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<v Speaker 1>I'm sixty five years old and I live in the

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<v Speaker 1>stycks of northeast Texas, down in the Soffer River Bottoms area. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a Redneck, she says. I'm very proud of my heritage.

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<v Speaker 1>But I'm also a college educated business analyst, so by

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<v Speaker 1>both training and nature, I deal in facts. As you

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<v Speaker 1>probably know, there have been too many sightings here to

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<v Speaker 1>count over the years since nineteen seventy five, when I

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<v Speaker 1>was eighteen, I have joked that I had my own

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<v Speaker 1>bigfoot encounter. While I was with my fiance one late

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<v Speaker 1>summer night. We had turned off the farm to market

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<v Speaker 1>road onto a blacktop that led to a dirt road.

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<v Speaker 1>Then we went through the gate into a cow pasture

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<v Speaker 1>to discuss our upcoming wedding. It was a warm summer night,

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<v Speaker 1>so we had the windows down to catch the breeze

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<v Speaker 1>while we sat in the back seat and talked among others.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what I was about to say, Dottie, I don't

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<v Speaker 1>think you just get in the back seat and a

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<v Speaker 1>cow pasture to just have a talk. Come on, in

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<v Speaker 1>the middle of our discussion, I heard something circling the car. Well.

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<v Speaker 1>It took a moment to get my fiance to focus

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<v Speaker 1>on the sound, and his response wasn't what I'd hoped for.

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<v Speaker 1>That's just a cow walking around, he assured me. And

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<v Speaker 1>then he sat up and announced, that's not a cow. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>We've had the rare black bear come down out of

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<v Speaker 1>the ozarks, and cougars and large black cats have been

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<v Speaker 1>seen on occasion, but what I was hearing was not

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<v Speaker 1>walking on four feet. We both jumped up and put

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves together and climbed into the front seat. My fiance

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<v Speaker 1>put the car into drive and spun his tires in

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<v Speaker 1>the wet grass for a minute, and then headed for

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<v Speaker 1>the gate. I tried to tell him just drive through it,

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<v Speaker 1>but he insisted on opening it. While I drove through,

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<v Speaker 1>he got out of the car and I slid into

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<v Speaker 1>the driver's seat. I was watching my fiance through the

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<v Speaker 1>rearview mirror when I saw something large coming at us

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<v Speaker 1>really fast. I started screaming for my fiancee to get

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<v Speaker 1>in the car. He looked up and saw what I saw,

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<v Speaker 1>threw down the gate, jumped in the car as fast

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<v Speaker 1>as he could. I didn't waste any time getting us

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<v Speaker 1>out of there. It came through the gate after us,

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<v Speaker 1>but that's as far as it went and we never

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<v Speaker 1>saw it again. In the moonlight, I could see it

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<v Speaker 1>sillo wet, but not much in detail. What I did

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<v Speaker 1>see was a big and covered in black hair, not fur.

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<v Speaker 1>It was long, stringy hair. It stood head and shoulders

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<v Speaker 1>above my five foot eleven fiance. He took me home

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<v Speaker 1>and we did what everyone does. We never talked about

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<v Speaker 1>it again. It wasn't for the lack of trying on

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<v Speaker 1>my part. Every time I mentioned it during our twenty

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<v Speaker 1>two year marriage, he would play it off as me

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<v Speaker 1>being two and hebriated, and that he couldn't be held

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<v Speaker 1>responsible for what I saw, and then everyone would have

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<v Speaker 1>a good laugh. Well, eventually I started laughing at it too,

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<v Speaker 1>and I began telling the story as a joke. It

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<v Speaker 1>was easy to do when all the shows on TV

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<v Speaker 1>reinforced the idea that Bigfoot really is a joke. And

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<v Speaker 1>then I started listening to your show. When I heard

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<v Speaker 1>other people's encounters, I realized then that it probably wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>a joke. The stories I was hearing began triggering childhood memories,

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<v Speaker 1>and I realized that I'd been having encounters since I

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<v Speaker 1>was a kid. I realized this is turning into a

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<v Speaker 1>long story. But I hope others will hear it and

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<v Speaker 1>it will trigger their memories and make them rethink a

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<v Speaker 1>few ideas as well. We often visited my paternal grandparents,

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<v Speaker 1>who lived deeper in the river bottoms than we did.

