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<v Speaker 1>In nineteen ninety seven, when I was ten years old,

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<v Speaker 1>I was spending the summer with my grandmother. One day,

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<v Speaker 1>she told me that we were going to Grandpa's house

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<v Speaker 1>for lunch in Geneva, a small town in Seminole County, Florida,

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<v Speaker 1>about a fifteen minute car ride away. During the car ride,

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<v Speaker 1>my grandmother and I were listening to the radio. There

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<v Speaker 1>was a bright, hot and humid, sunny Florida day, about

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<v Speaker 1>close to eleven AM, and I was looking out my

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<v Speaker 1>window when all of a sudden, my grandmother slammed on

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<v Speaker 1>her brakes and her giant osmobile, screeching the tires. Thankfully

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<v Speaker 1>no one was behind us. My head shot forward to

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<v Speaker 1>see why she was breaking so fast and driving like

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<v Speaker 1>a mad woman. There it was. There was this thing,

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<v Speaker 1>this creature on two legs. It looked like an orangutan

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<v Speaker 1>with long orange hair. We were fifteen feet away from it.

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<v Speaker 1>It was about seven feet tall, walking upright, and it

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<v Speaker 1>stopped in the middle of the road and stared at

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<v Speaker 1>us for a few seconds. Well. I turned to my

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<v Speaker 1>grandmother and she turned and looked right at me, and

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<v Speaker 1>we were both in total disbelief. Our mouths were wide

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<v Speaker 1>open and shot We turned back to the creature, and

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<v Speaker 1>it showed us its teeth, sort of like how a

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<v Speaker 1>chimp shows its teeth, and then it continued on its way.

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<v Speaker 1>My grandpa's house was only maybe a thousand feet away.

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<v Speaker 1>My grandmother told my grandpa and aunt what we had seen.

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<v Speaker 1>Grandpa said it was the Old Red started laughing. He

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<v Speaker 1>was an outdoorsman. He used to live in old campers.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes he'd even sleep outside. Now remembering having a pet deer.

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<v Speaker 1>He had squirrels and raccoons and possums, and we would

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<v Speaker 1>talk about his pet monkey called Old Red. I never

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<v Speaker 1>believed him about Old Red because I never saw it myself.

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<v Speaker 1>At that time. The deer and the raccoons would come

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<v Speaker 1>inside his trailer. He would feed them all, and I

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<v Speaker 1>would sit there just watching him. The nights I stayed

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<v Speaker 1>with my grandpa, he would try to get Old Red

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<v Speaker 1>to come out so I could sing. He'd call out, Red, Red, Red,

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<v Speaker 1>come on out. At the time, I was a quiet kid,

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<v Speaker 1>and I never asked him who Old Red was. Before

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<v Speaker 1>my sighting, I thought Old Red was a squirrel. Grandpa

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<v Speaker 1>was very protective of his wildlife. He said, the deer

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<v Speaker 1>and the squirrels and Old Red were his, and nobody

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<v Speaker 1>better hurt him or else. He wouldn't even let me

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<v Speaker 1>touch the deer of the squirrels. He made me sit

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<v Speaker 1>there and just watch. And my grandpa was a quiet man,

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<v Speaker 1>and he kept to himself, and he had a few

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<v Speaker 1>close friends. But that day he laughed his butt off.

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<v Speaker 1>You believe me now, he said, laughing and dancing in circles.

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<v Speaker 1>My grandparents are both gone now, but I still have

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<v Speaker 1>so many questions. Did Old Red come inside and sit

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<v Speaker 1>with my grandfather and eat? What kind of food did

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<v Speaker 1>he like? How long did it take him to befriend

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<v Speaker 1>to this animal? I found one picture on the internet

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<v Speaker 1>that looks like Old Red. There's an old species of

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<v Speaker 1>primate that exists around here in Florida. You can even

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<v Speaker 1>visit this creature at the Wilkiva Spring State Park. Based

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<v Speaker 1>on that, I think two scenarios could coexist. One that

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<v Speaker 1>somebody let the orangutang like Bigfoot loose and it was

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<v Speaker 1>somebody's pet at some point, or that there are wild

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<v Speaker 1>animals that look like orangutang's that live in the swamps

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<v Speaker 1>out here on the Saint John's River,