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Thanks for your respectful response, Georgerm. I will answer your questions in reverse order. "Do you think all BFs are going to be respectful or are their homicidal ones out there that could care less about respectful chatter? This my friend is the real question." I will say as respectfully as I can that that actually is not the real question, but I will answer it anyway. BF are like us. The human race produced both Mother Theresa and John Wayne Gacy. What meaningful conclusions about humans -- and therefore, how you should behave around them -- have you drawn from that? If you have a good formula that's been working for you with humans, I would try that with the BF, too. I have no doubt there are some John Wayne Gacys among the BF. But on a day-to-day basis, that isn't important information. Every time you get up in the morning, you are risking your life. Do you drive a car? Every time you get into a car, you are risking your life. But you still get up and drive cars and live your life, because the majority of the time, it all works out fine. All those poor people who have come on here to say, "I've been in the woods all my life and I've never seen a BF, so therefore they don't exist" -- well, they are not good logicians, but they are telling the truth: They have been in the woods all their lives and never seen a BF. What does that suggest about your chances of going about your business and never encountering any kind of BF, much less a "homicidal" one? It suggests your chance are very, very good you will never have to deal with what you're afraid of dealing with. But let's say you do have the weird misfortune to draw the one short straw out of a billion trillion, and you come across what you believe to be a homicidal BF. If an 8-foot tall, 600-to-1,000-pound individual who chases bears and big cats out of his territory wants to put you on the menu, it's probably over. Oh well. You probably had no warning that John Q Public would be hitting the sauce in the middle of the afternoon just before he came around that blind curve on the road you were traveling to go pick up your sister, either. But if you're wrong, and the BF doesn't want to put you on the menu -- he's just scared and uncertain and bluffing, or sees that you're right next to his kid or his wife, or can no longer get that deer because you spooked it -- then you have options. You can just talk soothingly, explain yourself, put out your request respectfully, and give them time to think about it and respond. Why do we spend all our energy worrying about, and trying to imagine, what we would do in a situation where there's likely nothing we can do, but spend no time practicing -- or even considering -- the very real, very useful strategies that ARE available to us, and that work 99.99% of the time when we encounter situations that seem tense, but are easily resolved? Why do we fret about the things we can't change, instead of sharpening our abilities to change what we can? And sometimes you won't know which situation you're in. But to act like you know -- to act like a particular situation is the worst (and rarest!) kind, where you might die whatever you did, instead of acting like the situation is the better (and much more likely!) one, where a simple act of kindness and thoughtfulness could diffuse all the tension -- is a little bit, um, odd. At least try the sensible thing first. Then you can worry, if that doesn't work. This is why I say the question you posed as the "real" question is not the real question. We know the answer to the question you say is the "real" question. The answer is, yes, of course, sometimes there is nothing we can do to protect ourselves. Yes, there is real danger in the world. But by far the greatest amount of danger there is in the world is the danger we create by adding fuel to a tiny fire that would have gone out quickly and easily, if we hadn't opened our big mouths to yell in terror or anger, or fired a gun. When you get into a car, you put on a seatbelt, and most every time, you'll be fine. When you go out into the woods, put on your awareness that BF are just like us, and that a soft answer turneth away wrath, and you'll be fine there, too. I will answer your other question, too, although I have a pet peeve about that one, too. Yes, twice I've had encounters in the woods where I heard a sound that I had never heard before in my life, and therefore slotted into the category of "growl". I was quite scared, so I said that. "I'm a little scared. I'm not certain what you're trying to say to me. I would like to keep going on this trail. If you'd like me to stop, though, I will. Can you give me some confirmation that you mean for me to stop and turn around?" Then I stood there for a moment and waited. Nothing happened. I heard no sound, no twigs snapping, no growling, no breaking of branches, no nothin'. So I thought, cool -- I'm movin' on. And I did. And nobody came after me. And in fact, the next week, when the "growl" (which I no longer think was a growl, but just a hello type of vocalization) happened again, at the exact same spot in the trail, it was softer and closer to me. I understood that to mean that they had understood me perfectly the week before. They knew I'd been frightened the week before, but they really wanted to make contact anyway, so they did it in such a way as to honor both my fear and their desire, by making a quieter noise. So yes, I've had some experience with this. But I didn't have the experience until I went into the woods and tried out what I had read about and studied for many months, almost non-stop, almost 24/7. I knew, before I ever stepped into those woods, that these strategies would work, because I listened to others who made sense to me. When things make sense, you know that intuitively. You don't need to demand proof of things, because, as we all know, "proof" is in the eye of the beholder. In the end, it is you who decides what is true or not, based on how the information strikes you. Nobody decides but you. It would be nice if we could all finally acknowledge that the final responsibility for deciding what is true or not rests with ourselves. And if we've made a mistake, who cares? You just refine your listening skills. You don't stop going about your life because you made a mistake. Thanks, Georgerm, for the opportunity to answer these questions. Hope this helps.

