WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.799 --> 00:00:08.599 All right, all right, one long story in this video. 2 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:11.080 I pulled this up yesterday and I thought, man, this 3 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:13.919 is a great story. I've got to share this story. 4 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:15.800 I've had it for a long time. I just am 5 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:19.280 now getting to it. The title is I Met a 6 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:22.480 Strange little Man in the woods. It's not going to 7 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:24.879 sound like a Bigfoot story right out of the gate, 8 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:28.000 but it just hang on because it's really good. He 9 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:31.280 writes Cam. Please don't use my name. You'll find out 10 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:35.280 why later in this story. In nineteen sixty nine, I 11 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:38.520 was twelve years old. My parents owned a river cabin 12 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:41.960 on a very remote section of the Natchez River and 13 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:45.240 what is called the Big Thicket. The Big Thicket is 14 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:48.240 a name given to a region of heavily forested area 15 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:52.719 of southeast Texas. We spent our summers away from my 16 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:56.799 hometown in Beaumont, Texas, on that very beautiful but rustic river. 17 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:00.640 In the spring of nineteen sixty nine, b and my 18 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:03.679 best friend Tim and I decided to save our money 19 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:08.159 and purchase a two man GI surplus rubber raft. We 20 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:11.159 had great dreams and discussions of how we would fish 21 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:14.599 all day from our own raft. We worked all spring 22 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:18.000 and summer mowing yards and collecting bottles to earn money, 23 00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:21.599 and finally, in midsummer we had saved the thirty one 24 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:26.200 dollars for the raft. We asked Tim's father to take 25 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:29.840 us downtown to the GI Surplus to finally buy our raft. 26 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:33.760 Let me say that the raft lived up to our expectations. 27 00:01:34.599 --> 00:01:37.799 We rode that thing all over the river, fishing and 28 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:42.319 swimming from our own personal two man survival raft. We 29 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:45.319 had tons of fun and the feeling of accomplishment was 30 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:49.359 the absolute best. It was a great summer. The raft 31 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:52.719 represented our freedom and our own ability to provide something 32 00:01:52.760 --> 00:01:57.599 special for ourselves. One day, toward the end of summer 33 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:00.599 and before school started, we were staying up the cabin, 34 00:02:00.959 --> 00:02:04.120 but Tim wasn't with us. I decided to go up 35 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:07.040 early and I got out fishing in the raft. And 36 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:10.120 my dad always insisted that we row upriver so that 37 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:13.919 no matter what, the current would bring us home. My 38 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.240 dad was a wise man and a great outdoorsman. I 39 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:21.080 was always smart to follow his advice. I stuck near 40 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:24.039 the shore when rowing because the current wasn't a strong 41 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:29.439 near the sandbars. While rowing upriver that morning, I passed 42 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:33.000 a sandbar that I was familiar with. We had fish 43 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:35.479 from it and swam off of it. We called it 44 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:39.000 our secret sandbar. I don't know why, but back then 45 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:41.719 everything had to have a name, and it was a 46 00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:44.159 great place to sing for men of us for bait. 47 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:47.759 But on that warm summer morning, I noticed something different. 48 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:51.719 There was a long, thick, black rubber hose that was 49 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:55.120 partially covered in coming out of the woods behind the sandbar, 50 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:59.159 and it trailed down into the river. That was odd, 51 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:03.280 I thought, I've never seen that before. Being twelve years 52 00:03:03.319 --> 00:03:06.240 old and very curious and too young to be alarmed, 53 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:09.199 I rowed to shore and pulled the raft up on 54 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:13.080 the sandbar and decided to investigate the origin of the 55 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:17.919 mysterious hose. Perhaps I should have gone back to the 56 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:20.879 cabin and gotten my dad or my older brother, but 57 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:22.919 I was too eager to know where the hose was 58 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:27.479 coming from. Walking alone in the woods didn't concern me 59 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:30.199 at all because I did it every day when I 60 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:33.080 was at the cabin, So off I went into the 61 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:38.039 thicket to investigate. I walked fifty yards into the woods, 62 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:42.240 and the whole time carefully following the hose. I noticed 63 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:44.199 that the hose was jumping a little like it was 64 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:47.800 pumping water from the river. This was just getting more 65 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:52.360 and more interesting. I came upon a metal box that 66 00:03:52.439 --> 00:03:55.400 the hose was connected to, and then it split into 67 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:58.639 two hoses that vied off in two