WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.879 --> 00:00:04.759 If you follow this podcast, you know that I've been 2 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:10.359 uploading archived audio projects that I've done as far back 3 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:13.880 as five or six years ago. I'm doing that because 4 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:16.600 there are a lot of new followers on the podcast, 5 00:00:17.079 --> 00:00:21.039 and it's not normal for a new listener to search 6 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:24.960 back into the history or library of any podcast and 7 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:28.039 go back to the old stuff and listen to it. 8 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:30.239 I know I don't do that. I don't know anyone 9 00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:33.000 else who does that. They stumble on a new podcast 10 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:36.320 and they just keep listening to the new stuff. However, 11 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:40.520 the stories that I did, especially in the first couple 12 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:44.439 of years, they weren't presented very well as you're gonna 13 00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:49.799 hear in this podcast, but the stories are fantastic. I'm 14 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:53.280 reaching way back in this episode one on one of 15 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:57.240 the archive drops. Two of the stories in this podcast 16 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:00.920 are from that era, and you'll look the audio horrible 17 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.120 on them, and I've tried to improve it. The way 18 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:09.040 I read them was not very good. It was pretty 19 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:11.640 poor reading, and I've learned how to do it just 20 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:14.439 a little bit better through the years. But if you 21 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:17.079 can get by that and just listen to the story, 22 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:20.920 I think you'll be entertained and intrigued. That's all I 23 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:23.959 wanted to say, thanks for watching the first one hundred. 24 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:26.040 I didn't announce it. I was going to do it 25 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:28.719 back in May. I just made a decision and just 26 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:31.599 did it that I was going to try my best 27 00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:36.640 to upload one hundred podcasts in one hundred days. I 28 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:38.760 missed my mark, but I got a hundred up in 29 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:41.760 about one hundred and six days. I believe it is 30 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:45.000 so thank you for listening. I'm going to keep doing them. 31 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:48.519 They're not going to drop every day from this point forward. 32 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:51.799 Some might, but I'll probably drop a couple of archive 33 00:01:51.959 --> 00:01:56.480 podcasts per week along with the newer podcast that I do, 34 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:59.400 so maybe you can expect two to three a week. 35 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:02.040 I just want to get on and let you know 36 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:05.640 how much I appreciate you listening and following this podcast, 37 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:08.840 and I hope you continue to enjoy the stories, new 38 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:20.479 and old. All right, here we go. There was an 39 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:23.759 old hermit once. No one ever really knew his name 40 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:26.919 or where he came from. He was as much a 41 00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:29.879 part of the landscape as the trees that grew around 42 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:35.000 a shack he kept himself. Mostly. Sometimes he'd venture into 43 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:37.319 town and pick up a bag of coffee beans or 44 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:40.479 maybe a pound of flour. But when he did, he 45 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:44.599 didn't speak much to anyone. Mostly he stayed out there 46 00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:48.759 by himself in the woods. He was such a quiet 47 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:51.199 old man that no one ever gave him much thought. 48 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:54.840 He was never invited to any parties, nor did he 49 00:02:54.919 --> 00:02:58.439 show up for the community dances. He was nowhere to 50 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:01.560 be found when the fireworks the sky on the fourth 51 00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:05.879 of July. And well, it's highly unlikely that anyone ever 52 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:09.400 thought to give him a Christmas present. He was just 53 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:12.400 old Jake, and it may not have been his real name, 54 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:15.879 but who could say. But someone started calling him that 55 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:20.360 one day, and it stuck. Old Jake didn't live alone 56 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:24.080 in his little one room shack. He had three companions 57 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:26.879 who lived there too, and their names were I Know, 58 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:30.759 you Know, and Kaliko. They were three of the finest 59 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:34.919 redbone hounds a man could ask for. They hunted faithfully 60 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:37.599 at his side and spent long hours lying on the 61 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:41.800 banks of the river while Old Jake fished. Each morning, 62 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:44.599 when Jake got up, those three dogs were at the 63 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:47.560 door waiting to be let in, having spent a long 64 00:03:47.639 --> 00:03:52.039 night out chasing whatever animals inhabited the night. Each night 65 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:54.719 before he went to bed, they were at the door again, 66 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:57.319 waiting to be let out for another night of rolic. 