Bigfoot's Continuing Adventures Thread

“I`d love to sail on the morning tide
or, find some wild thing I could
ride
and just like that, I`d haul off and go
I have nothing left here to hold me so
look for me on the next tide, I`ll be there
or, on the back of some critter, going no-where”

“Gone are the days, so carefree
now days are a bit harder on me
it`s harder to understand all the thing I was taught
and even harder still to explane the things I thought
it`s little, if ever that the pieces fit
and there I am trying to make sense of it
now, I seem to get even more questions the minute I start `er
knowing the answers, doesn`t always make life any less harder”

“Well now, it`s tit for tat and on a dare
and you`ll do it too, if you got any hair
each one trying to out do the other one`s bluff
and you have to reach out at times to get enough
and for love`s sake and the sake of fun
you take your turn, not to be out done
not while it`s happening, but later you`ll care
that you almost lost your life because of a dare”

“It`s ring around the rosie and hide and go seek
not to be out done the one counting, tries to peek
well, it`s only kid`s games, does anyone truly care
it`s later on in life we seem to forget how to share
we all have to grow up and I do think that`s a real shame
as we shed our skins of youth, we`ll never again be the same”

“I grew up along the banks of the Blue Bayou and it`s clear waters were and still are fed by large springs. I wouldn`t take for all the time I`ve spent on the banks and in the water itself.

Where I grew up there are a lot of natural springs flowing up out of the ground and there are big bluffs to climb all around. So, I couldn`t help but fall in love with that and I bought a place out in the Bluff Springs aera overlooking the Blue Bayou.

It`s hard to pull away from your roots and for me even harder to pull away from the water that fed them. I may one day lose everything else, but I`ll hold on to that place of mine out on the Blue Bayou.

Other than a few streams and rivers in Colarado, the Blue Bayou is the only other place one very rare form of the tiny snail darter has ever been found. This little darter has red white and blue in it and is anything but drab.

Growing up we kids found a very high bluff overlooking the Blue Bayou. The bluff jutted way out over the waters edge and made a great place to play and watch out from. We could see the folks if they tried to sneak up on us, or any of our friends coming from over a mile away.

We got braver as we got older and started jumping off that bluff into the twelve foot deep water below. I know now it wasn`t, but then it seemed like you were going over a hundred miles an hour as you made contact with the water below. It was almost like hitting the ground when you`d hit that water from falling that far. It hurt all over and would suck the air out of you as you smacked the water feet first.

Now no one in their right mind would ever jump off of that bluff head first into the water below and I sure wasn`t about to try it either. I wasn`t afraid of a thing that had hair on it back then, but falling head first off there gave me chills just thinking about it. Heck, there wasn`t but three other boys and myself that would even jump off the thing and then only about three or four times a year. It just hurt us way to much to be doing it regular and if it weren`t for showing off for girls, I don`t think any of us would have done it ever.

Well, one day a few of us boys and a few sweet little girls went there to get away for a bit and to cook out. It was in the dead of winter and cold as all get outs. The wind was kicking up leaves and the few leaves that clung to the overhead branches rained down on us as we gazed off the bluff.

Stupid me, I`m there on the very edge of the bluff looking out over the water and back towards my folks place and the world just up and falls out from under me as I go flying off into space head first. I can still see that water rushing up to meet me as I`m screaming for all I`m worth and then some. I think mouth open screaming is the way I caught up to the water cause I like to have never got all the water outta my lungs. The blue water turned to a white blank picture show, with stars shooting out of it everywhere and that was kindda neat till the pain caught back up to me and sound returned. The sound I heard was my own sorry self in real pain and a true world of hurt. They drug me outta the water and hauled my remains to the doctor as fast as they could get me there.

Seems I tore up a lot of things in my neck and back pretty good and I was going to be a while getting back to the bayou and the things I loved so much.

Now, think what you want to, but I still say I was pushed off that sucker, even I wouldn`t jump off that bluff head first.”

“Hi Big Foot,

Glad you survived. It made me cold thinking about it.”

“Thanks running girl!”

“I`m not big into this backpacking thing, I never have said I was. I`ve done it a lot, just to get the things I need to stay longer out there in the woods. But, my best times out were the ones where I took very little with me and came away with more than I ever dreamed.

It`s not the stuff I take with me, or the pain of it all that does it for me. I do it to get away from the pain I`ve been suffering from in my life, my job and when my thoughts get all twisted up inside.

One day things had piled up on me till I couldn`t stand it much longer and I tore off to the woods with very little in the way of the things to keep me there. I had a few things I needed to build a fire, an old blanket, the fixings to build coffee, a tin cup and an old beat up coffee pot.

I wasn`t worried about food, I didn`t plan to stay out that long. I just needed a night away from everything and everyone to get my thoughts collected.

It was around noon when I took off for the hills and back woods and I knew just where I wanted to be. I reached the place I wanted to be just as darkness was about to take everything in it`s grip. I setteled in for the night with a small fire along the river and just let the fire light and the sounds of the rushing water take over my thoughts.

It was early fall and it couldn`t have been a much nicer night to be out like I was. The ground had lost the heat it had stored up earlier in the day from the last rays of the sun. It was still warm, but it held little heat against the wind that picked up as the light fell off into darkness. With the coming up of the wind, the fall leaves started to flutter and clatter against each-other and the sounds they made, sounded like whispers in the night. I didn`t feel alone hearing that, it made me at ease and rest soon turned to sleep.

I was up early and caught the sun napping as I got up a fire and gathered some water to make coffee. I was well into my third cup of it as the sun did peak out and it`s first rays truned the gray that was left of the darkness into pink blotches in the sky. It was still better than a half of an hour before I saw the sun come up over the ridge and real light filtered down to where I`d made my camp.

I had planed to roll up my blanket and leave back out not long after the sun came up, but I decided I`d just stay a bit longer. The new day had a real promise of being a good one and I wanted to keep the feeling of it for as long as I could.

I got the remains of my fire out good and decided to just wander around some and see what I might could see. I ran out a few old game trails I didn`t know were even there and happened up on a doe and her fawns feeding on a ridge over from the one I was on. The wind was in my face and they couldn`t smell me and they didn`t see me ease down to watch them there. I must have watched then for the better part of an hour before they fed off and out of my view. I was just about ready to get up and take off again when I caught the movement of something else just below me in the draw. It was a red fox and a young one too. It was playing in the leaves, at first I thought it was after a mouse. It would just run for all it was worth and then skid on it`s side in the leaves and slide further down the draw. That young fox was having a blast and I was too, just watching it play. It kept playing like that till it too was out of view, but I would keep hearing it every now and then.

I felt eyes on me and I looked around to stare into the eyes of two more young fox pups that were eyeing me. They just sat there as fixed on me as I was on them. They didn`t act the least bit afraid of me, I might have been the first person they`d ever laid eyes on. The next thing I know I turn my head back towards the draw just in time to see a rabbit as it passed just feet from me going towards the two fox pups. Seems the fox pup in the draw got it up and was not far behind it and the other two pups got in on the chase. The rabbit would have got away too, if it haddn`t gone in a hole, but the pups were able to go in after it and that was the end for the rabbit. The three pups played keep away with that rabbit for a long time, before one of them tore off with it.

I got up and went back to gather up my few things and made my way back out of the woods and on up to the house. Mother was just getting supper on the table as I got there and two of my brothers were fighting over a shirt each wanted to wear. The twins tore off into the back of the house and I could hear them in there fighting over the shirt. I couldn`t help but laugh at that, I`d just seen about the same thing off in the woods.”

