1 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: Chain light and flying dogs. I'm writing this not because 2 00:00:14,439 --> 00:00:17,920 I'm trying to make believers out of everyone. Those that 3 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,960 would believe what I have to say probably already believe 4 00:00:21,039 --> 00:00:24,160 before I came along, and the ones that don't believe 5 00:00:24,199 --> 00:00:28,600 me probably never will. I can't change that, and no 6 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:32,520 doubt if anything ever will. But at least I'll sleep 7 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:36,520 easier knowing that everyone, or at least everyone who hears this, 8 00:00:36,719 --> 00:00:40,719 will know to watch out for things. Stuff's out there, 9 00:00:41,039 --> 00:00:44,679 more stuff than you ever imagined, more stuff than I 10 00:00:44,719 --> 00:00:49,679 ever imagine. I'll tell you that I was always slow 11 00:00:49,759 --> 00:00:52,119 to make fun of people who told stories that were 12 00:00:52,119 --> 00:00:55,759 hard to swallow. I wasn't there, so I never felt 13 00:00:55,759 --> 00:00:58,000 that I had the right to call any man a liar. 14 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,759 I believe some of those storytellers to be stretching things 15 00:01:02,799 --> 00:01:06,200 a little, but I always figured that something had happened, 16 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:08,799 but over time they just got better at telling about it. 17 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:12,400 You could see in their eyes as they told these 18 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:14,959 things that whatever they had run up on had really 19 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,560 rattled them. You can make up stories, but you can't 20 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,280 make up the look they had on their faces. It 21 00:01:21,439 --> 00:01:24,400 sort of like catching a really good fish. There's no 22 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,319 doubting that the fish was caught, But the more the 23 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:31,359 story gets told, the bigger the fish gets. Or it 24 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:35,040 being cold on the opening day of deer season, Sure 25 00:01:35,079 --> 00:01:37,799 it was cold, but after the tenth and twelfth telling 26 00:01:37,879 --> 00:01:41,519 of what happened that day, it'll be nearly below zero 27 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,640 with a blizzard on the way. But what never changes 28 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,200 is the way a person looks when they're telling you 29 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,200 their story. The look on their face will tell you 30 00:01:51,239 --> 00:01:54,959 whether you need to really pay attention or not. It 31 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:59,560 won't be the words, it'll be the face, Just so 32 00:01:59,599 --> 00:02:01,959 you'll know, O, mine is as white as a piece 33 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,719 of cotton. As I write this, it always looks that 34 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,800 way when I think about what happened. I've sat on 35 00:02:09,879 --> 00:02:12,919 my story for more than a month now. I've only 36 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,680 told it out loud just the one time. And even 37 00:02:15,719 --> 00:02:18,639 though no one at the time said anything especially ugly 38 00:02:18,719 --> 00:02:21,039 to me or just came right out and call me 39 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,719 a liar, I heard those kind of things afterwards from others, 40 00:02:25,479 --> 00:02:28,360 or heard that those things were being said about me. 41 00:02:30,039 --> 00:02:32,840 What I had told I had told in all honesty, 42 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:35,520 and it had been hurtful to know that what I 43 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:37,879 had to say had been retold for the purpose of 44 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:41,159 making fun of me. Those that I had told it 45 00:02:41,199 --> 00:02:44,599 to I had counted among my friends, and they used 46 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:47,000 what I had confided in them to have a real 47 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:51,080 belly laugh. They had always been friends of mine, and 48 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,960 someday they might be again, but they aren't right now. 49 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,400 I'm a lot of things, but a liar isn't one 50 00:02:57,439 --> 00:03:01,080 of them. Some of you well think I am, and 51 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:05,000 you'll say so in your comments. I watch this podcast 52 00:03:05,039 --> 00:03:07,319 as often as I can, and I read what people 53 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,919 write about the stories that get red on the air. 54 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:12,919 Now I can't do anything about how you feel or 55 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,080 think about what I'll say, but you'll at least have heard, 56 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:19,360 and maybe you'll pay more attention to looking over your 57 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,439 shoulder and seeing what is really out there. That's the 58 00:03:23,479 --> 00:03:29,319 only reason I'm doing this. Everyone needs to know. I'm 59 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,240 not much of a drinking man. I never was, and 60 00:03:32,319 --> 00:03:36,479 I'm still not. I always preferred iced tea to most 61 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:41,039 everything else. The occasional beer with supper wasn't bad. A 62 00:03:41,159 --> 00:03:43,919 coal with a burger when we would eat outside during 63 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,759 the summer was pretty good, but one or sometimes two 64 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:52,000 cans was my limit. But ever since my wife left 65 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,719 to take up with that electrician, I've started having more 66 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,319 than the occasional one, and now it's nearly one a week, 67 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:01,960 which isn't a lot, but it's a lot for me. 68 00:04:03,479 --> 00:04:06,919 Just because she was getting rewired didn't mean that suddenly 69 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,479 I learned how to cook. Dewey's is a local place 70 00:04:10,639 --> 00:04:13,000 just down the road away from where I work as 71 00:04:13,039 --> 00:04:16,800 a deesel mechanic. It's not a fancy place, and only 72 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,319 those of us that live in the town ever go there. 73 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,600 The visitors are welcome, but they don't go there. It 74 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,240 isn't much to look at, so you don't ever see 75 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:28,720 a car or a truck in the gravel parking lot 76 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,519 that you don't recognize unless someone has gone and bought 77 00:04:32,519 --> 00:04:36,160 themselves a new vehicle, and that doesn't happen very often. 78 00:04:37,639 --> 00:04:40,800 But they have a fair grill cook there and cold 79 00:04:40,879 --> 00:04:43,759 drafts on tap. So I started making a habit of 80 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,319 going there on Friday nights after work. I could have 81 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,360 a good burger and a cool one while sitting with 82 00:04:50,439 --> 00:04:53,519 someone I knew while I ate. It was better than 83 00:04:53,639 --> 00:04:58,319 sitting in an empty house. For some reason, Friday nights 84 00:04:58,319 --> 00:05:01,720 were always the worst nights for me alone. The house 85 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,439 was always still empty when I went home, but I 86 00:05:04,519 --> 00:05:07,600 was always so tired after working all day and then 87 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,199 going to dooies that I just went straight to bed 88 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,879 and I tried not to think about anything. But that 89 00:05:13,959 --> 00:05:16,839 had been before I heard how my friends were poking 90 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,199 fun at me behind my back. Now I don't go 91 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:24,439 there anymore. I just go home and heat up one 92 00:05:24,439 --> 00:05:27,120 of those ready made things out of the freezer. Like 93 00:05:27,199 --> 00:05:32,040 every other night. Going to doi'es wasn't what I would 94 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,160 have had described as