67 00:03:59.159 --> 00:04:02.039 Jake didn't have many possessions, and just a few pieces 68 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:05.000 of furniture and his gun in his fishing pole, and 69 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:08.280 the tools he needed to get through each day. In 70 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:11.159 each spring, he'd put in a big garden and the 71 00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:13.800 food from which is what he lived on most of 72 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:17.160 the year. He grew what he needed and canned and 73 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:20.319 dried and put away as much as he could, along 74 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:22.680 with the fish and the game he caught. It was 75 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:25.519 usually enough to get him through the winter, and when 76 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:30.399 it wasn't enough, Jake went hungry. It was one of 77 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:33.600 those years when the garden hadn't produced like it should 78 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:36.399 and the game had been a bit scarce, that Jake 79 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:40.279 found himself deep into February with nothing left to eat. 80 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:43.680 He went out each day and hunted for rabbits and 81 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:46.800 squirrels or anything else he could find, but he wasn't 82 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:50.680 having a lot of luck that year. Sometimes he'd go 83 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:53.240 a whole week before he'd managed to catch something to 84 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:56.519 fill his belly, and at his age, with his bones 85 00:04:56.600 --> 00:05:02.839 beginning to protest against the cold, Jake was miserable. One night, 86 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:06.399 tired and hungry and with nothing to eat. He turned 87 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:08.879 out the dogs and put up the biggest fire he 88 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:11.639 could in the fireplace, and he crawled into bed under 89 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:15.920 his old patchwork wilt. The wind blew hard that night, 90 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:20.800 and the cabin creaked and shuddered under its force. Jake 91 00:05:20.839 --> 00:05:23.759 shivered in reply, and his belly was too empty and 92 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:26.120 his body was too cold to allow for a good 93 00:05:26.199 --> 00:05:28.800 night's sleep. It's all he could do was lie there 94 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:33.839 and listen. I know, you know, And Kaliko had come 95 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:36.720 back from the woods early. He could hear him bedding 96 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:40.480 down in the cross space under the floorboards. Ought to 97 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:43.600 get up and let those dogs in, he told himself 98 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:47.519 as he listened to them scratching around below him. But 99 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:51.519 he was cold and hungry, and he was tired. Getting 100 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:54.240 up and going to the door seemed like too big 101 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:56.399 of a task, So he laid there and he listened. 102 00:05:57.879 --> 00:06:00.040 It wasn't long before he began to notice the But 103 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:02.920 the noises he was hearing didn't sound like his dogs 104 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:07.480 at all. This got his attention. He raised his head 105 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:11.040 a little off the bed and concentrated. He heard scratching, 106 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:16.360 long scratches and short scratches. That ain't my dog's, he said. 107 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:20.399 The scratching grew louder and turned into a gnawing sound. 108 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:26.360 What is that? He wondered. Feeling a little afraid, Jake 109 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:29.040 sat up in his bed and he looked around the room. 110 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:32.639 At that moment, something nibbled through the wall and popped 111 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:35.720 its head through the hole. It was a tall, bony 112 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.399 rat like creature with beady red eyes that watered with 113 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:44.079 milky secretions, and long yellow teeth that drips sliva onto 114 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:47.839 the floor. It raised its clawed hands up and began 115 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:53.120 to inch toward Jake's bed. Panic down, afraid, Jake forgot 116 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:56.480 all about his aching bones and his empty belly, and 117 00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:58.519 he thought only of how he was going to rid 118 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:02.319 himself with this monster. He climbed out of bed and 119 00:07:02.439 --> 00:07:06.480 ran to grab something, anything, to defend himself from this 120 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:10.439 creature that was moving ever closer. The first thing Jake 121 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:13.319 got his hands on was a meat cleaver on the table. 