image by Amrita1705 from Pixabay
THE PHOTOGRAPH
Grown-ups would always ask me what I was going to do when I grew up. Do you get that a lot? Actually, I still get that question. I still don’t know the answer, but when I was your age, I thought I knew. I would always say, “I’m going to be a photographer.” Usually, the grown-up would smile and say, “Well, and what are you going to take pictures of?” And I would say, “I’m going to take a picture of Bigfoot.”
I had a special reason for wanting that picture. My cousin Henry had seen Bigfoot, but nobody believed him. Common childhood ailment, they said. Overactive imagination. I believed him, and I figured the only thing that would prove it would be for someone to take a photograph and show once and for all that Bigfoot is really real.
I had to save for several years to get a camera. Meanwhile, I talked to everybody I could find who claimed to have seen Bigfoot. I was trying to figure out where was the best place to look. Actually, there were sightings all over the mountains but most of the spring sightings were near Archibald’s Ridge. Also, they're always late evening or night, so I figured Bigfoot hides during the daytime.
I took my camera and a tripod and some camping gear up to Archibald’s Ridge one evening. I set up the tent and a camp table. I put some hamburgers on the table. I arranged the tripod so that the camera was pointing at the table, and I tied a long string to the camera, and I waited up in a tree.
I waited and waited and it got very dark. I almost fell asleep waiting. I almost fell out of the tree. Finally, I heard a rustling noise near the tent. I couldn’t see a thing. I listened for a while and then I decided to pull the string to the camera.
The flash blinded me. I couldn’t tell if there was anything there at all. But then the rustling noise came again. After a while, I decided to take a chance and turned on my flashlight.
And there it was, a huge bear, three times as big as any bear I had ever seen. It had to be Bigfoot.
I was also stuck in a tree. I didn’t know if the hamburgers would be enough or if Bigfoot would eat me too.
Finally, Bigfoot finished all the hamburgers and started looking around. I didn’t think it saw me.
Then, a most amazing thing happened. Bigfoot grabbed the tent and picked up the whole thing and started to walk off with it. As it walked past the tripod and camera, it seemed to gather them both up along with the tent. Then, it just walked off. With my tent, my gear, my camera.
Well, that’s it. I did it. I took the one and only picture of Bigfoot. I can’t quite show it to you just now, but as soon as I find my camera and get the film developed, I’ll prove it. My cousin Henry always tells the truth.
THE PHOTOGRAPH
Grown-ups would always ask me what I was going to do when I grew up. Do you get that a lot? Actually, I still get that question. I still don’t know the answer, but when I was your age, I thought I knew. I would always say, “I’m going to be a photographer.” Usually, the grown-up would smile and say, “Well, and what are you going to take pictures of?” And I would say, “I’m going to take a picture of Bigfoot.”
I had a special reason for wanting that picture. My cousin Henry had seen Bigfoot, but nobody believed him. Common childhood ailment, they said. Overactive imagination. I believed him, and I figured the only thing that would prove it would be for someone to take a photograph and show once and for all that Bigfoot is really real.
I had to save for several years to get a camera. Meanwhile, I talked to everybody I could find who claimed to have seen Bigfoot. I was trying to figure out where was the best place to look. Actually, there were sightings all over the mountains but most of the spring sightings were near Archibald’s Ridge. Also, they're always late evening or night, so I figured Bigfoot hides during the daytime.
I took my camera and a tripod and some camping gear up to Archibald’s Ridge one evening. I set up the tent and a camp table. I put some hamburgers on the table. I arranged the tripod so that the camera was pointing at the table, and I tied a long string to the camera, and I waited up in a tree.
I waited and waited and it got very dark. I almost fell asleep waiting. I almost fell out of the tree. Finally, I heard a rustling noise near the tent. I couldn’t see a thing. I listened for a while and then I decided to pull the string to the camera.
The flash blinded me. I couldn’t tell if there was anything there at all. But then the rustling noise came again. After a while, I decided to take a chance and turned on my flashlight.
And there it was, a huge bear, three times as big as any bear I had ever seen. It had to be Bigfoot.
I was also stuck in a tree. I didn’t know if the hamburgers would be enough or if Bigfoot would eat me too.
Finally, Bigfoot finished all the hamburgers and started looking around. I didn’t think it saw me.
Then, a most amazing thing happened. Bigfoot grabbed the tent and picked up the whole thing and started to walk off with it. As it walked past the tripod and camera, it seemed to gather them both up along with the tent. Then, it just walked off. With my tent, my gear, my camera.
Well, that’s it. I did it. I took the one and only picture of Bigfoot. I can’t quite show it to you just now, but as soon as I find my camera and get the film developed, I’ll prove it. My cousin Henry always tells the truth.