being fun. It was just something 95 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:38,240 I did. But one night a few weeks ago, I 96 00:05:38,319 --> 00:05:40,439 walked in and there was a crowd of four guys 97 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:44,480 that I knew, all sitting at this one table. A 98 00:05:44,519 --> 00:05:46,879 couple of them I had known since I had been 99 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,040 in school. It looked pretty full there, so I had 100 00:05:50,079 --> 00:05:52,160 just waved and I was going to go sit by 101 00:05:52,199 --> 00:05:55,720 myself at the bar or counter. But they started scooting 102 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:57,959 around and dragging up a chair to where they made 103 00:05:58,079 --> 00:06:01,399 room for me and want to horn in. But they 104 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,519 had gone to all that trouble, so I went over 105 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:07,480 and I joined them. My Mama had raised me not 106 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,480 to be rude. There was an empty picture on the 107 00:06:10,519 --> 00:06:14,319 table beside one that was only half full. They were 108 00:06:14,399 --> 00:06:16,519 well on their way to a good time. When I 109 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:19,959 sat down, and when the waitress came over, I ordered 110 00:06:19,959 --> 00:06:22,519 a draft and the burger that comes with the bacon 111 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,319 and the barbecue sauce. It always gives me the heartburn, 112 00:06:26,399 --> 00:06:30,279 but it tastes really good. I had been used to 113 00:06:30,319 --> 00:06:33,079 the heartburn of one sort or another every night since 114 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,360 my wife had cut and rud, so I just sat there, 115 00:06:36,399 --> 00:06:40,040 waiting and listening while they emptied that second picture and 116 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:45,000 asked for another one. Johnny Lynton was there that night. 117 00:06:45,639 --> 00:06:48,199 We had played ball together back in school, and he 118 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:50,360 was the closest thing we have in this town to 119 00:06:50,399 --> 00:06:53,639 a local celebrity, or he wants to be that anyway. 120 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:57,720 He used to race cars on a dirt track, and 121 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:00,519 if you sit still around him long enough, he'll tell 122 00:07:00,519 --> 00:07:03,040 you how he won two races in a row back 123 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:07,959 in August, eight years earlier, during the summer shootout. That 124 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,120 was what made him famous. But the next year he 125 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,600 was involved in a wreck that did some real nerve 126 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:17,240 damage to one of his eyes. His left one twitches 127 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:19,560 all the time now and he can only see out 128 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:23,439 of it about half the time. Now. He still builds engines, 129 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:26,959 but he doesn't race anymore. I figured they were talking 130 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,560 about racing and memorable wrecks when I sat down with them, 131 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:34,360 because that's what Johnny usually talks about, and since he's 132 00:07:34,399 --> 00:07:39,519 the local celebrity, you sort of follow Johnny's lead. Well, Instead, 133 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,839 they were all swapping stories they had heard growing up 134 00:07:42,879 --> 00:07:47,279 about hats and ghosts. I knew a couple that Daddy 135 00:07:47,279 --> 00:07:49,920 and Popo used to tell, but I was happy enough 136 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:53,800 just to listen. Now, these guys were about half lit. 137 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,160 The looks on their faces as the stories were told 138 00:07:57,319 --> 00:08:01,480 was fun to watch, especially with Johnny. I'm not making 139 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:04,519 fun on account of his condition. He should never do 140 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:07,720 that to someone. But the more scared he got during 141 00:08:07,759 --> 00:08:11,319 a story, the more that I would twitch. And toward 142 00:08:11,399 --> 00:08:13,480 the end of one of those stories, he had put 143 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:15,720 his hand over it just so it wouldn't beat him 144 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:19,079 to death. I didn't think the story was all that scary, 145 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:21,839 but those glasses of high life really had their hooks 146 00:08:21,839 --> 00:08:25,920 in him. Being at the table was like being at 147 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,480 a guitar poll on the front porch or out in 148 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:32,240 the yard. There's one guitar and everyone takes the turns, 149 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,080 showing off what he can do with it. That's what 150 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,799 it was like that night. When one story would finish, 151 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:41,360 everyone would take a deep breath, and then someone would 152 00:08:41,399 --> 00:08:44,879 try and top it. Like I said, I would have 153 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:47,639 been fine just to listen, but I did take a 154 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:51,919 couple of turns. I had switched to drinking iced tea 155 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,039 after my burger had been eaten, so I took a 156 00:08:55,039 --> 00:08:58,399 big drink and I told them one Uncle Leander used 157 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,720 to always tell us. I told him the one about 158 00:09:01,759 --> 00:09:06,200 Old Whitey because it had always been a favorite of mine. 159 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:09,360 Uncle Leander had a friend growing up back in the 160 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:14,039 late fifties. Back then they called it running together. This 161 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,559 friend of my uncle's was the same age as Uncle Leander, 162 00:09:17,799 --> 00:09:20,759 which put them both at about sixteen. At the time, 163 00:09:22,039 --> 00:09:25,039 the parents of my uncle's friend had been killed in 164 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:28,480 an automobile accident, so he went to live with his uncle, 165 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:33,639 being as the man was his nearest living relative. Everyone 166 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:36,559 always said that the man never married because he enjoyed 167 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:39,720 doing as he pleased too much, but I never believed 168 00:09:39,799 --> 00:09:43,960 that the man has been dead and gone for years now, 169 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,519 so I don't feel badly about saying this. From what 170 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,440 I've heard, he was a likable man and easy to 171 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,720 get along with, but he was lazy, just flat out 172 00:09:53,799 --> 00:09:57,480 worthless when it came to holding down a job. He 173 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:00,360 much preferred sitting in the sun and counting the cars 174 00:10:00,399 --> 00:10:05,240 that went by to doing an honest day's work. So everyone, 175 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,200 from what I've heard, was surprised when he agreed to 176 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,279 take the boy in and support him. But he did, 177 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:13,399 and he did the best he could by the boy, 178 00:10:13,519 --> 00:10:17,919 I suppose Uncle Leander said. They never did stay in 179 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:20,960 the same place for very long. They were all the 180 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,399 time getting kicked out for not paying. They were in 181 00:10:24,399 --> 00:10:27,120 the process of looking over this new place when it 182 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:31,600 happened the boy's uncle heard about a house that was 183 00:10:31,639 --> 00:10:34,000 going to be rented for a lot less than most 184 00:10:34,039 --> 00:10:37,240 houses were going for, so they hitched a ride down 185 00:10:37,279 --> 00:10:41,039 to see the landlord. They rowed them out to where 186 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:45,000 the house sat and walked them inside. There wasn't any 187 00:10:45,039 --> 00:10:48,480 electricity on. The man said he would have it switched 188 00:10:48,519 --> 00:10:52,519 back on next day if they agreed to take the place. Well, 189 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:54,960 they didn't have anywhere to go, so they told the 190 00:10:55,039 --> 00:10:57,360 landlord that they wanted to spend the night there and 191 00:10:57,399 --> 00:11:00,440 if everything was still fine in the morning, they signed 192 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:04,600 the papers then. But the landlord agreed and walked them 193 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:06,679 back to the car to get the sack that held 194 00:11:06,679 --> 00:11:11,480 their belongings. The man drove off and they went back 195 00:11:11,519 --> 00:11:15,960 inside to unpack. Uncle Leanders said that they didn't really 196 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,200 have anything to speak of. There wasn't any furniture in 197 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:22,159 the house besides a small table and a couple of chairs. 