directions, but not 68 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:03.400 far apart. I followed the hose further until I heard 69 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:06.039 a noise up ahead in the woods, like someone hammering 70 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:09.479 on a pipe. I kept following the hose until I 71 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:12.840 saw something in the distance, and it didn't fit, and 72 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:15.479 I crept a little closer, and I was stunned when 73 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:18.240 I saw sitting there in the woods an object that 74 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:22.720 looked like a small submarine. I stopped and stared and 75 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:26.680 went into Indian Daniel Boone's squirrel hunter mode. And I 76 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:29.279 quietly snuck up a little further and saw a little 77 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:32.439 man wearing a jumpsuit and a hard hat working on 78 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:35.759 some type of equipment out in front of the submarine thing. 79 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:38.879 I could now see that it was larger than I 80 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:43.199 first realized what was I looking at. I was a 81 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:47.800 naive kid, so I yelled hey. The little man looked 82 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:50.160 up at me and stared, and then looked behind him 83 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:53.879 and said something to someone that I could not see. 84 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:56.920 And then he said in a strange accent. Are you 85 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:00.879 a lone boy, Yes, sir, I'm following this black hose 86 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:04.319 to see where it goes. It leads right here, he said. 87 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:06.759 I'm using the hose to pump water to cool some 88 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:10.639 equipment I'm working on. How did you get here? I 89 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:12.839 told him that I rode to the sandbar in my 90 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:17.120 rubber raft and then things got interesting. What happened next 91 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:21.240 I'll never forget as long as I live. The little man, 92 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:24.319 who was shorter than me, stopped working and came over 93 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:26.879 to me, and he reached out and patted my shoulder 94 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:30.759 and said, what's your name? Boy? I told him my 95 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:34.000 name and asked him his. Now I don't remember his name, 96 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:36.240 but it wasn't one of the usual names I had 97 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:39.839 heard before. I asked him what the little submarine was 98 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:42.639 doing in the woods, and he turned and looked at 99 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:45.800 it and laughed, boy, this in a submarine. Have you 100 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:48.639 ever seen a submarine in the woods before, he asked. 101 00:05:50.079 --> 00:05:54.360 It was silvery gray, like a submarine, and tubular shaped 102 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:58.360 with a porthole and a hatched door opened on the side. 103 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:01.279 It was thirty to forty feet long. At my best, guest, 104 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:05.600 what is it? I asked, it's a re entry vehicle, 105 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:10.519 he said, oh, what, it's flying ship for space travel. 106 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:15.199 He said, you mean like Apollo. I asked, kind of 107 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:17.839 like that, he said, but it doesn't have rockets like 108 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:21.720 your Apollo craft. And then I realized the little man 109 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:24.920 was pulling my leg. What is a space ship doing 110 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:28.360 out here in the woods on the Natchez River, I asked, smiling. 111 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:32.279 I'm a transfer agent and I'm in the process of 112 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:36.160 transferring my resource into a salt cave far under the 113 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:39.959 surface of this forest. Well, I had no idea what 114 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:43.959 he was talking about. And then the little fellow told 115 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:46.240 me that he was hungry, and he asked if I'd 116 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:49.680 like to eat with him. I hadn't had breakfast, so 117 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:53.399 I asked, well, what do you have. He offered some 118 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:56.639 fruit and some dark bread. The fruit was kind of 119 00:06:56.680 --> 00:06:59.240 like grapes, but yellow, and the bread was thick and 120 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:02.879 very tasty. He said he liked our butter, but he 121 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:06.720 didn't have any. What do you mean our butter, I asked. 122 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:10.560 We sat down to breakfast, and he started to tell 123 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:14.720 me a far out story. By the way, the yellow 124 00:07:14.759 --> 00:07:17.560 grapes were the best fruit I have ever eaten in 125 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:21.160 my life, he said, to me, you look like a 126 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:23.639 smart boy. And what am I about to tell you? 127 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:26.120 You have to keep a secret. If you tell it, 128 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:29.839 no one's going to believe you. Anyway, I should have 129 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:32.600 listened to him and kept my mouth shut. But more 130 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:36.399 about that later. And this is what he told me. 131 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:41.759 I am one of sixteen hundred transfer agents stationed on 132 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:46.560 this beautiful blue planet. I am assigned to the Petroleum Division, 133 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:51.240 and my job is to transfer crude petroleum into various places, 134 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:56.160 into underground caves in Texas and Louisiana. There are one 135 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:59.240 hundred and thirteen of US petroleum agents a sign to 136 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:02.920 this planet. The other agents are not in my division. 