WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:04.839 If you enjoy strange stories from the unknown, stick around. 2 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:10.199 You have found your people. Welcome to the Dixie Cryptid Podcast. 3 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:26.160 All right, here we go. I do a lot of fishing, 4 00:00:26.199 --> 00:00:29.359 and occasionally I get out there overnight for some full 5 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:32.920 moon action. One night, I was the only boat on 6 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:36.479 the lake when at four am, a long and loud 7 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:39.880 bigfoot call came from the woods quite a distance away. 8 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:43.479 What idiot would be out here at four am making 9 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:48.399 bigfoot calls? I thought, And then I smiled. What idiot 10 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:50.960 would be here fishing at four am to hear it, 11 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:56.159 I thought, chuckling out myself. Another afternoon, on the same lake, 12 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:58.399 I heard a scream from the woods, coming from a 13 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:01.880 young deer in pain, and not long after I heard 14 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:05.079 the deer running full blast toward me, and I watched 15 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:08.280 it launch itself off the bluff at full speed from 16 00:01:08.359 --> 00:01:10.959 eight feet above the water level and hit the water 17 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:15.280 with a big splash. It swam to a thick growth 18 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:18.400 of reeds along the bank, squeezed into them, and it 19 00:01:18.519 --> 00:01:21.640 laid down to hide. I never did see what was 20 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:24.200 after the deer, but it spooked me just the same. 21 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:29.519 My son loves archery deer hunting. He got a stand 22 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:32.840 set up in a brand new area, and arrived preed 23 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:35.920 on for his very first hunt. A few mornings later. 24 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:39.599 He was there all alone and excited to hopefully get 25 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:41.640 close to one of the monster bucks that had been 26 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:46.239 gracing his trail cans. After a good track from his pickup, 27 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:49.959 he reached the stand. The forest was totally silent, but 28 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:52.519 when he raised his foot to take the first step up, 29 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:56.480 that silence was broken by a sudden, shocking scream from 30 00:01:56.519 --> 00:02:00.599 something close by. It caught him so off guard that 31 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:04.159 he nearly wet himself and briefly considered running back to 32 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:07.519 his truck, but he realized it was too far, and 33 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:10.199 he quickly climbed the fifteen feet up to the seat 34 00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:14.360 of his stand. Instead, he sat there with his heart 35 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:16.879 pounding so hard that he thought it would rip out 36 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:20.000 of his chest, all the while worried about the next 37 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:22.960 ninety minutes, where he would have to sit in complete 38 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:26.159 darkness until the sun came up. In the mercy of 39 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:31.560 whatever beast was lurking nearby, he described the scream as 40 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:35.919 that of a desperate woman being murdered. It only lasted 41 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:38.960 a few seconds, but it was so intense that the 42 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:42.039 sound of it reverberated through his whole body and shook 43 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:45.800 him to his core. Well nothing happened after that, but 44 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:48.960 that sort of experience makes a guy think twice about 45 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:53.439 wanting to go hunting out there again. One evening, I 46 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:55.919 was with a group of bass fishermen sitting around the 47 00:02:55.960 --> 00:02:59.840 fire pit at a fishing lodge. At gatherings like that, 48 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:04.599 topics of conversation could range from UFOs to sports to 49 00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:10.120 solving the world's problems, but that evening the topic was bigfoot. 50 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:12.879 About a dozen guys were there, and each of them 51 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:16.000 was open minded enough that, even though none of them 52 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:20.000 had encountered one, they each believed in the possibility of 53 00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:24.960 these creatures existing. After a while of listening but not 54 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:27.800 saying a word on the subject, I finally decided to 55 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:30.840 tell my story. So I cleared my throat and I 56 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:35.280 leaned forward. In response. The group of men went quiet, 57 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:39.159 the way you do when the silent reserve type speak up, 58 00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:42.080 knowing that if they're going to open their mouths, it's 59 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:45.680 for a good reason. I should have taken that as 60 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:49.400 a compliment by their demeanor, but I didn't. I felt 61 00:03:49.479 --> 00:03:52.439 sick remembering what happened, but I wanted these men to 62 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:55.599 know what I saw. I wanted them to be prepared. 