198 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:25,799 They had a lantern and a coffee pot and a 199 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,320 can of milk to put in their coffee. The next morning, 200 00:11:29,279 --> 00:11:31,919 he said, they filled that coffee pot with water from 201 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:34,879 the well outside while it was light, and then just 202 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:37,720 sat at that table playing cards all night, since there 203 00:11:37,759 --> 00:11:42,600 wasn't any place to sleep other than the floor. Sometime 204 00:11:42,879 --> 00:11:46,080 up in the night they heard a door opening. They 205 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:49,120 jerked up the lantern and started looking around and down 206 00:11:49,159 --> 00:11:51,240 the hallway that ran off from the room they were 207 00:11:51,279 --> 00:11:54,639 standing in, and the door that had been closed tight 208 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:58,840 was now standing wide open. It was the door to 209 00:11:58,919 --> 00:12:03,759 an empty bedroom. Wasn't anything in it because the landlord 210 00:12:03,799 --> 00:12:06,840 had showed them every room earlier. But when they looked 211 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:09,039 down that hallway they could see an old man with 212 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:13,039 a long white beard. He was sitting in a rocking chair, 213 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,840 rocking slowly back and forth. They said, he had a 214 00:12:16,879 --> 00:12:19,559 cat sitting in his lap, and while he was rocking, 215 00:12:19,919 --> 00:12:23,720 he would be petting that cat. The uncle of that 216 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:26,799 boy bucked up and told the old man that he 217 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:28,919 had to leave the same way that he had come 218 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:31,559 in because he was going to be signing a paper 219 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:35,799 in the morning, making this their house. The old man 220 00:12:35,919 --> 00:12:38,919 either didn't hear him or just ignored him, because he 221 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:43,200 just kept rocking and petting that cat. That boy's uncle 222 00:12:43,399 --> 00:12:45,600 yelled at the old man a couple of more times, 223 00:12:45,639 --> 00:12:50,519 and nothing ever happened. The boy's uncle finally got mad 224 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:52,399 and jerked up a can of milk that they were 225 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:54,679 going to use for their coffee, and he threw it 226 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,639 down the hallway at the old man. Uncle Leander said, 227 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:01,799 his friend told him that went straight through the old 228 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:05,480 man and bounced off the wall behind him. That can 229 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,559 hit him square in the chest and passed through him 230 00:13:08,639 --> 00:13:13,240 like he wasn't there. The boy and his uncle bailed 231 00:13:13,279 --> 00:13:15,480 out of that house and ran all the way to 232 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:18,360 where the landlord lived a couple of miles down the road. 233 00:13:19,399 --> 00:13:21,480 They beat on the door until they woke him up, 234 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:23,679 and then they told him that they would never set 235 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:27,320 foot in that house again. Well, the man wanted to 236 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:30,639 know why, so they told him what had happened. The 237 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,279 man smiled and said they didn't have any reason to 238 00:13:33,279 --> 00:13:37,039 be afraid. That was just the old whiteie sitting back there. 239 00:13:37,759 --> 00:13:39,720 He was the man that had built the house and 240 00:13:39,799 --> 00:13:43,559 had been dead for nearly twenty years. He wouldn't hurt anybody. 241 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,480 I don't know if I ever heard where those two 242 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,639 went after leaving the landlord's porch, but they didn't go 243 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:55,960 back to that rental house. Everyone proposed their theories or 244 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:59,639 misgivings the way that everyone had already at the end 245 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:02,679 of each story. But they were all having a good time, 246 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:07,519 even me. So they ordered another picture, and I had 247 00:14:07,559 --> 00:14:12,159 my ic tea refilled and it all started up again. Well, 248 00:14:12,159 --> 00:14:14,039 I didn't have to work the next day, so I 249 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:17,799 stayed and continued to listen. All of them had about 250 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:21,440 exhausted their supply of stories that they could remember, and 251 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,320 since I only told the one, they all looked at 252 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,759 me for another one. Well, I'm not much for carrying 253 00:14:27,759 --> 00:14:31,440 the weight when it comes to party conversations. I prefer 254 00:14:31,519 --> 00:14:34,919 to listen. But I did know one more. I just 255 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,440 wasn't sure if I would get it told before some 256 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,360 of the guys went to sleep or became so tight 257 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:44,279 that we would need to drive them home. When I 258 00:14:44,399 --> 00:14:47,360 was a kid. My Pauppall used to tell me this. 259 00:14:48,279 --> 00:14:51,360 He never smiled when he told it to me. To him, 260 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:54,559 it wasn't fun telling me this story. It was meant 261 00:14:54,639 --> 00:14:57,600 to scare me into learning something about life and how 262 00:14:57,639 --> 00:15:01,399 we should live it. A way down the road before 263 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,840 I understood what he had been trying to teach me, 264 00:15:04,559 --> 00:15:06,360 and I wish that I had picked up on it 265 00:15:06,399 --> 00:15:08,480 while he had still been alive, so I could have 266 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:11,759 told him that I finally understood and thank him for 267 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:14,919 telling me. I didn't tell any of the boys at 268 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,279 the table any of that. They were getting so right 269 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:22,120 that I figured the point would just pass by. My 270 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:25,399 pup Paul told me that his grandfather had a brother. 