I Miss The Myths

Many years ago the squirrels would whisper his name amongst the branches. Towering redwoods would uproot themselves to clear a path for his mighty footsteps. The hearty musk of his hair would cause grizzly bears to cower in fear. Brave souls who dared set camp on his fabled stomping grounds longed to catch a glimpse of this mysterious figure. He was once the stuff of legend. The greatest celebrity that has never been seen. But sadly the tales of his mysterious presence has waned. His footprints have all but disappeared. What was previously an indomitable symbol of all that is mystifying has now been lost for the ages. What has become of you? Will we ever see you again? Perchance, one day, my ears will hear your melodious name again. I can only hope that the world has not forgotten you…Sasquatch.

During my formative years as a young television addict one of my favourite television shows was the pseudo-documentary program known as "In Search Of…" For those of you who are not familiar with the program let me give you idea of what it's all about. The show was hosted by Leonard Nimoy who's deep, baritone voice waxed poetic on such interesting topics as Easter Island, the Bermuda Triangle or UFO's. I was fascinated by this show. One show in particular, however, scared the bejeezus out of me. While sitting in my pajamas biting into a pillow I listened to "Spock" chillingly recount the story of Bigfoot. This hairy, apelike monster that wandered around the dark forests of North America. Seen only by a select few and the only evidence of his existence to be found were these extremely large footprints. I sat there watching through frightened fingers clasped to my face with astonished fear as I was shown the only known film footage shot of the enigmatic Bigfoot. This horribly grainy footage of what appeared to be a man in a gorilla suit walking along a riverbed only compounded my fear that there was a Bigfoot. To my naïve little mind Bigfoot existed without a doubt. If I was in an area with any kind of foliage, Bigfoot was there. Walking through a public park, watch out for Bigfoot! Fishing in a local river, hope Bigfoot don't get me! Of course it didn't help that fateful day watching another one my favourite shows, "The Six Million Dollar Man", which happened to feature Bigfoot as a character. But not just any normal Bigfoot, but a bionic Bigfoot! It seemed for a short period of time there was a bit of Sasquatch-mania going on. But then suddenly it was gone. No one cared about the Bigfoot anymore. No real scientific proof was ever found that he actually existed except for the footprints found by dubious, single-toothed woodsmen. It seemed like the mystery behind this hairy beast was never to be solved. Many years later the movie "Harry & The Hendersons" was released in theatre and a short spurt of Bigfoot fever erupted. This however was short-lived and once again the mystery of the Sasquatch left the publics consciousness. Nowadays the possible threat of Bigfoot doesn't even exist. In fact if you mention the word Bigfoot it is generally associated with a pickup truck that crushes cars with enormously large tires. If you type in "Sasquatch" or "Bigfoot" into an Internet search engine you'll only find a series of broken links and companies that coincidentally have those words in their name.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would philosophize on the state of the planet using a Sasquatch as focal point, but I'm going to give it shot. The mood of our society has definitely changed. Years ago unconvincing stories about Loch Ness Monsters, Easter Island, UFO landings, etc. had a bit more heft. Fascinating legends combined with the flimsiest of evidence and a extraordinary amount of storytelling. Who could believe that there was some undiscovered ape-man wandering around the dark forests of Colorado for so many years or the possibility that a sea serpent lived in seclusion beneath the waters of Scotland. There was a time, albeit with a bit of Santa Clausism mentality, you didn't really want to absolutely dispute their existence. It gave the world a bit of mystery, that unknown factor that there's still a little magic left on the planet. Nowadays it seems that the dubious stories that we tell today are extrapolated from documented facts. Clandestine organizations that conspire against us, government conspiracies, the real stories behind our everyday headlines. Essentially revealing the reality behind the reality of worldwide occurrences that we read about everyday. "You think the twin towers was bad?! You should hear what they've got planned next!" or "You don't know the real story listen to this!" I guess what I'm really missing is being a stupid naïve kid. Having the ability to believe in the impossible and not get all wrapped up in the stark reality of real life events. I just hope that "Sasquatch" inside of me is not gone forever.