Bigfoot!

www.bfro.net

A sasquatch by any other name still smells . . . apparently. According to a recent report, a Bigfoot even might have taken place "at the Wolf Creek Campground" here in Tennessee. "Several men heard loud and unusual screaming accompanied by a fowl [sic] odor. . . ."

When I went home this weekend, I found the front page of the News Record & Sentinel sporting a full-color image from the famous (or infamous) 1967 "Patterson Footage" of a great hairy beast strolling alongside a jumble of forest debris. And why was this on the cover of the county weekly? Well, apparently Madison County has been the sight of some Bigfoot activity, and credible information, including sightings, brought a team of some 20 researchers (paying adventurers) into our area to do a little investigating.

A local family, the roots and branches of which "have lived in Madison County for generations," has been noticing signs of a strange presence in the woods. Although the newspaper article didn't mention the name of the family (which wishes to remain anonymous) or specific signs found locally, the list of evidence that brings in the trackers generally includes "distinct tracks, hair and large scat that could not be made by any known species."

Most of the activity--the human activity, that is--was centered on Hot Springs, where the field researchers met for the sold out weekend. A local businessman suggested that the leaf season tourism could be supplemented with "t-shirts and Bigfoot burgers." Even the sheriff made it into the article, saying, "'No one has reported anything about a Bigfoot that I know of, but I can say that in the 16 years I've been in law enforcement, just when you think you know something for sure, you're proven wrong." (The sheriff is running for reelection in November, and I can't help but wonder how or if his comments will affect that his campaign.)

Anyway, it all sounds like great fun! And it's taking place only a short distance from us, as the crow flies. If you can't fly by crow, you can drive there--to Hot Springs, I mean--in just a little over an hour.

It also sounds as if it has the makings of any interesting short story.

Over the last year or two, Raleigh and his neighborhood friend have spent a good deal of time looking for Bigfoot in the woods near the end of our subdivision. Hmmm. . . . Well, if in Madison County, why not here?!?

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. . . .

Hamlet in Hamlet (I.5)