271 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:28,639 Actually he had a few, but he had one in 272 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,440 particular that was different from the others. Now, this was 273 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,080 back in the days before there were cars or trucks, 274 00:15:35,559 --> 00:15:37,919 and Johnny would have hated living back then with no 275 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:43,039 engines to tweet. This one brother had decided to start 276 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:46,919 making his living off farming. The nearest town of any 277 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,399 size was about a day and a half ride by 278 00:15:49,519 --> 00:15:52,600 wagon away, and that was where he sold all that 279 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:56,679 he grew. He lived by himself and did his work 280 00:15:57,519 --> 00:15:59,720 when what he had grown, was ripe and ready. He 281 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:02,159 would loaded into his wagon and drive it all the 282 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,360 way to town to sell it, and when he was finished, 283 00:16:05,399 --> 00:16:09,320 he would go back home start again. He didn't live 284 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:12,480 with anyone and had no friends that anyone knew of. 285 00:16:13,759 --> 00:16:17,639 Papa said he was not a well liked man, surly 286 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:20,639 and too rough around the edges for people to tolerate, 287 00:16:20,679 --> 00:16:24,559 and apparently that was just fine by him. He wasn't 288 00:16:24,639 --> 00:16:28,960 what nowadays you would have called a people person. He 289 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,519 had gone and done what he had intended to do 290 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:33,799 and was on his way back home again when the 291 00:16:33,919 --> 00:16:37,600 rain storm blew in on him. It wasn't gest your 292 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:42,759 everyday storm. This one was rough. It already being night 293 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,879 was making it hard for him to see where he 294 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,320 was going, and the rain was coming down sideways, and 295 00:16:48,399 --> 00:16:52,559 the storm was blowing all around him, lightning striking, and 296 00:16:52,639 --> 00:16:55,840 wind blowing him all over the place. The horse that 297 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,399 was pulling the wagon was scared and was giving the 298 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:00,759 man all he could handle, just keeping the horse from 299 00:17:00,799 --> 00:17:05,319 bolting away. The man didn't know what he should do, 300 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,279 but then he remembered that there was a house along 301 00:17:08,279 --> 00:17:12,279 the road back that no one lived in. He didn't 302 00:17:12,279 --> 00:17:15,240 know anything about it just that he passed it on 303 00:17:15,279 --> 00:17:18,279 his trips each time. He thought if he could make 304 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:20,640 it to that house, he could at least duck inside 305 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:24,680 and pass the night dry while the storm played itself out. 306 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:28,200 He kept driving while all the time looking for that place. 307 00:17:29,559 --> 00:17:31,599 He knew it was on his way home, he just 308 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,240 didn't know how far from it he was. Eventually he 309 00:17:35,319 --> 00:17:39,000 spotted what remained of the place. It was all grown 310 00:17:39,079 --> 00:17:41,759 over and parts of it were on a lean because 311 00:17:41,799 --> 00:17:43,960 it was trying to fall in on itself, but it 312 00:17:44,039 --> 00:17:46,720 was still standing, and that was all he cared about 313 00:17:46,759 --> 00:17:50,640 at the time. He pulled off the road and he 314 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:53,519 tied the horse to something that ran up onto the porch. 315 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:56,720 He didn't bother yelling out or knocking because it was 316 00:17:56,799 --> 00:17:59,640 obvious that no one had been in the house in years. 317 00:18:00,279 --> 00:18:03,440 He pushed the door open and he went inside. It 318 00:18:03,599 --> 00:18:06,559 was dark as pitch inside, but all the lightning made 319 00:18:06,559 --> 00:18:09,000 it to where he could see each time it flashed, 320 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,160 and there were bits and pieces of floor and wall 321 00:18:12,279 --> 00:18:14,559 laying around. So he gathered some wood up to make 322 00:18:14,599 --> 00:18:16,799 a fire in the fireplace, though that he would have 323 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:22,319 some light and some heat to dry himself out. Once 324 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:25,440 the fire had caught and was burning well. He stripped 325 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,119 off his wet outer things and laid them near to 326 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,519 the fire, and then he laid down to get some sleep. 327 00:18:33,559 --> 00:18:37,240 Sometime during the night he began to hear noises, sort 328 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:42,079 of scratching or squeaking sounds. The man figured it to 329 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:44,880 be animals of some sort that had been living in 330 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:48,799 the old house, and that he had disturbed them by 331 00:18:48,839 --> 00:18:53,000 coming in and building a fire like he had. He 332 00:18:53,039 --> 00:18:56,759 didn't pay it much attention, but the noises just kept up. 333 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,960 He finally couldn't take hearing them longer, and he got 334 00:19:01,039 --> 00:19:04,359 himself up. He found a long piece of wood and 335 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:06,759 set the end on fire so it would have himself 336 00:19:06,799 --> 00:19:11,440 a torch to look around. Storm or no storm, he 337 00:19:11,559 --> 00:19:14,119 was going to run whatever was making the noise out 338 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:17,079 of the house so he could get some sleep. He 339 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,039 kept hearing sounds, but no matter where he looked, he 340 00:19:20,039 --> 00:19:25,720 couldn't see anything nested or running around. Finally, he raised 341 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,359 the torch up and looked up toward the ceiling, except 342 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,920 there wasn't a ceiling. There was a roof, of course, 343 00:19:32,039 --> 00:19:35,039 but inside the house was all just heavy beams and 344 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:39,279 open rafters. He held the torch up higher and then 345 00:19:39,319 --> 00:19:43,880 he saw what had been making the noises. On one 346 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:47,799 of those narrow rafters, two children, about three or four 347 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,759 years old were running back and forth the length of 348 00:19:50,799 --> 00:19:55,359 that rafter, barefooted and dressed only in their little sleeping gowns. 349 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,240 They weren't saying anything. They were just running back and 350 00:19:59,279 --> 00:20:01,920 forth from one into the other, and then back again. 351 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:06,359 When they reached one end and started to turn around, 352 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:09,440 the man looked out further and saw a woman sitting 353 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,839 at the end of that rafter. She was sitting in 354 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:15,920 a rocking chair and was going back and forth slowly. 355 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,400 She was holding a small child or an infant in 356 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,400 her arms, and she had a blood stained rag tied 357 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,960 around her head. She wasn't saying anything either, She was 358 00:20:27,039 --> 00:20:30,039 just rocking that infant while those youngsters ran up and 359 00:20:30,079 --> 00:20:34,720 down the length of that rafter. Well, storm or no storm, 360 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,160 he grabbed all that belonged to him, and he went 361 00:20:37,279 --> 00:20:40,440 running out the door. He jumped in his wagon and 362 00:20:40,559 --> 00:20:44,519 high tailed it down the road. After he had finally 363 00:20:44,559 --> 00:20:47,759 made it home and the storm had been long since gone, 364 00:20:47,799 --> 00:20:51,480 he rode around and started asking questions about that house 365 00:20:51,519 --> 00:20:54,799 that he had stayed in for a while. The only 366 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,119 thing he could find out was that it once belonged 367 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,640 to a family, and the man that owned it had 368 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:03,799 gone peculiar and had killed his entire family before he 369 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:08,039 just sort of disappeared and was never seen again. No 370 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:11,839 one knew what had