“RE: Fear on the trail.
With every other small noise I said oh hell
but, I faced my fears so, I`ll never tell
I up and jamed a finger each into each ear
seems what I couldn`t hear, I didn`t fear
I didn`t hear the bear that ate me while on my side
I didn`t even hear myself screaming as I died
it seems the only things I feared were in my head
I awoke from my dreaming the sleep of the dead
Big Foot
11:42:46 PM
8/18/01

RE: Brainy Backpacking Women
He`s from the old country, but what a shock
willing to give all for love, in or out of wedlock
he`s betting on love and hoping it pays
willing to turn his back on his old ways
hands well worn to work, but this job without a glove
things will come from his hard work, but how about love
willing to risk everything to better his life
will she return his love, will she be his wife
Big Foot
10:25:31 PM
8/18/01


RE: Brainy Backpacking Women
Caught all alone out in a swollen stream
all but give out, but holding on to a dream
it`s been some long dry years, but he comes up wet
looking and hoping for the love he hasn`t found yet
over his head off in it now he takes into swimin`
all men are in over our heads when it comes to women
he suffers all of the pain and hurt with never a frown
what once was a strong man in the arms of a woman is a clown
Big Foot
11:04:39 PM
8/18/01


RE: Cool scars
I have got a scar or two, but now most of them I try to hide
seems the ones that hurt the most are the ones on the inside
I`ve been shot a time or two and been cut a bunch more
some of the scars are might big and some are still sore
I`ve got some real old scars and some that are fresh
some scars cut me to the quick and others only flesh
and flesh does have it`s weak spots, I found mine under the stars
the pain may fade away from me, but I guess I`ll always have the scars
Big Foot
2:37:14 AM
8/15/01

RE: Love or Money
I`m not outta love so, this is gonna sound funny
more than anything I want love, to hell with money
with love you dance to music, you can fly and hear the birds sing
without love, things and money are stuff that don`t mean a thing
you can take all of that money and give it a shove
I`d rather be pennyless and have someone to love


Big Foot
1:25:26 AM
8/10/01

RE: Love or Money
Love is for the living so, we keep on tryin`
it`s those that have none that you see cryin`
money can rent you some love by the hour, or it could even buy her a ring
you can have love without money, but money without love`s not worth a thing
I knew love once, but now that too is lost
only after it`s gone do you know what it cost
Big Foot
9:53:37 AM
8/10/01


RE: Love or Money
More than money, diamonds, or gold
we had young love, I wanted to know her love even when I grew old
you can`t look at love and figure the real cost
we were once so close together and now I`m lost
both of us stood together that night, what once was two
I thought I knew the worth of true love, but I never knew
never again will I know her lips, her laughter, or hear her sing
my arms are so empty without her in them, it cost me everything
Big Foot
4:19:31 PM
8/10/01


RE: Love or Money
Naughty by nature, but shy in real life
I`ve only known one love and her my wife
I loved her more than life, but I see she didn`t love me
now it`s two lost souls, cast off in a deep endless sea
no right or wrong in this, but cast adrift
I always saw your love as some kindda gift
over nothing it seems, you sailed away
now I`ll know emptiness to my dying day
maybe I tempted fait once to often and this time it cost
it`s sad you only know the worth of a it, after it`s lost
Big Foot
4:12:13 PM
8/12/01

RE: What I leaned from TT
It`s one thing to look and yet another thing to see
what you make of a thing may not be what it is to me
both of us looking and not seeing it just right
should lead us to understanding it, not a fight
but, if it`s a fight you want, then just feel free
this is the right place for that stuff, here on TT
Big Foot
10:44:02 AM
8/13/01


RE: looking for hiking partner
Hello, is there anybody else out there
everyone`s looking for a hiking partner
maybe someone that can stay in step with you
that likes the beauty in nature the way you do
and it makes you push yourself further than you ever wanted to
you lose yourself in it and find happiness before you`re through
but, every adventure has it`s begining and has it`s own end
it makes it nice when a hiking partner turns into your friend

Big Foot
10:43:18 AM
8/14/01

RE: Where's Naked Ape?
I heard tell of an ol` boy on a river with a blow up Bettey and a roll of duct tape
seems his Betty had to many new holes in `er, could this be the missing Naked Ape
it very well could be him, with him, you just never can tell
where ever you are Naked, I hope you`re happy and doing well
Big Foot
1:40:26 AM
8/10/01

RE: Getting Some-O-Meter
Well, it was late Friday evening when TEXwoodswoman arrived at my house, with her two sons, Cory and Kyle.

Being the wizzard with names that I am I called `em both bubba, or Bud, sweet, or sweetie. I just never could do names, sorry boys.

We got to shady lake even later because I wasn`t ready when they did arrive,...long story, but we got there and got Tex`s tent up in the dark and soon after that I crawled into my camper and drifted off to sleep.

OH, I did see a bear while driving in to the lake and a few deer the first night and the coon rading party.

Saturday morning broke clear and hot, with a light wind blowing, but it soon turned into heat shimmers that would suck the life outta you.

Cory and Kyle wanted to fish and as soon as breakfast was over we all went down to the water`s edge and had a go at it. The boys took to fishing like ducks to water and I had a great time just watching them and Tex catch fish. I think the boys are hooked on fishing now, it`s all they wanted to do from then on.

We got lunch over with and cleaned up and put away and went down to the swiming aera and those two boys are water puppies sure enough. They love anything that has to do with water and the two boys are cut ups. The younger one, Kyle doesn`t know a stranger and quickly made new friends. Cory comes on strong in his own right, but holds back a bit at first. It was fun just to watch those two make up new games.

Supper was T-bones and baked potatoes for Tex and I and the boys had hot dogs and marshmallows. The boys took to an open fire pretty well also and it was hard to get them to make an end of it.

Sunday morning was nicer than the day before with a lot more wind blowing, but the events were pretty much the same as the day before, but while we were fishing, up drives Bpbaby, after a long night`s drive.

For dinner we had a fish fry, with most all of the fixin`s. I had a lot of fun trying to listen as Tex and Baby were talking and giving me a hard time of it. You gotta watch those two, they will work together against a fellow.LOL

The fish fry over it was back off to the water for a swim, before breaking down camp and calling it quits. Those are some real good people and any of you that get the chance to meet up with them will come away better for it.

We broke camp and while I was backing up and fixing to drive away, I remembered my dog was tied to the bumper of my truck,....poor Oscar, but he was fine, he was none the worse for the wear but it took the wind outta my sails for a bit there.
It looked like something right out of Lampoon`s family vacation.

We left the lake and parted ways soon after that, but for a long time I`ll have the moments we shared there together.

Thanks.....
Big Foot
6:46:31 PM
8/6/01

RE: Getting Some-O-Meter
I can`t speak for the others that went, but I had a good time and got to meet some very nice folks and two great young men in the making.

I enjoyed sharing moments with them that will last me a lifetime, if I work it right. It`s the people and the places that make smiles on old faces. I hope I never look back on this past weekend and forget to smile.

As for Bacpac, he was invited and it would have been nice to get to see and meet up with him. He even would have gone away with a smile and a few new friends.

Bacpac,.you missed a great time.

Here`s to wood smoke, an open fire and laughter, good food, great times and new and old friends..... Great Times
Big Foot
7:23:05 PM
8/7/01

RE: Getting Some-O-Meter
It`s not at all what I`d call fishin`, but what the heck
two young boys with a minnow net leanin` over the deck
eager they dart their nets at the fish, they can`t wait
two youg lads fishing with a net and hot dogs for bait
nothing caught that way, but they had loads of fun
I would have fainted dead away had they caught them one
they were two eager little boys, what more can I say
it was fun to set and watch them as they fished away
Big Foot
11:11:02 AM
8/8/01

RE: Getting Some-O-Meter
LadyHiker, ... Tex and Baby are fun, but one of `em`s a meanie, I`ll not say which
keep your eye on those two all of the time and I know you`ll have fun in the ditch
I think they`re both an awful lot of fun, but I gotta confess
they`re up to something all of the time, but they`re a good mess
those two took in on me and they never did get done
I wish I could make the ditch trip, you`ll have fun
Big Foot
9:43:32 AM
8/9/01

RE: Spunk-O-Meter
I used to be full of spunk, even when things were mighty ruff
and when it came to good, or bad times, I couldn`t get enough
and more times than not, you`d catch me going again to the well
as long as I got plenty of cold water, I can take a lot of hell
and it gets me to thinkin` you all are so dry you couldn`t spit
what does it bother you what she wears or doesn`t, get over it
but, there are things in life I can`t stand and I`ve had enough
if you`re not in the springs, why do you mind her being in the buff
Big Foot
12:15:22 PM
8/3/01


RE: Spunk-O-Meter
Once I could run just like the wind, now I can`t so, I try to stand out of the way
fear the things that can hurt you, but don`t take to heart what some will say
it`s better that you should go on with your living and seeing life the way you do
words can and do hurt us all, but if you don`t let it show, they`ll never know how true
Big Foot
12:32:23 PM
8/3/01


RE: Car Camping
We found this old logging road that ran off to the backside of no-where and just played out, not even a turn around at the end of it.