122 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:17.160 He turned and swung it at the fend and backed 123 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:19.560 it into a corner where it had chewed the hole. 124 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:24.519 It ducked and swayed, even pounced back as they fought, 125 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:28.120 But little by little, Jake was winning until he found 126 00:07:28.199 --> 00:07:31.720 himself standing by the door of the cabin, and thinking quickly, 127 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:34.920 he threw open the door and called for the dogs. 128 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:39.079 Seconds later, they were barreling into the cabin. They were 129 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:43.480 growling and barking at the strange, monstrous being, and together 130 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:45.920 Jake and the dogs drove it back to the hole 131 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:49.319 and out of the cabin. But before it could escape completely, 132 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:52.600 Jake grabbed its tail and with one swing of the blade, 133 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:56.480 he chopped it off. The animal gave out a horrifying 134 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:00.680 scream that rattled Jake and sent three dogs cower back. 135 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:03.959 Jake looked quickly around the room and found a piece 136 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:06.879 of cloth to shove into the hole. Then he piled 137 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:09.360 some of his firewood in front of it, and then 138 00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:11.399 he turned to the dogs and gave each one a 139 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:14.000 pat on the head before letting them back out into 140 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:18.519 the night. Jake looked at the long tail in his hand, 141 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:21.319 and he wondered what he should do with it. His 142 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:24.759 stomach rumbled and hunger then, and so he decided to 143 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:28.319 cook it into his suit. An hour later, with his 144 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:31.399 belly full for the first time in a week, Jake 145 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:36.720 tired and crawled into bed and fell asleep. It wasn't 146 00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:40.600 long though, until that scratching sound began again, and Jake 147 00:08:40.679 --> 00:08:43.919 found himself sitting up in bed, facing the corner where 148 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:47.279 he had secured the hole. A second later, the pile 149 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:50.919 of firewood erupted and the rat creature was standing in 150 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:55.720 front of him again. Where's my taily poe, it growled 151 00:08:55.720 --> 00:08:59.840 at him. I want my taily poe. I don't have, 152 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:04.799 Jake cried, his voice wavering in fear. Go away. I 153 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:10.919 want my taily pole, the thing replied. Jake sprang from 154 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:13.279 the bed and ran to the front door. I know 155 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:17.639 you know, Caaliico? He called, Come in here, boys, and 156 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:21.440 once again the three dogs came. Running together. Jake and 157 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:24.679 his dogs forced the beasts back into the hole. Once again, 158 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:29.879 Jake covered it with bits of cloth and firewood. He 159 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:32.919 was exhausted beyond measure now and he crawled back into 160 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:38.480 the bed within seconds, and he was snoring. When Jake 161 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:41.960 awoke again, the monster was already inside the cabin. It 162 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:45.279 was towering over his bed and croaking out the words 163 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:51.320 where is my taily pole? Again. Jake sprang for the 164 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:54.759 door and he threw it open. I know you know, Caalico, 165 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:59.639 he called, but the dogs didn't come. I know, Come on, boy, 166 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:05.000 he yelled again, you know where you at, Kalko. Come on, boy, 167 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:08.879 come on. No matter how many times he called, the 168 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:14.159 dogs didn't come. He turned and faced the monstrous rat, 169 00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:19.480 who demanded in its leathery voice, I want my tailey pole. 170 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:23.039 And Jake ran for his bed and jumped in and 171 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:26.240 threw the covers over his head. I don't have it, 172 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:29.600 he screamed. I cooked it and ate it for supper. 