WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>In December of nineteen sixty nine, my buddies and I

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<v Speaker 1>were walking back to the house after a day of hunting.

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<v Speaker 1>We were crossing a holler when a large animal came

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<v Speaker 1>out of the bush and began chasing us. Shocked and

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<v Speaker 1>fear and adrenaline hit us all at the same time,

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<v Speaker 1>and we turned and started running for our lives. Behind us,

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<v Speaker 1>we could hear the monster crashing through the woods on

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<v Speaker 1>what sounded like two feet We were a group of

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<v Speaker 1>twelve year old boys, scared out of our minds by

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<v Speaker 1>visions of that creature catching up with us and then

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<v Speaker 1>tearing us to pieces. We were moving as fast as

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<v Speaker 1>we could, but it was gaining on us. It was

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen yards behind us when one of my friends lost

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<v Speaker 1>his footing and fell, and he sliced his leg open

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<v Speaker 1>in the process. I had to do something. There was

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<v Speaker 1>no time to think or make a plan, so instinctively

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<v Speaker 1>I turned and fired my shotgun straight into it. That

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<v Speaker 1>was enough to knock it backwards, and then it turned

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<v Speaker 1>and ran away, and we managed to get my friend

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<v Speaker 1>on his feet and back to the house. We didn't

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<v Speaker 1>talk much about what happened, we were too shaken up.

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<v Speaker 1>It was the last time that any of my friends

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<v Speaker 1>would ever come to my house. It took a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of days, but my love of hunting overshadowed my fear

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<v Speaker 1>of monsters, and I went back out into the woods again.

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<v Speaker 1>When I got to the spot where I had shot

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<v Speaker 1>that animal, I found a blood trail, so I decided

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<v Speaker 1>to follow it. The thing had made it two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>yards and then it had died. It was lying their

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<v Speaker 1>face up on the ground, all seven feet of it.

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<v Speaker 1>I guess it weighed around five hundred pounds. It was

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<v Speaker 1>clearly a male, and it had a face that looked

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<v Speaker 1>more human than gorilla. I tried to turn it over,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was way too heavy, so I decided to

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<v Speaker 1>go back and get a camera so I could get

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<v Speaker 1>some pictures of it. But by the time I got there,

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<v Speaker 1>I thought it would be better if I didn't go

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<v Speaker 1>back alone, so I had to talk my brother into

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<v Speaker 1>going with me. That took two days, and by the

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<v Speaker 1>time we got back, that creature was gone. We spent

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<v Speaker 1>that winter tracking and trying to find more of them.

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<v Speaker 1>We thought there might have been a family of them

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<v Speaker 1>living in the area. We tracked them for nine miles,

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<v Speaker 1>but we never got close enough to gather any real evidence. Personally,

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<v Speaker 1>I think they ate the body of the dead one.

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<v Speaker 1>I think they always eat their dead, and that's why

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<v Speaker 1>we never find any bigfoot remains lying around. Growing up

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<v Speaker 1>in the nineteen seventies in the small town of Monroe, Louisiana,

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<v Speaker 1>you heard all kinds of stories about the history of

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<v Speaker 1>the town in that region of northeast Louisiana. For sleepy

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<v Speaker 1>little town nestled in the curves of the Wahtaw River,

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<v Speaker 1>bayous and swamps, you would never guess that it had

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<v Speaker 1>been a place of habitation for several cultures going back

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<v Speaker 1>nearly six thousand years. My grandfather and his uncles would

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<v Speaker 1>tell stories of things they encountered on hunting trips or

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<v Speaker 1>working around the family farm, or that other relatives had

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<v Speaker 1>experienced in the bayou and swamp country around Monroe. As

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<v Speaker 1>a kid, I enjoyed all their stories, even if I

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<v Speaker 1>didn't quite believe them, or I thought there might have

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<v Speaker 1>been a bit of leg pulling going on. Some of

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<v Speaker 1>the stories told to me growing up were from the

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<v Speaker 1>Spanish and later American settlers, and also from the earlier

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<v Speaker 1>Native American people. There were stories of giant, hairy manlike

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<v Speaker 1>creatures that lived in the deepest parts of the swamps

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<v Speaker 1>who did not tolerate trespassers, and they were beings who

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<v Speaker 1>could change their shapes to look like other animals. Other

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<v Speaker 1>stories were about people who would disappear out in those

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<v Speaker 1>swamps with never a trace to be found. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>there were plenty of ghost stories around the Old Garden district,

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<v Speaker 1>and Monroe had more than its share of haunted houses.

