

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<v Speaker 1>behind me the whole time. I hammered in the two

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<v Speaker 1>by sixes and I hit the nails with five solid hits.

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<v Speaker 1>Directly after the hits, I heard five knocks way off

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<v Speaker 1>in the distance. I wrote it off as an echo,

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<v Speaker 1>because trees do that sometimes. But the next time I

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<v Speaker 1>hammered five solid times, the five knocks that answered back

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<v Speaker 1>were a lot closer. It sounded like something thick and

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<v Speaker 1>dense pounding on the hardwood, and after hearing it, I

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<v Speaker 1>stood up and listened to the sound of something running

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<v Speaker 1>through the timber. The distance they covered was draw dropping.

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<v Speaker 1>It just didn't make sense. They crossed that hilly brush

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<v Speaker 1>covered woods like a cheetah on an open plane. And

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<v Speaker 1>the time it took me to start walking the twenty

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<v Speaker 1>feet off the dock, I heard the sound of someone

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<v Speaker 1>with two feet jump and then along silence. Only when

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<v Speaker 1>I made it off the dock did I hear the

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<v Speaker 1>thud of the landing, and it hit the dead foliage

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<v Speaker 1>with its feet and slid to a stop not thirty

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<v Speaker 1>feet from me on the hill above. But what came

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<v Speaker 1>next scared the hell out of me. I couldn't see

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<v Speaker 1>past the trees in the brush, but I was frozen

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<v Speaker 1>in fear because I knew it was right above me,

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<v Speaker 1>and I could hear it breathing in and out in long,

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<v Speaker 1>deep breaths, like it was sniffing me or smelling me.

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<v Speaker 1>Longer than any human can hold air, and then the

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<v Speaker 1>EXHL came. It was long and gurgled. I've never been

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<v Speaker 1>so scared in my life, and it shook me to

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<v Speaker 1>my core. I left my tools and backed away a

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<v Speaker 1>few steps to get into my ride, and as I

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<v Speaker 1>backed up, I saw the outline of what looked like

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<v Speaker 1>the thing I saw the year before in the ditch.

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<v Speaker 1>I got in my vehicle and drove off like a

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<v Speaker 1>bat out of hell, heading back into town. I called

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<v Speaker 1>the owner and told him exactly what happened, and the

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<v Speaker 1>most alarming part of the entire ordeal was his response, Well,

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<v Speaker 1>don't go back in there again unarmed, he told me.

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<v Speaker 1>I told him that I had a twenty two long

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<v Speaker 1>rifle with me, but he just snickered and told me

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't big enough. He must have sensed the fear

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<v Speaker 1>in my tone, because he tried to calm me by

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<v Speaker 1>playing the experience off as being another poacher. After that,

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<v Speaker 1>I sort of got used to the idea that there

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<v Speaker 1>were strange creatures in the land, and I have gotten

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<v Speaker 1>used to the feeling of them watching me. The area

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<v Speaker 1>where I work is surrounded by caves, and after I

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<v Speaker 1>told him what happened, the owner told me about one

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<v Speaker 1>cave in particular, that I should absolutely stay completely away

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<v Speaker 1>from Hey after what I saw, you don't have to

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<v Speaker 1>tell me twice. When I got home, my wife told

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<v Speaker 1>me that I was white as a ghost. I tried

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<v Speaker 1>to tell her what had happened, and she encouraged me

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<v Speaker 1>to share my experience. I sent my story to a

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<v Speaker 1>man who works for the government, and a day later

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<v Speaker 1>I happened to check my email and found out the

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<v Speaker 1>message hadn't been sent at all. It was still in

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<v Speaker 1>my drafts, not sent yet, like I hadn't written the

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<v Speaker 1>email in the first place. So I wrote the email

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<v Speaker 1>and I sent it a second time, and the same

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<v Speaker 1>thing happened. Well, I was starting to think somebody didn't

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<v Speaker 1>want me talking about my experience. Well here I am

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<v Speaker 1>attempting this one last time. If my story gets to you,

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<v Speaker 1>I will be amazed.