A ways this side of it`s ending there was the nicest deep river you ever laid eyes on. It just begged to be explored and have a bait cast out into it`s many deep pockets.

I got some friends together that shared my love for wild things and places and off we go bent on a good time lost off on our own.

We set up camp and gather firewood for the cooking and for the long nights of laughter and talk that a fire seems to lend itself to. Ice chests are drug out, card tables placed, lanterns hung at the ready, tents up and stuff stowed away, we cut out to see what there is to see and do.

We`re gone for hours and come back to find we have company and it`s not goldy locks, not by a long shot it isn`t. It`s this rude creature in much need of a bath and some manners.

Seems he arrived and finding no one about the place, he just made himself to home and cooked up the better part of our bacon and eggs we were going to have for breakfast. He`d helped himself to what ever it was he wanted to drink, the cans strown and tossed off nearby like the place was his and he was remodeling.

He`d gone through all of our things and just left `em laying where he`d tossed `em off in his search.

Well, I`ve already made this a long story so, I`ll just make it short now. He got that bath he`d been needing and I was in the middle of teaching him manners 101 and my so called friends drug me up off of his neck.

Did I tell you this guy was rude,...well he was, he didn`t much more than get some air back in his lungs good and he was off like a shot, not so much as a thank you for the good time, or the food and drinks were nice or any pleasentries at all. If I didn`t know better you`d a thought he haddn`t been welcomed properly.

Come to think back on it, that wasn`t that bad of a car camping trip after all, I enjoyed it..lol
Big Foot
1:04:03 PM
8/2/01

RE: Dreams
Well there was this time I was walking along the Cimmeron river in Colorado Springs Colarado and it was like the earth was suking me under. It pulled at each foot each step I`d make and the going was awful. I`d about made it half way across a sand bar that reached out into the river and I was making my way to the other side. The more I walked the more it pulled down on me and I was going under to the knees. Try as I might I couldn`t beak free of the grip the earth had on me and I was down past my hips in no time at all and still sinking into the unknown. The more I tried to free myself, the faster I`d slip from seight, till only my head and one shoulder was sticking out. I freaked out and went to screaming for all I was worth and two men walking in the woods nearby came to my rescure.

They got a big tree limb and ran it out to me and I tried to pull free again and they pulled, but I was stuck so hard they couldn`t free me.

One man stayed with me while the other ran for more help. It seemed like it was hours, but in truth it didn`t take him that long at all and four more men showed up with him. They had a big ladder and a bunch of ropes and they set in trying to get me out of there. One of the men worked his way out on the ladder and placed a rope around my shoulders and him and another man did pull me free after a time.

Oops, that wasn`t a dream, that happened,..sorry. I guess I don`t have a dream I can share, but it seems like it was, I was four years old when that happened.

Maybe it was just a dream...LOL
Big Foot
3:00:43 PM
7/31/01


RE: Dreams
So,... I`m there in fits of slumber and thinking about the next days events and tyring to plan it all out as I drift off into la la land. The woods are alive with spiders and walkingsticks and every few steps I make I have to clear `em off my face or get `em outta my shirt. This pesky spider is trying to eat my face off and I slap down on the bugger with enough force to drive it deep into the ground, but instead of hearing it pop, I hear this blood curdling scream. I bolt upright and almost have myself a runaway then and there.

Seems while in my sleep, my hiking partner`s hair brushed up against my face and my hand came down hard and fast right between his eyes.

He didn`t find that as funny as I did for some reason and for the rest of what turned out to be a sleepless long night for both of us, he cussed me, non-stop and loud. And I used to think his snoring was bad...lol
Big Foot
11:55:17 AM
8/2/01

RE: I am Svetlina
Svetlina, Please don`t leave us, what did we say
talk Russian to me, I love it when you talk that way
I see another side of you that before I didn`t see
come back please you little hottie and talk to me
maybe I wasn`t thinking good before, but now you got me thinking some
there could be more than meets the eyes here, YES, sweet one, please come
Big Foot
10:41:23 AM
7/9/01


RE: I am Svetlina
Hi there sweetie, I`ve been missing you a lot
I got your note and for the life of me that made me hot
the way you talk, the way you think and the way you let me see
I don`t know what I was thinking,
but you`re the only girl for me
my arms ache to hold you and my lips burn for your kiss
please hurry sweetheart, don`t leave me alone like this
never again will I want if this dream will come true
I hold out hope, I count the minutes waiting on you
so, hurry love, find your wings and fly
I hunger for your love, without it I will die

Big Foot
11:09:16 PM
7/9/01

RE: I am Svetlina
It is flowers that I would bring
and love songs that I would sing
if you were my love and loved me
I`d show you love like it can be
no more would I have to write like this
we`d fall into the other`s arms and kiss
arms together, lips pressed as close as they can get
hurry love, I`ll show you love you`ve not known yet
Big Foot
1:22:08 PM
7/10/01


RE: I am Svetlina
Sweet little one, I`m not called bigfoot for nothing
if you are the bird, I got what it takes to do the stuffing
you just get here and don`t worry your little head about the size
I`m packing plenty to frog out your pretty little eyes
Big Foot
1:51:53 PM
7/10/01


RE: I am Svetlina
The hurt and the pain of the past still causes me to bleed
could you be my everything in life and be all that I need
are you the one with the smile I need and the soft touch
if you are that one in my life, I`ll love you twice as much
I`ll build a fire in you love, then cool you like a mountain stream
hurry sweet one and with your kisses wake me from this awful dream
Big Foot
11:39:15 AM
7/11/01


RE: I am Svetlina
You in my arms and us sharing a kiss
every night my dreams start like this
and each time it turns out the same
I wake myself calling out your name
I can feel, smell and taste you, my lips pressed to your neck, you fit like a glove
you may yet be many, many miles away sweetheart, but I can already feel your love
it`s an empty bed I wake up to and shredded covers
Please hurry love, I can`t wait for us to be lovers
I look down at my empty hands and try to busy them and then look at the clock above
times just stands still for me without you here sweetheart, Please hurry love
Big Foot
12:42:31 PM
7/12/01

RE: I am Svetlina
Love turns to fire, what once was cold
clumsy at first, the kisses grow bold
two hearts racing, lungs about to burst
love`s hunger to lust to quench a thirst
hands tremble, but wanting to play
slow, cautious, but searching a way
time doesn`t matter, it seems to stand still
love finds a way, give it it`s head, it will
love is just as old as time is, but it seems so new
love`s it`s own master, when it has it`s way with you
long grass for a bed and thousands of stars dancing above
it was a time made for two young lovers to learn about love
Big Foot
1:51:12 PM
7/30/01


RE: I am Svetlina
Why is it that the hurt and pain never end
weak enough to break, to strong to bend
there`s never and end to it, or so it`d seem
lost in another time, caught up in a dream
dreams can happen and they can come true
why is it, that I`ll never get over you
you haunt my sleep and when I`m awake
how much more can one poor man take
Big Foot
4:11:13 PM
7/30/01