173 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:33.559 In an instant, the rat jumped onto the bed and 174 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:37.360 began to claw at the old quilt, and Jake screamed 175 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:40.440 and cried out for help, and the rat gnawed through 176 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:44.200 the covers and into Jake's shirt. Help me, help me, 177 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:47.440 he screamed, but no one was around to hear him, 178 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:51.320 and then it began to claw its way into Jake's stomach. 179 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:56.799 It was later that spring when someone finally noticed that 180 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:00.080 Jake hadn't been to town for quite some time, and 181 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:03.000 for the first time in memory, Old Jake was the 182 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:07.360 center of conversation. You don't suppose he's hurt out there 183 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:11.519 in that cabin, Someone asked, well, maybe he died out there. 184 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:15.519 He's getting old, you know. Another suggested, do you think 185 00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:18.519 we ought to go check on him? Yet another wondered. 186 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:22.399 The town gathered up a group of men and they 187 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:25.679 headed out to the cabin where Old Jake lived, and 188 00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:28.200 when they got there, they found the place had been 189 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:33.000 torn to pieces. The only thing standing was the fireplace chimney. 190 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:36.720 They found a skull that looked like it probably belonged 191 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:39.919 to one of Jake's hound dogs, and there were bits 192 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:42.759 of material that might have been covered in blood. But 193 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:48.679 Jake was gone. He was never seen again. These days, 194 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:50.960 if you head out to the woods where Old Jake's 195 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:54.840 cabin once stood, don't be surprised if you hear screaming 196 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:59.279 on the wind in a scratchy, growling voice, demanding to 197 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:09.000 know where's my daily pole. In April of twenty ten, 198 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:12.799 my husband was assigned a contract to work in Germany. 199 00:12:13.399 --> 00:12:15.799 We decided that it would be a good experience for 200 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:19.960 our son, Jake, then eighteen and a senior in high school, 201 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:23.320 to go for a senior trip. We discussed the plans 202 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:26.120 with his school principal and was met with the resounding yes, 203 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:29.559 he's excused. This is a trip of a lifetime. Go 204 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:33.879 with lots of instructions on how to navigate the airport's 205 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:38.799 use of passport finding a US embassy and movement through customs. 206 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:41.559 We sent our one hundred and seventy five pound, six 207 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:44.879 foot tall wrestler alone to Germany to meet his dad. 208 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:49.080 He stayed a week and then he returned home. Jake 209 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:53.200 returned to an airport where I had never driven. Monday, 210 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:56.840 May third, twenty ten, my twelve year old daughter, Journey 211 00:12:56.919 --> 00:13:00.000 and I picked up my son at Dulles International Airport 212 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:04.240 in Virginia at nine forty five pm. I used a 213 00:13:04.279 --> 00:13:07.279 map quest to find the shortest route and printed a copy, 214 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:12.000 which took us down country roads in the daylight hours. 215 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:15.840 It was easy, peasy. We arrived at the airport without 216 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:20.279 a hitch. I proceeded south on Route twenty eight with 217 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:24.039 both of my kids heading home. My daughter rode in 218 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:27.559 the front seat to navigate the printed directions in reverse 219 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:31.000 and in the dark. My son rode in the back 220 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:35.159 seat with his head down. I became disoriented and missed 221 00:13:35.159 --> 00:13:39.279 our left turn on to Aiden Road. To make matters worse, 222 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:42.559 the fuel gauge was on empty. I had less than 223 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:45.399 three gallons in the tank. I was afraid that we'd 224 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:48.000 run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. This 225 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:51.240 was compounded by the fact that the local news was 226 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:55.639 plastered with stories of a mass murderer in the Manassas area. 227 00:13:56.240 --> 00:14:00.279 His mo was stabbing victims with screwdrivers or bash with 228 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:03.600 a hammer and leaving them for dead. I didn't tell 229 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:06.759 the kids. I'm not one to shield my kids from gore, 230 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:10.399 but they sensed my urgency and the tension was high. 231 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:14.000 I saw a dimly lit gas station on the side 232 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:18.240 of the road. I pulled in, swiped my card. It authorized. 