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<v Speaker 1>I experienced a few things in some of those two

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<v Speaker 1>hundred year old homes that I can't explain, but those

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<v Speaker 1>stories are for another time. In late nineteen seventy five,

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<v Speaker 1>I had my own close encounter with a big foot

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<v Speaker 1>out along the Wachitaw River among those ancient Spanish moss

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<v Speaker 1>draped trees and waterways. My mom and I had gone

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<v Speaker 1>on one of the periodic camping trips that our Baptist

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<v Speaker 1>Church put together for our congregation in the late summer

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<v Speaker 1>of nineteen seventy five. This particular camping trip was to

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<v Speaker 1>Moon Lake, just north of Monroe. This area is adjacent

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<v Speaker 1>to the Black Vayou National Wildlife Refuge, and that area

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<v Speaker 1>has a long history of strange things happening and sightings

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<v Speaker 1>of strange creatures. Our church used to camp at the

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<v Speaker 1>lake for family weekend getaways and for some retreats. It

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<v Speaker 1>was an old camp but was well maintained, so the

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<v Speaker 1>main camp was clear and level, but surrounded by old

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<v Speaker 1>trees and bushes. Y'all, I'm sorry if my chickens are

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<v Speaker 1>being loud. I've got my door open and they're out

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<v Speaker 1>there raising sand I don't know. I guess they're enjoying

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<v Speaker 1>this warm weather. But let's carry on with the story.

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<v Speaker 1>On this weekend, families had starting arriving late Friday afternoon,

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<v Speaker 1>with the rest coming in early Saturday morning to set

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<v Speaker 1>up their tents and personal camp sites within the larger

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<v Speaker 1>camping area. As each family arrived, more of the kids

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<v Speaker 1>I knew would be running around and playing tiger chase

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<v Speaker 1>or hide and seek. As Saturday progressed, we moved to

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<v Speaker 1>exploring the area outside of the campgrounds, which included skipping

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<v Speaker 1>rocks across the slow moving river looking for arrowheads. We

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<v Speaker 1>didn't find anything, but we had a grand time poking

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<v Speaker 1>around in the soft soil, and we made a full

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<v Speaker 1>day of it. At dusk, everyone was called in for

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<v Speaker 1>dinner and visiting. While we were eating, we noticed the

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<v Speaker 1>dogs some families had brought for the weekend. Were tracking

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<v Speaker 1>around the campgrounds and occasionally whining. Since we were among

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<v Speaker 1>the trees more to the north and west, the setting

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<v Speaker 1>sun made long and broken shadows between the trunks and

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<v Speaker 1>hanging moss, which made it difficult to see what the

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<v Speaker 1>dogs were reacting to. It did not make much impression

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<v Speaker 1>at the time, and as soon as we finished eating,

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<v Speaker 1>we ran back into the woods for an evening of

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<v Speaker 1>hide and seek. As it got darker. After about an hour,

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<v Speaker 1>we went back and picked up some flashlights to continue

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<v Speaker 1>our game, knowing our parents would eventually call us in

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<v Speaker 1>for the night. And as we gathered back together and

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<v Speaker 1>were talking at the edge of the clearing, a small

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<v Speaker 1>stick was thrown into our group from the area just

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<v Speaker 1>outside the lantern light. We thought it was one of

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<v Speaker 1>the other kids, so we started trying to find them,

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<v Speaker 1>and we didn't see anyone, but every couple of minutes

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<v Speaker 1>another stick would be thrown from the trees. Eventually, we

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<v Speaker 1>started concentrating our flashlights in one beam and swinging them

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<v Speaker 1>back and forth, and we tried throwing sticks and small

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<v Speaker 1>rocks back into the trees to see if we could

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<v Speaker 1>flush whoever it was out, but we had no success.

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<v Speaker 1>After about ten minutes, we didn't see anything, and another

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<v Speaker 1>stick came flying out of the trees, but this time

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<v Speaker 1>it came from higher up, so we swung the flashlight

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<v Speaker 1>beams up about ten feet. At first we didn't see

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<v Speaker 1>anything but a curtain of Spanish moss hanging from a

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<v Speaker 1>branch close to the tree trunk, and then a face

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<v Speaker 1>pushed out of the moss. Our first thought was one

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<v Speaker 1>of the kids had climbed up the trunk, but as

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<v Speaker 1>we looked more close lee the face was not entirely human.

