Thursday, May 10, 2007

I GOT SASQUATCH FEVER

To the tune of "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent


This was the image captured in October of 1967 that fired the young imaginations of all my buddies in Detriot Michigan. It appeared in both Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated.
The photo is proof positive of what we knew all along- Bigfoot was no joke! Like Werewolves, the Chupacabra and Vampires, this was not a Myth, but an actual Bone Crushing, Gas Passing Creature. He had relatives all over the world, the Himalayan Yeti, the Abominable Snowman, King Kong and even in Arkansas was the Boggy Creek Boogie Man.

Furthur bolstering our young imaginations were the reports coming out of Monroe County, just south of Detroit, of a Bigfoot like Beast ravaging the roadways, and scaring the Homones right out of all the young people who frequented the local lovers lane.

Across the street from me lived little Peter Spencer, the young brother of my classmate Bill. Peter and Bill spent the night with me one night, and we studied everything we could find about Sasquatch, Bigfoot and our more local "Monroe Monster" as the newspapers were now calling our neighbor in Monroe County.

The next afternoon, I put the finishing touches to the two humongous footprints I had made right outside Petes bedroom window, and spread a little hair I had taken from Mrs McMullins dog run that housed two Huskies on his windowsill.
Then I went and knocked on the door.

'Hey Pete, lets go look around and see if we can find the Monroe Monster....he could be close by."
"O-O-K, d-do I- n-n-need to bringa- anytthing?"
Pete had a bit of a stutter, but no one teased him about it because he was one of the funniest guys I ever met, and any of us would have creamed anyone who did.

"Yeah, Pete, grab that squirt gun of yours that looks like a German Luger"
"O-O-Ok Steve, and I'll g-g-get my f-fake b-barf t-too."
"What are you gonna do with that Pete?'
"I-I-Ill hold m-my Stomach and g-g-roan and throw it at h-him!"
"Good thinkin' Pete!"


So all around the neighborhood we trod, Pete with his luger and fake barf and me with a Magnifying Glass, a cap gun, and a Bolo Bouncer looking for signs of the Monroe Monster.

"W-what are w-we lookin' for S-Steve?"
"Stuff like plants pulled up and the roots eaten, Pete, or a place where he might have left his footprints."
"O-o-o-r m-m-maybe w-here h-he might have s-sat d-down and left his b-b-butt p-prints, S-steve?"
'Buttprints? Pete, you crack me up! I'm havin' a cow!""



And Pete and I just fell out laughin'. We held our sides and rolled on the ground and kicked our feet and wiped the tears from our eyes. How can you not like a kid who is going to find Bigfoot by tracking his Butt prints? We woulda’ creamed anyone to tease Pete.

I don't know how long we scoured the neighborhood, but at some point the only places left to look for signs were my house and his. My house was clean, so we crossed the street with an air of disappointment hangin' thickly between us.
"You go that way Pete, and I'll go this way, by your Garage."
When Pete went round the corner heading towards his bedroom window, I turned around to spy on Pete. I couldn't wait to see his face when he found those tracks and that fur I had planted earlier

***************

Pete couldn't sleep for a whole week.
Those tracks and that hair had scared him bad. He had gone running into his house, screaming bloody murder. And while I had been in trouble, big trouble at first, the misdemeanor was alleviated by the fact that Pete had suddenly lost his stutter!

As my Mother had said, without much kindness...
"Your little stunt seems to have cured Pete"
I think about Pete a lot at times ... mostly when I have done something wrong that turns out right. I wonder if his stutter ever came back, and how much credit you can take for something that you have done that was wrong, but comes out OK.
I think that happens to us a lot more than we are aware of.

20 comments:

GEWELS said...

Well, if you have a list like EARL-then you can cross Pete off of it.

Your mother was a saint!

Mother of Invention said...

What a nutbar! Your poor mom. I loved this story! Thanks! And you gots pictures up loaded. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to figure out what Annelisa meant by the icon that looked like a bull with horns!!

Mother of Invention said...

