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Speaker 1: He was just there. Now, I suppose it would be

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the more accurate way of referring to the thing. It

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was just there, kind of half sitting or sprawled all about.

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It wasn't sitting upright as you or I might. It

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sure wasn't standing. It looked as if it was lying

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on the sofa, except there wasn't a sofa. I don't

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recall if I've ever seen a sofa big enough to

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have held that thing. On occasion, it would look over

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in my direction, not at me, because for the moment

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there was no way for it to see me. At

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least at the time. I hope that to be true.

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It would just look over in my direction and smile

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as much as was possible. I'm not sure that it

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smiled often. It didn't look as if it had the capability,

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but it was sure giving it a good try. One

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thing I am certain of is that it was proud

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of itself and what it had done. That's why it

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kept looking over while trying to smile. I'll tell you

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what it reminded me of, But it reminded me of

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the way my father used to look when he would

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park his mowing machine in the garage after he had

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finished with the yard each week and then go walk

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around on us law. My father was always so proud

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of the job that he had done each week after

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mowing the grass. He loved the way it looked when

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every blade of grass had been cut and all were

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the same height. Again, how everything in that moment was

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just as it should be. That look on my father's

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face each week when he had finished was unforgettable and unmistakable. Well,

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that thing had the same prideful look on its mug

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each time it would look over in my direction. I

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can only tell you of what I was seeing at

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that moment, and I couldn't see all that well, but

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I could see better than I wanted to, and all

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honest see, I wish I had never seen any of

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it at all. That thing was horrible. I don't think

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it to be out of place to call it an abomination,

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something that never should have existed in the first place.

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A talking like that will likely make some folks hot

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under the collar at me, But guess what, I don't care.

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The folks that would raise came with me were never

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in a position that I'd been in. So until you've

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walked in my shoes and all that Now I've watched PBS,

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and I'm not a complete dullard. I know the all creatures,

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great and small thing and the sentiment behind it. Everything

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has a reason for being, and each one is special

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and unique and should be revered in one form or another.

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But this thing has no more business being around than

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mosquitoes or fire ants. And in my opinion, and it's

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just my opinion, the world would be better off without

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some things in it. And the thing I watched that

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was one of them. Sprawled out on the ground as

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long as some of those tiny electric cars that some

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people drive. Now, that probably weighed more than those cars too.

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It wasn't just long. That thing was beefy and solid.

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It wasn't long and lean like a college basketball player.

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It was built, I mean like an NFL pass rusher,

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big thick ropy muscles flexed and quivered each time it moved.

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You could see them all pumped up under its fur.

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This thing was bigger than Figno had been when he

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had been playing the Incredible Hult, much bigger, and Forigno

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was stacked when he had been doing all that, covered

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from crown to ankle bone with filthy, matted, coarse looking hair,

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that was knotted up in a dozen different places, like

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an old stray dog's hair would look before it thins

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out and sheds its winter coat and the spring. And

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it stunk worse than an old dog too, smell like

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garbage as you had let sit inside the can too

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long before taking the bag out, that rich, sweet smell

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of meat that had gone south. That when you smell it,

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it really isn't too bad, but the longer you're around it,

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the worse it gets. That's the way this thing smelled.

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And trust me, it wasn't something else that drifted across

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me on that breeze. I know how right that thing was,

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but I'll get to that in a minute. Thinking back

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on it as I'm writing this, I can still smell

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it in my memory enough that I can almost taste it,

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and when it comes that strong, I easily end up gagging.

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A couple of times. I've even had to heave up

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my breakfast. It's been months since the day I was there,

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and I can still see it clear as day. It's

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lounging around, just looking about, sometimes directly at me, though

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it never knew I was there, or you wouldn't be

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hearing this story that thing had no the problem with killing.

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Also know that better than I want to. You could

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see it in its eyes, and that thing didn't take

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lip from anything. They were hard eyes, like everything it

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had ever seen was ever gonna see was beneath it

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or inferior to it, big and dark, yellowing, some as

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if it was old. Maybe it was old. I don't

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know how anyone could tell. You couldn't go by how

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it moved, because it was spry enough. It didn't move

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its arms to waste something with old, worn out joints moved.

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If it had an edge, it scratched, real limber like,

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no matter where it had to reach, and some of

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those places were best forgotten, along with the smell. Now

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this thing had no shame. What it did have were hands,

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a big, strong, leathery looking hands that were covered with

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that nasty hair on the backsides. Its feet were the

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same way. It may have gotten shorted on looks, but

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it made up with the foot size. Now I fell

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a pretty big shoe, but its feet were at least

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twice as white as mine and maybe twice as long.