233 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:20.759 I pulled the handle to start the flow of gas 234 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:24.639 into my tank, and one cent dispensed and clunked the 235 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:28.799 gas pump stop. I got three cents worth of gas 236 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:32.559 over three tries when I noticed a large, brownish tan 237 00:14:32.879 --> 00:14:36.720 suv sitting at the stop sign with its hazard lights on. 238 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:40.559 The feeling of relief that I had found a gas 239 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:44.559 station changed from annoyance with the pumps to an undeniable 240 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:49.159 fear something wasn't right about the vehicle. I got in 241 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:51.559 the car, locked the doors, and drove out of the 242 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:55.240 gas station parking lot. As I approached the stop sign 243 00:14:55.320 --> 00:14:58.720 where the suv was parked, a dark haired man wait 244 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:02.039 for us to stop. To OH. I was terrified and 245 00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:04.919 didn't know why. My son said, Mom I think this 246 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:08.240 guy needs some help. No one needs more help than 247 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:11.240 us right now. He's a grown man. He can figure 248 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:15.360 it out. I blew through the stop sign. We drove 249 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:19.200 down roads with unfamiliar names that were unmarked by lines 250 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:23.519 and narrowed ominously into what looked like a tree lined tunnel. 251 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:27.960 Upon reaching a dead end, we backtracked, finding that we 252 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:31.360 had to navigate around obstacles that were not there earlier. 253 00:15:32.759 --> 00:15:36.000 We approached part of a large broken pine tree laying 254 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:39.159 in the middle of the road and drove around it. 255 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:41.960 It was as if someone had thrown a broken pine 256 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:46.559 tree randomly in the yard. We backtracked to find Fitzwater Drive. 257 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:49.840 It passed an open well liit convenience store, where I 258 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:54.240 stopped and filled up with gas. The tension calm because 259 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:56.840 we had a full tank of gas and this road 260 00:15:56.879 --> 00:16:01.200 would eventually lead us home. My cars old dim yellow 261 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:05.639 tinted lights illuminated something beside the road. Crouched and bent 262 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:09.679 over in the corner ditch was a large reddish brown figure. 263 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:13.639 Its back was toward the road, so I saw no face. 264 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:18.120 The fur texture, shape, and lay were like a wet 265 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:21.559 brown bear. You knew how you see bears exiting a 266 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:25.919 river on TV. The fur was auburn with a thick undercoat, 267 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:29.720 and the outside hairs laid downward in points like fresh 268 00:16:29.799 --> 00:16:33.399 out of the water hair groomed with a wide toothed comb. 269 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:38.759 I saw the animal but said nothing. My daughter immediately said, 270 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:42.879 did you see that? What was it poking fun? I said, 271 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:45.759 I don't know, maybe it was a bigfoot. My son 272 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:48.240 said he was looking forward and only saw a reddish 273 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:52.960 brown colored difference in the peripheral vision. The time was 274 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:57.200 approximately eleven PM. I asked if I should turn around 275 00:16:57.200 --> 00:16:59.919 and go back to see The kid said to keep 276 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:03.720 because they were already rattled by being lost late at night, 277 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:06.599 they didn't want to waste any more time getting home. 278 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:11.960 We arrived home around midnight or twelve thirty am. The 279 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:15.680 kids went to bed with no further conversation about our adventure. 280 00:17:17.400 --> 00:17:21.279 The next day, Tuesday, May the fourth, I began research 281 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:25.559 on grizzly brown bears in Virginia. I found a Virginia 282 00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:29.160 Department of Game in Inland Fisheries pdf link saying that 283 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:33.119 grizzly bears do not live in Virginia. Virginia is home 284 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:37.279 only to black bears. After finding this article, and without 285 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:41.200 making any comments to bias a reaction. I showed my son. 286 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:46.079 He read in silence, his eyes widened, fear washed over 287 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:49.480 his face, and the colored drain. Mom, you've got to 288 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:54.160 report this. That was