RE: I am Svetlina
A woman and a man full of desire
smothered kisses to fan the fire
without you, it`s just things that I got
it`s your silken skin that gets me so hot
each to their own as we both take us a turn
just the heat from one makes the other burn
it`s things like this that gets me into all of those tights
it`s those southern women and those hot southern nights
I don`t need drugs, I couldn`t get and higher
just those soft wet kisses that turn into fire
Big Foot
1:51:26 PM
7/31/01


RE: Hey ya'll, watch this!
This has nothing to do with me, let me just make that clear
but, you know how people talk, tell me, what did you hear
with the tent all up and the wind howling just like a cat
the seams opened up and there was a wind sail as fast as that
a fish hook and some fishing line was used for thread
in front of God and everyone, it wasn`t me, I don`t care what was said
I`ll not say more about it, I think that`s about enough
change of heart, change of mind, change of clothes, caught in the buff

Big Foot
11:08:25 AM
7/27/01

RE: Hey ya'll, watch this!
Caught in the throws of passion, off in the land of pure bliss
it`s wasn`t like it was planed and I yelled hey ya`ll watch this
here`s a crayon, paint your own dirty picture, you will anyway
oh it`s funny now, but my face still gets red, even to this day
Big Foot
2:48:29 PM
7/27/01


RE: Dog Days
It`s to hot outside, life is a bummer
drat it all, it`s the dog days of summer
it`s to hot to hike, camp, or even fish
it`s just to hot to do the things I wish
so, I`ll just stay in the house, or take a dip out in the pool
it looks like I`m trapped here until the weather turns cool
Big Foot
8:02:24 PM
7/12/01


RE: Promise
Be careful what you give away with a promise
there might be something in it others will miss
I for one would feel this way
so, be careful what you say
some will never understand the way you play
but, give them a little time, they just may
so, lets forget it and never again talk like this
there`s a lot to be learned in a soft hand and a warm kiss
Big Foot
1:54:56 PM
7/9/01


RE: Ghost Stories
Well, I looked up and saw this white trash sack in my truck, all covered in something, I didn`t know what. I was wondering why it was there and who could have put it there. About that time I noticed the windshield of my Toyota was broken and then I knew I`d had a wreck and the white trash sack was my air bag.

I was upset that I`d wrecked my truck and haddn`t noticed the pain I was in. Oh, I knew I was hurting, but I`ve been in some bad scrapes before and just didn`t know the extent of my problems.

I had the peace of mind to turn off the key switch and the lights of the truck because I wasn`t sure if it was gas or oil all over everything and I didn`t want it to catch fire.

I had a flashlight under the driver seat and while I was looking for that, I found my left ankle under there first. It was in real bad shape and the bone was sticking out of the side of my pants leg. I moved it out of the way and then found my right ankle under there too. It too was broken, but didn`t seem to be in as bad of a shape as the left one. I got it out of the way and found the light and turned it on and got my first good look at things. I was big time messed up and the pain was real and I started feeling it not long after I started looking for the light.

I could tell something in my hips was broken, I could feel it grind when I shifted my weight around any. I could tell most of my ribs were broken and knew my lungs were filling up with fluid, I tried not to think what, but I hunt and knew deep down what it was. I couldn`t see much out of my left eye and my head was killing me. I figured my neck might be broken because I couldn`t move my head much and when I did the pain was unreal.

My truck was in between two big trees and I couldn`t get either door to open up and my only other way out was to break out the front window and crawl back up to the road and try to get help.

Well, with my lungs doing what they were and my neck maybe being broken I knew I couldn`t do that and I just lost it. I wasn`t crying for the pain, or for how scared I was, but for the fact that I didn`t want to be found by my sons like this, sometime the next day.

The next thing I know there`s a glow to my left, like the dash lights had come on, but they haddn`t. I look up and see my dad`s face pressed down to mine and he tells me to hush, it`ll be alright. He says it again and as I try to speak to him he just fades away and the light goes out and I`m alone again.

I`ve never told anyone else this except my family and friends and I don`t know what they thought of it, I don`t care. To me it happened and it was as real as anything I know.

My dad had been dead a little over a year when I had that wreck, but he was there for me when I needed him.

Big Foot
6:09:11 PM
6/14/01”

“RE: Cougar Encounter

It wasn`t that many years ago I was setting on a log pile watching the sun come up over a new burned out clear-cut. The day was cold and crisp and I could see my breath trail away from me with each new lung full of air.

The frost clung to the grass, tiny twigs and to the sides of my pants and boots. It was a great day for a hunt and I was drinking it all in and trying to see as much as I could with each glance as my eyes played out over the burned out draws and ridges in front of me.

Try as I might my ears were picking up the sounds of birds scurrying about and singing their fool heads off and drowning out the sounds of any deer that might be close enough for me to hear.

The sun haddn`t much more than cleared the tree line and was starting to chase the shadows off, when all hell broke loose.

A deer darted out of the cover of the trees and then another and then more and more deer ran out into the morning light and shadows as if their tails were on fire.

I took a deep breath and settled the crosshairs on a nice buck`s shoulders as he came to a sliding stop and looked back over his back to where he`d just cleared the tree line. I eased the safety off and tickled the trigger till the sound of my gun going off broke the morning stillness and the report of the shot could be heard echoing through the draws and back off the timber line. The buck didn`t know what hit him and he was gone before he could hear the sound of the shot.

I eased the gun away from my eye and looked at the buck laying there in the shadows and I was just about to crawl down from my stand when I saw a cougar rush out of the trees and pounce on a deer that had run back to the safety of the trees.

Wow, that was something, it happened in the blink of an eye and I all but missed getting to see it too. The cat did the deer in and turned and faced me, I haddn`t moved a bit, but he knew I was there. The wind was in my face too, but he knew I was there and he picked up the doe by the scruff of her neck and hauled her back into the wood line to eat on her away from my prying eyes.

Now that wasn`t the first time I`d ever seen a cat, but it was the first time I`d ever seen one take down a deer. Not knowing it, he helped me get my deer that morning and I helped him get his, when my shot turned them back into the woods he`d just ran them out of.
Big Foot
11:33:22 AM
8/23/01”

“A man once married has a life in half some say
what are you looking at, don`t look that way
much taller was the man before being married, after that you shrink
with the little woman riding your back and telling you what to think
once I had thoughts of my own, but that was in another life
now no longer can I think for myself, God, I miss my wife
no-where to strike out to and no one saying I can`t go
for to many years she made my decisions, I miss her so
now it`s my voice I hear answer and those are my thoughts I think
not used to my own voice yet, I still duck my head after and blink”

“RE: Glow Worms
I`ve never out-grown the wonder in the soft glow they cast
some have met their time, but mine hasn`t come that fast
I`ve painted with the faintest bit of their after glow
if I live forever, I`ll always love their light show
soft were those summer nights chasing the firefies, what a gas
I hope I never live so long that I forget to wander in the grass
and I`m tempted to go out now and just take another look see
it`s strange the hold those tiny fireflies still have on me
Big Foot
3:14:08 AM
8/28/01”

“Big Foot are you healthy enough to hike/backpack yet?”

“Hi there Mozark,.. in truth, I`d have to say no, but I`d sure like the chance to try. I can walk now, but not far and not for long at a time.

I also don`t have any gear, but I can fix that!LOL”

“Maybe if you would get some sleep....”

“There`s a lot of truth in what you said Bacpac. A little bit of sleep might help some!LOL”

“So I got hired out to catch cattle and hogs out of the bottoms along both sides of the Saline River before they closed the flood gates and started filling up Millwood Lake.

The money was good, the hours were long and the bottoms were full of cattle. I caught and tied off as many cattle and hogs a day as my dogs could bay up and then spent the better part of the evening trying to get them loaded up in stock trailers. That was all I was hired on for, as soon as they hit that trailer they were someone elses problem.