137 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:07.519 They transfer other resources such as water, salt, plants, animals, 138 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:11.879 precious metals, chemicals, and other needed resources to and from 139 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:16.879 this world of yours. We transfer the resources mostly from 140 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:20.439 the other planets in our Solar system. The plants and 141 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:24.800 animals come from places far away. And he went on 142 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:28.439 to say that our water originally came from the Red planet, 143 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:32.039 and now it comes from the rings of Saturn. Our 144 00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:36.200 salt comes from Mercury, and our petroleum and sulfur come 145 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:40.360 from Venus. Most of our metals come from Uranus and 146 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:45.159 Pluto and some transfer agents continually test our oceans for 147 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:49.799 the correct salinity balance, and when needed, salt is transferred 148 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:54.000 from mercury. He said that when water is corrupted, it 149 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:57.120 is removed and replaced with fresh water, and that this 150 00:08:57.240 --> 00:09:00.840 process goes on continually, but more recently since there had 151 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:05.159 been a fast rise in our population. It's our job, 152 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:08.440 he said, to make sure the blue planet never runs 153 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:12.679 out of what is needed for mankind. I ask if 154 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:17.320 the OL is brought in his spacecraft. Good question, he said. 155 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:21.360 The best way to explain it is like this. We 156 00:09:21.559 --> 00:09:27.080 transfer on and off planet through another dimension. The resources 157 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:31.240 changed into a non physical quintessence and then transferred to 158 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:34.080 where it is a sign, and then changed back into 159 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:37.480 its physical form. If we couldn't do it that way, 160 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:40.679 we couldn't do it at all. Well, who do you 161 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:45.039 work for? I asked? Do you work for Mobile or Texaco? Oh? 162 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:48.279 You're a smart boy, he said. I cannot tell you 163 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:51.039 who I work for, but if you think very hard, 164 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:54.200 you will figure it out. Well, why can't you just 165 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:57.759 tell me, I asked, that's the one bit of information 166 00:09:57.879 --> 00:10:00.960 that I can't share with you. He said, Well, do 167 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:04.600 you work for God? I asked. He only stared at 168 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:06.960 me and said, all I can say is that he 169 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:10.440 comes from a physical realm, and that the transfer agents 170 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:15.320 are assigned by very wise and affectionate authorities. I asked 171 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:17.559 him how much he gets paid to do his job. 172 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:20.519 He laughed out loud in his funny little voice, and 173 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:23.679 he said, I'm getting paid right now by getting to 174 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:27.120 visit with you. Well. I wasn't sure what he meant, 175 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:31.759 but it made me feel good. The little man turned 176 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:35.039 and said something in a different language behind him and 177 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:38.360 toward the vessel. So I looked behind him, and I 178 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:42.559 saw something that I had not seen before. There in 179 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:46.159 front of the craft stood a large, hairy man type animal. 180 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:50.000 I have since figured out that it was a bigfoot. 181 00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:53.120 At the time, I thought it was an eight, but 182 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:55.600 it didn't stoop over like an ape, and it had 183 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:58.960 a face with a nose, and it had human like eyes. 184 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:02.799 This thing was huge. It was tall as the craft 185 00:11:02.840 --> 00:11:06.399 and looked at me in a way that scared me. Immediately, 186 00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:08.600 I jumped up and I said, what is that thing? 187 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:11.879 The little man said, this is a friend of mine. 188 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:14.559 He's a forest guardian who make sure no one comes 189 00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:19.159 around here to tamper with the transfer equipment. He then 190 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:21.240 took me behind the craft and he showed me a 191 00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:24.840 Christmas tree, or that's what we call him in Texas. 192 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:28.519 A Christmas tree in Texas is a stack of well 193 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:32.000 Haad valves and adapters. It was like none I had 194 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:34.919 ever seen, and I had seen many in my life, 195 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:40.200 even at twelve. Well had adapters were everywhere in Southeast Texas. 