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But out of everything that was so horrible but hypnotizing

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to look at, I think it's teeth or what held

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my attention the most. The four in front corners of

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the top and bottom were sharp and long, like dog's teeth,

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and the rest were short and thick and blunted, just

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right for grinding against whatever meat or flesh Those sharp

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ones had ripped from something. Each one seemed about the

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size of my thumb. Before you say anything, no, all

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wasn't close enough to see them that well. One of

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its teeth was missing, and the space between the ones

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that remained looked about the width of my thumb. And now

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I'm fine with guessing at it like that. If you

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want to know them more precisely, then you go find

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one and peel its lips back and you can take

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a look. That'll be your affair, but I won't be

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going with you. I've had my share and that was

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enough to do me. Now you have a fair idea

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of what it looked like. That was what I was

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trying to accomplish, and I've described it as best as

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I could without drawing you a picture on paper. And yes,

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I have done that a couple of times. I haven't

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shown my drawing to anyone, mainly because I have no

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ability to draw. It looked like something an elementary school

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student might have drawn. But when I look at what

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I put on paper, I can see exactly what I

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was trying to draw, and it sends shivers up and

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down my spy. Anyone else might think I was doodling,

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but when I look at my drawings, they scare me

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to death. I bet you're wanting to know how I

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came to see one so well without it seeing me. Well,

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that's what I'm going to tell you right now. Now.

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I'm not especially bright, not as dumb as some, but

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not as smart as a lot. I can't ever remember

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how to tell a joke, and I never have been

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much counted telling stories. But I'm not a liar, and

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I'll tell you what happened to me, and it'll be

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up to you if you want to believe me or not.

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Of all the things i'll lose sleep over being believed about,

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this isn't one of them. This is what happened, and

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I know it did because I was there. I'm not

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what you might call a regular nine to five guy.

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It's not that I don't believe in working for whatever

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I want or might end up having. I just don't

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like being told what to do. There is something about

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following orders that I could never get beside now work,

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And to tell you the truth, I think I work

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harder than most because I'm always out hustling up something

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to do. I just don't go to the same job

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and do the same thing every day. I don't answer

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to anyone for the most part. If I go without

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supper or a pack of smokes or new use when

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I need them, then it was all my fault for

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not trying a little harder. I don't take orders, but

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I don't blame anyone but me for my situations either.

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I'm as likely to be painting a house as I

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am to be chopping saplings out of a fence row.

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I've dressed stiffs in the basement of the mortuary, and

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the next day I handed out flyers in front of

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the Pigly Wiggily for a beauty salon. It's not the

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easiest way to put dough in your pocket. But if

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I have enough to get bone, I don't have to work.

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If I don't feel like it now, I can go

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fishing instead. People locked in a cubicle can't do that

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whenever they feel like it, can They not without getting fired.

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I mean A while back, I was doing some work

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for the Italian man who owned a nursery. He's a

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real nice man, and he throws work at me whenever

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he gets these big pushes. He knows I work hard

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that I don't get bent when he says he doesn't

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need me any longer. If he had hired someone to

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do what I was doing, he would either have to

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find them something to do when the job played out

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or fire them. And with me, he just RILs off

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a few bills and shakes my hand until the next time.

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It works well for the both of us. He had

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called me and said that he had two tractor trailer

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loads of rose bushes coming in, one trailer one week

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and another the following week. Eight thousand rose bushes on

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each trailer that had to be pulled from one gallon

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pots and reset into two gallon pots so they could

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keep growing bigger. You ladies might think that roses are

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the best things since indoor plumbing, but after twelve or

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fifteen thousand, you won't care if you never see another

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god dang rose. The work was rough, but it paid well,

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so I was on the fence about it being my

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last day doing that job. A bunch of us were

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sitting around eating a sandwich in the midday stoppage when

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mister big and Zoli came walking through with the man

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who was his foreman for the nursery. They were talking

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as they walked. Actually, mister big and Zoli was talking

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and James was listening. I wasn't eavesdropping, but I did

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hear him, and it was not hard to hear. Mister

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bigg and Zoli. I really like him, but I'd never

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take him fishing. He even says good morning at the

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top of his lungs. So what do you think he

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was talking about, Well, he was talking about bat guano,

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that's droppings from bats. He had some plants coming in

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the next few days that really took to bat Guanoh,

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it's supposed to be really good fertilizer, but for the

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load of plants he had come and it was the

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very best. According to someone, he was warning a good bit,

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really badly. But the stuff was so expensive that he

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would lose money on his plants if he bought the

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bat stuff. They were almost out of the shed we

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were all sitting in when I slid off of the

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world bench I was sitting on and ran down to

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catch up with them. I got them stopped, and I

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told them that I was sorry for interrupting them, but

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I could get them some batpoop if they really wanted some.

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It wouldn't be all nice and neat and bags like

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if they had ordered it. But I felt real sure

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I could get them ten or twelve five gallon buckets

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full if that would help them out. They looked at

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me like I was crazy, but I just stood there. Well.

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We talked a bit, and they asked me where I

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could go get so much, but I wouldn't tell them that.

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And mister bigg and Zolie and James were both nice men.

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But if I told them where the stuff was, they

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would have sent a couple of guys and they could

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have gotten it for themselves without needing me at all.

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I had just found a new source for cash, and

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I was keeping it to myself. James kept mumbling about

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how what I would bring would be pure and not

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mixed with filler and sand, how sixty gallons would be

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equal to twice or even three times at a bag

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they could buy, how it would go further and be

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a lot cheaper. In the end, we settled on a

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price per bucket, and that the nursery would supply the

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buckets and the shovel, and I promised to work through

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the weekend and bring them the stuff the monday coming up.

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Those were two happy men walking away. I knew it

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was going to be kind of a nasty, gross job,

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but I was feeling pretty good myself as I went

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back to work on those damn rose bushes. Now, before

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I tell you the rest of this, I'll say one thing.