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<v Speaker 1>After a stunned few seconds, a body that was fully

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<v Speaker 1>ten to eleven feet tall and covered in shaggy brown

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<v Speaker 1>hair stepped out from the tree trunk and moss less

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<v Speaker 1>than twenty feet away. We started yelling and running back

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<v Speaker 1>to the camp, while whatever this was disappeared at a

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<v Speaker 1>loping run back to the north. The adults had come

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<v Speaker 1>running at our yelling, and after a hurried description, they

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<v Speaker 1>took off in pursuit. They caught a few glimpses as

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<v Speaker 1>the bigfoot ran through the undergrowth and then dove into

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<v Speaker 1>the river to make its escape, and when the adults

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<v Speaker 1>came back to camp, every family packed up and left

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<v Speaker 1>that night without another word being said about the events

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<v Speaker 1>of that night, and for several years after that event,

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<v Speaker 1>you would hear stories of strange happenings around Moon Lake area.

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<v Speaker 1>When I was pregnant with my second child, my husband

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<v Speaker 1>and I decided to buy a house. The lease came

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<v Speaker 1>up on our apartment before our new house was ready,

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<v Speaker 1>so rather than sign another lease, we decided to stay

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<v Speaker 1>with my husband's family until it was done. It was

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<v Speaker 1>December in Indiana and it was extremely cold. That cold

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<v Speaker 1>slipped into the basement of my in law's house at

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<v Speaker 1>night and made it very uncomfortable. One night, I decided

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<v Speaker 1>to turn on the oven in the little kitchen down

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<v Speaker 1>there to warm the place up. It didn't take long

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<v Speaker 1>to get it cozy, and pretty soon I was sound asleep.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometime in the night, I woke up to use the bathroom.

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<v Speaker 1>When I passed by the stairs leading up to the

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<v Speaker 1>main house, I looked up to see a little girl

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<v Speaker 1>sitting on the top step. Well, I thought that was

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<v Speaker 1>my sister in law, Carmen. She was about five at

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<v Speaker 1>that time, and she was cute as a bug. Carmen

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<v Speaker 1>had long brown hair and she was really soft spoken.

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<v Speaker 1>She was just sitting there, long light colored gown, looking forlorn.

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<v Speaker 1>I couldn't imagine how she'd come down to the basement

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<v Speaker 1>in the dark, so I told her to go back

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<v Speaker 1>to bed because her mother was going to be angry

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<v Speaker 1>with her. She looked at me and said, Mommy, please

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<v Speaker 1>turn off the oven or we will die. Well. I

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<v Speaker 1>was confused by her statement, so I guess I didn't

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<v Speaker 1>answer right away. She repeated herself, Mommy, please turn off

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<v Speaker 1>the oven, or we're gonna die. She was so soft

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<v Speaker 1>spoken and so gentle and very quiet, and she was

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<v Speaker 1>unbelievably cute sitting there, but she was really beginning to

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<v Speaker 1>freak me out. However, she was right, I needed to

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<v Speaker 1>turn off the oven. I thought it was time to

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<v Speaker 1>take her back to bed then, but when I went

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<v Speaker 1>back to the stairs, she was gone. And to be honest,

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<v Speaker 1>I wasn't sure what had just happened. The next morning,

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<v Speaker 1>I asked my mother in law why Carmen would have

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<v Speaker 1>come downstairs in the middle of the night like that. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>she gave me an odd look, and she assured me

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<v Speaker 1>that Carmen had never left her bed. When I asked

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<v Speaker 1>Carmen about it, she repeated what her mother said, and

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<v Speaker 1>then my mother in law told me that Carmen was

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<v Speaker 1>afraid of the dark and she would never come downstairs

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<v Speaker 1>at night. It was a month later and I gave

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<v Speaker 1>birth to a little girl who looks a lot like

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<v Speaker 1>her aunt Carmen. My mother in law is fond of

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<v Speaker 1>reminding me of my nocturnal visitor, so I have to ask,

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<v Speaker 1>did my little girl visit me while she was still

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<v Speaker 1>in the womb to save all of our lives? In

