Before I wrote my novel BIGFOOT CSI last year, I had no idea
that there had been Bigfoot sightings anywhere near my house in suburban
Atlanta. Aren’t Bigfoot all in the Pacific Northwest? Apparently not. A little
research revealed that there had been Bigfoot spotted in my county, just a few
miles from my house. And not just one Bigfoot report, either. Multiple reports,
including on one occasion when there had been a pair of them together. 
Knowing that Bigfoot might be roving the countryside is
exciting enough, but there was also a report of a dead sea serpent-type
creature found in the State of Georgia last year. The report came from a guy who
had been walking along the coast where the Altamaha River spills into the
Atlantic Ocean. He snapped a couple photos of the body, then left the area
(duh!). When he returned--presumably to collect the creature and sell it to the
highest bidder for a zillion dollars--the body was gone. Bummer. It’s that easy
for a zillion dollars to get washed out to sea at high tide.
Maybe it’s hard for people to accept that a seven-foot-tall
hominid covered in hair could remain hidden just fifty miles from downtown
Atlanta. Maybe you don’t believe in sea serpents swimming through rivers in one
of the original 13 American colonies. If that’s the case, then in the words of
Darth Vader, "I find your lack of faith disturbing."
Whether you’re a believer in cryptids or not, how do you
feel about bears? I thought that the biggest four-footed beast in the woods
around my house was my neighbor’s golden retriever, but according to a recent
article in the local Newnan Times-Herald newspaper, we’ve got black bears in the area. Apparently they come out in the
spring after they wake up from their winter naps, and they start looking for
food to help them bulk up after long months of fasting in their dens.
There are more than 4000 black bears in the State of
Georgia, and multiple reports of the animals have come from areas within a 30-minute
drive of my house. It never occurred to me that I might spot a bear in my
little Atlanta suburb, but apparently it’s happened to other people. The body
of one poor young bear was even found on a county road last spring, the
apparent victim of a hit-and-run. Bears are notoriously lax when it comes to
looking both ways before crossing the street.
So wherever you live, remember that unexpected creatures can
be anywhere. Next time you’re taking a hike in the woods or along the seashore
or just down the block, be extra vigilant. Any furtive motion or dark shadow or
unexplained noise might only be a branch waving in the wind, or it might be
something far more exciting. It could be Bigfoot or a sea serpent or maybe a
bear. And if it is any of those things, please send me an email. A photo, too,
if you’ve got a camera handy. Just don’t take pictures of your freaky witness
protection neighbor loading a dead body into his trunk. Or if you do photograph
him, and he catches you, please don’t mention my name. I ain’t seen nuthin’.
