A Change of Heart

I have decided to end what may be the shortest “retirement” ever this side of Brett Favre. I’ve had a bit of an epiphany regarding the blog and my efforts to keep it current. I started the site simply because I’d had an unusual experience and was very interested in the topic of bigfoot and all things “cryptozoology.” An awful lot of sites on the internet that delved into these topics seemed a bit “out there” to me and I thought there was a void out there in cyberspace when it came to sites that treated this subject matter seriously and objectively.

Don’t misunderstand. I don’t mind anyone thinking that bigfoot is an extraterrestrial shape-shifting telepath that can hop in and out of different dimensions. If that is their opinion, that is great. I just don’t happen to lean that way. I believe there is a biologically based explanation for the sasquatch phenomenon. Period. There aren’t a lot of sites out there that take this position. I hoped to provide a site where open-minded people could hear a voice from this side of the debate.

So, you may be wondering, why was I willing to just walk away and what changed my mind? First, the reasons I was going to hang it up…

The blog had become work. I felt pressure to produce something of high quality every two days or so. My schedule is such that this became a burden on me. I started to resent “having” to get something written up. I think it showed and the quality of the posts began to suffer. I decided that if it was no longer fun and the quality of the posts were not up to my standards it would be better to just drop the whole thing. As I mentioned in my “signing off” post, I’m pretty taxed physically this time of year and that, no doubt, played into my state of mind as I considered whether or not to continue.

I also mentioned in the “signing off” post that I had been discouraged by some recent incidents. I will, for now, leave it at that but can tell you that I have been absolutely amazed at the level of petulance exhibited by many, if not most, of the people who claim to be seriously looking into the sasquatch phenomenon. It is stunning. I could go on but I think the Blogsquatcher summed it up better than I ever could when he shut down his site. He wrote:

“…the field of sasquatchery, in what might be thought of as its "upper echelon" is full of idiots, cranks, bunglers, SOBs, biyatches, self-aggrandizing pricks -- I could go on, but you get the picture. The number of people who do not fall into this category could be counted with your fingers and toes. Fingers and toes, people! There are thousands of interested folk who do not aspire to the "upper echelon" and most of these are ordinary folk who do not deserve such appellations, and my list is not meant to cast any aspersions upon them. But on the whole, the "big fish, little pond" of bigfootery is an asshole magnet. It was downright unpleasant to deal with many of these folk day in and day out. The conniving douchebaggery in the field was staggering. If I even attempted to describe to you some of the things that went on, you would not believe me.”

Truer words have never been written. The “upper echelon” to which the Blogsquatcher referred is truly something. Certainly, his words do not apply to everyone but if you were to print up a “who’s who” list of well-known, notice I didn’t say well-respected, “researchers” you would be lucky to count a dozen or so that are sane, honest, decent, and not in the field in the hopes of making a buck. More prevalent than the charlatans hoping to make some money off the sasquatch enigma are those who are involved simply for the social aspect. They travel about to each other’s meetings, conferences, and symposiums to visit, sing songs, and pat each other on the back for being awesome. Very little actual field work is done by the majority of these folks. They do not; however, have a problem condemning and belittling the efforts of others. Worst of all, I strongly suspect that most, if not all, of these people have no interest in solving the bigfoot mystery at all. If the riddle ever is solved then they will no longer have a reason to get together. They have found a niche. They have found their religion. They will, and do, attack those who seriously seek answers as it threatens their way of life.

The followers of these folks are pretty unbelievable as well. You would not believe some of the emails and comments I get on the site. The level of vulgarity and mean-spirited bologna that came in day-to-day, even on what I would consider the most innocuous of posts, would blow your mind. I spent a lot of time and energy trying to have reasonable exchanges of dialogue with these folks. It never seemed to do any good and the negative exchanges far outnumbered the reasonable ones. I found myself taking on almost a siege mentality. I knew that I shouldn’t let the ignorant comments of a few anonymous knuckleheads get to me but after awhile that is exactly what happened. I just got to a point where I was like, “I don’t need this crap.” I began to take it personally.

Finally, somebody gave one of my kids a hard time about the site and my interest in the subject of cryptozoology. While I’ve never made any efforts to keep my identity a secret, neither have I actively publicized it. I’m in no way ashamed or embarrassed by my interest in any of this. Personally, I find it amazing that everyone isn’t interested in all this stuff. It was a bit sobering, however, to know that my interests in these topics were causing my daugher hardships at school. What decent parent would not be affected by that?

There are a few more things I could mention but that covers the major issues I was dealing with. So, what has changed? Why did I decide to come back so quickly? I’m glad you asked.

As I mentioned above, I believe that there is a biological entity responsible for the sasquatch phenomenon. There aren’t many sites carrying this particular torch and I began to think it bordered on being irresponsible to leave the blogosphere entirely to those with a more esoteric view of what is behind the sasquatch mythos. Again, don’t misunderstand, I have nothing against folks who believe differently than I do. I just haven’t experienced anything, or talked to witnesses who have, that has led me to believe anything other than a flesh and blood animal is responsible for the sightings of large, upright, hair-covered bipeds that continue to be reported from around the world. This view needs a voice.

Next, I decided not to let the idiots who continue to hammer away at me with negative emails and comments win. Call it stubbornness on my part but I decided I wouldn’t go out that way. It is tiresome and taxing to continually deal with some of these people who are emboldened by the anonymity the internet provides. I keep picturing 30+ year old guys still living with their mothers as the culprits behind the most ignorant of the emails I receive. That may not be true but it makes me feel better to think of them this way. Anyway, I’ll not be trying to hold intelligent dialogue with these folks anymore. I’ll simply be hitting the delete key. If you have followed the site at all you will know that I don’t publish only comments that are complimentary or that agree with my position on a particular topic. It is fine to disagree with me and as long as the comment is civil in tone it will be published; however, turds need not bother from this point forward.

Another reason that I have decided to hang in there is that several things are going on now that I’m keeping a very close eye on. I want to make sure there is at least one outlet out there that can, and will, tell the truth, warts and all, regarding these things. I do not mean to be cryptic and will enlighten you all when the time is right regarding the things I’m referring to. Simply put, I’m not going to walk away and leave the dissemination of information regarding these things to lard-assed wind bags that have axes to grind and are more than willing to take things out of context, tell half truths, and spread rumors and/or flat out lies.

Finally, and without a doubt, the biggest reason I decided to continue writing the blog is because of something my daughter said to me. She told me that she didn’t want me to stop doing what I enjoyed because some jerk at her school had been rude to her. She appreciated my wanting to protect her but assured me that she was a big girl who could take care of herself. “Besides,” she told me, “I think what you do is cool.” Needless to say, I’m a pretty proud Dad and that is all I needed to hear.

So, I’m back and will continue throwing my two cents out there regarding bigfoot and any other weird or out of place animals. I have promised myself not to let the blog become drudgery so I may post a little less often but I guess I’m here to stay.

Looks like you guys are stuck with me.