Now you can post pics of yourself ....hey wait, you've done that...Santa, I remember! So what did David teach you? To scan fom mags and books?
Can't wait for all the music you'll upload when you know that!

bulletholes said...

I tell you whats priceless- Pete and his "Buttprints"- have you ever heard anything like that?

Barbara said...

I loved this story. Did you ever tell him the truth? If not, I think you need to find Pete and 'fess up. On the other hand, if his stutter really did go away, maybe just find him and reminisce.

Kilroy_60 said...

Whatta hell of a thing when it turned out to be Ted Nugent on a bad day!!

Kilroy_60 said...

5 posts per tag; and they're somehow related to the tag?

This should be fun...What are YOUR ABC's, Steve?

Anonymous said...

um......happy belated birthday.......or maybe it's happy be-sooned birthday

either way.....ya' know what i mean.....

meow.......

Annelisa said...

I just love this post, Steve! I can just imagine what a cheeky little impster you were, and I'll bet you were one mischievious fellow they couldn't keep in check! :-D

I wonder...what you say about doing something wrong, but making something right, well, maybe that was just meant to be, huh?

Maybe you were supposed to frighten the bejeezus out of your poor friend (did he stay your friend? :-) ) and cure him of his stutter! Or maybe he was just ready to let it go, and this gave him the perfect opportunity...

I did find your question about what I do (eventually... my mailbox is now playing up... on top of everything else (long story), but I was going through older posts just now and found it). Yes, you're absolutely right about me having something to do with physics... I'm a science technician in the local secondary (senior?) school, and I specialise in physics... I answered more back on my post.

Hope you're having a good weekend! It's raining and miserable here, and I was going to visit a friend, but it got called off due to illness :-( So, now I'm going to do some boring old cleaning up... or maybe I'll visit my mum today...

Anyway, hope your weekend's good!

Annelisa said...

Is it your birthday, Steve? That last comment, I suspect by a blogging kitty, made me wonder if I'd missed something...???

Mother Hen said...

Snork!

Anonymous said...

Great, great story, Steve. And, you might have cured Pete of stuttering on top of it! Doesn't get any better than that. Have a great birthday!! I wish I was only 50 :-)

Akelamalu said...

Gewels said it's your birthday so I just popped over to say

MANY HAPPY RETURNS

Love the post about Sasquatch. :)

GrizzBabe said...

Very funny story, Steve. You didn't keep in touch with Pete? He seems the type of character you would love to have as a life long friend.

Annelisa said...

Steve, a big hugging

((((((((HAPPY))))))))
(((((((BIRTHDAY))))))


to you!!!

*******50********
******today******


Gewels just let me know it was today - hope it's a good one for you... no, I hope it's a GREAT one for you!!

I'll pop round Gewel's in a minute... see how the party's swinging!!

Barbara said...

Happy 50th to you! You have danced your way into my heart and brightened many a day for me over the past year. I hope you do something special to celebrate today and wish I could join you!

Anonymous said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COWBOY !!!

xxx Red

(and yes, it is meant to be a shout out ! )

Mother of Invention said...

How could we all miss this?!! We were probably so enticed with your story that you slipped it in! 50 Happy Big ones! Hey, you're almost up with this old bag! HA! HA! No wonder you were struggling to get out of bed like you said at Barbara's!

I do hope that subway gave you a free sub!!!

bulletholes said...

yes Roy, it could have been the Tarzan of Rock and Roll they were seeing....as for your ABC Tag, I think I will decline- Barbara- i will have to re-write this to where I don't leave any doubt that Pete found the prints and freaked out bad.
Annelisa- I think i'll do a post on the Titus-Bode sequence.
mother hen- Whwere you been Ol' BirD? Happy Moms Day!
David- do you remember the Monroe Monster from your Detroit days??
Grizz- i moved from detroit the next year and the last I heard, pete was a Firefighter in California....i imagine the "cure" stuck...
Anonymous- you seem very familiar somehow...
Thanks to all and Happy Mothers day!

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