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<v Speaker 1>the late nineteen eighties, I was a single mother living

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<v Speaker 1>on three acres of wooded land in western Georgia with

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<v Speaker 1>my kids. It was a long four day weekend. I

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<v Speaker 1>think it was the fourth July, and my kids would

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<v Speaker 1>be spending it with their dad. I was off work

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<v Speaker 1>till Monday, so I loaded up on library books and

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<v Speaker 1>treats and I had at home. I kissed the kids

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<v Speaker 1>goodbye and curled up on the sofa to write mind

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<v Speaker 1>Gotta Get done Less, and then I fell asleep. I

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<v Speaker 1>guess I was exhausted, but it was nine o'clock when

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<v Speaker 1>I woke up. Well, I was starving, so I decided

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<v Speaker 1>to fix myself some supper before heading out to close

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<v Speaker 1>up the chickens for the night and check on the

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<v Speaker 1>dog's food and water. It wasn't long before I was

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<v Speaker 1>curled up in my antique bed with my books and

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<v Speaker 1>snacks and having a high old time. Around midnight, I

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<v Speaker 1>got up and made myself a cup of tea. Then

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<v Speaker 1>I went around and turned off all the lights and

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<v Speaker 1>headed back to bed. I had laid there an hour

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<v Speaker 1>and I heard my dog under the house give a

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<v Speaker 1>little growl, followed by a sort of a whimpering wine

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<v Speaker 1>and I paused and I listened for a minute, but

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't hear anything else, so I went back to reading.

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<v Speaker 1>Forty five minutes later, I was beginning to drift off

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<v Speaker 1>to sleep when a loud bang echoed through my bed

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<v Speaker 1>bed and shook that into the trailer. I jumped up

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<v Speaker 1>and looked out the front window toward the driveway, but

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't see anything. And then I looked out the

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<v Speaker 1>east side, toward the little wedge of trees that separated

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<v Speaker 1>my property from my neighbors. There was nothing there either,

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<v Speaker 1>and I grabbed a flashlight and my shotgun and I

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<v Speaker 1>headed outside to see what the heck had happened. I

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't seeing anything, but I did hear a shuffling in

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<v Speaker 1>that little stand of trees to the east. I looked

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<v Speaker 1>hard in that direction, but there just wasn't anything there

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<v Speaker 1>that I could see. I figured it was the Jones Boys,

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of neighborhood kids who liked scaring women and girls.

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<v Speaker 1>So I swung my shotgun in that direction and I yelled,

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<v Speaker 1>I ain't scared of y'all. You better get home before

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<v Speaker 1>you have some serious trouble coming down on your backsides.

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<v Speaker 1>And then I stomped back inside to wait out the

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<v Speaker 1>adrenaline rush so I could get some sleep. The next morning,

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<v Speaker 1>I went outside to have a look around. In the

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<v Speaker 1>light of day. There were no footprints or scuff marks

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<v Speaker 1>in thy hard packed Georgia clay, and I couldn't find

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<v Speaker 1>anything beyond some kicked up pine straw in the woods.

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<v Speaker 1>So I turned to head back inside, and that is

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<v Speaker 1>when I saw it. Being on a slight rise, the

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<v Speaker 1>woods gave me a bit of an elevated view of

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<v Speaker 1>the back corner of my trailer. At the topmost edge

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<v Speaker 1>of the metal overhang was a huge dent, and it

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<v Speaker 1>looked like someone had thrown a bowling ball up there.

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<v Speaker 1>I got a lighter and climbed up to get a

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<v Speaker 1>closer look. The dent was rounded on one side, with

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<v Speaker 1>a bit of a wedge on the right. I tried

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<v Speaker 1>hitting it with my fist. That wasn't a good idea,

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<v Speaker 1>and then I got a stick and tried hitting it,

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<v Speaker 1>but still nothing. The metal was hard and apparently had

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<v Speaker 1>a wooden frame under it well. I spoke with mister

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<v Speaker 1>Jones about his son terrorizing me and damaging my trailer,

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<v Speaker 1>and he said that they were both gone that weekend.

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<v Speaker 1>One was locked up in juvenile attention and the other

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<v Speaker 1>had gone to boot camp. My driveway was a deer

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<v Speaker 1>trail from the woods to the swamp area that was

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<v Speaker 1>on our side of a major county highway. Several hunters

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<v Speaker 1>came and asked permission to hunt my land because of that.

