Posted on 05/17/2006 10:51:26 AM PDT by presidio9
Obligatory Helen Thomas pic posted in 5...4...3...2...
Even if the Patterson film was a fake, that doesn't mean Bigfoot isn't real.
I'm one who thinks that the existance of Bigfoot is a possibility.
I have been an enthusiast in the Bigfoot phenomena since the early 1970s when my Mom took me to a theater that was showing a Bigfoot documentary, which is where the Patterson film was first introduced to the public. I wouldnt say I am a 100% believer in Bigfoot, but I give the possibility a very good chance, maybe 80%-85%. Some of the stories that first sparked my interest, I now give little credibility to, however there are many reports from very credible people that I have to give high probability of being the real thing, including Police, Rangers, Forest Service workers.
Up until 2001 my interest did not pass beyond just reading books, articles and reports. I have always wanted to do some active exploration myself, but its not something I would do alone. My wife loves the outdoors but prefers camping in the more developed campgrounds well away from the Bigfoot hotspots. But then one day I discovered a friend at work also was a Bigfoot enthusiast and together we said we aint getting any younger and if we were going to fulfill our dream of looking for Bigfoot, wed better do it now. Since then, we have gone on several expeditions, and also gone to some gatherings with other enthusiast and witnesses. I tell you, you can read someones story and its one thing, but sit down and talk with them about it, and you get a whole new perspective. Put a face with the story, and see how normal and believable the people really are and you come away with a whole new outlook. These arent toothless gomers in pickup trucks, these are- a man and two teenage boys fishing who observe a Bigfoot for several minutes from their boat, a mom and her son returning from the store who see one crossing the road, a retired couple who have seen one on their property and have heard its late night screams in the surrounding hills. A Doctor who while leaving an Oregon hiking trail to relieve himself, spots a Bigfoot observing his family who are waiting for him on the trail. I have listen to their stories first hand and looked into their eyes and saw their honesty. That means allot more to me than a piece of disputed film, or a fantastical one-dimension story in a book.
The skeptics ask, why are they so elusive, and why havent we found bones? I have spent allot of time in the Northwest wilderness in my life; hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, or just plain camping, and I have only once seen a bear, and Washington has a black bear population of about 40, 000. I have never seen a cougar and its numbers are also in the thousands. Heck, during most of my hunting trips I would have a hard time proving male members of the deer family exist. My hypostasis - If I was to ask someone to give up their job for one year and do nothing but search for bear bones to bring back to me, I would bet they would fail. How much less likely it would be if the population was not 40, 000, but maybe a couple of hundred or maybe dozens?
During one of our expeditions in 2001, (we average two a year) we have had one very possible encounter. from our remote campsite three of us heard loud vocalizations at 2:00 AM. The sound we heard was real, it was very real. I have never heard any thing like it before.
Even if the Patterson film was a fake, that doesn't mean Bigfoot isn't real.
&&&
But wouldn't one think, after all of the alleged sightings over the years, that there would be at least one hair sample or fecal sample available for testing?
BFRO list quite a few in Georgia. 29 total
http://www.bfro.net/GDB/state_listing.asp?state=ga
Interesting. I'm glad to see someone making a SERIOUS post about this topic instead of the usual pictures of Janet Reno and Cynthia McKinney, LOL.
This one especially speaks to me since I grew up in Georgia. I actually did go on a few Bigfoot searches but never found any. It was still a lot of fun.
My college friend's Dad had a sighting similar to yours. It had been several years before, when he worked on a military base in I believe Ohio. Don't recall all the details of it, but he was alone at the time and behind him was a large river and a huge area of forest and trees.
read Bigfoot Prints by Grover Krantz...
As I've told you before, I don't discount the possibility of large mammal sightings, but I am also a big fan of the inadvertant camp that surronds any serious disscussion of cryptozoology. Far too often it seems that serious researchers are goverened by their desire for something to be true, rather than the truth itself. That's why I'd probably make a bad bigfoot researcher. If I ever found anything (a suspicious hair follicle for instance) I'd automatically claim it as indisputable proof.
Well, actually, that's a dicey issue.
Plenty of alleged hairs have been brough forth and tested. The problem is, if Bigfoot is an unknown or undiscovered creature, how are we going to know that a hair belongs to him? You can find hairs that resemble primate hairs, or hairs that clearly don't belong to any known species in North America. But is it a BIGFOOT hair?
Same thing with fecal matter. If you're walking through the woods, and you find a pile of fecal matter, are you going to automatically assume it's a Bigfoot's? Probably not. It more than likely looks and smells the same as any other kind of feces, so it's not going to be considered by anyone who finds it.
Plenty of hairs and maybe even fecal matter has been brought forth, but results are inconclusive. Ultimately, nothing is going to satisfy the scientific community except a BODY.
Ultimately, nothing is going to satisfy the scientific community except a BODY.
**
Well, get out there with your big net, my man!
"Also rumor is that one travels between Washington DC and Georgia from time to time.. last i heard about her she had a scuffle with a police officer.. she must be hiding in the gerogia swamps somewhere now.."
Buckwheat?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.