196 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:44.600 This is where I transfer the resource into the ground 197 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:48.360 and down to the salt caves below. He said, well, 198 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:52.159 what does that big Harry fellow do? I asked. The 199 00:11:52.200 --> 00:11:54.559 little man told me that he is here to guard 200 00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:57.879 this and other equipment so no one bothers it. He 201 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:00.519 said there are many of them all over the and 202 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:03.399 all over the planet. That they are our friends who 203 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:08.240 protect the transfer agent's equipment when we're not here. He 204 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:10.559 went on to say that they are good at frightening 205 00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:13.320 people away who get too close to what they protect. 206 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:16.440 They won't harm you, he said, unless you get too 207 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:19.919 close to what they guard. These things are not from 208 00:12:19.960 --> 00:12:22.600 this planet, but they like it on the Blue planet 209 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:25.600 because they are left alone and there's plenty of food 210 00:12:25.639 --> 00:12:28.639 to eat. He also told me that they can cause 211 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:32.080 a person to become very scared just by looking at them. 212 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:36.039 The little guy then took me back to where we 213 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:38.679 were eating, and he told me he had something for me. 214 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:42.480 He went into his ship and brought out a box. 215 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:46.039 He opened it and inside was a small device the 216 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:48.919 shape of what I can only describe as a small 217 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:53.159 mercury space capsule. He took it out and placed it 218 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:55.960 in my hand. It was small and it was made 219 00:12:55.960 --> 00:12:59.799 of metal like stainless steel. What is it? I asked. 220 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:02.679 He told me that he wanted me to keep it, 221 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:05.039 and as long as I had it with me, I 222 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:08.039 would never be bothered by the forest Guardian or by 223 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:12.240 any one of the other more unfriendly visitors. Well, who 224 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:16.440 are the unfriendly visitors? I asked? There are creatures that 225 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:20.600 visit this planet for much different reasons than the transfer agents. 226 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:24.279 He said, they're cruel and nasty little brutes who are 227 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:26.879 up to no good. If you hang on to this 228 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:31.159 little gift, they will never bother you. He then asked 229 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.679 me to tell him about my family and friends, and 230 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:36.000 where I went to school and if I went to church. 231 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:39.120 I chatted on about all the things that I was 232 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:45.120 interested in, fishing, baseball, comic books, model airplanes, and hunting squirrels. 233 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:48.399 I told him about how my friend Tim and I 234 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:51.240 had saved up and bought the raft. And I told 235 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:53.559 him about being a boy scout and an altar boy 236 00:13:53.639 --> 00:13:56.759 in the Catholic Church, and that I attended Catholic school. 237 00:13:58.039 --> 00:14:00.519 He seemed to like hearing this. He told me to 238 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:03.720 always be especially good to my mother and my sister. 239 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:07.519 I told him I had a gift for him, and 240 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:10.440 I pulled a folded comic book from my back pocket. 241 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:14.919 It was a Marvel comic of the Fantastic Four. And 242 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:17.120 he smiled and thanked me and said that he would 243 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:21.639 enjoy it. And then un alarm sounded, and the little 244 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:24.960 man put on his hard hat, wrapped up his leftovers, 245 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:27.639 and said he had to get back to work. He 246 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:30.799 patted my shoulder again and said he enjoyed talking with me. 247 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:33.840 He made me promise that I would not tell anyone 248 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:36.919 about our conversation and to never let anyone see the 249 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:40.799 small device that he had given me. I promised him 250 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:44.399 I would keep our secrets, and I said goodbye. I 251 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:46.960 waved at his big hairy friend, and then off I 252 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:50.840 went back to my beached draft. I knew I would 253 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:55.559 never forget to wear to stay of my whole life. 254 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:58.480 The next school year, I was in the seventh grade 255 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:01.240 and changed from a private case Atholic school to public 256 00:15:01.320 --> 00:15:05.480 junior high. All my old friends were there too. My 257 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:07.919 friend Tim would come a year later because he was 258 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:12.440 a year younger than me. School was going great, but 259 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:16.240 a problem started when we were assigned an English class 260 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:18.879 to write a paper on what we did over the summer. 261 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:22.720 I wrote about Tim and me buying the raft, and 262 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:27.279 I stupidly wrote about meeting the little Man in the woods. Yep. 263 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:30.679 I wrote everything, including the part about the resources from 264 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:34.960 the other planets and the big hairyman. I told about 265 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:37.480 the submarine that turned out to be a spaceship and 266 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.159 the food and all of it. I even told about 267 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:42.320 the device the little Man gave to me and that 268 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:46.399 it would protect me. It was an eleven page report. 