63 00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:00.319 I have been a lifelong outdoorsman, hunting and fishing all 64 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:03.639 over the country. I had never seen or heard anything 65 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:06.759 remotely like a bigfoot, and I was one hundred percent 66 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:11.599 sure there was no such thing. One morning I arrived 67 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:14.800 at my stand in the Midwest for an archery deer hunt. 68 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:17.519 My stand was set up within range of a game 69 00:04:17.639 --> 00:04:21.560 trail that emptied out into the open meadow. I sat 70 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:24.959 there in total silence, and, as hunting sometimes goes, this 71 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:29.199 morning had no activity at all. The sun rose on 72 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:32.160 that crisp, clear fall day, and though it took all 73 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:36.639 my patients, I stayed there till nine thirty am. I 74 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:39.480 was five seconds from packing up and heading back to 75 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:42.199 the truck when my ears picked up a twig snap 76 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:46.000 from up the trail. Okay, I thought, maybe my patience 77 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:49.519 is about to pay off. I settled back into my 78 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:51.959 stand ready to watch what must have been a monster 79 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:55.399 buck coming my way, judging by the heavy thudding of 80 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:59.279 its feet, And a few minutes later my quarry finally 81 00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:03.800 came into view. What in the world I thought it 82 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:07.680 wasn't a deer. It was the biggest, hairiest musclebound son 83 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:11.319 of a bitch I had ever seen, walking on two legs, 84 00:05:11.319 --> 00:05:15.360 and he was coming my way. The creature that I 85 00:05:15.480 --> 00:05:18.639 was one hundred percent sure did not exist was coming 86 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:22.319 right at me, and there was no denying its existence. 87 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:26.560 At that point. I imagine the thousands of painful things 88 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:28.759 it was capable of doing to me, and I thought 89 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:31.959 about what a blessing, a quick, miserable death would be 90 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:36.120 if this thing caught me. I sat as silent and 91 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:40.040 as unmoving as I could, grasping my shaking hands together 92 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:43.680 and praying it would not look my way. And when 93 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:46.279 it turned away from me, I realized I had been 94 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:50.560 holding my breath, and I gasped for air. Then I 95 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:53.759 watched in horror as this thing stopped in its tracks 96 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:57.600 and turned its head slightly in my direction. I put 97 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:00.480 my hands over my mouth, and I felt my stomach sink, 98 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:03.399 and by an act of God, it lost interest, and 99 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:07.480 it walked into the open meadow ahead of me. It 100 00:06:07.639 --> 00:06:10.879 sat down on the ground and began digging up roots 101 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:14.120 and eating them. And it did that for about an hour, 102 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:18.319 with me helplessly watching on, afraid to move, afraid to breathe, 103 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:22.680 and afraid to make the slightest sound. Finally it got 104 00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:25.920 up and continued walking away from me, never giving any 105 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:29.120 indication that it knew I was there. And when it 106 00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:32.560 finally disappeared from sight, I climbed out of that stand 107 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:35.920 and set an Olympic record in the quarter mile back 108 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:39.240 to my truck. I never went back, not even to 109 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:43.959 get my dear stand. When I finished my story, the 110 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:47.879 men around the campfire stared at me in silence for 111 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:52.000 a long minute, trying to process what I had told them. 112 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:54.319 It must have been the look of fear on my 113 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:57.120 face as I told the story, because the demeanor of 114 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:00.199 the group had changed, and I could tell they believed me. 115 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:04.079 It took a few more minutes before someone was brave 116 00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:06.519 enough to break that silence and carry on with a 117 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:10.839 lighter topic. But their like banter turned to white noise. 118 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:14.600 I knew they were talking, but I couldn't hear the words. 119 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:17.480 The sounds of twigs snapping in the heat of the 120 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:20.399 flames took me back to my deer stand, and there 121 00:07:20.439 --> 00:07:23.920 I was again, looking at that impossible creature with my 122 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:27.480 own two eyes, knowing the experience had changed me for 123 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:31.720 the worse, Knowing that my life of hunting would never 124 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:38.759 be the same. I live up in British Columbia, Canada. 125 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:43.519 When my youngest granddaughter was seven, she wanted a pet, 126 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:46.360 of all things. Her parents let her get a pot 127 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:50.519 bellied pig, but the pig became quickly a handful for 128 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:54.000 my daughter, and when she and her husband started talking 129 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:57.800 about surrendering the pig to a petting farm, I decided 130 00:07:57.839 --> 00:07:59.879 it was time for a little Piggy to move in 131 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:04.279 with me. On a clear and cold Canadian night, when 132 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:08.879 the temperature outside was a blistering minus thirty five degrees celsius, 133 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:13.560 which means minus thirty one degrees fahrenheit, Piggy and I 134 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:16.959 were inside enjoying the warmth of the house when a 135 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:21.360 terrible racket sounded in my backyard. The pig was so 136 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:24.720 startled that he started screaming and grunting like he was 137 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:29.279 afraid for his life. Nothing I did could calm him down, 138 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:31.920 and the thought of something being in the woods and 139 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:37.159 the deadly cold temperatures was unsettling. My backyard backs up 140 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:40.960 to a thick stand of trees, mostly pines and cottonwood, 141 00:08:41.240 --> 00:08:45.120 but also birch, which has a very hard trunk, and 142 00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:47.399 in the middle of that pig's commotion came a loud 143 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:51.240 slap like a giant hit his hand against the birch's trunk. 