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I didn't tell those men where that backcrap was because

240
00:13:34,799 --> 00:13:37,320
I didn't want them going in and getting it, and

241
00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:39,799
that's what they would have done, and I wouldn't blame

242
00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,159
them if they did. For my own good, I kept

243
00:13:43,159 --> 00:13:46,759
the location to myself. It's the same reason I haven't

244
00:13:46,799 --> 00:13:48,799
said the name of the town where I live in,

245
00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,200
and I'm not going to that's for my own good

246
00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,799
and yours. I listened as often as I can to

247
00:13:55,879 --> 00:13:58,720
Cam's program, and I like it, and that's why I

248
00:13:58,759 --> 00:14:01,879
sent this to him. But I read the comments from

249
00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:04,320
y'all sometimes, and I don't want to turn on the

250
00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,440
local radio one day and hear about some stranger from

251
00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:11,960
Oklahoma or Pennsylvania getting torn to pieces or killed. If

252
00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:15,320
one of you curious types knew where the story took place,

253
00:14:15,759 --> 00:14:18,120
you'd be wanting to come and do some poking around.

254
00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:21,559
I don't need anyone in and up in the graveyard

255
00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:24,919
on account of what I saw, so trust me, you're

256
00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,919
better off stand right where you are and just listening

257
00:14:27,919 --> 00:14:31,399
to how things happen. Now, I'll get back to the story.

258
00:14:32,759 --> 00:14:35,840
As I mentioned earlier, I like to fish. It's how

259
00:14:35,879 --> 00:14:39,679
I relax and come Saturday night, there isn't much anything

260
00:14:39,759 --> 00:14:42,399
better than a plate full of fresh fried fish with

261
00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:46,279
onion rings and iced tea. I have this place where

262
00:14:46,279 --> 00:14:48,320
I like to wet the hook because I always have

263
00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:51,320
the pond of myself, and I never leave out from

264
00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:55,480
there without a stringer full. It's real dark there, trees

265
00:14:55,519 --> 00:14:58,320
all around keep most of the water shaded out of

266
00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:01,840
the wind, and it's my kind of place. But it's

267
00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:03,960
as hard as pushing a chain to get there, and

268
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,399
that's why no one's ever there. Anyone with a fishing

269
00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,000
rod knows of it, but it isn't worth the hassle

270
00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,919
for them to get there. But I have a four

271
00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,320
x four square body that won't ever win a beauty contest,

272
00:15:16,399 --> 00:15:20,399
so I don't mind getting there back before Hector was

273
00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,720
a put the brains in the Highway department decided that

274
00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,440
a tunnel was needed to get from here to somewhere

275
00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,519
else faster, so they figured that going through a mountain

276
00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:33,039
was better than going over or around it. What they

277
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,960
didn't figure on was that the mountain wanted no part

278
00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,399
of it. Those crews didn't get more than halfway through

279
00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:43,039
before someone realized that they were spending more time fetching

280
00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:45,679
out all the mountain bits that had fallen during the

281
00:15:45,799 --> 00:15:49,120
night than they were spending on the actual digging and boring.

282
00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:53,000
The machinery they kept having to throw away because of

283
00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:57,399
being crushed by fallout didn't swallow easily either, and the

284
00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,200
sixth man to die in that hole really tied the

285
00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,720
bow on all of it. They stayed long enough to

286
00:16:03,759 --> 00:16:07,080
shore everything up inside like they were going to continue

287
00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,440
the next day, and then everyone just split and never

288
00:16:10,519 --> 00:16:14,720
came back. Nature has been taking it back ever since.

289
00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,960
And the entrance to that tunnel that goes to nowhere

290
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,399
isn't more than a couple of hundred yards from where

291
00:16:20,399 --> 00:16:24,000
I like to fish. I expect you wouldn't have been

292
00:16:24,039 --> 00:16:26,440
able to hear yourself think down there when all the

293
00:16:26,519 --> 00:16:30,960
construction was going on, but it's quiet now. They closed

294
00:16:31,039 --> 00:16:33,679
up shop, chewed up the road on the way out

295
00:16:33,919 --> 00:16:36,200
so no one could go mess it around down there

296
00:16:36,279 --> 00:16:40,639
and set audios. But they hadn't counted on me, and

297
00:16:40,679 --> 00:16:43,679
how much I liked to fish. I don't guess they

298
00:16:43,679 --> 00:16:46,639
didn't figure on me being the nosy type, else they

299
00:16:46,639 --> 00:16:50,600
would have sealed that great hole up. The first day

300
00:16:50,639 --> 00:16:53,120
I found that pond was also the first day I

301
00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:57,200
went snooping around inside. And that's how I knew about

302
00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:01,879
the bats. I can take her leaf snakes and spiders

303
00:17:01,919 --> 00:17:05,160
and rats and wasp I may not like them, but

304
00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:09,079
they don't bother me. But bats are a different thing altogether.