Who-ever owned them had to claim them and pay for their capture. Back them most free running cattle were ear marked and or branded too, but many of them came in that no one ever owned up to. Those cattle that weren`t clamed were sold off and half of the money went to the one that caught it. I got into a pocket of those unmarked cattle across the river and cleaned up on them. For a kid I was getting rich and having the time of my life doing it too!

Each morning started off prety much the same, I`d get up and feed my catch dogs and make sure they had plenty of water, then I`d tend to the three horses I`d be riding that day and getting them fed up and brushed out and their saddles on them. I`d get my ropes ready and my piggin` strings tied off to my rigs and then I`d see about getting something to eat before the sun caught me on this side of the river banks.

I was in a tent with two oldtimers and I`d look after their stock for them and they`d cook for me and keep my string going when I was out catching.

It was awful at times, but for the life of me I can`t look back at it now that I don`t feel good about it all. It was a growing experance for me and I was took on as a man amoung good men that had grown up doing what I`d only dreamed of doing.

With a little food in me and coffee strong enough to wake the dead I`d start off just as the sun was making it`s way up over the tent.

I hated swiming my horse the first thing off and being wet the rest of the day, but that was part of the job and we were on the wrong side of the river. I`d ride one and lead the other horse across to the other side of the river and later in the day come back and pick up the third horse if I needed him. Once on the other side I`d have to call in my dogs and get them all across and in with me.

I`d put in and the dogs would trail off ahead of me searching out any stock close enough to work. Once they came across any they`d bay them out and keep them bunched up till I`d get close enough to them that they could see me. With that the dogs would start hauling down the cows and calves and they`d hold them there in that tember till I could tie them off. I had great dogs that had been catching stock for years and it was something if I ever got the chance to throw a rope on a cow without a dog hung off of it.

I was already into the day real good and I was doing better than most days too, but my horses were about played out so, I went back to get another horse. Along the way out I ran into one of the biggest bulls I`d ever laid eyes on and he had already seen me. He hit the ground running like a runaway train, bent on getting me and my horse.

Now I didn`t have a rope with me, the dogs were all off in the bottoms holding the cows there and I was on a horse so tired he couldn`t hardly put one foot in front of the other. I`d never seen an animal as mad as that one was with me and for no good reason that I could come up with.
If that old bull had had top teeth he would have bit me he was so mad. The horse and I was doing all we could to keep that bull from climbing up in the saddle with me, things got crazy and I`m sure it looked like a game of tag gone real bad.

I was having a time ducking under trees and around other ones trying to gain some distance on that bull, but he was like a shadow and we couldn`t shake him, try as we might. I was the better part of a mile from camp still when I hit the banks of the river and I gave that old horse it`s head and we plunged off the high bank into that river like we`d been doing it regular. That old bull never checked up, he flew off in there right after us. My horse and I did beat him to the other side but not enough to get up the bank before he upended us into the river.

Well, there we were, my horse give out on me, me looking like a drowned rat and that bull pushing us up against that bank of the river. There wasn`t anything for me to do, but try to keep that bull off of me and my horse the best I could so, there I am with that bulls horns in my hands pushing him as he`s pushing against us.

I took into yelling out as loud as I could in the hopes it`d scare off the bull, someone might hear me and come help, or the dogs might get there and get the bull off of me. It was later told to me later that I was screaming like a little girl, but I still say I was just yelling for all I was worth!

Well, that went on forever seems like and I`d about given up and the bull was getting the best of me anyway and had me under water about as much as I was up, when this rope fell in on top of me and I was being hauled up the side of the river bank. About that time the dogs showed up and joined the fray and I looked around to see maybe eight men laughing at me so hard I thought I`d die. They got me out of the rope and then hauled up my horse too and just as he was being pulled up the bank the bull and dogs run up and over the back of my horse and everyone scattered.

I got to a tree and was doing my best to get hauled up in it when one of my dogs mistook me for the bull and he hauled me back to the ground and all but took my pants off doing it. Well the dogs and that bull lit a shuck out of there and everyone came out of thier hiding places. That old bull took the smiles off of their faces,... well, till they saw me again and they took in to giving me a hard time about it all over again!

We never did catch that bull, I don`t know what happened to him?”

“I know what happened to him.

He is on my barbeque right now! Uhmmmumm good.”

“LOL!......I wish!”

“I guess I`ll tell you this,.. it was told to me to be true. Seems a few old boys from school got together to go hunt rabbits and came up on a hornet`s nest half again bigger than a basketball.

Well being the jokers they were they get a stick and stuff a bandanna in the opening of the nest and then they cut it down. They know where an old outhouse is and they gather that up too, but then chicken out on their plans to haul it up on top of the schoolhouse.

One ol` boy lacking the smarts to know better and not having anything else much to do decides to go ahead and put `er up there by his-own-self.

Seems he tied up the hornet`s nest inside the outhouse and then he tied a string to the bandana and that to the door of the outhouse.

Well,... it was funny as all get outs the next day seeing that outhouse pearched up there,... the kids all loved it, but the teachers didn`t share the same view. I guess it has something to do with older eyes!

The head dude and the math teacher scurry up there to get `er down and wouldn`t you know it, they opend the door on the thing! I never saw two fat people run so fast in my life, but there wasn`t anywhere they could run to and no place to hide.

Yup, good times!
Big Foot
12:25:59 PM
9/4/01


Poetry in motion, I`m sure it must have been something to see
my old man and me just alike and him just kickin` hell outta me
we were just alike, but I never tried to show it
deep inside of him beat the true heart of a poet
what ever he turned his hand to it somehow seemed to fit
it`s strange how much alike we were and he couldn`t see it
he`d draw his hand back to me and I`d just brace
till one day I caught his hand and kissed his face
I never did hit him, but sometimes I think I hurt him even more
his eyes welled up with tears, he saw me like he never did before
Big Foot
3:03:13 PM
9/3/01”

“RE: Rumors of War
It`s an eye for an eye, who`s keeping score
it`s just a numbers game so, kill a few more
many will be wounded and scores will be dead
no one will be happy till the streets run red
it`s a bad time for lovers, but love marches on
it comes down to killing when the love is gone
with loved ones lost and those left learn to hate
it`s to the killing fields, again we learn to late
all of the hurt and dying doesn`t add up, what was it for
in the last days there will be killing and rumors of war
Big Foot
11:35:25 AM
9/26/01


RE: Rumors of War
You`ve heard it before this, now you`ll hear it more often
solders are like nails and each is driven into his own coffin
each one made into an old man that knows death before his time
they call it a war, just to make it something less of a crime
there`s a war going on inside of all of us and we all fight it too
right against wrong, love against hate, we try to decide what to do
but, wars are not a game that can be played down to checkmate
there`s no winners, or losers in war, when love has lost to hate
Big Foot
12:27:29 PM
9/26/01”

“RE: The Children
Daddy, why do people have to die
how do I tell him, when I don`t know why
daddy, why do some people have so much hate
we act before we think, or don`t think until it`s to late
daddy, will I grow up to be like that too
it`s hard to say later on what one might do
daddy, do you think that they forgot to say their prayers
I search harder for the right words because, I know he cares
daddy, can I pray for them, will that be Okay
all I can do is shake my head, I don`t know what to say
daddy, what happens to you after you die
so many questions without answers and it makes him cry
daddy, what can I do, I want to help them
so many questions that I can`t explain to him
I try to tell him the reasons and do my best not to lie
he listens, then asks, daddy, why did they have to die
Big Foot
1:33:01 PM
9/15/01”

“I hope I never grow to old to enjoy the raw beauty of nature and the way it takes my breath away.

It may be seeing the wild critters, birds, a sun-up, or a sun-set, the shimmer of the sun on the water, or the clouds rolling in, or the wild places, or even the sudden changes in the weather that keeps it new to me and me always guessing what next I might happen up on.

