TOWNSHEND — When I was a kid, I would watch the sun sink into the mountains at twilight. As the shadows came out of the woods, a horrible dread would fill my soul.
Bigfoot was out there. I just knew it. He was lurking outside our cabin waiting for it to get really dark.
Of course, it was easier to believe in Bigfoot back then. I was a kid, and the world was new, filled with mystery and endless possibility.
There was something else, too. Back in the 1970s Bigfoot got more respect. He had airtime on shows like In Search Of. He got ink in magazines like The New Yorker. He was a celebrity.
Now nobody takes him seriously. He's become the butt of jokes, relegated to bit parts in ads.
Of course, I have grown older and no longer suffer that lingering fear of Sasquatch at twilight.
My apprehension has turned to admiration. You've got to admire someone who can live out in the woods that long without being detected.
* * *
Many guys would envy Bigfoot's lifestyle. He's managed to avoid bad mortgages, credit card debt, divorce, mean bosses, and angry girlfriends.
In some ways, he embodies what it means to be a Vermonter. A rugged individual, independent and self sufficient. A true outdoorsman.
Sure, he has some faults. He has some personal hygiene issues, and he's not really a people person. But hey, nobody's perfect.
His biggest problem is that he might not be real. While this may seem insurmountable, I believe there is a solution for every problem.
* * *
I have met several people who have told me that you can create whatever you want by visualizing it. Hold the image in your mind long enough, they say, and it will take physical form.
If enough people in Vermont visualize Bigfoot...who knows?
There are a lot of people in the state. If every one of them spent 20 minutes visualizing, that would create a lot of psychic energy.
I ran this idea past a friend of mine.
“Not one of your better ideas,” she said. “What if it actually worked, have you thought of that?"
Me, I'm not worried. What could possibly go wrong?