305
00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:12,720
I'd never cared one way or the other about bats,

306
00:17:12,759 --> 00:17:16,759
because I'd only ever seen a couple. But inside that tunnel,

307
00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,839
well that'll change your mind, all right, thousands of them

308
00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:24,359
hanging there, quivering and twitching, and the dern floor of

309
00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:28,880
that tunnel near covered with their droppings. The first time

310
00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,039
I went in there, the smell was so rank that

311
00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:33,839
it made me sneeze. And I guess the racket woke

312
00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:37,400
them nasty devils up. They dropped off the roof and

313
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,799
swarmed around, flying about one hundred miles an hour, not

314
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,000
out of the tunnel, just around and around until they

315
00:17:44,039 --> 00:17:48,000
calmed down and they roosted again. I just squatted down

316
00:17:48,039 --> 00:17:50,960
and covered my head. While it was going on. It

317
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,359
had been like standing in the middle of a pile

318
00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:56,400
of leaves and someone switching on a leaf blower from

319
00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,839
every direction, except that the leaves and the tunnel could

320
00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,839
if they wanted to. Now I don't care if bats

321
00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:06,960
do eat mosquitoes. I hate the creepy little things, and

322
00:18:07,039 --> 00:18:09,680
I couldn't wait to get out of there. I only

323
00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,480
went back in a couple of times after that, and

324
00:18:12,519 --> 00:18:15,720
not very far either. I really didn't care if I

325
00:18:15,759 --> 00:18:19,759
never went back inside again. They could have the tunnel,

326
00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:22,720
if I could have the pond. But then the idea

327
00:18:22,759 --> 00:18:25,000
of making good money for not a lot of work

328
00:18:25,079 --> 00:18:28,480
came up, and I started talking myself into going back

329
00:18:28,519 --> 00:18:33,000
in and staying in while I worked. It hadn't seemed

330
00:18:33,039 --> 00:18:36,039
so bad an idea when I was talking to James

331
00:18:36,079 --> 00:18:38,880
and mister Bigg and Zoli, but the more I thought

332
00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:41,960
about it later, the more I wished I had said nothing.

333
00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:46,759
But still, a deal is a deal. So I went

334
00:18:46,839 --> 00:18:51,480
that Saturday morning to shovel up sixty gallons of that mess.

335
00:18:52,319 --> 00:18:55,119
I tried to be smart about everything, but trying was

336
00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:57,960
about as far as I got. If I had been

337
00:18:58,000 --> 00:18:59,960
on the ball, I would have left all my bucket

338
00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,160
at the entrance in the daylight. I could have filled

339
00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:05,200
up a couple and brought them out and got new

340
00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:08,160
buckets and some fresh air. But I was in a

341
00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:10,920
hurry to fill them and have done with this place.

342
00:19:12,039 --> 00:19:14,799
I knew the whole time that if this worked, mister

343
00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,440
big and Zoli wasn't going to hush until he had

344
00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,799
me bringing him buckets full every week. But I wasn't

345
00:19:20,839 --> 00:19:24,759
going to worry about that until later. Instead of doing

346
00:19:24,799 --> 00:19:27,640
as I should have, I stacked all the buckets inside

347
00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:30,359
each other and slid the handle of the shovel through

348
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,000
the wire loops, and I put that shovel on my shoulder.

349
00:19:35,039 --> 00:19:37,279
I would have everything I needed. Once I got in

350
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,640
deep where that stuff really covered the ground, I would

351
00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:42,799
have to make a half a dozen trips back in

352
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,400
and out, but I could go as fast as I wanted,

353
00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,160
because the buckets would be full by then, and I

354
00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,960
would be done when I started fetching them back outside.

355
00:19:52,119 --> 00:19:55,359
I had new batteries in the spotlight that's attached to

356
00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,720
my ball cap that I wear when I go coon

357
00:19:57,839 --> 00:20:01,680
hunting or catfishing. I was hoping that the light wouldn't

358
00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,160
bother the bat, since it would be pointed mostly straight down.

359
00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,440
The biggest part of the time I was going to

360
00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:10,359
have the light, and this seemed the best way to

361
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:14,519
see in there. I wasn't worried about noise either. It

362
00:20:14,559 --> 00:20:17,160
wasn't like I was going to be digging through hard dirt.

363
00:20:17,559 --> 00:20:21,200
I was just scooping up bat droppings. It was my

364
00:20:21,319 --> 00:20:23,759
plan to have those buckets filled and sitting in the

365
00:20:23,799 --> 00:20:27,400
back of my truck by early afternoon, and my reward

366
00:20:27,559 --> 00:20:30,640
for a job well done was my cooler with two

367
00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:34,119
sandwiches and three high life sitting on ice beside my

368
00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:37,839
favorite rod and reel in the truck. Twelve buckets of

369
00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:40,440
bat crap and me catching a few fish was going

370
00:20:40,519 --> 00:20:44,160
to make for a good day. The shoveling went better

371
00:20:44,279 --> 00:20:47,599
than I expected. The stuff was nasty and it made

372
00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,599
my nose burn, but it filled the shovel easily and

373
00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:54,519
fell into the buckets quietly. If I moved my head

374
00:20:54,559 --> 00:20:57,240
wrong or too quickly, I could hear the bats above

375
00:20:57,279 --> 00:21:00,960
me and getting agitated at being disturbed, but I would

376
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:03,480
face the light towards the ground and they would settle

377
00:21:03,519 --> 00:21:07,279
down again. And I stayed nervous the whole time, but