I like the way things just seem to happen all of a sudden as if there`s no script and the surprise of it makes me blink my eyes to see if I saw it right. I`ve had many great moments that took off like that and some of them have lasted me the better part of my life time.

It`s the small things that add up to a full life and for as long as I can I want to add on to that pile many more things before I`m done. Colors, sounds, feelings and the place add the paint to the picture that I keep in my mind. When my mind goes, I hope I`m not far behind, I`d miss the pictures and how much they meant to me.

It took a little bit of time to get camp set up and things put away, the tents up, the fire ring in place and enough wood stacked up to last us our stay. That done, we went about exploring the many new trails the deer had made since we last hunted the place we`d picked out for our camp.

Not far from camp there`s an old draw that just falls away fast and steep and it overlooks two more lesser ridges that seem to roll gently away from the ragged bluff where I chose to watch the evening come to a close. It`s good to know some things don`t change that much, but they change in slower ways than our fast paced lives seem to. There were trees down that haddn`t been the year before and limbs broke off from the weight of the ice storm that hit last Christmas night. I hauled up off the ground in one of those blown over trees to get a better look and I couldn`t have picked a better view point.

Along about dark, just like clock work, the deer started coming out to feed on the white-oak acorns that had fallen during the day. Almost every where I looked there were deer feeding about, with their young of the year. It wasn`t long until the bucks joined the does and their fawns feeding and the bucks would run the does off the better spots. I even got to watch two bucks lock horns and tear up some ground for a bit, before the smaller buck gave way and took to his heels. To the victor goes the spoils, but the younger buck let it be known he would be back and try his luck again. He raked a cedar bush with his horns and all but tore the top out he was so mad. After that he pawed the ground near by and made a scrape under some low hanging limbs of a dogwood tree, still trying to lay clame to a part of the white-oak flats. That older buck saw what was taking place and he took in after the young up-start again and the chase was on. The two of them covered some ground and made it hard on the other deer to get any feeding done for a time. The young buck must of had enough of the game, or thought about someplace else he wanted to be more cause he lit out of there like he was on fire.

It wasn`t long after that darkness caught me there and with the sun long down behind the trees, I made my way back to a dark camp. In no time I had a fire up and glowing and put some coffee on to boil. The smell of wood smoke and the hiss of the coffee pot lent itself to the mood I found myself lost in. Somehow I got to thinking back to the first time I found this place in the woods, so many years ago.

Things have changed, but the woods and wild things have stayed almost the same, for a time there I was back to the first time I had seen it, it`s strange how beautiful that place is and how I had all but forgot it.”

“It`s like the fresh paint was still dripping off of the painter`s brush
leaves of all colors were falling off of the trees, with the wind`s rush
everything was laid out just like he had just left it there in that draw
and me the lucky one that just stumbled up on it and saw it in awe
it was dark when I left camp that morning and I could see nothing of the beauty on the drive
while I sat in the dark and waited the painter painted and with the light, it came alive
I drank in everything I saw, it was a big cup, I didn`t know what to think
so fixed was I on everything I was seeing, that I dared not to even blink
so many shades of green, the yellow, brown, all of the reds and almost every orange hue
I couldn`t help but smile, don`t you love it when things like that just happen up on you
I never spied the painter, he must have just slick got away
I never even got to thank him, but he sure did make my day
I wondered at all his skills and how he might have hit the mark
it came to me, I too have done some of my best stuff in the dark”

“Well before daylight, I left the warmth of my sleeping bag and hauled on my duds, laced up my boots and jumped into the still dark day that waited for me.

Almost no wind at all was blowing as I went about getting a fire up and some coffee on to boil. A few pieces of rich pine, a handful of small dry sticks and my fire was soon chasing away the darkness and the small bit of cold I was left with. I love the wisps of smoke that curl up and swirl away into the darkness, with those tiny little sparks that trail after it. I spend my time watching that and adding more sticks to the fire until the coffee begins to perk. Two good hot steamy cups of coffee, a sweet-roll and I`m good to go so, I put out my fire, I pick up my day pack and take off.

It won`t be light for almost an hour, but I have some ground to cover before the light catches me. My light plays out ahead of me as I work my way down an old long ago used wagon road. I pick my way under low hanging pine and hard-wood branches and bits of false light reflects back to me from the dew covered leaves, .. the dew drops looking like precious gem-stones as they gleam back the bits of light they trap.

I get to where I want to be a bit late, but still ahead of the light, I wish I had gotten there sooner so things could get back the way they were before any animals started to scurry about. I`m out of breath and my heart is beating so loud I can hear the blood pulsing through me, thump, thump.

It`s always magic when the light comes, it catches me by surprise,.. I think I`ve seen every kind of sunrise there is and one will up and do something different every time. This morning started out with pink and purple skys and a big orange sun adding even more color.

Then faster that I can tell you about it a shadow moves out from the trees and then another and another following that. The deer are on the move as they start to feed up on white-oak acorns. I get caught up watching the doe and her young feeding and don`t even notice I`m being watched. Just like a family pet, this cougar is sitting there looking at me and trying to figure out what I`m doing in his woods.

He doesn`t seem to mind me watching him, he just flicks his tail every now and again, but never takes his eyes off of me. I don`t know if the deer winded me, or the cougar, but they bound off and I look their way and as my eyes come back to the cougar, only then do I notice he too has went his own way.

That pretty much was the morning so, I made my way back to camp and everyone decided we would cut the hounds free and see what they could run out. I do love the sound of good hound music as they bawl their heads off, screaming out their excitement like kids cut out of school early. With the sounds of the hounds there`s the magic that anything could happen and at any time, hounds and game play by no rules.

I`m watching this big draw of a clearcut, hoping to get a shot at a big buck and in the bottom of the draw is a good friend of mine, wishing for the same thing. The hounds have turned and are tearing down on us and their voices change into an excited feaver pitched scream and howl. My friend lights out of there like the devil and hounds of hell are after him and he is in full cry too! He tears around and up over the end of some bunked up logs and doesn`t stop climbing when he gets to the top, right behind him is two deer, three hounds a big cougar and the rest of the pack of the hounds in behind that. That cat tore into the dogs and was after my friend and the rest of the hounds were giving chase or scattering for their lives. I don`t know what happened to the two deer, I lost seight of them, but the cat all but got my friend, but the dogs caught and hauled him back down the logs and then the cat and pack lit out for parts unknown.

I hurried over to my friend to see if he was alright and we was white as a sheet, but fine. I asked him why he didn`t shoot when they broke out on him and he said he just smooth forgot he had a gun, it all happened so fast. I laughed till I hurt listining to him re-tell that story to anyone that he could get to listen to it.

It got better every time!

I told him that old cougar just wanted to get a better look at him!LOL”

“Yesterday morning I spent still-hunting and slipping through the woods in hopes of catching up with a buck. I saw many does and fawns and a few fork horned bucks and one spike buck, but the buck that had made the scrapes and rubs I had seen along the ridge wasn`t to be seen anywhere.

I got back to camp along about ten thirty and everyone was wating on me, they wanted to run the dogs. Their luck had been like mine and we talked about what we each saw and where. We decided to run a pine plantation that borders where we hunt. I set the standers out and one of the twins decided he`d put the dogs in so, I showed him where I`d seen a big buck cross two days before going to where I guesed he`d bed down for the day.

I told him to give me ten minutes before he cut the hounds loose so it`d give me time to get back down the road and to where I wanted to be so I could cut the deer and dogs off to keep them from going over the county road.

I hauled around to where I wanted to be and got off into the woods as fast and as quiet as I could. I was still trying to get to where I wanted to set up when I heard him put in the hounds and I didn`t get but a few yards further along until I could hear brush breaking and by the sound of it, it was coming towards me. I froze where I was, kicking myself for not having had him give me more time to get there.

Again I heard the brush pop and then the sounds of the hounds off in the distance took up. The dogs had winded the deer and the chase was on, with the hounds trying to trail up the deer, going from a cold trail to flat out running.
More brush breaking and my heart was pounding like a hammer-mill and I was winded too from the hurry in to my stand.