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<v Speaker 1>Whenever we'd stay the night, Granny would always tell us

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<v Speaker 1>not to go outside alone at night, or the boogerman

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<v Speaker 1>would get us. They owned dogs that wouldn't let anybody

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<v Speaker 1>in the yard unless Granny called them off. But there

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<v Speaker 1>were a lot of nights when I'd wake up to

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<v Speaker 1>the sound of heavy footsteps outside. I always assumed it

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<v Speaker 1>was Granny because I could hear Granddaddy snoring in the

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<v Speaker 1>room and the dogs weren't barking. Granny was not quite

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<v Speaker 1>five feet tall, and she weighed less than one hundred pounds.

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<v Speaker 1>Looking back, those couldn't have been her footsteps I heard.

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<v Speaker 1>And when I'd ask about it the next morning and

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<v Speaker 1>wondered where the dogs were, she'd always say the boogers

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<v Speaker 1>must have got them. After daylight, the dogs would come

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<v Speaker 1>back and everything would be forgotten. There was a pond

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<v Speaker 1>off an old dirt road that ran to the river

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<v Speaker 1>bottom where we used to like to fish and camp out.

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<v Speaker 1>On occasion, it was called Booger Pond. There were five

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<v Speaker 1>of us kids, my older sister who was seventeen, my

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<v Speaker 1>two brothers fifteen and twelve. I was nine, and my

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<v Speaker 1>younger sister was seven. Our parents would drop us off

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<v Speaker 1>and tell us to be careful and remind us that

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<v Speaker 1>granny lived just a couple of miles across the woods.

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<v Speaker 1>If anything happened. My three older siblings all had guns,

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<v Speaker 1>a twenty two single shot, a single shot four ten,

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<v Speaker 1>and a twelve gage. Sometimes we'd hear heavy splashes in

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<v Speaker 1>the pond that were explained away as fist jumping or

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<v Speaker 1>pigs rooting around. A Few times we woke up the

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<v Speaker 1>next morning to find piles of rocks in the door

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<v Speaker 1>of the tent. Look what the pigs dug up, someone

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<v Speaker 1>would say with a shrug. About this same time, I

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<v Speaker 1>remember camping in our back pasture. We grew up on

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<v Speaker 1>a fifty acre farm, the back pasture of which had

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<v Speaker 1>a woodline that stretched between the fence and a creek bed.

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<v Speaker 1>It was one of our favorite getaways after a long

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<v Speaker 1>day in the hayfields or running cattle. One night, we

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<v Speaker 1>were out there sleeping under the stars around the fire

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<v Speaker 1>when we started hearing the coyotes getting a lot close

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<v Speaker 1>than they normally do, except they didn't quite sound like coyotes,

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<v Speaker 1>and there was an occasional scream that sounded somewhat like

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<v Speaker 1>a panther. My older siblings said it was time to

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<v Speaker 1>get home. They had their guns, and they told my

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<v Speaker 1>baby sister and me to each grab a good stick

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<v Speaker 1>of wood ei of the fire to use as a torch.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't look back, they told us, keep the torches pointing

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<v Speaker 1>toward the house. Growing up, we would often hear stories

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<v Speaker 1>of boogers going on to one neighbor or another's back

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<v Speaker 1>porch and making a mess. And occasionally there were the

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<v Speaker 1>cows that were found in the pasture, ripped to shreds

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<v Speaker 1>and half eaten. Both of my brothers have passed on,

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<v Speaker 1>so I can't ask them about it. Whenever I asked

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<v Speaker 1>my older sister, she says I was too young to

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<v Speaker 1>have any of those memories, and she's too old to

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<v Speaker 1>think about that nonsense. Now. She and my older sister

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<v Speaker 1>lived two miles from our grandparents' old farm, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>interesting that they'll go outside at night to see what

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<v Speaker 1>the dog is barking at, but if they hear something

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<v Speaker 1>in the dog is solid. They stay inside. There's one

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<v Speaker 1>more thing. It's not a memory, more like glimpses of

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<v Speaker 1>a memory. When I was about five, I remember being

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<v Speaker 1>afraid of red eyes in the window. To this day,

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<v Speaker 1>I have a panic attack if I see an animal

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<v Speaker 1>with red eyes in real life or in a movie.

