"Bigfoot's Cabin"

Blogging Friends.... Ray Bradbury had a quotation. It went like this. "My stories run up and bite me on the leg - I respond by writing down everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs off." This fictional children's book is proof that there's a definite truth in those words!! How so? First, this story was originally planned for October. However. My potential story for September never {Ever!!} "bit me in the leg"!! Boy!! Was that a cosmic first for me as an artist!! But "Bigfoot's Cabin"? This story bit me in the leg and locked its jaws like a Pit Bull!! {For Readers who own that dog breed. I do not mean to offend you!! This was merely an innocent analogy!! I happen to like Pit Bulls!!} So "Bigfoot's Cabin" it was!! Also. I completely named my character, Robin, after the late Robin Williams!! Hopefully I served his personality that we all loved well!! By the way? I had far too much fun creating a character that was--hopefully!!--just like Robin Williams!! Love you later.

Note. Although this children's book is fictional, it's based in our childhood vacation camping location!! Ah, memories!!

Sorry for posting this two days late!! When I promised to post it on Monday, I forgot a little something!! Whoops!! September 1st was Labor Day!! What was I thinking?! Oh well!! All of that turned out just fine, since I was not quite finished writing it, anyway!! Yes, I worked on Labor Day!! In my own defense? We enjoyed ourselves a "last hurrah of Summer" with something planned every single freakin' day {It was insanely busy!! I am still in recovery!!} during the final week of August!! And this did not leave much time for writing!! Then, I needed some--as my dear Blogging Friend, Molly, from the other side of the pond says--"big easy" yesterday!! So!! I gave myself some!! Well!! Better late than never?!

"Creating beautiful mosaic artwork" with the broken, shattered pieces of my lifelong dream to be an author....

For my dear Blogging Friends who have children. You may print this story off and read it to them!! I am alright with that!! Enjoy!!

"Bigfoot's Cabin" 

There is a beautiful place where nature-loving people drive to, go camping and create lasting memories. It has no electricity for things such as television or D.V.D. players or computers. And there is not any plumbing, either. Instead? There are stuffy stinky outhouses!! Yes, this place is where most people participate in "real camping". There are very few R.V. trailers parked alongside cars. Because most people build colorful tents and curl up in sleeping bags on the hard ground!! There are also bugs. Light-obsessed night insects of many different kinds. Blue thin-bodied dragonflies. Lazy mysterious moths. Not to mention seemingly countless pesky blood-sucking mosquitoes!! Which is just the way these nature-loving people like it!! No, they would not camp any other way!!

But this place also has rows and rows and rows of towering trees which provide shade!! There are no bright-shining streetlights, so the nighttime sky is pinned with endless twinkling stars!! This place also has a gorgeous lake that seemingly stretches out for miles and miles and miles on end!! Nature-loving people can smell the fishy-scented freshwaters before they even see it!! And this salty-tasting lake is always freezing cold. Unless warm sunbeams touch it!! People can be either crazy, insane, or both and actually swim in that lake. Or they might walk neck-deep toward its drop-off. But less adventurous people can sit on inflatable rafts, stay mostly dry, and paddle out to witness a breathtaking snow-covered mountain.

This beautiful place was where Robin, an energetic, crystal-clear blue-eyed, grey-haired, responsible Boy Scout leader with huge personality of Troop 343 had driven his seven 10-year old kids. Their names were Luka, Nathaniel, Logan, Patrick, Christopher, Malcolm and Charles. It was such a long, long, long drive. Because when Robin at last pulled his Chevrolet suburban into their campsite, four hours had passed by!! After the Boy Scouts diligently helped build tents, unroll sleeping bags, gather firewood, and make lunch, all seven kids went exploring. Then--completely out of nowhere--they discovered an abandoned log cabin with a tin roof.

"Hey, what is that?!" asked Luka.

"I do not know," answered Nathaniel, "Is it a big outhouse?"

"Nah," Logan replied, his nose sniffing the air, "It can't be an outhouse. I do not smell any pee or poop!!"