144 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:54.720 It was far too loud to be a human, and 145 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:57.840 because of the pig's reaction, I was certain it was 146 00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:01.480 something I wanted nothing to do with. When I told 147 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:03.600 my daughter about it, she laughed it off and said 148 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:06.240 it was a bigfoot coming to get the pig for dinner. 149 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:10.440 Based on that pig's reaction that night, she may have 150 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:15.080 been right. Years before I had a sighting, people tried 151 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:17.519 to convince me that it was a bear crossing the road. 152 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:21.960 But I know what I saw and it was no bear. Now, 153 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:25.879 after listening to your podcast and hearing about others' experiences, 154 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:29.080 I am sure that is what I saw. Thank you 155 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:33.159 for the stories. I loved listening to your channel. Cheers, 156 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:41.000 Granny Linda. I grew up in the suburbs of Columbia, 157 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:45.039 South Carolina. Since both of my parents worked full time, 158 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:48.879 my days were spent with my grandparents, mainly my grandfather. 159 00:09:49.879 --> 00:09:52.440 He was not a blood relative, but a stepfather to 160 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:55.840 my dad, and he was the only grandfather I ever knew, 161 00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:59.399 and he was my world. He was a World War 162 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:04.399 two Korean War Vietnam War veteran and a full blooded 163 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:09.120 Native Cadoan. He grew up in the Cato Indian Reservation 164 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:12.399 in Oklahoma and passed along many of his stories to me. 165 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:15.600 Now I'm not sure if my connection with him brought 166 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:18.919 this on, but I had been sensitive to spirits and 167 00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:24.159 being since my first encounter at five years old. When 168 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:27.240 I was five, my granddad got ill and was bedridden 169 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:30.000 for a month. I was walking through the house and 170 00:10:30.039 --> 00:10:33.960 headed into his room when I almost ran into someone. 171 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:37.080 I looked up and there stood a being taller than 172 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:40.600 anyone I had ever seen before. He had the body 173 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:43.480 of a man, but the head of a wolf. He 174 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:46.200 was covered in fur from the waist down and had 175 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:50.320 a broad chest with dark copper colored skin. He was 176 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:54.120 a wolf man. He wasn't trying to hurt me, but 177 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:57.600 as a small child, I instantly panicked, and when I 178 00:10:57.639 --> 00:11:00.720 started backing up, he stepped toward me and duck to 179 00:11:00.840 --> 00:11:04.960 pass through the doorway into the next room. I returned 180 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:08.279 and ran crying to my grandmother. I don't think I 181 00:11:08.360 --> 00:11:11.159 ever explained to her what I saw. It's not that 182 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:16.279 I could have at five years old anyway. My grandfather recovered, 183 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:19.399 but fell ill again two years later. His health was 184 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:21.399 up and down for a few years, and he was 185 00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:25.519 ultimately moved to assisted living about a year before his death. 186 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:29.559 While at the assisted living facility, I would sometimes be 187 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:32.120 dropped off for a few hours to visit with him. 188 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:35.840 I was an exceptionally well behaved kid, and the management 189 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:40.840 allowed me to be there unsupervised. One time, days before 190 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:43.200 my eleventh birthday, I was dropped off to visit my 191 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:46.799 grandfather and I stepped off the elevator onto his floor 192 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:49.200 and I made my way down the hall to his room, 193 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:51.960 and at the end of the hallway I saw that 194 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:56.360 wolf man again. He was peering around the corner watching me, 195 00:11:56.759 --> 00:11:59.720 and the nurses and staff were passing right by him. 196 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:02.600 That's when I realized that I was the only one 197 00:12:02.600 --> 00:12:06.840 who could see him. I tried to stay calm, ignored 198 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:10.480 his presence, and went on to see my grandfather. When 199 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:12.840 it was time for me to go home, I looked 200 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:14.519 out for the wolf man at the end of the 201 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:17.240 hall where I had seen him before, but he wasn't there. 