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<v Speaker 1>For most of my life, I've had a recurring dream

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<v Speaker 1>about animals circling my house at night. I see red

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<v Speaker 1>eyes in the window watching me when I find myself

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<v Speaker 1>outside and this dog face animal is standing up right

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<v Speaker 1>in front of me. The dream is so vivid, and

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<v Speaker 1>I always wake up panicked and crying. What frightens me

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<v Speaker 1>the most is that I started having the dream about

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<v Speaker 1>the same time. My dad came home one night from

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<v Speaker 1>his second shift job and found me standing in the yard.

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<v Speaker 1>As far as I I know, I had never before,

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<v Speaker 1>nor have I ever since, walked in my sleep. Yet

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<v Speaker 1>on that night, my father found me outside with the dogs.

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<v Speaker 1>One of them was a half wolf, half German shepherd,

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<v Speaker 1>and the other was an English shepher clearly in protection mode.

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<v Speaker 1>As soon as my dad got out of the car,

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<v Speaker 1>the dogs ran off chasing something. The next day he

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<v Speaker 1>told me he'd found the dogs. They'd been in a

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<v Speaker 1>fight with something, and he thought it might have been

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<v Speaker 1>a wolf, and it tore them up so bad he

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<v Speaker 1>had to put them both down. A couple of years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>I mentioned my dream to my younger sister and she

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<v Speaker 1>turned to white as a ghost and said she had

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<v Speaker 1>the same dream. We went to our older sister, who

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<v Speaker 1>confirmed that she has the dream too, and then we

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<v Speaker 1>did what we always do. We didn't never talk about

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<v Speaker 1>it again. I served twenty two years in the Army

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<v Speaker 1>as a military policeman and spent loads of time in

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<v Speaker 1>the woods, which I loved as I grew up in

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<v Speaker 1>the city. I've never told anyone about what I'm about

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<v Speaker 1>to tell you. My unit was conducting pre deployment training

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<v Speaker 1>at Fort Polpe, Louisiana in the far reaches of the base,

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<v Speaker 1>in an area called Peace and Ridge. I love this

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<v Speaker 1>area of remoteness. I was stationed there in the late eighties.

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<v Speaker 1>We had finished training for the day in eighth chow,

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<v Speaker 1>completed all the meetings and were settling down for the evening.

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<v Speaker 1>Always chose to sleep outside to get away from all

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<v Speaker 1>the snoring and farting of the twelve man's sleep tent.

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<v Speaker 1>I slept on the ground a few yards away, But

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<v Speaker 1>this time I strung up a portable hammock, the kind

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<v Speaker 1>that you can roll up and fit in a pocket

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<v Speaker 1>of your field pack, so I could get off the ground.

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<v Speaker 1>A snake had crawled into my sleeping bag with me

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<v Speaker 1>the last time I slept on the ground. There would

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<v Speaker 1>be no more of that for me. I was settling

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<v Speaker 1>in and I remembered I had some orange I took

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<v Speaker 1>from chow, so I decided to have a snack. That's

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<v Speaker 1>when I smelled a nasty skunk. It was horrible, and

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<v Speaker 1>I thank god that I was off the ground. It

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<v Speaker 1>was a bright night, even though the moon was not

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<v Speaker 1>quite full, and the sky was clear. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>perfect night to sleep under the stars. Out of the

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<v Speaker 1>corner of my eye, I saw someone walking, and I

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<v Speaker 1>assumed it was another sergeant checking the perimeter, or someone

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<v Speaker 1>hitting the woodline to relieve himself. Well, I didn't look

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<v Speaker 1>up from the orange I was peeling, and I said,

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<v Speaker 1>watch out, there's a nasty skunk out that way. And

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<v Speaker 1>at the sound of my voice, the figure stopped and

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<v Speaker 1>headed towards me, stopping about four feet from me, and

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<v Speaker 1>then squatted down next to me in my hammock. I

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<v Speaker 1>turned my head to ask what he wanted, and to

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<v Speaker 1>my shock, in horror, I was looking at a guy

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<v Speaker 1>in a camouflaged Gilly's suit. It was really weird. And

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<v Speaker 1>then I realized that was not what I was looking at,

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<v Speaker 1>and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I focused

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<v Speaker 1>in a little better in the dark. It was a bigfoot,

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<v Speaker 1>not a giant bigfoot, but a little bigfoot. And in

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<v Speaker 1>my shock, I must have jumped about, causing my hammock

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<v Speaker 1>to swing, and that caused him to jump back. He

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<v Speaker 1>stood there, focused on the hammock, swinging slightly. As scared

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<v Speaker 1>as I was. I got the sense that he wasn't threatening,

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<v Speaker 1>but more curious, judging by the expression on his face.