378
00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:10,519
as time passed, I learned how to operate in there

379
00:21:10,759 --> 00:21:15,319
sort of live and let live situation. Everything went so

380
00:21:15,519 --> 00:21:18,480
well that after I had the buckets filled, I picked

381
00:21:18,559 --> 00:21:20,880
up one and used it to really mash the guano

382
00:21:21,079 --> 00:21:23,680
down and pack the other buckets as tightly as I

383
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:26,440
could with the stuff so I could put more in

384
00:21:26,559 --> 00:21:30,799
each one. The buckets weren't heavy even after being filled,

385
00:21:30,839 --> 00:21:35,279
so I tried to give mister Biggins only his money's worth. Finally,

386
00:21:35,319 --> 00:21:37,920
when I couldn't pack it in anymore, I reached down

387
00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:39,960
to get the first two buckets so I could haul

388
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,880
them out, And that was when I heard the noises.

389
00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,039
It was a racket like I had never heard before.

390
00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:49,920
If you ask me while I was standing there in

391
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,319
the dark what was going on, I'd have guessed that

392
00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:54,960
a pack of dogs were really having at each other

393
00:21:55,839 --> 00:21:59,599
the most awful growling and yelping you've ever heard. And

394
00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,039
there I was so deep in that tunnel that I

395
00:22:02,039 --> 00:22:06,680
couldn't see the outdoors light or anything else. A ceiling

396
00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:09,680
full of bats were hanging over me. The most got

397
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:12,920
awful fight up ahead of me. And there I was

398
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,720
sitting in the dark with twelve buckets of bat droppings.

399
00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,839
I was figuring out what I was supposed to do next,

400
00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:23,400
and a scream came from up ahead, and then a roar,

401
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,720
like from an animal in one of the old Tarzan films.

402
00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,920
It took everything I had not to add my own

403
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,640
droppings to the collection. And then everything went quiet. And

404
00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,200
if the bats had been disturbed by all the growling

405
00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:41,279
and bellowing, they weren't showing it. The only, and I

406
00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:44,279
mean the only reason why I picked up two buckets

407
00:22:44,319 --> 00:22:47,039
and started out was because I knew I didn't want

408
00:22:47,039 --> 00:22:49,359
to be in that tunnel come dark. When the bats

409
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,839
started waking up and leaving. I didn't want to go

410
00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,160
back out, but I didn't want to stay either. I

411
00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,880
didn't even want to go fishing any longer. I just

412
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,880
wanted to go home and sit quietly with every damn

413
00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:05,519
light in the house on. I took ten or more

414
00:23:05,599 --> 00:23:08,039
minutes just getting back to where I could start seeing

415
00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:11,759
daylight again, even carrying a bucket in each hand. That

416
00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,119
I should have been back in five minutes or less,

417
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,559
but I was doing some slow walking because I was

418
00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,960
really afraid. I didn't know what I was afraid of exactly,

419
00:23:21,079 --> 00:23:24,680
but I was sure that I should be. The ground

420
00:23:24,759 --> 00:23:27,880
was soft thanks to the bat droppings covering everything, so

421
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,799
I wasn't making any noise with my steps, and just

422
00:23:31,839 --> 00:23:34,160
as soon as I saw the first signs of light,

423
00:23:34,559 --> 00:23:37,880
I turned off the light attached to my cap. I

424
00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:41,079
didn't know if anything was up ahead, but if there was,

425
00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:43,480
I didn't want whatever it might be to know that

426
00:23:43,559 --> 00:23:47,319
I was in the tunnel. Even slower than before, I

427
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:52,160
continued to walk. I saw the hump against the tunnel wall,

428
00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,279
but it didn't register with me that it was anything,

429
00:23:56,039 --> 00:23:58,400
just a big, dark hump on the side of a

430
00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:02,759
dark tunnel. The light from outside spilled in, but only

431
00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:07,160
just so far. I could see shadowy outlines, but not

432
00:24:07,279 --> 00:24:11,200
any details. Like when the sun is first coming up

433
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,599
in the morning, you can see but not all that well.

434
00:24:15,559 --> 00:24:18,000
The difference was that the sun was already up as

435
00:24:18,039 --> 00:24:20,359
high as it was going to get, but it wasn't

436
00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:23,319
going to get any brighter inside that tunnel, at least

437
00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:26,720
not back where I was standing. So I took a

438
00:24:26,759 --> 00:24:29,480
deep breath of that file smelling air, and I started

439
00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:34,839
walking again, creeping. I inched my way closer and closer

440
00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:37,599
to the entrance of that tunnel, and I could feel

441
00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,519
the sweat rolling down my back, and there wasn't a

442
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,680
sound to be heard. Not even birds or breeze from

443
00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:47,799
outside was making any noise, and I just kept walking,

444
00:24:49,039 --> 00:24:51,480
seeing a little better with each step. I began to

445
00:24:51,519 --> 00:24:54,799
feel better because I wasn't seeing anything moving up ahead.

446
00:24:55,559 --> 00:24:58,119
Well that doesn't mean that I was skipping and whistling.