a bigfoot. I told Jake, wait here, 289 00:17:54.359 --> 00:17:58.039 don't talk, don't say anything. I immediately walked to my 290 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:01.680 daughter's room. I asked, Journey, do you think you could 291 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:04.640 draw a picture of what you saw last night? Sure, 292 00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:08.119 and went to work on a sketch in another room, 293 00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:12.200 away from prying eyes. I made my own drawing. When 294 00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:16.680 Journey completed her sketch, we compared pictures. My drawing showed 295 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:20.880 the back of a squatting, crouched, hairy figure. The animal's 296 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:24.200 head bent low as if to hide, exposing only the 297 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:29.039 massive hairy's shoulders to its waistline. My daughter's drawing was 298 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:32.359 from a different perspective. She caught sight of the animal 299 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:35.519 as we rounded the corner, placing her at an angle 300 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:39.079 to see its profile. Her drawing depicted the curve of 301 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:42.759 the ditch with a large, hunched being sitting in the depression. 302 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:46.680 It was leaning forward as though to make itself look smaller, 303 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:50.799 with arms outstretched to support its weight against the rise 304 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:54.440 of the ditch's embankment. On the other side, there was 305 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:58.279 no mistaking that she drew massive shoulders, lack of neck, 306 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:02.720 and a conical head file that transitioned into a heavy, 307 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:07.119 sloping brow. With the pieces of evidence, I filled an 308 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:11.039 online report with two of the leading Bigfoot research organizations. 309 00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:14.799 I knew who to contact because Jake had completed an 310 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:20.839 independent research project years earlier on the Bigfoot, Yetti sisquatch phenomenon. 311 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:25.400 As I typed my response, Jake schooled me on what happened. 312 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:29.359 It all makes sense, mom. The Native Americans believe he's 313 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:34.119 a spirit being that orchestrates or is drawn by confusion, fear, 314 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:38.720 or chaos. People report finding broken trees in the vicinity 315 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:43.960 of Bigfoot. That's exactly what happened last night. Within an hour, 316 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:48.319 both Bigfoot research organizations contacted me, one of which went 317 00:19:48.359 --> 00:19:52.680 to the site and conducted their own investigation. He considered 318 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:55.759 me a Class B witness because there was no physical 319 00:19:55.799 --> 00:20:00.920 evidence or photographic evidence from the scene found. I was 320 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:03.880 a credible witness because of my standing in the community 321 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:08.799 as a teacher and a disability awareness advocate. He said 322 00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:12.039 that any other animal would flee like a bear or deer, 323 00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:16.759 not crouch and hide. I wasn't a whack job. The 324 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:20.079 researcher found a blind of a bent tree secured by 325 00:20:20.119 --> 00:20:23.240 a large rock in the area, supporting the thought that 326 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:26.599 this may be a bigfoot shelter. There was also a 327 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:31.559 food source dumpsters in close proximity, with nearby woods for cover. 328 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:36.279 I've shared my story with very few folks, only those 329 00:20:36.359 --> 00:20:40.640 I can trust. Sometimes a family member will say, tell 330 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:43.599 so and so about the Aiden Road incident, like I'm 331 00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:47.960 a party novelty. Most would be satisfied with this being 332 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:51.240 the conclusion of my bear turned Bigfoot sighting. But that 333 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:55.720 is not the end. My husband calls me the unsolved 334 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:59.759 mystery Lady because I love mystery shows on TV, and 335 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:04.160 one day I hoped to unrival a mystery. After all 336 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:07.720 the Bigfoot excitement had died down in our household, I 337 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:11.079 had some quiet time on my hands. I recalled that 338 00:21:11.160 --> 00:21:14.640 about a month before the sighting, I had pondered Bigfoot 339 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.079 and said, God, if you are the creator, certainly you 340 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:22.000 made bigfoot, and certainly you can let me see one. 341 00:21:22.119 --> 00:21:26.480 That was that. No hell, Mary's, no our fathers, no formalities, 342 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:30.160 just a chat with God. I realized that God is 343 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:33.079 the Creator allowed me and my children to see this 344 00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:38.079 