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<v Speaker 1>And yes, it was a hymn. I've heard they can

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<v Speaker 1>sense your intentions, so I don't know why, but I

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<v Speaker 1>handed him the orange that I had just peeled. I said,

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<v Speaker 1>if you'll go away, you can have my orange. The

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<v Speaker 1>creature cocked his head and took the orange from my hand,

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<v Speaker 1>and then stood up and reached out and pushed my hammock.

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<v Speaker 1>It caused me to start swinging again, and then it

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<v Speaker 1>began making cooing noises like a chimpanzee does when it's amused.

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<v Speaker 1>The tree line was a few yards away, and from

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<v Speaker 1>there came the scariest scream I've ever heard. The little

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<v Speaker 1>bigfoot looked in the direction of that scream, and then

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<v Speaker 1>it looked back at me. I said, your mama's calling.

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<v Speaker 1>He held up the orange as if thanking me, and

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<v Speaker 1>then it was gone in an instant without making any noise.

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<v Speaker 1>After a few minutes, I decided screw this, and I

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<v Speaker 1>almost kill myself trying to get out of my hammock,

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<v Speaker 1>and I slept on the ground in the middle of

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<v Speaker 1>the tent. The next morning, I went to collect my

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<v Speaker 1>hammock and field pack, only to find three shiny rocks

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<v Speaker 1>piled on top of my pack. Never in a million

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<v Speaker 1>years did I ever think I'd experience anything like this.

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<v Speaker 1>I never once felt threatened. I was scared, yes, but

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<v Speaker 1>not threatened. I never again slept out sideline that alone,

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<v Speaker 1>and I still have my three rocks. I traded for

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<v Speaker 1>an orange with a little bigfoot. So I was eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>years old when this happened. I lived in Connecticut. Now

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<v Speaker 1>I'm fifty years old. Now this is the first time

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<v Speaker 1>I've spoken of this. In fact, I had to explain

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<v Speaker 1>it all to my wife, because she wasn't interested in

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<v Speaker 1>hearing that I'm writing a long email about nothing. At

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<v Speaker 1>the age of sixteen, I moved out of my house

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<v Speaker 1>to live with my cousin and his wife. They lived

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<v Speaker 1>on a farm that my cousin's wife's family had owned

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<v Speaker 1>for years. They had over one hundred acres of property

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<v Speaker 1>that was backed up by water company property, So to

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<v Speaker 1>say that this was the most woods I'd ever seen

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00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:51.360
<v Speaker 1>was an understatement. They had all the animals you would

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<v Speaker 1>expect to see on a farm, but the family's main

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00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:58.480
<v Speaker 1>source of income were their cows. They raised both milk

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<v Speaker 1>and meat cows, and they they all roamed free in

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00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:06.840
<v Speaker 1>separate fields. These people were adamant about not letting strangers

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<v Speaker 1>on their land, and they had no problem expressing their

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00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:14.759
<v Speaker 1>no hospitality rules. Me Bringing friends onto the property was

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00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:20.120
<v Speaker 1>also frowned upon. Their driveway was six tenths of a

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<v Speaker 1>mile long just over half a mile. It was an unpaved,

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00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:28.039
<v Speaker 1>rocky stretch of driveway. If you didn't own a truck

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00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:30.559
<v Speaker 1>or an suv and didn't know how to maneuver it,

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00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:35.200
<v Speaker 1>you would definitely do damage to your vehicle. You'll understand

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00:14:35.240 --> 00:14:38.919
<v Speaker 1>why I'm including the trivial description of the driveway later

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00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:43.279
<v Speaker 1>in the story. I spent a lot of time in