447
00:24:58,759 --> 00:25:01,039
I was still more scared and I had ever been,

448
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,079
but seeing nothing up ahead was making me feel a

449
00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:08,720
little better. Whatever had made those terrible noises must have

450
00:25:08,799 --> 00:25:12,200
had their fracticing gone on, and nothing could have made

451
00:25:12,279 --> 00:25:15,720
me happier. I didn't care what had made all that

452
00:25:15,839 --> 00:25:18,960
terrifying racket, and I didn't care if I ever knew

453
00:25:19,079 --> 00:25:22,039
or not. All I wanted was for the way to

454
00:25:22,079 --> 00:25:24,359
be clear so I could get finished and get out

455
00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,960
of that tunnel. If mister big and Zoli like what

456
00:25:28,079 --> 00:25:30,759
I brought to him, I would be glad to tell

457
00:25:30,839 --> 00:25:33,720
him where I had gotten that stuff now, and I

458
00:25:33,839 --> 00:25:37,799
wasn't planning on ever coming back here again. No amount

459
00:25:37,799 --> 00:25:42,079
of money was worth this. As I neared the opening

460
00:25:42,319 --> 00:25:46,119
and could more or less see. Movement caught my eye.

461
00:25:47,039 --> 00:25:50,440
Everything was still mostly shadows and dark, but the light

462
00:25:50,559 --> 00:25:54,200
was making it possible to see outlines of things, and

463
00:25:54,279 --> 00:25:58,400
one of those outlines moved. I stood very still and

464
00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:01,759
I watched, but I did not see any more movement.

465
00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:05,480
It finally dawned on me that what I had seen

466
00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:07,920
was like when you stack a big pile of cloth

467
00:26:08,039 --> 00:26:11,440
or tarps up in a heap. Eventually a bit here

468
00:26:11,519 --> 00:26:15,000
and there is going to shift as the pile settles.

469
00:26:15,799 --> 00:26:19,480
That is what I believed to have happened. Something had

470
00:26:19,519 --> 00:26:21,880
been piled up in a heap while I was deeper

471
00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,000
in the tunnel, and it was beginning to settle. That

472
00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:29,119
was what I had seen. Feeling better, I moved closer

473
00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:32,680
to see what the pile was. The pile of whatever

474
00:26:32,759 --> 00:26:35,920
it was stank worse than the bat droppings. As I

475
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,200
drew near to it, I sat my buckets down and

476
00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,240
I pulled the collar of my T shirt up to

477
00:26:41,279 --> 00:26:44,880
cover my nose and mouth. I knew it wasn't going

478
00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,119
to help, but I did it anyway. I looked to

479
00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,680
the tunnel entrance and I studied it carefully. I wanted

480
00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:53,880
to make sure I was alone. Before I switched my

481
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,599
cap light back on. As bad as I wanted to

482
00:26:57,599 --> 00:27:00,160
be done with the work and away from there, I

483
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:03,359
was awful curious about the huge pile that I couldn't

484
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:07,319
see any details of. I switched the light on and

485
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:10,119
bent my head down so that the light wouldn't shine

486
00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:13,000
on it, and then I stepped back, holding a hand

487
00:27:13,039 --> 00:27:16,680
over my t shirt covered mouth to keep me from screaming.

488
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:22,079
It was an animal, not just any animal. It was

489
00:27:22,119 --> 00:27:25,680
the biggest thing I had ever seen, like something in

490
00:27:25,759 --> 00:27:29,119
between a man and an ape, and it had huge

491
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:32,359
patches of blood matting down its fur in a dozen

492
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,799
different places. Its mouth was wide open, like it had

493
00:27:36,839 --> 00:27:40,079
been trying to holler when it died, and blood was

494
00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:44,039
staining its yellow teeth, and big gougers were torn in

495
00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:47,519
its body, and you could see dark blood pulled up

496
00:27:47,559 --> 00:27:49,880
on the ground from where it had dripped from the fur.

497
00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,559
I watched its chest and I saw no movement at all,

498
00:27:54,599 --> 00:27:57,200
and there were no sounds of any kind coming from

499
00:27:57,279 --> 00:28:01,680
this thing. The eyes were still glads. I see, whatever

500
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,599
this thing was, it was dead and it was obvious

501
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,559
that it was. The First thing I wondered was what

502
00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,839
could have been strong enough to kill something so big,

503
00:28:12,559 --> 00:28:15,480
And then I remembered the carrying on that I had heard.

504
00:28:16,599 --> 00:28:19,799
Whatever this thing had been scrapping with had beaten it.

505
00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:23,720
I don't know if the sound made me look to

506
00:28:23,799 --> 00:28:27,000
the tunnel entrance, or if I looked and then I

507
00:28:27,079 --> 00:28:30,319
heard the sound. But as I looked toward the light,

508
00:28:30,519 --> 00:28:33,960
while wondering about what had taken place, I heard the

509
00:28:34,039 --> 00:28:37,160
scrapping and rustling of something moving in the bushes and

510
00:28:37,319 --> 00:28:42,559
deadfall just outside. I stood there, frozen, but I did

511
00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:46,160
have enough sense to switch off my light. Nothing ever

512
00:28:46,279 --> 00:28:49,039
terrified me as badly as when I was plunged back

513
00:28:49,079 --> 00:28:53,279
into darkness again. I've been on my own for many years,