become of him. But here is 371 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:16,200 what my Paupall wanted me to pay attention to. That 372 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:20,119 man because of what he had seen, spent every day 373 00:21:20,279 --> 00:21:22,680 for the rest of his life trying to be the 374 00:21:22,799 --> 00:21:26,640 nicest neighbor he could be. And when he finally died, 375 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,559 folks all said at his funeral that there had never 376 00:21:29,599 --> 00:21:33,039 been a nicer man to live in those hills. He 377 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:36,279 spent his whole life hating people and them not caring 378 00:21:36,319 --> 00:21:39,920 for him either, And then one thing seen during one 379 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,559 bad night, and all those sane people saying such and 380 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:48,039 nice things about him when he passed away. There wasn't 381 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:51,559 the normal jabber after the story that I had been 382 00:21:51,599 --> 00:21:54,960 hearing all night, where everyone told why it couldn't be 383 00:21:55,039 --> 00:22:00,200 possibly true. This time everyone just sat there being quiet 384 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,559 while they were thinking. I even saw Johnny pick up 385 00:22:03,559 --> 00:22:05,680 his glass of beer and stare at it for a 386 00:22:05,759 --> 00:22:08,200 time and then sat it back down without drinking any 387 00:22:08,279 --> 00:22:12,279 of it. It wasn't long after that, when everyone started 388 00:22:12,319 --> 00:22:16,480 making excuses about having to leave, and as enjoyable as 389 00:22:16,519 --> 00:22:20,680 the evening had been, I was glad to be leaving too. 390 00:22:20,799 --> 00:22:23,000 So we all met up in the parking lot for 391 00:22:23,079 --> 00:22:26,519 that final handshake, and we promised to get together again soon, 392 00:22:27,119 --> 00:22:32,160 maybe even the following Friday night. It wasn't anything that 393 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,039 had been said that night that had started all the 394 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:38,759 ugly talk and the fun being poked. That all started 395 00:22:38,799 --> 00:22:41,720 about two weeks later, and about something very different and 396 00:22:41,839 --> 00:22:46,599 much scarier. A few days later, I wasn't far away 397 00:22:46,599 --> 00:22:49,880 from finishing up my shift. It had been a bear 398 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:51,960 of a day, and I was looking forward to getting 399 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,839 home and doing nothing. Well, not looking forward to going home. 400 00:22:56,319 --> 00:22:58,519 I never looked forward to that anymore, but I was 401 00:22:58,559 --> 00:23:01,400 looking forward to being finished with work for a while. 402 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,519 Sometimes the days can really drag like they have a 403 00:23:05,559 --> 00:23:08,279 piano strapped to their backs, and this had been one 404 00:23:08,319 --> 00:23:11,759 of those. I was putting some tools I had been 405 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,400 using away when I heard her calling out my name. 406 00:23:15,599 --> 00:23:17,920 There's a great big sign over the door between the 407 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,039 shop and the desk where you pay your tab that 408 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:23,359 says that no one other than employees are allowed in 409 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:27,279 the shop area. Well, people pay about as much attention 410 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:29,240 to it as they do. The sign that says a 411 00:23:29,319 --> 00:23:32,279 speed limit out on trigger road is forty five miles 412 00:23:32,319 --> 00:23:36,799 an hour unless it's a funeral procession. No one ever 413 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:42,000 drives less than sixty on that long, empty straight Josie 414 00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:46,559 Mormon was walking straight toward me. I can't remember not 415 00:23:46,759 --> 00:23:51,480 knowing Josie. She was always friends with me and my wife. 416 00:23:51,559 --> 00:23:55,319 She is as sweet as sugar and still pretty easy 417 00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:58,359 to look at. She has a big scar running down 418 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:00,599 the inside of her forearm that she got in a 419 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,160 wreck that killed a man she was supposed to have married. 420 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:07,279 They were out running wedding errands and the brakes failed 421 00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:10,839 on a loaded log truck. It took him out instantly 422 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:14,279 and landed her in the hospital for a while. And 423 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:17,240 if the scar bothers joe Sie, she doesn't let it 424 00:24:17,279 --> 00:24:20,480 stop her from wearing short sleeved t shirts everywhere that 425 00:24:20,559 --> 00:24:24,440 she goes. I always thought her to be brave for 426 00:24:24,559 --> 00:24:28,039 doing that. I was afraid that something had messed up 427 00:24:28,039 --> 00:24:31,440 on her daddy's tractor already. We just released it from 428 00:24:31,519 --> 00:24:34,240 the shop a few days before, But she was just 429 00:24:34,319 --> 00:24:36,359 there to bring a check down from him to pay 430 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:39,680 off his bill. And she's real good about helping mister 431 00:24:39,799 --> 00:24:42,839 Mormon in any way that she can. But she had 432 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,079 another reason for offering to make the trip into town 433 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,160 for her daddy, and it shocked the heck out of me. 434 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,000 Some friends of hers were throwing a party the coming weekend. 435 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:59,279 She was there to invite me. It wasn't to be 436 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:02,160 a fancy kind of do, because if it was that, 437 00:25:02,519 --> 00:25:06,599 she probably wouldn't have gone to it. Josie is at 438 00:25:06,599 --> 00:25:10,599 home with everybody, but she doesn't do fancy. She told 439 00:25:10,599 --> 00:25:13,920 me it was just getting together sort of thing, not 440 00:25:14,039 --> 00:25:16,440 much on food, but there would be barrels of ice 441 00:25:16,559 --> 00:25:20,000 and cold drinks and beer, and plenty of music rolling 442 00:25:20,039 --> 00:25:22,519 out of the open windows of the pickup trucks, and 443 00:25:22,559 --> 00:25:26,880 a big fire to sit around and gab all night. Well, 444 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:29,119 I ask her why she was letting me know, since 445 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:31,400 I barely knew any of the ones that were putting 446 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,799 this thing together, and she said that it was because 447 00:25:34,799 --> 00:25:38,279 that she thought that she would enjoy being there. But 448 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,400 she didn't want to go to it alone. She wanted 449 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,480 to go with someone that she liked and trusted, and 450 00:25:44,519 --> 00:25:46,960 she thought it was time that I start getting out 451 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,079 having some fun once in a while, and she knew 452 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:53,279 that she should and there wasn't any reason why we 453 00:25:53,319 --> 00:25:57,519 shouldn't do that together. I wasn't sure that I agreed 454 00:25:57,559 --> 00:25:59,839 with her about it being time for me to start 455 00:25:59,839 --> 00:26:03,400 going out again. My being alone was proof that I 456 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,720 didn't have much to offer anyone. But I did agree 457 00:26:06,759 --> 00:26:09,640 to take her to this thing, providing that if things 458 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,880 began to get weird feeling she wouldn't get mad if 459 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,720 we ducked out earlier than the rest of the crowd. Well, 460 00:26:16,759 --> 00:26:19,039 she was fine with that deal, and I told her 461 00:26:19,079 --> 00:26:22,440 that I would pick her up Saturday evening about dark thirty. 