202 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:21.799 But as the elevator doors opened up, there he stood, 203 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:26.240 so tall that his head was touching the ceiling. I 204 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:28.879 gathered up all the courage I had, and I walked 205 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:33.200 into the elevator, and I swear to you time slowed down. 206 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:37.320 When the doors closed, he knelt down and placed a 207 00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:40.759 scary looking, clawed hand on my shoulder, and he began 208 00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:42.919 to speak to me in a native tongue that I 209 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:46.759 didn't understand. I'm not sure what he said or how 210 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:48.919 long I was there with him, but the next thing 211 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:52.279 I knew, the doors opened on the ground floor and 212 00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:56.440 he was gone. The encounter gave me a safe and 213 00:12:56.600 --> 00:13:00.840 peaceful feeling, but sadly, my grandfather passed the following week. 214 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:05.360 Twelve years later, I was twenty two and married, and 215 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:09.200 I had one child, still a toddler. I was out 216 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:11.399 one night on my back porch when I saw the 217 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:14.399 wolfman at the back fence line, standing in the woods, 218 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:18.639 and when I got up to greet him, he was gone. 219 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:22.080 Within a week, my son became ill and was hospitalized. 220 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:26.240 The doctors couldn't explain his condition, and they were preparing 221 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:29.600 us for the worst. I did a lot of praying 222 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:33.240 and begging to God, and my son made a recovery overnight. 223 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:39.879 His condition was never explained medically. Three years passed and 224 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:43.000 I worked as a mechanic on the second shift. Four 225 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:46.480 pm to one am were crappy hours for a family 226 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:50.120 man with two kids, but it was a government job 227 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:54.200 with good benefits and a guaranteed paycheck. I was on 228 00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:56.960 my motorcycle going home from work to see my wife 229 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:59.600 and kids for supper, and as I rode the two 230 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:03.000 miles of rural road that led to my neighborhood, I 231 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:06.960 saw the Wolfman again. The Wolfman was just off the 232 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:09.840 road into the woodline, and he was pacing me at 233 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:14.679 fifty miles per hour. He was running upright like a man, 234 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:18.720 but with the stride that I couldn't explain. I paid 235 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:22.840 him no attention, though, and I continued home. The next evening, 236 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:25.000 I was on my way home again to eat with 237 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:27.559 my family when I was hit by a truck that 238 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:30.960 ran a red light. I was in bad shape, and 239 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:35.320 I came close to dying with blood loss from the lacerations. 240 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:38.679 I had two surgeries for all the broken bones, and 241 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:41.480 I spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and had 242 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:47.000 a six month recovery. I finally realized what this wolfman 243 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:49.879 was there for, or what I think he was there for. 244 00:14:50.679 --> 00:14:53.519 I think this being is somehow connected to me and 245 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:57.120 there to warn me of death or danger or illness. 246 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:02.600 Twelve year years passed before I saw him again. My 247 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:06.200 grandmother was turning ninety seven, but had recently endured some 248 00:15:06.279 --> 00:15:11.039 major medical setbacks. The weekend before her ninety seventh birthday, 249 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:13.480 I was at the local lake out on a pontoon 250 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:16.960 boat with the family. Late at night, I saw the 251 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:20.679 Wolfman standing at the water's edge across the cove where 252 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:23.919 we were camping. I knew what that meant, who he 253 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:26.799 was there for. Well, I tried to shrug it off. 254 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:31.000 I knew what was coming. My grandmother passed the next week, 255 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:35.240 only a day after her ninety seventh birthday. And while 256 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:38.919 the Wolfman isn't the only supernatural encounter that I've had, 257 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:42.600 it's the most prominent and most reoccurring one in my life. 258 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:45.799 Feel free to use my story if you like, just 259 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:49.320 not my name. Even in the world where the supernatural 260 00:15:49.399 --> 00:15:52.919 and aliens are now accepted, the people who speak up 261 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:59.679 about them are not accepted. Many years ago, my friend 262 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:04.320 Jim was a flight engineer for Pacific Southwest Airlines. This 263 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:07.320 was the way back when a flight engineer was required 264 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:11.840 on the earlier passenger jets. Jim flew on a regular 265 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:15.759 schedule flight from San Diego to San Francisco, California, and 266 00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:20.240 back again each day. He'd been flying this schedule for 267 00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:24.919 many years with no difficulties. They always flew over land, 268 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:28.799 although the safety advisor always included the statement that your 269 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:33.120 seat cushion is a flotation