514
00:28:53,279 --> 00:28:55,759
and that was the first time I could recall praying

515
00:28:55,799 --> 00:28:59,039
that someone would come and get me. I was so

516
00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,359
scared that I was having trouble breathing. It was as

517
00:29:02,359 --> 00:29:06,599
if I couldn't remember how. And then a giant silhouette

518
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:11,200
ambled into view. It looked as though it could fill

519
00:29:11,279 --> 00:29:15,400
up the entire entrance to the tunnel. It couldn't. I mean,

520
00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,519
it was big, but it wasn't that big. It just

521
00:29:18,599 --> 00:29:22,079
looked that way to me. It came walking in like

522
00:29:22,119 --> 00:29:25,640
it owned the place, but it was favoring something a

523
00:29:25,759 --> 00:29:28,559
hurt leg or a foot, or maybe it had some

524
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:32,839
pain somewhere higher up. I didn't know, and I didn't care.

525
00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:36,079
I was guessing that it had been hurt during that fight.

526
00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:40,559
I was guessing about the fight too. What I was

527
00:29:40,599 --> 00:29:43,319
seeing was the only thing I could imagine being large

528
00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:46,079
enough to have taken down that thing at my feet.

529
00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,200
It might have won the fight, but it had suffered

530
00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:51,920
in the doing. So. You could tell by how it

531
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:56,039
was moving. It was looking deep into the tunnel, directly

532
00:29:56,119 --> 00:29:59,480
toward where that thing lay dead, and the next thing

533
00:29:59,519 --> 00:30:02,799
it was going to eventually see would be me. And

534
00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:07,240
I knew I didn't stand a chance against something that size,

535
00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:09,839
so when it turned its head to check behind it,

536
00:30:10,119 --> 00:30:13,000
I dropped immediately to the ground, and I used the

537
00:30:13,079 --> 00:30:16,680
dead thing as a shield or a barrier. I lay

538
00:30:16,759 --> 00:30:19,240
there on the ground that was covered in bat droppings,

539
00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:21,920
and I huddled up against that stinking animal for a

540
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,680
long time without making a sound. I was listening to

541
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,839
hear what the other one was doing, but no sounds

542
00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:32,799
came from it. After a while, I crept up onto

543
00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:35,440
my knees and I peeked out over the dead body

544
00:30:36,039 --> 00:30:38,480
and the one that had come in had laid itself

545
00:30:38,519 --> 00:30:41,480
down in between where I was and the tunnel entrance,

546
00:30:41,759 --> 00:30:44,960
and it was just sprawled out there. I didn't know

547
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:48,000
if it was tired or hurt bad or just guarding

548
00:30:48,039 --> 00:30:51,839
its trophy after the kill. All I knew for sure

549
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,480
was that the thing didn't know I was there, at

550
00:30:54,599 --> 00:30:57,519
least not yet, and that was the only good thing

551
00:30:57,599 --> 00:31:00,839
that had happened all day. I was guessing that I

552
00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:03,680
had enough of that bat smell on me from working

553
00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:07,839
that the thing up ahead couldn't smell me for three

554
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:11,480
or four hours or so. I laid there. Every now

555
00:31:11,519 --> 00:31:14,240
and then I would hear it breathe loudly or growl

556
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,759
or rumble, and it would shift its position now and then,

557
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,119
but for the most part, it just sort of sat

558
00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:24,839
there or laid there. I kept wanting to sneeze, but

559
00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:27,599
I would pinch my nose until the feeling went away.

560
00:31:28,319 --> 00:31:30,599
My throat and eyes were burning, and I was beginning

561
00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:32,559
to wonder if I would ever get out of that

562
00:31:32,599 --> 00:31:36,880
tunneling back to my truck. At some point, I began

563
00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:40,000
asking myself if the thing up ahead might actually eat

564
00:31:40,039 --> 00:31:43,000
the thing that I was laying beside, and if it

565
00:31:43,039 --> 00:31:45,279
came back to do that. There was no way I

566
00:31:45,319 --> 00:31:49,119
could remain hidden. I couldn't slip past the thing up ahead,

567
00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,200
and I couldn't go anywhere but further back into the tunnel.

568
00:31:52,519 --> 00:31:55,400
But that was a dead end filled with thousands of bats,

569
00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:59,480
and I really was starting to come unwound. I couldn't

570
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:03,640
stop my hands from shaking, and honestly, I really wanted

571
00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:07,759
to cry. I was so scared and frustrated. And then

572
00:32:07,799 --> 00:32:10,240
I heard the thing up ahead of me began to grunt,

573
00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:13,079
and I watched as it rolled over on to its

574
00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:15,920
knees and heaved itself off the ground until it was

575
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:20,000
standing again. And when it moved forward, that is to say,

576
00:32:20,039 --> 00:32:22,920
it moved toward the dead one that I was hiding behind,

577
00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:26,359
I was sure that my life was about to be over.

578
00:32:27,799 --> 00:32:30,240
I didn't have any regret spring to mind, but I

579
00:32:30,359 --> 00:32:33,119
remember thinking that I would like a few more years,

580
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:35,880
and that I didn't want to leave this world ripped apart,

581
00:32:36,119 --> 00:32:38,839
with all of my pieces scattered around for bats to

582
00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:42,920
crap on. That big thing up ahead looked toward the

583
00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:46,519
dead one and bellowed or roared so loudly that I

584
00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:49,119
ducked my head and I prayed that it would stop.