"You are gross, Logan!!" said Patrick.

"I know I am!!" said Logan, "What do you guys think it is?!"

 "Well," said Christopher, "Why are we just standing here?! Let's go and explore it!! That is, after all, the only way we will ever find out!!"

"Good point!!" exclaimed Malcolm.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!!" Charles yelled enthusiastically.

And explore they did!! The Boy Scouts happily ran toward that mysterious building!!

"It is a small log cabin!!" exclaimed Charles, who was the first one there, "Cool!!"

"And it is completely in the middle of nowhere!!" said Malcolm, "Weird."

"I cannot see inside it!!" complained Christopher, "The windows are all boarded up!!"

"And its door is locked!!" said Nathaniel, "Wait!! I see a ladder!!"

"Where?!" asked Christopher.

"Right there!!" said Luka, "I'll climb it and see if I can look inside!!"

Which Luka did!! Step by step by step. Meanwhile Nathaniel, Logan, Patrick, Christopher, Malcolm and Charles waited impatiently on the ground!!

"There is a bed inside!!" announced Luka to the other boys, "With white sheets on it!!"

Then suddenly Patrick screamed like a little girl. He had seen something that scared him.

"Wha-wha-what is that?!" Patrick asked.

He nervously pointed to the body of a mysterious creature. It had hair all over. This mysterious creature lie motionless underneath the abandoned log cabin.

"It looks like Chewbacca from Star Wars!!" Nathaniel commented.

"That cannot be!!" Christopher said matter-of-factly, "Chewbacca is not real!!"

"Who says?!" Malcolm argued, "He could be real!!"

"Well," said Luka as he climbed down from the ladder, "If it is Chewbacca, then I would not go anywhere near him!! That character can rip people's arms out of their sockets, according to Han Solo!!"

"What if it's a bear?" asked Charles, wide-eyed.

"That is even scarier and more dangerous than Chewbacca!!" exclaimed Patrick, now panicking, "Let's get out of here!!"

Just then Logan extended his right arm and touched the mysterious hairy creature. Which was very brave of him!! Why? Because nobody knew if this mysterious hairy creature was alive, dead or sleeping!! Luka, Nathaniel, Patrick, Christopher, Malcolm and Charles gasped, their mouths all wide open. They then each stepped back from the abandoned cabin. Patrick, of course, looked as though he was going to run away!! However. The mysterious hairy creature did not growl, move or even chase after Luka, Nathaniel, Logan, Patrick, Christopher, Malcolm and Charles!!

"It feels bristly, like my Dad's goatee!!" report Logan, "Cool!! And by the way? Whatever it is {Chewbacca, a bear, an ape} it is definitely not alive!!"

"Are you sure....?" Patrick cautiously asked.

"I am positive!!" said Logan, "Come over here and touch it!! Trust me!!"

Then Luka, Nathaniel, Christopher, Malcolm, Charles and--yes--Patrick walked up to the mysterious hairy creature. One by one by one they touched its lifeless dirt-covered bristly body. Then the Boy Scouts looked at their wristwatches. It was late afternoon, just before dinnertime!! So the boys walked back to their campsite. They then helped make dinner. After diligently cleaning up camp, Luka, Nathaniel, Logan, Patrick, Christopher, Malcolm and Charles told Robin all about the abandoned cabin with that mysterious hairy creature!!

"Oh...." said Robin in his booming voice, "You boys saw the legendary Bigfoot's Cabin!!"

"Wait. What?!" squealed Patrick, "Bigfoot's Cabin? You mean....? The hairy creature is Bigfoot?! That's even scarier than their guesses of it being Chewbacca or a bear!!"

"Yeah, but Bigfoot is not real," Christopher said matter-of-factly, "Just like Chewbacca!!"

"Ssshh!! Don't say that!!" said Robin in a mysterious voice, "Don't ever say that!! Especially not in these woods!! Because Bigfoot is very, very, very real!!"

"Wait," said Logan, "What's the 'legendary' Bigfoot's Cabin? I am just curious."