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00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:47.080
<v Speaker 1>those woods hunting and fishing. After a while, I noticed

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00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:49.600
<v Speaker 1>that there were quite a few man made trails that

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00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:53.679
<v Speaker 1>went all over the property. Some went straight to some

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00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:58.039
<v Speaker 1>little pop up trailers that were always there. No one

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00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:00.639
<v Speaker 1>ever stated them, but I saw them that they seemed

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00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:05.159
<v Speaker 1>to be cashes for storing hunting rifles. There were four

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<v Speaker 1>of these little campers all over their property, and if

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<v Speaker 1>there were more, I never saw them. When I ask

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<v Speaker 1>about these campers, I was told that they used to

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00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:16.360
<v Speaker 1>get a lot of poachers on the property, and it

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00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:18.759
<v Speaker 1>was a way to scare people off if you fired

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00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:22.399
<v Speaker 1>a weapon into the air well. That answer was a

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00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:25.080
<v Speaker 1>good answer, but it still seemed weird that these people

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00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:28.679
<v Speaker 1>held on to so many guns. There were even a

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00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:31.240
<v Speaker 1>few nights that I was called upon to help scare

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00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:36.080
<v Speaker 1>off trespassers, but I never actually saw any. There was

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00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:39.159
<v Speaker 1>definitely a problem with animals going missing on this form,

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00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:41.519
<v Speaker 1>so it all seemed normal to be woken in the

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<v Speaker 1>middle of the night to run out in the woods

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<v Speaker 1>with a shotgun and fire a few shells in the

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<v Speaker 1>air over the course of the two years I had

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00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:54.000
<v Speaker 1>been there, I got to know the property well. I

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00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:56.519
<v Speaker 1>also got used to walking in the middle of the night.

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<v Speaker 1>But I don't care who you are. If you spend

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00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:02.879
<v Speaker 1>any time alone in the woods, especially at night, it

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00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:07.519
<v Speaker 1>can be scary. I think back now, and I realized

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00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:09.799
<v Speaker 1>there were things that happened and we never gave it

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<v Speaker 1>a second thought. Late one night, my cousin, his wife,

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00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:18.000
<v Speaker 1>and myself were called because her parents said the pigs

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00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:21.200
<v Speaker 1>had gotten loose. When we got to the pig pen,

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00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:24.559
<v Speaker 1>we saw that the door had been ripped off. We

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<v Speaker 1>assumed that it was probably a coyote or a wolf.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know if you've ever had to try to

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00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:33.799
<v Speaker 1>catch baby pigs, but it isn't easy. It took us

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00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:36.879
<v Speaker 1>hours to round up the baby pigs except for one,

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00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:40.039
<v Speaker 1>and we assumed it got away and we forgot about it.

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<v Speaker 1>There were times I remember having to get out of

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00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:47.200
<v Speaker 1>bed in the middle of the night for weird reasons.

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00:16:47.799 --> 00:16:50.480
<v Speaker 1>On another night, we were told that there were raccoons

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<v Speaker 1>in the barn making a mess, and when we got

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00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:56.000
<v Speaker 1>to the barn, we called her parents on the walkie

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00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:58.720
<v Speaker 1>talkies to let them know that we were there, and

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00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:01.399
<v Speaker 1>they said to stay out outside and fire a few

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00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:04.599
<v Speaker 1>rounds into the air, and do not go in the barn.

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<v Speaker 1>They said, well, we shot a few times into the sky.

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<v Speaker 1>We heard noises inside the barn, and at this point

295
00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:15.359
<v Speaker 1>her parents were just arriving on a couple of ATVs.

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<v Speaker 1>They said for us to stay put because the raccoons

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00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:23.599
<v Speaker 1>would leave on their own. One morning, her parents told

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00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:26.240
<v Speaker 1>us to go squirrel hunting because they were eating at

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00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:29.559
<v Speaker 1>the electrical wires in the barn. We all had it

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00:17:29.640 --> 00:17:33.319
<v Speaker 1>out there with our shotguns. After an hour, we split

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00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:37.119
<v Speaker 1>up to cover more ground. I found myself in one

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00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:40.160
<v Speaker 1>of the huge fields and started walking across, not thinking

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00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:43.960
<v Speaker 1>about where I was exactly. The wind was blowing hard

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00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:47.240
<v Speaker 1>and it was all I could hear. But even in

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00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.599
<v Speaker 1>the wind, I heard my cousin screaming. And now I

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00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:52.960
<v Speaker 1>turned to see where the sound was coming from, and

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00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.480
<v Speaker 1>I saw my cousin standing on the other side of

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00:17:55.519 --> 00:18:00.240
<v Speaker 1>the field, several hundred yards away. At that distance I

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00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:03.079
<v Speaker 1>could not see him well, but it had to be him.