462 00:26:24,039 --> 00:26:26,480 It was a strange thing to go to a function 463 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,839 like that. Was and realized that you knew more of 464 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,240 the parents of the ones that were there than you 465 00:26:32,279 --> 00:26:34,920 did of the ones that were throwing the deal. But 466 00:26:35,039 --> 00:26:38,119 I knew a few people, and everyone was real welcoming 467 00:26:38,279 --> 00:26:43,359 to me. Everyone knew Josie. For someone who seemed to 468 00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:45,839 stay at home most all the time, she sure knew 469 00:26:45,839 --> 00:26:49,599 a lot of people. She dragged me around to speak 470 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,759 to this or that person, and I was enjoying listening 471 00:26:52,759 --> 00:26:56,440 to all their conversations. She didn't think I was having 472 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,279 a good time, but I was she thought because I 473 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:04,319 wasn't saying much, that I was bored or uncomfortable. So 474 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,839 after about an hour, she invited me to go for 475 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:10,000 a walk with her. There was an old dirt road 476 00:27:10,039 --> 00:27:12,160 that led down to the river, and we were going 477 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,119 to go look at it. I don't know why she 478 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:17,680 thought it would be interesting to see the river, but 479 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:22,519 she asked, so I went with her. It was quiet. 480 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:26,359 We were having a nice time, just talking, not about 481 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:30,960 anything in particular. We were just talking. She even took 482 00:27:31,039 --> 00:27:34,319 hold of one of my hands in hers. I didn't 483 00:27:34,359 --> 00:27:37,079 want to do that. Mine are pretty beaten up and 484 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,519 scratched all over. But I guess that if she could 485 00:27:40,519 --> 00:27:43,079 get used to that big old scar that she has 486 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:46,000 a few callouses, weren't going to bother her so much. 487 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:49,839 It felt nice holding hands with Josie, and I was 488 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:52,599 thinking about how glad I was that I had agreed 489 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:57,400 to come. And that was when we saw it. Coming 490 00:27:57,559 --> 00:27:59,799 from the direction of the river on the road that 491 00:27:59,799 --> 00:28:03,279 we were walking on was the big, old, goofy looking dog. 492 00:28:04,279 --> 00:28:07,880 There wasn't anything special about him. He was just a 493 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,799 dog like you might see laying in a dozen yards 494 00:28:10,799 --> 00:28:13,200 that you would pass on your way home from work. 495 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:17,519 He was just a big red hound. He was doing 496 00:28:17,559 --> 00:28:20,200 that kind of trite that dogs do when they're feeling 497 00:28:20,279 --> 00:28:23,039 good but aren't in any real hurry to be somewhere. 498 00:28:23,759 --> 00:28:27,559 You know. He wasn't walking, but he wasn't running either. Now, 499 00:28:27,559 --> 00:28:29,960 I guess you could say he was prancing. He was 500 00:28:30,039 --> 00:28:34,720 just out prancing in the moonlight. Well, we weren't scared, 501 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:38,480 after all. It wasn't anything but a big old lazy dog. 502 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:42,200 Josie actually giggled a couple of times because of the 503 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:45,680 way that he was walking. Well, he was coming right 504 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,960 toward us like we were his owners. But the closer 505 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,279 he came, the more I didn't think we should have 506 00:28:51,319 --> 00:28:54,519 anything to do with him. Now. It didn't look mean 507 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:57,599 or sick. He just looked off in the head or something. 508 00:28:58,319 --> 00:29:00,880 I pulled at Josie's hand and cross to the other 509 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:03,680 side of the road. I just wanted to let that 510 00:29:03,759 --> 00:29:06,519 dog have a free pass to go on about his business, 511 00:29:07,079 --> 00:29:09,519 and I thought that to be the safest thing to do. 512 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,880 Since I was out there with Josie, I felt responsible 513 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,200 for her. I had even told mister Mormon that I 514 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:19,559 would take good care of her when he walked us 515 00:29:19,599 --> 00:29:23,720 out onto the porch as we were leaving earlier, but 516 00:29:23,839 --> 00:29:26,319 when we crossed to the far side of that road, 517 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:30,720 that dog did too. Josie thought that it just wanted 518 00:29:30,759 --> 00:29:33,319 to be petted some but I didn't want either one 519 00:29:33,319 --> 00:29:36,799 of us touching it. He went back across the road 520 00:29:36,839 --> 00:29:39,640 to where we had been, and the dang thing crossed 521 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,799 over so it could stay in front of us. I 522 00:29:42,839 --> 00:29:45,279 still wasn't scared, but I was getting a little worried. 523 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:50,039 It kept prancing and getting closer all the time. I'd 524 00:29:50,039 --> 00:29:52,519 always been taught never to turn my back on a 525 00:29:52,599 --> 00:29:55,480 dog and run, so we didn't, even though that was 526 00:29:55,519 --> 00:29:59,039 what I wanted us to do. I was trying to 527 00:29:59,079 --> 00:30:01,599 think of what we sha should do, and that hound 528 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:04,559 just kept getting closer, and I could tell by the 529 00:30:04,599 --> 00:30:07,240 way Josie was squeezing my hand that she was starting 530 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:11,359 to worry too. And we were walking backwards slowly, and 531 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:16,039 the dog was gaining on us. We stopped moving. When 532 00:30:16,079 --> 00:30:19,319 it stopped walking, it wasn't more than a foot or 533 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,640 two away from us. It was just standing there, looking 534 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:26,960 all goofy and droopy. It wasn't growling or bristling, and 535 00:30:27,119 --> 00:30:31,079 most important, it wasn't slobbering all foamy and white. It 536 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:33,960 was just standing there looking up at us with those big, 537 00:30:34,039 --> 00:30:38,119 sad looking eyes. Well this went on for a minute 538 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:41,559 or two. We weren't making a sound because we didn't 539 00:30:41,559 --> 00:30:44,079 want to aggravate it in any way. But something had 540 00:30:44,079 --> 00:30:47,480 to give. We couldn't just stand there all night being 541 00:30:47,559 --> 00:30:50,880 hemmed in by some stray dog. So I kicked it. 542 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,480 I wanted to hear it yelp and run away, but 543 00:30:55,599 --> 00:30:59,119 that isn't what happened. I don't think the dog ever 544 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,799 knew that I had kicked it. I know I never 545 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:05,799 felt anything. By that, I mean I never felt anything 546 00:31:05,839 --> 00:31:08,680 when I kicked it. It was like kicking thin air. 547 00:31:09,279 --> 00:31:11,720 It just stood there looking at us. So I kicked 548 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,559 it again, and my foot went right through it, and 549 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:18,039 I never felt a thing. It just stood there, painting 550 00:31:18,119 --> 00:31:22,240 and drooling out of its big floppy jaws. Well, now 551 00:31:22,319 --> 00:31:25,200 I was getting scared, and Josie was squeezing my hand 552 00:31:25,359 --> 00:31:29,240 like a vice. And then the craziest thing I ever 553 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:34,720 saw up to that point happened. That dog started to rise. 554 00:31:35,759 --> 00:31:38,200 I don't mean that it just stood up straighter or 555 00:31:38,279 --> 00:31:41,480 it jumped. It started to rise up off the ground. 556 00:31:42,559 --> 00:31:45,160 I mean all four paws off the ground at the 557 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:49,640 same time. It rose until it was eye level with 558 00:31:49,839 --> 00:31:52,279 us and just sort of hung there for a minute, 559 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:56,119 and its face never changed, and it never made a sound, 560 00:31:57,200 --> 00:31:59,920 and then it just kept rising up. It kept right 561 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:02,759 until we had our heads leaned back as far as 562 00:32:02,799 --> 00:32:05,880 they would go, and we watched it until that dog 563 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:09,720 went clear out of sight, and it rose up as 564 00:32:09,759 --> 00:32:13,039 smooth and soft as a balloon, and it just kept 565 00:32:13,079 --> 00:32:17,559 going until we couldn't see it any longer. It disappeared 566 00:32:17,599 --> 00:32:21,079 from our view somewhere between that dirt road and the stars. 