There,..I saw the buck as he cleared some down tree limbs and hauled around the side of a clay-root and he slid to a hault looking back over his shoulder to where the dogs were picking out his trail.

That old buck was way ahead of the dogs and he planed to be across the county road well before the dogs worked out the way he was going, but I was there to hopefully mess up his plans.

You know I did too and the shot broke the magic that was about to happen, had I been where I was supposed to have been I never would have seen him and he would have slick got away from us again without any of us even seeing him. He was a smart old cuss, but his luck ran out because I was slower than I should have been.

The dogs undid his tricks and made a bee-line to the down buck and everyone helped haul the buck and dogs back to the road so we could put in again and have another go at it.

Luck is a funny thing,.. my luck changed for the better as that old buck`s luck turned bad on him. I should have been happy,..oh, I was, but I couldn`t help feel sad too. For over four years we had tried to catch up to that old buck, we had even got shots at him, the scars were still over the top of his shoulder to prove it was him, but no longer was he in his prime, or did he have the big high racks he had sported in the years past. He still had a good rack and he was a large deer, but time had wore him down too.

Taking that deer out of those woods took something out of all of us too. We all talked about that deer every year and we all thought we would be the one to get him. As happy as I was to get him a moment ago, I was sure wishing I had let him slip by me. It got to me as I got to thinking abot it while I was on the drive back into camp, it just wouldn`t be the same without that deer to haunt our dreams.”

“For almost four weeks now, I`ve been camped out in the woods I love. Sleeping under the stars, exploring, cooking out, swaping stories around the fire, and hunting.

I`ve been hunting out there for almost fourty two years and my grandfather got me started camping there and instilled in me a love for all things wild.

I later started out my younger five brothers hunting in those same woods and my friends, my sons and daughter. I even got my ex-wife to go out there and camp and hunt at times.

I know those woods like they were old friends and I guess I know that part of the country better than any man alive that has covered that ground.

I don`t get to go out there anything like I used to, but as often as I can I tear off out there just to clear my head and rid myself of the things that pull me down.

It`s strange how much everything else in my life has changed over the years, but that place has stayed about the same. The trees are much bigger than when I first started out walking in their shadows. The spring fed creeks still run clear and pure enough to drink from and the wild life is still running wild.

I can`t get back in there as far as I used to go, but I can still see the secret places in my mind`s eye and I want to go look at it all again.

I hunt many streatches of woods, but that one place haunts my dreams and has kept and fed some of my happiest memories.

I wonder if any before me saw it like me, or any of the ones I`ve shared it with ever see it like I do. How many ghosts of my past have I run into as I come up on the places I once stood and watched the day pass by? Will these woods always have someone that loves them as much as I do?

I hope so!”

“A kid at heart and it`s a game of peek-a-boo
you can`t see me hidden, but I can see you
I see you standing there, but you can`t see me
hidden up against the limbs of an old oak tree
the day played out on me and the sun went as it came
I felt just like a kid once again, playing a game
just a kid at heart and I still love to play
hidden in a tree, I watched the deer walk away”

“In the first hour of day, we saw a buck, it got away
it wasn`t long until we got the truck stuck, just our luck
me and my bud, after the flood, we got the truck stuck in the mud
come what may, it`s okay, killing time we shot the day”

“I took Jake out hunting like that late one fall afternoon. I thought about all of those times the two of us had left the house in much the same way and all of the fun we had had together chasing quail, hunting doves and flushing woodcocks.

This hunt was different alright, I also carried a shovel with me and the weight of that and the gun just about did me in. It wasn`t because they were heavy, it was because of the task I had in mind for them.

I never will forget that either, the wind was blowing out of the south west and hunting never is good with a wind like that. The leaves were turning colors and falling off of the trees in bunches cause the wind was blowing so.

I pulled my coat up around my neck a little tighter as I checked on Jake, poor thing he was having trouble keeping up with me and I bet he was wondering why I was in such a hurry that I was walking on ahead of him like I was.

A thousand things went racing through my mind, but none of them could take me away from the day and what I was about to do to my best hunting buddy. I`d take a beating if it`d buy Jake and I more time, but time was runing out fast. I had reached the spot on the hill where Jake and I used to set together and watch the sun set in the evenings. My eyes filled up with tears as I went about getting a hole dug and I was just about done with it when I looked around and realized I was alone. Jake was nowhere to be seen.

I put down the shovel and picked up my gun and headed back towards the house thinking Jake had laid down along the way to rest, or maybe even gone back, but he haddn`t. There along the fence row laid old Jake and I thought he was dead, as I walked up closer to him I saw him struggle to his feet. It about broke my heat waiting for him to get stood up, but then he didn`t move, he just stood there.

I eased up to him going to get him by the collar and lead him away when he eased under the fence as spry as a pup and then struck a point. I couldn`t believe my watering eyes right then and it took me by surprise.

My wife heard the three shots I`d fired and she was standing in the back door as I walked back to the house and as I neared her I could see her eyes were filled up with tears. I wanted to run to her, but I didn`t have time to. About then Jake came out from behind me wagging his tail and doing his best to lope towards her. He always did love to race me home and today wasn`t going to be any different.

I showed her the birds we`d got and it took some doing to get her to quit teasing me,.. well, until I reminded her how bad she was feeling too until she saw Jake with me coming home.LOL

We both knew I still had it to do sometime soon, but then I just couldn`t bring myself to. We had quail that night for supper and she fixed Jake some gravey, poor thing didn`t much have a tooth in his head, but he went at it like he was starving to death.

We went off to bed that night leaving Jake beside the fireplace on his tattered old rug. In the morning when I woke up to get a fire going I noticed Jake had left us. There`s never an easy way to let them go, but I was glad he helped me out one last time.
Big Foot
01:14:17 PM
03/01/02”

“another sun-up and another sun-set
another day older & deeper in debt
cheep beer and a few cheep thrills
wishin` it away doesn`t pay the bills
just living a dream and tryin` to make it pay
you`re rich in life`s blessings,..Happy Birthday
studyin` hard on a thing will just cross your eyes
seems money and youth are both lost when time flies”

“How do kids survive long enough to grow up? There has been many times I`ve wondered how the nine of us kids managed to come through childhood more, or less unscratched by it all.

A few of us did get some broken bone and nasty cuts along the way and even almost blown up and struck by lightening, but even all of that didn`t keep us from doing what only kids can do and dream up.

Maybe we were just a bunch of dumb country kids with nothing better to do and that caused us to dream up so much wild stuff to get into so much. Well, that, or knowing we had backbreaking hard work to do and almost anything you have to do on a farm can kill you anyway and that caused us to lose our fear of much, except dad and him taking up trying to beat us to death if we did manage to live through the things we could dream up.

I still say I didn`t think this one up `cause I haddn`t forgot the last time we hooked up that black runaway devil of a horse to a sheet of tin, thinking he would run fast enough that we could skip across the pond on the thing like a flat rock and not have to worry about drowning as long as we just hung on good and tight. Of course none of us boys could swim back then either, but we weren`t about to let that stop us from a bit of summertime fun.

We get the wild horse tied to the sheet of tin and the four of us older boys pile on it and take hold, as the twins hold the horse on the other end of the pond. Three of dad`s good lariat ropes are tied in so many knots they`ll never be fit for anything else ever, but we were young enough not to have that worry us much, well, right then at least.

All set and nothing to do but do it so, we scream out powder river and let `er buck and we`re off like a shot across the pond and it`s working beautifully, until we reach about the middle of the pond and about that time the fine boat we had made ourselves turned into a rather bad submarine and went deeper and deeper and slower and slower, but thank goodness that fool horse didn`t quit and none of us let go, cause I wouldn`t be here telling you about it.