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00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:07.319
<v Speaker 1>We were the only people out there. Well, he screamed

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00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:09.480
<v Speaker 1>a second time, and when I looked over at him,

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00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:12.400
<v Speaker 1>it occurred to me where I was. I had not

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00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:15.359
<v Speaker 1>been paying attention. I was in the field where they

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00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:18.880
<v Speaker 1>kept their stud bull. Now I could see the brute

315
00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:21.759
<v Speaker 1>coming at me, and as luck would have it, I

316
00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:23.759
<v Speaker 1>was close to the fence and was able to get

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00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:26.160
<v Speaker 1>on the other side before the bull made it to me.

318
00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:30.200
<v Speaker 1>I started working my way around the field, and after

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00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:33.680
<v Speaker 1>an hour I ran into my cousin and his wife.

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00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:36.359
<v Speaker 1>I said, that was crazy. Thank you for the heads

321
00:18:36.440 --> 00:18:38.759
<v Speaker 1>up on that bull. I didn't realize I was in

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00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:42.000
<v Speaker 1>the bull's field. Well, my cousin looked at me like

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00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:44.559
<v Speaker 1>I was off my rocker. What the hell are you

324
00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:47.039
<v Speaker 1>talking about? And why were you in that field? We

325
00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:50.400
<v Speaker 1>didn't warn you about the bull? Well who screamed at me?

326
00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:55.880
<v Speaker 1>Then now we suspected a trespasser had warned me. But

327
00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:59.559
<v Speaker 1>why would he do that if he was trespassing. We

328
00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:02.519
<v Speaker 1>split up again and searched for this person for a while,

329
00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:07.039
<v Speaker 1>but we never found anyone. Not long after this event,

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00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:11.319
<v Speaker 1>I came home from a date around three am. My

331
00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:14.680
<v Speaker 1>new girlfriend drove us that night. She let me off

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00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:16.880
<v Speaker 1>at the end of the rough driveway because her car

333
00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:20.440
<v Speaker 1>wouldn't make it to the house. The last thing I

334
00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:24.079
<v Speaker 1>heard were her tires crunching gravel. And then fading to nothing.

335
00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:28.119
<v Speaker 1>It was freezing cold and it was silent that night,

336
00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:32.440
<v Speaker 1>no wind. I had walked this driveway hundreds of times,

337
00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:36.440
<v Speaker 1>and it was always creepy at night. Some nights when

338
00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:38.559
<v Speaker 1>the moon wasn't out, I had to be careful where

339
00:19:38.599 --> 00:19:42.119
<v Speaker 1>I stepped. However, on this night, the moon gave me

340
00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:46.000
<v Speaker 1>plenty of light to see. I was in a good

341
00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:48.759
<v Speaker 1>mood after spending the evening with this girl, and my

342
00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:53.000
<v Speaker 1>mind was there and not in the present. I heard

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00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:56.880
<v Speaker 1>a sound and that stopped me. It almost sounded like

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00:19:56.920 --> 00:19:59.920
<v Speaker 1>a deer huffing or blowing, but it was too loud

345
00:20:00.119 --> 00:20:04.680
<v Speaker 1>for that, tuning everything out of my mind, I listened closely.