device. Once, during one of 270 00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:36.519 his daytime flights north to San Francisco, he and the 271 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:42.000 pilot had an interesting experience. Halfway through the northbound flight, 272 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:44.759 the co pilot noticed a plane on the same course 273 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:48.120 as them to the east. The problem was that it 274 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:51.399 was much closer than the allowed five miles, which was 275 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:56.879 dangerous and against regulations. The copolot informed the pilot and 276 00:16:57.000 --> 00:17:02.240 contacted air traffic control. Traffic control acknowledged the other plane's 277 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:07.039 unsafe distance and tried to contact them. They received no response, 278 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:13.039 which was unusual. After several unsuccessful attempts to contact the 279 00:17:13.079 --> 00:17:17.079 other aircraft, Jim's plane was directed to turn slightly to 280 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:20.640 the west, moving to a safer distance, But once his 281 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:24.039 plane did this, the other aircraft moved toward them again, 282 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:28.799 flying much too close. There were more attempts to contact 283 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:32.519 the other aircraft, but they got no response. Air traffic 284 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:35.680 control told Jim's plane that it was most likely a 285 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:39.680 private plane with radio trouble, and then instructed them to 286 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:44.000 move west again to gain that safe distance. They did this, 287 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:47.880 but once again the other aircraft moved with them, only 288 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:52.799 this time it came even closer than before. This continued 289 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:56.039 until Jim's plane was forced to fly over the ocean, 290 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.240 and in the meantime, the other aircraft had gotten close 291 00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:02.279 enough to Jim's plane that they had a clear visual 292 00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:05.319 of it. That's when they saw that it was not 293 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:09.200 an airplane at all. It was a cigar shaped object 294 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:14.119 that slowly but surely was getting closer to them. Jim's 295 00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:18.240 plane received instructions to move ten miles out over the 296 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:22.720 ocean way off course. It was finally able to continue 297 00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:25.359 on its way, arriving just a few minutes later than 298 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:32.160 scheduled and without further incident. Simultaneously, the US Navy scrambled 299 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:35.359 a fighter jets to try to identify and move the 300 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:38.319 UFO out of the way and hopefully force it to land. 301 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:42.799 The three Navy fighters surrounded the UFO, one on either 302 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:45.960 side and one behind it, and as they attempted to 303 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:48.160 move it in the direction they wanted it to go, 304 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:53.960 the UFO instantly sped up, reaching speeds unachievable by the fighters, 305 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:57.960 and then just as quickly it flew vertically into the 306 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:00.759 air and was out of sight and ran our detection 307 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:06.400 in seconds. That story never made the news. There's no 308 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:09.920 surprise there, and Jim never mentioned if they spoke about 309 00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:13.200 it again after that. What's interesting to me is the 310 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:16.119 way Jim relaid the tone of the air traffic control. 311 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:19.440 It was all very standards. If they had dealt with 312 00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:24.440 this situation countless times before. It's a good story to remember. 313 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:27.720 The next time you fly, keep your eyes open, you 314 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:32.480 may have company. My name is Rick and I was 315 00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:36.640 born and raised in Virginia Beach. Growing up, I remember 316 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:40.799 listening to the Little Caesar's commercial advertising the bigfoot sized 317 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:44.599 pizza with a bigfoot puppet. The reason I bring that 318 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:48.960 up I will get to. In nineteen ninety seven, I 319 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:52.160 was thirteen years old. Now I was visiting my cousins 320 00:19:52.200 --> 00:19:57.400 at my uncle's place in Pungo, Virginia Beach. His trailer 321 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:00.240 was adjacent to some corn fields where they frequent Lee 322 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:04.279 saw deer. Directly east of his trailer was a north 323 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:08.599 Landing River Natural Area Preserve which connects to the Great 324 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:12.480 Dismal Swamp. My uncle was a marine, and being in 325 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:17.240 the country, he taught us about muzzle awareness, firearms safety, 326 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:21.359 and of course how to shoot at a young age. 327 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:24.720 One day, my cousins and I wanted to explore the 328 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:27.799 woods and swamp around his trailer and try to make 329 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:30.759 it to the river. That's all us kids ever wanted 330 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:34.799 to do. Back then, explore the swamp and woods. We 331 00:20:34.920 --> 00:20:37.559 carried on through about halfway to the river, and then 332 00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:40.880 stopped to look at some snakes and a couple of turkeys, 333 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:45.039 and out of nowhere I smelled something rotten. It's just 334 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:50.960 fart rocks. My cousin Charles said, well, I shook my head. No, man, 335 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:53.720 that's coming from down wind. It's way worse than a 336 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:59.440 fart rock, I said, almost dizzy from the sharp, stinging smell. 