I know there will be many who will not believe what I am about to relate as I am still having trouble coming to terms with all of it myself. My plan was to not post anything about what happened last night and pretend it was all just a dream - but the nightmare continues to haunt me even during the day. I can’t shake the image I had seen or the sounds I had heard. And the only way for me to make sense of and deal with any of it is to write it down while it’s still fresh in my memory. I’ll just come out and say it. Last night (Friday, June 23, 2017) I saw a very large and tall “thing” in our backyard, and it would seem to have been the being otherwise known as (dare I say it?) BIG FOOT! I’m sure it sounds crazy, but it’s true. And I consider myself to be one who quickly debunks extraordinary claims by others concerning UFO activity, Lock Ness Monster shenanigans, and - yes - even BIG FOOT sightings. Our youngest son used to watch those goofy BIG FOOT shows to where my wife and I would offhandedly snicker to one another at his fervent belief in something so obviously fake. Come on! None of that stuff is real. It’s made up by kids, people who are in desperate need of professional assistance, or those seeking attention. I wish what I experienced wasn’t true, and fell into one of the aforementioned categories as my life would be less complicated. Here’s what happened: It all started off as a regular Friday evening. Drum students were drumming in the studio, our children were playing video games, my wife was cleaning, and I was working on writing parts for an upcoming show. Something I do best while enjoying the company of great music. I remember loudly listening to 2112 and the A side of the album had run it’s course, requiring me to get up and turn the record over in order to listen to the B side. As I approached the turntable I thought I had seen someone running down by our creek area. Which is odd because the individual would have to be very tall, much taller than what would be considered a normal sized person, for me to see from where I had been standing. I stopped the record player and curiously walked over to the french doors located on the West side of our home. Everything appeared quiet and normal. I didn’t notice anything. I thought nothing more about it (at the time) and went back to attending to my music writing. This is when things suddenly became …strange. While listening to the song “Twilight Zone” (by Rush) I heard an unusual howling-type noise which created a dissonant clash with what I was accustomed to hearing during that particular song. At first I thought something may have been wrong with my speakers, but the bizarre sound continued even when I had turned the music off. It almost sounded like a “hoot,” though much deeper and varied. Our three dogs began nervously congregating by the door, and seemed extremely agitated as each paced back and forth. They even began doing their own unusual howling, something I had never witnessed any of them to do prior to (or since) yesterday evening. I thought there must have been another dog or possibly one of the wild coyotes recently observed in our neighborhood, hanging out by the creek. In order to ensure the safety of our dogs (I didn’t want any of our pets getting rabies, or eaten!) I grabbed a broom - not the best choice for a weapon - and opened the door to investigate. This is where things happened rapidly. It’s all pretty much a big blur at this point. As I shut the door our littlest dog (Elphaba) squeezed through the narrow opening and bolted toward the back fence overlooking the creek area. She looked cute running at breakneck speed. That was until I looked up and noticed this large creature in our creek area glancing in our direction by the swing - with glowing greenish-yellow eyes - as it quickly turned away and ran to the South, following the flow of our creek until it quickly disappeared. I was stunned. Where I was expecting a little nuisance I had found a magnificently imposing creature. The likes of which I hadn’t thought possible, much less probable. It was surreal to watch such a large creature move so quickly as it bounded toward highway 79, and retreated underneath the overpass and beyond. I only caught a brief glimpse of the thing. It was tall, hairy, had large feet, and it was extraordinarily fast for it’s size. All that remained was the memory of those few fleeting seconds, and a swing gently swayed in the wake of the awesome being’s hasty movements. Apparently my wife had heard our dogs making their odd noises in our home and opened the door only to find me standing along the edge of our fence holding our littlest dog and staring at…nothing. I didn’t know how to respond when she asked me what it was that I was looking at - for I wasn’t sure for myself. The last thing we both heard was that strange sounding and ear-piercing howling-hoot. We just looked at one other while our dogs responded in kind with their own versions of the odd sound. My wife had asked what made the noise, and I didn’t know what to say. It was a rough night. I had read the claims by the folks in our Round Rock Parks & Recreation Department, and subsequent sightings. It all had seemed so silly, even childish. And yet, overnight, my opinion had changed - in a huge way. It’s a big deal for me to share what I experienced in our creek area last night. I have a feeling there will be unbelievers (heck, I had been one myself). I’m ok with that as I know what we heard and what I saw. And Elphaba saw it, too. And the weirdest thing of all was how happy our dogs seemed once they were all outside. As if they were glad to be around a long lost friend. They were smelling vigorously, and wagged their tails as they looked toward where the swing was still moving. The best thing is we feel confident we’ll know if we’re ever visited again as our dogs will most likely make those same strange sounds, perhaps as an announcement letting us know of their returning friend. And we will be ready next time, camera in hand. Saturday, June 23, 2017.