269 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:50.279 I turned it into Missus Beal and expected an a 270 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:54.960 on my first assignment in junior high. Man was I 271 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:57.840 surprised two days later when I was called to the 272 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:01.919 principal's office. I didn't even know who the principle was 273 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:04.799 because I was a brand new student. Well, I went 274 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:07.480 to the office during math class and I waited on 275 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:10.639 the bench outside, and I was called in and was 276 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:13.759 greeted by not only the principal, but also a man 277 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:17.399 in uniform who was introduced to me as the local sheriff. 278 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:21.000 I started to get scared because me and some buddies 279 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:24.159 had recently been throwing rocks at hoboes who were writing 280 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:28.200 in open train cars over the tracks. I was sure 281 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:31.320 the sheriff was there to arrest me for stoning hoboes. 282 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:36.240 That's not what they were concerned about, though. Mister Newberry, 283 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:39.399 my principal, opened his desk and pulled out my assignment 284 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:44.240 from English class. I immediately began getting nervous and scared. 285 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:50.440 Mister Newberry asked, did you write these papers? Thinking back, 286 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:53.120 I should have said no. I should have said my 287 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:55.200 brother wrote it, or I read the story in a 288 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:58.720 comic book, or anything other than what I said, But 289 00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:02.840 being a good Catholic boy, I couldn't lie. Yes, I 290 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:06.839 wrote it. What's wrong with it? I said? Mister Newberry 291 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:10.039 chimed in, Darryl, you were supposed to write what you 292 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:14.400 did over the summer, not a fantastic story about spaceships 293 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:17.559 and big hairy monsters in the woods. Did you really 294 00:17:17.559 --> 00:17:21.200 buy a rubber raft? Yes? Sir, I replied, it's in 295 00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:25.160 my garage right now, but it's deflated. Who is your friend, Tim, 296 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:28.680 asked the sheriff. Well, I told all about Tim and 297 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:31.279 that he was still in the sixth grade at Saint Anthony's. 298 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:34.599 The sheriff then asked if my parents had a cabin 299 00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:38.720 on the Natcheesh River. Yes, Sir, I said, and right 300 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:41.480 then I should have asked to have my parents called in, 301 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:44.279 but back then I was too stupid to know better. 302 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:47.920 And then the sheriff asked me if I really didn't 303 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:50.839 meet a little man in the woods, and this is 304 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:54.119 where I finally snapped, no, I said, I made the 305 00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:57.640 whole thing up. And then the sheriff asked, have you 306 00:17:57.680 --> 00:17:59.839 ever seen a big, hairy ape man in the woods 307 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:03.400 on the Natchez River. No, Sir, I made that up too, 308 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:06.920 I said, why did you make this story up? Young man, 309 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:11.880 said mister Newberry, I thought fast, I don't know. I 310 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:13.880 guess I had a boring summer and I wanted to 311 00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:18.240 write something interesting. And then the sheriff said, son, it's 312 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:20.480 okay to tell us if you really didn't meet this 313 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:23.480 little man. If you did, i'd like to thank you 314 00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:25.519 for writing the story. I would like to see the 315 00:18:25.559 --> 00:18:28.359 device he gave you. Maybe you would be willing to 316 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:32.720 sell it to me for twenty dollars. Twenty dollars, dang, 317 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:38.200 I thought, twenty dollars, and then reason trump my excitement. No, Sir, 318 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:42.160 I said, I made the whole thing up. The principal 319 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:44.720 and the sheriff looked at each other, and then mister 320 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:48.400 Newberry said, in the future, son, you should stick to 321 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.279 the truth and not make up science fiction stories like 322 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:54.599 this ever again. Then he told me that it had 323 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:58.240 upset missus. Beal now, I promised I would stick to 324 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:03.359 the truth, and then I'll was dismissed. I have a 325 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:06.279 cousin who at the time was a captain in the Army. 326 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:11.200 He flew helicopters in Vietnam. I'd even written a story 327 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:13.920 about him in sixth grade as the person who was 328 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:17.119 my greatest hero. I guess I shouldn't have written that 329 00:19:17.160 --> 00:19:20.799 story either. But out of the blue, and some weeks 330 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:24.160 after my visit to the school principal, my cousin called 331 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:25.839 and said that he was going to be in town 332 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:29.359 that next Sunday. He asked if I'd like for him 333 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:34.400 to take me to the dairy Queen Dairy Queen. Heck yeah. 334 00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:37.759 The next weekend, my cousin arrived at our house and 335 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:40.960 visited with my parents and then we drove to Dairy Queen. 