585
00:32:50,119 --> 00:32:53,799
The sound bouncing off that tunnel wall was not just terrible,

586
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:58,119
it was deafening. I don't know why it stood there

587
00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:02,880
and yelled some animal thing I'll never understand, I don't guess.

588
00:33:03,519 --> 00:33:06,599
But when it had gone quiet again, it turned and

589
00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:11,039
began limping toward the entrance. I watched it until I

590
00:33:11,039 --> 00:33:14,160
couldn't see it any longer, and then I listened until

591
00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:17,880
I couldn't hear anything. That was when I finally stood

592
00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:21,160
for the first time in hours, and I started toward

593
00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:26,240
the entrance. I didn't run, but I didn't poke around either.

594
00:33:26,839 --> 00:33:30,240
I walked as fast as I could while listening. For

595
00:33:30,319 --> 00:33:32,319
all I knew, that thing could step back in the

596
00:33:32,359 --> 00:33:36,559
tunnel at any time. I reached the edge of the opening,

597
00:33:36,599 --> 00:33:39,000
and I squinted in the light, even though the sun

598
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,400
was starting to fade a little. Only then did I

599
00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:46,160
remember all those buckets of bat droppings. As far as

600
00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:49,240
I know, they're still sitting in there where I left them,

601
00:33:49,519 --> 00:33:51,960
because I didn't go back for a single one of them.

602
00:33:53,119 --> 00:33:56,480
When I saw nothing outside, I ran like the devil

603
00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,200
was after me, and I didn't stop until I reached

604
00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:02,359
my truck, and I climbed in and I tried three

605
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:05,160
or four times turned the key before I could control

606
00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:08,559
my hands enough to start the engine, and I backed

607
00:34:08,639 --> 00:34:11,280
up so far and so fast that I set a

608
00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:14,360
pretty deep ding in my truck bumper against a tree.

609
00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:18,000
But when I shifted into Ford, I wasn't caring about

610
00:34:18,039 --> 00:34:21,320
a dent in a galvanized bumper. All I cared about

611
00:34:21,679 --> 00:34:25,800
was getting home. I never ate that night after making

612
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:29,199
it home. I didn't drink as many high lifes as

613
00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:32,320
I thought I might. All I did was sit there

614
00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:36,800
and tremble. After three showers, I could still smell the

615
00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:40,880
bat crap and that thing I had hidden behind. It

616
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:44,199
was Monday morning before I started getting an appetite again.

617
00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:47,679
I stopped where I often did. I ate a bite

618
00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:51,239
before driving over to see mister bigg and Zoli. He

619
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:54,239
was all smiles until I told him that I didn't

620
00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:58,159
have anything for him. Now. I didn't lie and make

621
00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:01,079
up a story about why I had failed to come through.

622
00:35:01,599 --> 00:35:05,480
I just didn't say much of anything. He was quiet

623
00:35:05,559 --> 00:35:07,960
when he took the thirty dollars that I offered him

624
00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:10,480
for the shovel in the twelve buckets that I had

625
00:35:10,519 --> 00:35:14,559
not come back with. He didn't seem all that mad,

626
00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:17,480
but he hasn't called me about any other work since

627
00:35:17,519 --> 00:35:20,760
that day. I guess he was disappointed that I'll let

628
00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,639
him down, but I can live with that. The fact

629
00:35:23,639 --> 00:35:26,480
that I was alive at all was enough for me.

630
00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,079
I haven't been back to my favorite place to fist

631
00:35:30,159 --> 00:35:32,800
since that day either. I don't know if I'm ever

632
00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:36,360
going to go back there. I thought about reporting what

633
00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:40,000
had happened to the wildlife people or the Sheriff's department.

634
00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:44,039
I didn't think they would believe me, not even enough

635
00:35:44,079 --> 00:35:46,599
to go in there and see for themselves. But if

636
00:35:46,599 --> 00:35:49,039
they did, I didn't want to take the chance of

637
00:35:49,079 --> 00:35:53,000
someone not being as lucky as I had been. I

638
00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,639
guess someone could happen up on that place and do

639
00:35:55,719 --> 00:35:59,079
that bit of poking around, but I had never seen

640
00:35:59,159 --> 00:36:02,159
much sign of anyone one going down there, not much

641
00:36:02,199 --> 00:36:05,480
around the pond and none around the mouth of that tunnel.

642
00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:09,400
So I just stayed quiet to everyone until I decided

643
00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:12,039
to write it down and send it to Cam's program.

644
00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:15,440
The listeners here are about the only ones I thought

645
00:36:15,519 --> 00:36:19,719
might believe me. So that's my story. Think of it

646
00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:23,239
what you will. I was not brave when it happened,

647
00:36:23,239 --> 00:36:25,159
and I was not brave enough to go back to

648
00:36:25,159 --> 00:36:28,280
try to hunt it down. I was scared, and I

649
00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:31,800
don't mind admitting it. You can all say or think

650
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,440
whatever you want, but I know that you would have

651
00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:36,840
been scared too,