567 00:32:21,799 --> 00:32:24,559 We didn't say anything as we ran all the way 568 00:32:24,599 --> 00:32:28,920 back to the party. I stopped her just before we 569 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:32,759 got back into where everyone was standing or sitting around. 570 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:35,519 I told her that I didn't think we ought to 571 00:32:35,559 --> 00:32:39,200 say anything about what had just happened to anyone. There 572 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:42,440 were enough rifles and shotguns in the gun racks of 573 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:45,079 those trucks that it wouldn't take much for the party 574 00:32:45,119 --> 00:32:48,240 to turn into some kind of snipepot. And as far 575 00:32:48,279 --> 00:32:50,759 as I knew, what they would be hunting for was 576 00:32:50,839 --> 00:32:53,799 closer to the moon by now than it was to us. 577 00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:57,279 And I told her that if just one person jumped 578 00:32:57,279 --> 00:33:00,279 out of the dark in those woods at the wrong time, 579 00:33:00,799 --> 00:33:03,680 then a dozen of those lubed up rednecks were going 580 00:33:03,759 --> 00:33:06,359 to open up with those rifles that they used so 581 00:33:06,559 --> 00:33:10,960 well on wild hogs and deer. Someone would get killed 582 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,200 before the night was over. Those good old boys might 583 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:16,880 have pulled a few tabs, but they all still knew 584 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:20,920 how to use those guns. She listened to me and 585 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:23,680 agreed that what I had said made since, but she 586 00:33:23,799 --> 00:33:26,319 still wanted to talk to her best friend and that 587 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:30,720 woman's husband. They owned the property where this party was 588 00:33:30,759 --> 00:33:33,559 going on, and Josie wanted to know if either of 589 00:33:33,599 --> 00:33:37,799 them had ever seen anything of the light. She assured 590 00:33:37,839 --> 00:33:40,640 me that if she swore them both to secrecy, they 591 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:44,400 wouldn't say a word. She trusted them, and she needed 592 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:48,079 to tell someone what we had just seen. I didn't 593 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:50,920 like doing it, but went with her to collect them 594 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:53,240 and drag them off away from everyone so we could 595 00:33:53,279 --> 00:33:59,599 all talk in private. We or mostly she told them everything. 596 00:34:00,559 --> 00:34:04,279 I mainly nodded when they looked at me. They listened 597 00:34:04,319 --> 00:34:06,839 to it all, and then they laughed at the way 598 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:10,679 that we really had them going. They said they were 599 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:13,239 heading back to the barrel and we should follow them, 600 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,239 because the joke like we had just told Deserve to drink. 601 00:34:17,079 --> 00:34:21,039 They walked away and Josie ran for the truck. I 602 00:34:21,079 --> 00:34:23,519 didn't blame her for wanting to go home, so I 603 00:34:23,599 --> 00:34:26,480 hurried to catch her, but she wasn't climbing in. Once 604 00:34:26,519 --> 00:34:30,119 she got there, she reached into her bag and pulled 605 00:34:30,159 --> 00:34:33,480 out her phone. I had just reached the hood when 606 00:34:33,519 --> 00:34:35,960 she came around again and grabbed me by the hand. 607 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:39,519 Come on, She said, if that dog is back, or 608 00:34:39,519 --> 00:34:42,280 if there's another one, I want pictures of it. She said. 609 00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:47,000 I wasn't wanting any part of going back down there again, 610 00:34:47,079 --> 00:34:49,760 and I told her that, but she had her jaw 611 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:52,159 set on going, and there wasn't any way in the 612 00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:54,119 world I was going to let her go back down 613 00:34:54,159 --> 00:34:58,559 there alone. So against my better judgment, I let her 614 00:34:58,639 --> 00:35:01,039 lead me at almost to run to where the flying 615 00:35:01,159 --> 00:35:06,559 dog had been. We stood right where we had been standing, 616 00:35:07,079 --> 00:35:09,320 and she had my hand in one of hers, and 617 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:12,639 I was holding her phone with the other one. Neither 618 00:35:12,679 --> 00:35:16,000 of us were saying anything. We were watching and listening 619 00:35:16,039 --> 00:35:19,639 for any little something. We must have sat there for 620 00:35:19,679 --> 00:35:22,920 half an hour and never saw a thing. I wasn't 621 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:25,639 gonna say anything, but I was awfully glad when she 622 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:28,440 suggested that maybe it was time we headed back and 623 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:32,760 went home. We turned around and started walking back up 624 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:36,480 the dirt road when we saw the lights. Actually it 625 00:35:36,559 --> 00:35:39,719 was just the one light. At the time, we thought 626 00:35:39,719 --> 00:35:42,199 it was her friends coming down to check on us. 627 00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:45,199 We figured they were way smarter than us and had 628 00:35:45,239 --> 00:35:48,280 brought along one of those monster flashlights like some of 629 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:51,079 those good old boys used for spotting deer at night. 630 00:35:52,559 --> 00:35:55,480 As it came closer, Josie called out to them, but 631 00:35:55,559 --> 00:35:59,719 no one answered. That light just kept getting closer, and 632 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:02,880 she kept calling their names, but not a word came 633 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:06,719 back to us. She finally gave them a fair chewing 634 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:09,280 out for trying to put a scare into us, and 635 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:13,679 still no one replied. That light was about the size 636 00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:16,199 of a beach ball, and as far as I could tell, 637 00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:20,119 it was perfectly round. It was also the whitest light 638 00:36:20,239 --> 00:36:23,800 I had ever seen. When it was about fifty feet 639 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:25,960 from us, I pulled her to the far side of 640 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:28,280 the road, just like I had done with the dog. 641 00:36:29,199 --> 00:36:31,679 As we were moving, I could see that the ball 642 00:36:31,719 --> 00:36:35,320 of light was rolling. It wasn't above the dirt and 643 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,599 coming toward us. It was on the dirt and rolling 644 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:42,599 like a regular ball would. It wasn't making any of 645 00:36:42,639 --> 00:36:45,480 the sounds that something rolling on dirt on a quiet 646 00:36:45,559 --> 00:36:49,960 night might make, but it was definitely rolling. I wanted 647 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,559 to do some yelling of my own when it rolled 648 00:36:52,599 --> 00:36:54,599 to the other side of the road so it could 649 00:36:54,599 --> 00:36:58,039 be in front of us again. Well, we didn't move. 650 00:36:58,719 --> 00:37:01,239 Moving hadn't worked on the and I felt sure that 651 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:04,440 it wouldn't work on the ball of light either. We 652 00:37:04,559 --> 00:37:08,400 just stood there and we watched it get closer. It 653 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:10,679 rolled right up in front of us, just like that 654 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,639 dog had walked up on us and then it had stopped. 