I’ve gotta say that I think these things exist. But I don’t say that, by and large. Not to other people. (I sure never bring it up unprompted.)

I understand why researchers who are sure the animals exist are reluctant to talk. It’s a weird world. People believe in beings for which there’s no evidence (fill in your Supreme Being here); and dismiss, out of hand, critters for which there’s copious evidence. Mainstream science claims no hard evidence exists, when the only difference between sasquatch evidence and hard evidence is that mainstream science won’t even look at it.

I’m sure a lot of intrigued people have seen the evidence piling up; gotten in the field; gotten hooked…and then had wait-a-minute moments. A big, bipedal ape? Right here in our back yards? Gotta admit, it seems farfetched, doesn’t it?

Sometimes it just takes a long time to chew, even when you’re sure what it is you’re eating. I’ve been there. I responded to the newspaper editorial posted on another thread; left my name and other identifying info; and actually thought afterward: holy cow, what did I DO there….? What if someone sees this…and puts two and two together….?

So yeah. it’s kinda hard even for us “believers” to believe. (I hate that word, as applied to sas. Like Grover Krantz, I don’t believe. I see evidence which leads me to conclude.)

But even there: I’ve never seen one. Possible evidence, once. (And as objective as I could be about what I saw, even if I had no fear of anyone or anything at all, I couldn’t say more than “possible.”) And all the evidence I’ve read is, well, seconhand. It’s so good, and so voluminous, that my stock answer now is to direct any skeptic to the BFRO and TBRC sites, period. They then have to come back and tell me what specifically it is that they’re not buying.

But I didn’t put the sites up. Heck, somebody could have faked averything on them. I know, rationally it’a sbout the same as an artist counterfeiting a million one-dollar bills, freehand. But I don’t KNOW FOR SURE.

So I get it. Wish I didn’t have to. But I do get it. As has been noted here, even Jane double-clutched after her original affirmation.

Also, the purely emotional response that “it simply can’t exist” (which we hear far too often) should not taint an objective review of all the evidence, which as Dr. Meldrum has pointed out very well in his book, constitutes more than enough reason to warrant comprehensive investigation into the matter by more than underfunded, part-time volunteers.

It is so rare to hear such an affirmation from the always conservative, academic science side of the fence. The only other expression of absolute belief that I have ever heard came from the late Dr. Krantz.

With all due respect to those other academics who, for fear of peer reprisal, are carefully balanced on the proverbial fence, I must say that we could use a little more affirmative action a la Jane Goodall and Grover Krantz.

Recently I have listened to a few radio interviews with so-called leading BF investigators who could not bring themselves to commit the way Goodall and Krantz have done, even though I sensed they were literally biting their tongues behind their microphones for want of fessing up.

Wow, fear of reprisal and ridicule run so unbelievably deep. You all know the old saying, ’some folks wouldn’t say sh** if they had a mouth full of it’. I wonder how long they can stand to just chew on it.