WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:14.400 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