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<v Speaker 1>Always said no, but thanks for asking. There was plenty

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<v Speaker 1>of food and water there for deer, and they had

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<v Speaker 1>open access to run the swamp and wild lands on

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<v Speaker 1>my side of our road, with safe passage to pastures

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<v Speaker 1>on the south side. I didn't want to ruin that

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<v Speaker 1>for them. It wasn't until recently that it occurred to

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<v Speaker 1>me that the dog wasn't growling at deer running past

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<v Speaker 1>my bedroom window and down the driveway. It was always

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<v Speaker 1>at the same time of night. It might be different

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<v Speaker 1>weather conditions or moon faces or nights of the week,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was always the same time. I never heard

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<v Speaker 1>deer running by or on deer tracks, even in the mud.

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<v Speaker 1>I noticed that I wasn't getting as many eggs from

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<v Speaker 1>my hens as I should during certain times of the year,

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<v Speaker 1>and produce would sometimes go missing from the garden. Then

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<v Speaker 1>some of my chickens started going missing, and it finally

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<v Speaker 1>got to the point that I figured I'd be money

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<v Speaker 1>ahead if I got rid of the chickens and quit

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<v Speaker 1>planting a garden. Before I went that far, I talked

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<v Speaker 1>to the farmer down the road about my egg problem.

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<v Speaker 1>His response was to give me a strange look and

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<v Speaker 1>ask if I was missing produce from my garden too.

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<v Speaker 1>When I said that I was, he scratched his head

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<v Speaker 1>and he said, well, isn't that peculiar. In nineteen eighty nine,

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<v Speaker 1>my son came in one day with a deer skull.

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<v Speaker 1>He found it sitting on the corner of our porch.

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<v Speaker 1>It was an almost perfectly clean six point buck skull.

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<v Speaker 1>At the time, we thought our dog had gone out

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<v Speaker 1>and found a dead deer scavenge. But I ask you,

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<v Speaker 1>would a dog clean a skull and knot you the

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<v Speaker 1>bone to bits or the antlers? And why leave it

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<v Speaker 1>on the corner of the porch. A dog would have

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<v Speaker 1>left it in the middle of the yard or in

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<v Speaker 1>front of the door. Now I'm thinking I had some

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<v Speaker 1>wood boogers visiting my place, and that's why in the South,

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<v Speaker 1>when it gets dark out and the kids aren't inside,

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<v Speaker 1>grandparents will yell out the door. You better get in

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<v Speaker 1>here before those boogers get you. They weren't making idle

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<v Speaker 1>threats to scart kids. The boogers will come out of

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<v Speaker 1>the woods, and sometimes their visits aren't quite so peaceful.

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<v Speaker 1>I've never told anyone about any of this until about

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<v Speaker 1>a month ago, and I finally told my husband about

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<v Speaker 1>those long ago experiences, and thanks to you and everyone

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<v Speaker 1>who has shared their stories, he believes me. He even

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<v Speaker 1>encouraged me to share it with you through your channel

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<v Speaker 1>and to share some of my other experiences on my chain.

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<v Speaker 1>And like I said, this woman has her own YouTube channel,

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<v Speaker 1>and I've watched a couple of videos. I watched a

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<v Speaker 1>video of them burning a house. It was an old

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<v Speaker 1>house on their property, and instead of demolishing it, they

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<v Speaker 1>burn it to give the volunteer fire department some practice,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess on fighting a fire. But the next video

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<v Speaker 1>was the house was burned to the ground, so they

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<v Speaker 1>didn't put the fire out. So I'd have to watch

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<v Speaker 1>the videos closer to know what was going on there.

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<v Speaker 1>But she has a nice little channel and it will

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<v Speaker 1>be linked in the description, and I appreciate her sending

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<v Speaker 1>this story. This is all evidence that some people call

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<v Speaker 1>it anecdotal. It does make you wonder what's going on

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<v Speaker 1>with some of these things. Big dents in the side

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<v Speaker 1>of your house and deer skulls on your porch, and

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<v Speaker 1>neighbors and you having produce and eggs and hens going missing.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's you know, that's some evidence that could be

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<v Speaker 1>to do with Bigfoot. Who knows, But ma'am, thank you

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<v Speaker 1>for the for the story, and I really appreciate it.

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<v Speaker 1>Mm hmm