655 00:37:14,599 --> 00:37:16,920 It was too bright to see into it, but it 656 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:20,599 only cast light a few inches away from it. It 657 00:37:20,639 --> 00:37:23,440 didn't glow or hum or throb like you might think 658 00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:26,559 it would have. It was just a perfect ball of 659 00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:31,960 light sitting there. I reached out my hand and Josie 660 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:35,360 gave me a hard jerk. She was shaking her head 661 00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:38,599 back and forth. Maybe she had been right to do that, 662 00:37:38,679 --> 00:37:41,440 but I needed to know something about whatever it was, 663 00:37:42,199 --> 00:37:44,119 and I stuck my foot up against it and I 664 00:37:44,199 --> 00:37:50,199 pushed my foot. Disappeared inside the light, but I didn't 665 00:37:50,199 --> 00:37:54,199 feel anything when it was there. I couldn't see my foot, 666 00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:56,719 but it was like nothing was there, and I pulled 667 00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:59,119 my foot out and kicked it the way I used 668 00:37:59,119 --> 00:38:02,599 to kick those rubber balls back in grade school. I 669 00:38:02,639 --> 00:38:06,159 didn't feel anything that time, either, but the light began 670 00:38:06,239 --> 00:38:10,639 to change. It split in half and turned itself into 671 00:38:10,639 --> 00:38:14,360 two smaller balls, about the size of volleyballs or those 672 00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:19,159 little round watermelons. I think those are Crimson sweets, but 673 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,719 I may not have the right name for them. They 674 00:38:22,719 --> 00:38:25,159 were just as bright as the big one had been, 675 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:29,599 and they were just as perfectly round. They began to 676 00:38:29,719 --> 00:38:32,159 roll toward us, and we jumped back out of the way. 677 00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,719 Where one went, the other one went too, just like 678 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:39,679 they were chained together. They never followed each other. They 679 00:38:39,719 --> 00:38:43,239 always went side by side and down the road a 680 00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:45,920 few yards, they rolled into a ditch, but they just 681 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:49,559 kept on rolling, as if nothing could block their way. 682 00:38:50,119 --> 00:38:52,360 They rolled in that ditch until we couldn't see the 683 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:56,360 light any longer. I didn't need her to suggest it, 684 00:38:56,719 --> 00:38:59,679 and she didn't need for me either, and Josie and 685 00:38:59,719 --> 00:39:03,920 I headed back in a hurry. We didn't say anything 686 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:06,719 to anyone. We just left as soon as we made 687 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:10,039 it back to my truck. We didn't say anything to 688 00:39:10,119 --> 00:39:13,079 each other. On the drive back to her father's house, either, 689 00:39:14,079 --> 00:39:16,159 I walked her to the porch and I told her 690 00:39:16,199 --> 00:39:18,800 that I would call her, and she said that'd be nice, 691 00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:21,480 and we both knew that we weren't going to speak 692 00:39:21,519 --> 00:39:25,000 to each other again, not about what had just happened, 693 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:31,679 not about anything. It was all just too strange. If 694 00:39:31,719 --> 00:39:34,199 she hadn't asked me to go to the party, then 695 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:36,920 I wouldn't have been there for her to suggest taking 696 00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:40,559 a walk together. And if the walk had never happened, 697 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:43,519 then neither of us would have seen what we had seen. 698 00:39:44,679 --> 00:39:46,599 It seemed to make sense for us not to be 699 00:39:46,679 --> 00:39:50,159 around each other anymore. Maybe there wouldn't be any more 700 00:39:50,199 --> 00:39:54,800 stuff like that taking place. So for the next week 701 00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:56,719 I tried as hard as I could not to think 702 00:39:56,760 --> 00:39:59,639 about all the things that had happened on that dirt road. 703 00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:04,400 Work helped. Being busy meant that I had to concentrate 704 00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:07,400 on what I was doing. But at night, when I 705 00:40:07,519 --> 00:40:10,079 was alone, I saw the dog in those lights over 706 00:40:10,119 --> 00:40:13,199 and over again. I just couldn't forget about them, And 707 00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:18,320 I don't suppose you're supposed to forget about things like that. 708 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:20,800 That next Friday, I went to do eas to have 709 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:23,559 some supper, and those same old boys were just sitting 710 00:40:23,639 --> 00:40:27,599 down when I walked in. I didn't make any excuses 711 00:40:27,639 --> 00:40:31,000 when they asked me to join them. I was hoping 712 00:40:31,039 --> 00:40:33,320 that whatever they were going to talk about would help 713 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:36,800 me not think for a while. I wasn't looking to 714 00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:40,159 be interested as much as I was wanting to be distracted. 715 00:40:41,559 --> 00:40:44,559 We all had just carried on a normal conversation until 716 00:40:44,599 --> 00:40:47,400 the food arrived, and then Johnny asked if I had 717 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:50,320 any more ghost stories like I'd been telling a couple 718 00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:53,440 of weeks earlier. He said that the ones that I 719 00:40:53,519 --> 00:40:56,480 had told were the best ones. I knew it was 720 00:40:56,519 --> 00:41:01,079 a mistake, but I did it anyway. I told them 721 00:41:01,239 --> 00:41:05,000 what had happened the weekend before. I didn't mention who 722 00:41:05,039 --> 00:41:07,639 I was with in case she didn't want her part 723 00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:11,440 in it getting around. I guess any of those at 724 00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:14,519 the table could have asked around and found out who 725 00:41:14,559 --> 00:41:17,320 I had been with, but I didn't see them doing 726 00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:22,119 anything like that. After I had told everything, the joshin 727 00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:26,519 and joking began, and I had expected it to, but 728 00:41:26,639 --> 00:41:29,320 I had also expected for the jokes to stay at 729 00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:34,079 the table, and they didn't. People that I barely do 730 00:41:34,159 --> 00:41:37,199 more than say hello to now go out of their 731 00:41:37,239 --> 00:41:39,360 way to come up to me and ask about the 732 00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:43,880 flying dog or the supernatural balls of light. If a 733 00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:47,079 person doesn't want to believe something that they've heard, then 734 00:41:47,119 --> 00:41:50,760 that's fine with me. But now people are making sure 735 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:53,800 that everyone in town knows that I've started losing it 736 00:41:54,159 --> 00:41:57,480 and have started making up stuff to get attention. And 737 00:41:57,519 --> 00:42:01,320 some even said that if I hadn't gone, my wife 738 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:04,920 would have stayed at home with me. I don't live 739 00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:07,719 in a large town, so it didn't take long for 740 00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:11,840 the word to get around. My boss even suggested that 741 00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:14,360 I keep a tighter rein on my lip and my 742 00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:18,320 imagination because it wasn't good for business if the customers 743 00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:21,320 knew that someone who was out of their tree was 744 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:26,159 working on their equipment. Now I've written all this out 745 00:42:26,199 --> 00:42:29,639 exactly like it happened, and the only reason I did 746 00:42:29,679 --> 00:42:32,320 it was so that anyone who hears it wouldn't know 747 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:36,000 to be watchful. And if you've seen things like this, 748 00:42:36,239 --> 00:42:39,920 you couldn't know that you're not crazy and you're not alone. 749 00:42:40,039 --> 00:42:42,760 I don't know what was on that road that night, 750 00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:45,480 and I don't guess I ever will, but I know 751 00:42:45,599 --> 00:42:48,119 that it was there because I saw it