336 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:44.680 When we arrived at the DQ, there was an Air 337 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:48.400 Force officer sitting at a booth in the back. We 338 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:51.240 ordered Sundays and then my cousin walked over to the 339 00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:54.680 Air Force guy and spoke to him. He then invited 340 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:57.799 me to join them. Cool, I thought, an Air Force 341 00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:01.680 guy and an Army guy. This is awesome. When I 342 00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:04.279 joined them, I was introduced to the Air Force man 343 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:07.039 who was a captain. Now, I asked what he flew 344 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:09.359 and he told me that he wasn't a pilot and 345 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:13.039 that he was in Air Force intelligence. So you're a spy, 346 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:17.519 I asked. He laughed and said no, I only study reports. 347 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:23.079 After visiting for a few minutes, the unexpected happened. The 348 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:26.519 Air Force officer pulled out a briefcase and he opened 349 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:29.400 it and pulled out a copy of my English assignment. 350 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:33.359 There it was, again, my English assignment about what I 351 00:20:33.400 --> 00:20:40.079 did last summer. I became confused and scared. Darryl, you've 352 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:42.680 written quite a story here. Can we talk about it? 353 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:46.960 He asked? The conversation was quite different from the one 354 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:50.119 I had with my principal and the sheriff. The Air 355 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:52.160 Force guy told me that I was not the first 356 00:20:52.200 --> 00:20:55.400 person to have this type of experience and that he 357 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:57.880 believed that I really didn't meet the little man in 358 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:01.880 the woods. He said, they know there are big Harry 359 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:04.160 aight men in the big thicket, and that he would 360 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:07.400 like to know all that I could tell him. He 361 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:10.599 asked me if I entered the spacecraft. Well, I made 362 00:21:10.599 --> 00:21:13.279 the mistake and said no. Instead of saying I made 363 00:21:13.319 --> 00:21:16.599 it all up, he asked me if I still had 364 00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:19.720 the device, and I finally snapped and said no, that 365 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:22.079 I made it all up, and he kept at it 366 00:21:22.119 --> 00:21:26.640 as if I was being interrogated. He said that it 367 00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:29.920 was my duty as an American and a Catholic boy 368 00:21:29.960 --> 00:21:32.119 scout to tell the truth and to let him see 369 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:35.880 the device. Well, I'm not proud of what I did. Next. 370 00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:39.720 I was a tough kid, but I'd had enough and 371 00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:44.440 I started crying, I mean really sobbing. I guess I 372 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:47.839 was just too stressed out to take anymore. I felt 373 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:50.839 betrayed by my cousin and by my English teacher and 374 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:54.279 my principal, I wished I would have just kept quiet 375 00:21:54.279 --> 00:21:57.799 about the whole thing. I wanted to call my dad. Heck, 376 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.960 I was only twelve years old, and I was scared. 377 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:04.599 I didn't like lying. I was in the depths of despair. 378 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:08.200 I had never felt this stupid and upset with myself 379 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:12.000 and my whole wife. Why couldn't I have just written 380 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:17.640 something else, I thought? And then something awesome happened. My 381 00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:20.200 cousin put his arm around me and pulled me close 382 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:22.480 to him, and then he looked at the Air Force 383 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:25.039 guy and he said, that's enough, you're scaring the hell 384 00:22:25.079 --> 00:22:29.119 out of my little cousin. This meeting is over. The 385 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.920 Air Force captain didn't respond. He got up and he 386 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:37.279 walked out. I was sad for two reasons. First for 387 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:40.359 having to answer yet again to some unknown person in 388 00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:44.759 uniform about my English assignment. And two, I didn't get 389 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:50.279 to eat my ice cream Sunday. My cousin is still alive. 390 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:54.119 He is a retired Army colonel. He is still my 391 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:58.799 hero and has never asked again about my story. I've 392 00:22:58.839 --> 00:23:01.960 never said another word of it. And today I'm in 393 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:06.039 my sixties and I'm no longer afraid. I have not 394 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:09.400 had another encounter with a bigfoot or the strange little 395 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:12.799 Man in the woods. I still have the little device. 396 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:16.559 I guess it's kept me safe. I'll never know for sure. 397 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:21.240 Even now I have a copy of my original English assignment. 398 00:23:21.880 --> 00:23:26.160 That's another story. And yes, I've completely figured out who 399 00:23:26.200 --> 00:23:29.440 the little man and all the other transfer agents work for. 400 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:34.720 This long ago experience has shaped my life and my beliefs. 401 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:38.799