marvelous creature. Then the news came out in the local newspapers, 345 00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:42.799 The Examiner and The Louden Times August tenth, twenty ten, 346 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:46.839 and then in the Free Lance Star August twenty seventh, 347 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:52.000 twenty ten. The headlines noted that a serial killer responsible 348 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:56.119 for five deaths near Flint, Michigan, is one in the 349 00:21:56.160 --> 00:22:01.000 same hunting men in North Virginia, wounding a dozen since May. 350 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:05.519 While the victims varied in ages, they included a fifteen 351 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:08.759 year old boy, a nineteen year old man in the 352 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:11.759 area close to the age of my son, and one 353 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:15.839 in upwards of sixty seven years old. The report stated 354 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:18.880 that the killer drove a nineteen ninety five to two 355 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:23.240 thousand and six four door Chevy S ten Blazer GMC 356 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:26.759 Jimmy or similar vehicle that may be green or gold. 357 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:32.000 He feigned needing directions or help with his car. Only 358 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:35.000 by the grace of God did we escape the evil 359 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:38.680 that was the thirty three year old Elias of Wellasahm 360 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:46.839 arrested on August eleventh, twenty ten. I kept the story 361 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:50.240 to myself for years and only just started telling select 362 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:54.000 people what happened. No one believes me, but I don't care. 363 00:22:54.920 --> 00:22:59.119 In nineteen seventy three, I was eleven years old. I 364 00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:02.720 stayed with my grain parents a lot. Back then. I 365 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:05.039 loved being with both of them and would stay with 366 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:08.720 them a lot during the summers and the holidays. They 367 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:11.480 have both passed away and I missed them, which is 368 00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:15.240 one reason I'm able to tell the story. My grandfather 369 00:23:15.400 --> 00:23:19.240 forbid me from telling anyone, even telling my mother and father. 370 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:23.640 The weekend before school started was Labor Day weekend, and 371 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:27.920 of course I was spending the weekend at my grandmother's house. Traditionally, 372 00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:31.400 squirrel season opened on Labor Day weekend, and my grandfather 373 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:34.480 started taking me with him when I was eight years old. 374 00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:37.720 It was a weekend I looked forward to every year. 375 00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:41.359 He had bought my first shotgun the year before, and 376 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:43.680 living in the city, I never got to use it 377 00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:47.000 unless I was hunting with him. My mother had dropped 378 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:50.759 me off at their house on Friday afternoon. Saturday morning, 379 00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:53.480 my grandfather woke me early to get ready to leave. 380 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:57.920 My grandmother always had biscuits ready for us. When we left, 381 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:00.440 my grandfather told me to stuff a couple in my 382 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:03.920 vest pockets. And that I could eat them later. We 383 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:06.920 had to get going. We loaded up his car and 384 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:11.160 headed to the woods, about an hour away. My grandfather 385 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:14.480 drank a lot. He had all his adult life, or 386 00:24:14.599 --> 00:24:17.680 since he returned from the war. He was a marine 387 00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:21.359 during World War Two. I never knew, nor did I care, 388 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:24.319 what battles he fought in until I was older. He 389 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:27.559 never talked about it. Now that I'm an adult and 390 00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:30.480 have read about these battles, I understand why he drank, 391 00:24:30.519 --> 00:24:33.240 and I do not hold it against him. I don't 392 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:36.440 remember him not drinking, but it never seemed to cause 393 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:39.359 a problem as far as a kid was concerned. He 394 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:42.200 spent a lot of time with me, and I loved him. 395 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:46.599 This morning was no exception. About halfway to the woods, 396 00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:49.480 he reached under his seat and pulled a pint bottle 397 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:52.839 of some cheap whiskey and started taking swigs from the bottle. 398 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:58.240 I never thought anything about it. We reached the area 399 00:24:58.359 --> 00:25:00.720 we were going to hunt, and as all, he sent 400 00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:02.960 me to a washed out ditch and told me to 401 00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:06.319