337 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:02.039 The next day I knew my other cousin, Marshall, and 338 00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:05.839 our friend Mark started yelling. A bear crouched down. Look, 339 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:09.519 they shouted. We followed them closer to the bear to 340 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:12.720 see for ourselves, and sure enough, there it was, just 341 00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:16.720 sitting there, hunched over behind a rock. We fell back 342 00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:19.480 about thirty yards to give it some space, all the 343 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:22.960 while keeping our eyes on it. My cousin decided it 344 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:25.359 would be a good idea to shoot at it, so 345 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:27.799 he aimed his pellet rifle and he tried to take 346 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:30.920 a shot. The rest of us told him there was 347 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:32.799 no way he was going to take down that big 348 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:36.359 old bear with that little rifle. The worst thing he'd 349 00:21:36.359 --> 00:21:38.720 do is provoke it, and then the rest of us 350 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:41.599 would be in a world of trouble. So we talked 351 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:43.759 him out of it and decided to go and get 352 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:48.079 some real guns instead. Nothing was stopping us from getting 353 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:52.039 to that river. We jogged back to my uncle's trailer 354 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:54.799 and got a twenty two handgun and a four to 355 00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:59.599 ten shotgun. We never mentioned why we wanted them, probably 356 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:02.799 because we knew he'd rail into us for going after 357 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:06.880 a bear, and our thirteen year old selves weren't exactly 358 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:11.839 eager to piss off an old salty marine. A while later, 359 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:13.839 we made it back to the spot where we saw 360 00:22:13.880 --> 00:22:17.000 the bear, but when we didn't see anything, we decided 361 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:20.599 to trek onward to the river. We made it there 362 00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:25.519 without any excitement, which was disappointing. We'd been looking around 363 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:27.880 the whole time for that bear or any kind of 364 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:32.599 a critter determined to shoot something, but the opportunity never came. 365 00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:37.799 After wandering around and playing with sticks, we headed home 366 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:42.000 and halfway back that rancid smell hit us again. It 367 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:46.240 was terrible. We started looking for a skunk, because at 368 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:49.799 the time that's as wild as our imaginations went, as 369 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:53.000 far as horrible stenches, though the smell of a skunk 370 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:55.400 or even a dead riding animal would have been a 371 00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:00.839 sweet relief compared to this. We kept looking and there 372 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:04.880 was the bear again. Immediately we pointed our guns at it, 373 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:08.000 ready to take it down, but we never stood a chance. 374 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:12.359 It stood upright over six feet tall, and it started 375 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:16.279 charging at us on two legs, it's two long arms 376 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:20.440 swinging at its side. That thing was not a bear. 377 00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:23.519 It had no ears like a bear, and its eyes 378 00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:26.880 were in front of its face. Its face was beige 379 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:31.440 and its hair was shaggy and black. Basically a big, black, 380 00:23:31.480 --> 00:23:35.519 furry swamp thing was coming right at us. When we 381 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:38.240 realized how big it was, we ran for our lives 382 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:41.000 and high tailed it out of there. The only other 383 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:43.440 time in my whole life that I ran that fast 384 00:23:43.559 --> 00:23:45.960 was when I ran from the police once in my 385 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:50.759 later years. Well, we got back to the trailer. We 386 00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:54.119 found my dad and uncle out front drinking, and when 387 00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:56.519 I started yelling, they came off the porch to see 388 00:23:56.519 --> 00:23:59.000 what was going on and what we were running from. 389 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:03.079 It's a foot, I shouted, well, how do you know that, 390 00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:06.079 one of them asked, because it looked like a bigfoot 391 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:10.640 from the pizza commercial. That's how I yelled. They started 392 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:13.079 to brush our story off and told us it was 393 00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:16.960 just a bear. But right then, in the distance behind us, 394 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:20.599 we heard a loud and deep growl. You see you 395 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:23.759 ever hear a bear sound like that? I asked them, 396 00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:26.799 knowing they sure as hell hadn't, but would call us 397 00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:31.519 crazy anyway, which is just what they did. They called 398 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:34.440 us crazy, and they asked if we had smoked a joint, 399 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:37.000 and they told us to stay around the house and 400 00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:39.759 that they would go looking for it later. I'm not 401 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:44.079