Well, this has been fun, but all good things must come to an end. The truth? I don't believe this to be the case in this instance. The Redwoods has had every opportunity to present the evidence he says he has, yet none has been forthcoming. Offers have been made to assist him in doing so. Therefore, no excuse is acceptable for not putting it forward as was announced. The drama accompanying this claim, such as PM threats and previous, alleged staff wrongdoings regarding his "friend" make it clear that his claims are bogus. Therefore, this topic is now closed. In the event that The Redwoods were to pony up his evidence, it will be re-opened and the discussion will continue. I wouldn't hold my breath, though.

P.S. Wag, you said a while back you think the BF get sick of us and want nothing to do with us. I think that's true of a lot of BF. But like many people who become weary of war and fighting and start to work for change, some BF just get worn out by the fear of us and start to be hopeful about, and look forward to, a day when they don't have to avoid us and be afraid of us anymore. So some are pretty receptive to people, for that reason. They're not looking for "proof" that people are okay; they're just looking for a cessation of the stupid, endless hostility. I've heard people say, "I want to make contact with a BF, just to show them we're not all bad." I always want to respond, "Too late!" And then I want to go a little further and say, You don't have to take the burden of the world on your shoulders. This wasn't broken in a day, and it's not likely it will be fixed in a day (although technically speaking, it would be entirely possible to do). But there is something you can do. You can give an individual, a family, a break from fear. You can cut them some slack. You can be a nice surprise that day, or for many days. That's worth something, I think.

I miss Creekfreak.

Send them to me free or I tell everyone what I know about you. And don't call this blackmail, I prefer extortion. Sounds more sophisticated. On second thought, send me $40 too.

I never claimed that it was you that said it. Again, it's not about you this time.

You can bet your bottom dollar that I can, indeed! No, we don't want no stinkin' proof. We just enjoy those that come hear and claim a certain knowledge, yet somehow never produce any evidence. My friend, you're one of the many to come here and claim everything from Bigfoot following people home over some 50 miles to leave a book in their truck bed, to claiming that the Big Hairy has provided them with clues to their inner selves. Like you, they claim to have the goods, yet choose to withhold it for whatever reason... usually because we haven't submitted to the will of the enlightened squatch. In other words, we're not worthy, in their opinion. So, forgive me if your reluctance to share the evidence you claim to have doesn't impress me, nor does it surprise me. We've all seen it before. Why would you poll a bunch of people you don't know as to whether to present the evidence? That was never a condition of your previous offers. Again, this isn't a surprise, although the 5th member letting it rip would be. Sorry, but your claims are unsubstantiated, no matter how grandiose those claims are. Up to this point there's plenty of evidence to support my claim. Nobody's turned down any evidence. The person making the claims has refused to provide it after saying they would do so. It's now conditional based on what seems to be the input of other members... other "knowers." Regardless, I know that this train has left the station, as it appears that the OP chooses not to produce the evidence as they claimed they would. They're just dangling the proverbial carrot. After the Smeja and Ketchum claims, this stuff is minor league.