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00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:07.839
<v Speaker 1>Something was walking toward me in the woods next to

347
00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:12.119
<v Speaker 1>the drive Whatever it was, it was walking at a

348
00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:15.160
<v Speaker 1>normal pace, and it wasn't rushing me, and it was

349
00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:19.759
<v Speaker 1>clearly on two legs. I stepped backward twenty paces or

350
00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:24.200
<v Speaker 1>so my mind told me it was a poacher coming

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00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:28.559
<v Speaker 1>down the game trail. Well, that seemed reasonable. In a

352
00:20:28.599 --> 00:20:31.079
<v Speaker 1>minute I would be face to face with this person

353
00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:34.880
<v Speaker 1>if they kept coming. So I crouched slow, almost flat

354
00:20:34.920 --> 00:20:38.559
<v Speaker 1>to the ground, with my legs still under me. It

355
00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:40.720
<v Speaker 1>would be better if This guy never saw me and

356
00:20:40.920 --> 00:20:43.960
<v Speaker 1>just kept on going, and once he was by me,

357
00:20:44.119 --> 00:20:47.039
<v Speaker 1>I would sprint to the house and get help. So

358
00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:52.880
<v Speaker 1>making myself small as possible, I waited. Finally this guy

359
00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:56.359
<v Speaker 1>stepped into the clear and onto the road. But it

360
00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:59.880
<v Speaker 1>wasn't a poacher. One more step and he was in

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00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:03.759
<v Speaker 1>the middle of the drive, even closer to me. Maybe

362
00:21:03.799 --> 00:21:05.880
<v Speaker 1>I had made a noise, or maybe it was a

363
00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:09.359
<v Speaker 1>sense he had about things, But as he was about

364
00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:13.319
<v Speaker 1>to take another huge step, he stopped. He looked right

365
00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:16.599
<v Speaker 1>at me. No human could have seen me off in

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00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:18.839
<v Speaker 1>that area that I was in, but he saw me.

367
00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:23.440
<v Speaker 1>Now terrified, I locked onto this thing and I never

368
00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:27.680
<v Speaker 1>took my eyes away. It was huge and covered in hair,

369
00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:31.680
<v Speaker 1>and steam rose from its wet shoulders, back and head.

370
00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:36.920
<v Speaker 1>Illuminated in the moonlight. It was the scariest image I

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00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:41.200
<v Speaker 1>have ever seen. The only option left for me was

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00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:44.119
<v Speaker 1>to run, and I was about to when a sense

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00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:48.799
<v Speaker 1>of peace and calm came over me. It was instant,

374
00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:51.400
<v Speaker 1>like a switch had been turned on in my mind

375
00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:54.960
<v Speaker 1>and in my body. The way it looked at me

376
00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:58.279
<v Speaker 1>was strange, almost as if it had pity on me,

377
00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:01.920
<v Speaker 1>like it knew I was terrified and it didn't want

378
00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:06.680
<v Speaker 1>to scare me anymore. The giant creature took one step

379
00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:10.359
<v Speaker 1>back into the woods, only one step, and then it

380
00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:14.359
<v Speaker 1>was gone. I heard it walk up the hill, crunching

381
00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:17.839
<v Speaker 1>leaves and twigs as it walked, and then the night

382
00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:23.920
<v Speaker 1>faded into silence again. In the welcome silence, I stood

383
00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:26.359
<v Speaker 1>and gazed into the lit woods in front of me,

384
00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:30.559
<v Speaker 1>and I began to shake. I realized what I had encountered,

385
00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:35.440
<v Speaker 1>and I vomited and finally regained composure, and then I

386
00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:40.640
<v Speaker 1>casually walked the half mile to the house. Later that night,

387
00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:43.799
<v Speaker 1>after going to bed, I lay there thinking for hours.

388
00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:48.039
<v Speaker 1>The family I lived with knew about these things, or

389
00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:52.400
<v Speaker 1>this thing that was the reason that they were adamant

390
00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:57.319
<v Speaker 1>about keeping trespassers off their property. It wasn't people they

391
00:22:57.319 --> 00:23:01.720
<v Speaker 1>were worried about. It was this thing, but the trespassers

392
00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:05.599
<v Speaker 1>weren't people. And then explained the guns and the warning shots,

393
00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:08.519
<v Speaker 1>And now I knew why they kept us out of

394
00:23:08.599 --> 00:23:10.839
<v Speaker 1>the barn that night when we heard the noises of

395
00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:14.960
<v Speaker 1>the raccoons, and it was now clear to me who

396
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:17.880
<v Speaker 1>had yelled at me on the edge of the bulfield

397
00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:20.119
<v Speaker 1>and saved my life that night