We didn`t get in a lot of trouble for that one because we hid the tin after about an hour of chasing that wild horse down and getting it back from him, but the ropes weren`t something we could explain away that easily and we got brought up short on that account and dad settled with us the way he always did and tore into us good.

Now all that was still going on in my mind as we again tied that fool wild black horse off to an old haybalier that was almost all iron and steel and musta weighed almost two tons.

We didn`t for the life of us think that crazy horse could make much time with it and we just figured we might just teach his crazy carcass to quit being such a fool in doing what we had planed and if it worked out we`d have a fine horse out of it and a few grins and never thought it would turn out to be a story we would ever think to retell anyone, it would just be our secret.

We hooked that black fatherless critter up to the tongue of that haymaker and I held him while the rest of my five brothers piled on and got a good hold of things. Everyone was where they wanted to be and I let him go and made a run for the haymaker and my place on it too and I almost got runover by the front iron wheel as that horse took off with it, but I side-stepped it and swung up and on and away we went for parts unknown.

It was working out great, the black devil was getting as much as he gave to move the thing very fast, or very far, but we could tell the thing was going faster now and again and more and more it gained in speed.

It went from a not so hot ride to a fun one in just a little while and then into one that was harry and wild. We were going at a pretty good clip across the hay meadow and on up into the back pastures when we hit the tresses and the tongue of the haymaker hung up in the tops of some of the higher ones and would make the haybailer almost stand up on the tail end of the thing and threaten to flip it over on top of all six of us boys and it would bust through and wham, we were off again like a shot.

I guess the force of the back of that haymaker coming down and the pull of the horse on the other end did it, but it was like we were tied on with a rubberband instead of a rope and there were times we almost caught that black killer pulling us to our death.

Now there weren`t any streams of laughter like before, it was screams of real fear, we knew we were gonna die, just didn`t know when, the how part was very obvious to us and just when we didn`t think it could get any worse for us, it did.

That black fool of a horse wasn`t just happy to kill us, now he up and decides to kill himself too, if it`ll get him rid of us any faster and off he tears like a shot into the timber and with us right in there for the ride.

We were going way to fast to even think to jump off the sucker if there was any chance we might have took it, but there wasn`t one. We made it better than a quarter of a mile down in the woods somehow without hitting anything that horse and bailer couldn`t walk over, or mow down and then we slam into a good tree.

It didn`t budge a bit and we came to a sudden halt and so did that black devil, it flipped him head over tea-kettle backwards as the rope held him tight and he came to the end of it and we went sailing either into that tree, or nearby ones.

We were all tore up pretty bad and some worse than others and yet we were trying to figure out how we were gonna explain this one to the folks, more than we were worried about our injuries.

Well, it took dad and the tractor the better part of an hour to get that bailer out of there and the horse wasn`t much more than skint up some and winded a little for his efforts and a stone burse on one leg, but other than that he was his own crazy self.

We got tore up when dad saw us, again when he got back from getting the haymaker out and yet again when someone would forget and say, do you remember when we all almost got killed. Turns out it was about even between that ride and dad trying to kill us over it, but hey, anytime you can walk away from something like either one with only a little limp isn`t all bad!

We were lucky on both counts, we learned a good lesson from that one and never involved that black horse ever again in any of our adventures and we tried hard to avoid dad ever catching us again.

Good times!”

“Nice story Bill. I can't believe your childhood!!!”

“Hey Thanks Lizs!

I had a large time growing up and I stayed into trouble, it`s why I was called wild Bill:)

All the stories I tell here actually happened and I have to tell it like it happened too, because some of my brothers and sisters know I write here about our childhood and they hold me to the line:(

They don`t like to see their names in it and they get on to me for not telling more of what actually happened, but they don`t get a vote in it;)”

“*”

“welcome back Big Foot”

“Hey Big Foot, glad to see you are back!!!!!”

“C'mon foot, you must have had some more adventures by now!!”

“Post, post, post, post!!!”

“Bigfoot! We've really missed you!”

“I`ve missed all of y`all too,....
Strange as that sounds, y`all didn`t take much gettin` used to at all. It was always nice to drop in here and share with friends of a feather.

I never saved any of my stories, or junk anywhere and I decided I better post to these just to keep `em from goin` away.

Hiya HogOnice, it`s been a long time and I miss reading your posts.

Hiya Birch, how`s you and your`s? I miss talkin` to you and your sweetie, she may be your wife, but she`s everyone`s sweetheart,..keep her well and hug Abby for me too.

Hiya Lizs sweetie, I miss ours hour after hour talks and the way you made me laugh,.. take care of you!

Hiya Violin,... you just scare the livin` hell outa me, but I love your posts as long as I don`t gota open any of your fookin` links! Take care of you!

Hiya Treebait, I hope you and your`s are well and I miss all of y`all. Take care!”

“so, there you were naked as the day God made you, your panties down around your ankles and them heaped on the floor,.... my lips trailed over your lips and neck with a flick of your toes you tossed those panties, you wouldn`t be needin` `em anymore,..... silken skin streams beneath a wet, pink, exploring tongue and soft warm lips,.... your body trembles in my arms as I breathe life into you with my breath and searing fingertips,..... would that I could hold on to a moment as special as the one we`re having now and keep the love alive and new,.... I`d control time it seems, if I could always have this moment and forever be holding you,... but time is very fleeting and it`s special these feelings and things like this,..... if this is only a moment in time, make it special and make me remember this kiss,.... as lips are lost off in themselves and true lovers are so rare and damn few,.... if I never know again the sting of love`s first magic, I hope I`ll always have you”

“Bigfoot, how the heck are you, bro? Good to see your name again.”

“Hiya Dunadan!
How`s you?

I miss this place a lot at times, but I`m stayin` busy in poetry chats and writer`s world and sometimes I still write:)

Take care of you!”

“Hey Big Foot, long time no write. Isn't this poem supposed to go to one of those XXX sites? :o)”

“Openin` day of bow-season caught me still sleepin` snuggly under warm blankets, lost to both worlds, somewhere between the world of the living and that other world of dreams.

I did open my eyes enough to knock the alarm-clock off of the night-stand and then that caused me to have to get up to fetch it back to shut it off.

Well hell`s bells, I was up now, no use tryin` to crawl back under the covers so, I decided to start a pot of coffee and get my morning bath.

Half a pot of coffee, three smokes and a few more miles saw me out in the darkness just a few miles from where I wanted to be when the sun would crest the trees and kiss away the last bits of dewprops that I knew would be clinging to everything.

Somehow when the sun came up and did it`s thing though, I was still caught by surprise. It looked as if a painter had just snuck away from his paintings, the dew drippin` off the many changing colored leaves looked like big drops of paint still falling away and my eyes were drawn to them.

Then from the shadows there appeared another shadow and like a ghost it took shape in time to become a deer, but had I not seen it before I woulda thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

They seem to just float in from nowhere all of a sudden like with no warrning to speak of, but there is warrning if you`re payin` attention.

I saw birds scurryin` away from there only moments before that, I heard them wing it to a safer spot, I listened as they quit singing and yet my mind wandered away from that and I forgot why I was there.

Not once did I pick my bow up for a shot, though I saw many deer that morning and had at least six deer come within good bow range.

I came to feast my eyes and soul on nature, not to take anything more than that away with me and somehow I was filled up with warmth settin` there in the cold morning stillness.

I killed only time and the other half of a pot of coffee on my drive back home, but in ways I can`t explane, I came away from there with more than I ever went there expecting to find.

I didn`t know it till later, but I had gotten lost in myself, it took me getting away from everything to find it out. Thank goodness I didn`t keep dreaming and let that morning get away.”

“Hi Bigfoot! So, you didn't kill a deer? I'd like to have seen that.

Could it be that I finally rubbed off on you about that you shouldn't kill deer? Nay, I don't think so.

Nice to see you again.”

“Just sayin` Hi!
Bill”

“Hola!”

“Yo Bill! :-)”