"What?!" said Robin in a shocked tone of voice, "You have never heard about Bigfoot's Cabin?! Really?! Where have you been all your Life, kid? Why, the legendary Bigfoot's Cabin is huger than Santa Claus around here!!"

Completely captivated, Luka, Nathaniel, Logan, Patrick, Christopher, Malcolm and Charles shook their heads "no". They had never heard about Bigfoot's Cabin!!

"Well!!" said Robin in his booming voice, "Let's start a fire, roast some marshmallows, make s'mores and I will gladly tell you all about it!!"

Which was exactly what they did!! During several sticky sweet marshmallow chocolate Graham cracker sandwiches, Robin told the story of Bigfoot's Cabin!!

"Warning", Robin quickly said, "This is a ghost story, so it could get a little scary!!"

But neither Luka, Nathaniel, Logan, Christopher, Malcolm Charles--or even Patrick--seemed to care!! They just made their s'mores and listened!! For Robin had their full attention.

It all started sometime in the early 1990's--which was years before you boys were ever even born!!--when a group of eight kids, mostly girls, explored these very woods and discovered Bigfoot's Cabin, he began.

While telling this story, Robin seemed very energetic!! And his booming voice was full of excitement!!

Their experience would have been quite similar to yours, continued Robin, These kids climbed the ladder so that they could look inside. One by one by one by one. They also walked circles around Bigfoot's Cabin. For these kids explored every single detail of it!! And yes, oh yes, oh yes, they, too, saw Bigfoot lying underneath the log cabin!!

"Did seeing him scare those kids?" interrupted Patrick, "Because I was sure afraid!!"

"No, they were not scared," replied Robin, "But hush now!! Let me finish telling you the story about Bigfoot's Cabin!! I am almost done!!"

Now, continued Robin, Nobody can remember who, exactly, started the story of Bigfoot's Cabin. Was it a dark-haired bearded man named Landon? {Four of the girls were his daughters.} Or was it a tall white-haired bearded man named Bode? {The other four kids were his.} It is hard to say. Because both Landon and Bode were fun guys with huge imaginations!! Not to mention, they had a weird sense of humor!!

Well, said Robin, Story has it that the mysterious hairy creature which those kids--and you--discovered is Bigfoot's body!! Now? Bigfoot's ghost runs around these very campsites, woods and even the gorgeous lake!! When you hear a noise or sound at night? It is Bigfoot's ghost!! When you see tree branches move during the day? It is Bigfoot's ghost!! For he's out to attack campers!! So there we have it, Bigfoot hunters. You will never find him. Because he is dead!! And that's the story of Bigfoot's Cabin!!

Suddenly everything was eerily quiet. Not even one cricket chirped!! Luka, Nathaniel, Logan, Patrick, Christopher, Malcolm and Charles just sat by the warm fire. Their faces were glowing, eyes wide open. Then Christopher asked some questions.

"If Bigfoot is dead and his ghost haunts these woods," he said matter-of-factly, "Then why can we see him underneath the log cabin? Shouldn't Bigfoot's body be gone? I am just saying."

"Or Bigfoot would be nothing but an awesome-looking bony skeleton!!" Logan added, "Right?"

"You are so weird, Logan!!" said Nathaniel, "Why is Bigfoot's body underneath the log cabin? Did he once live there, or something?"

"Those are all very good questions!!" replied Robin, "But truth be told? I do not know why, when Bigfoot's ghost haunts these woods, that we can still see his dead body. He should be gone, Christopher!! I can't but agree!! And I do not know why Bigfoot's body is not a bony skeleton!! It should be, Logan!! I can't but agree!! And I do not know why Bigfoot's hairy body is underneath the cabin!! I guess your answers are as good as anybody's!!"

Then it was time for bed. That night as Luka, Nathaniel, Logan, Patrick, Christopher, Malcolm and Charles lie in their sleeping bags, the boys listened, wide-awake, to every single noise or sound. Because they were completely terrified!!

Is it Bigfoot's ghost?!