"For Cliff -
DB approached one of the people waiting with cameras and asked what was going on. The person, who might have been a greeter or field director, said that Jane Goodall was arriving in Idaho, apparently on the flight DB had just taken from Denver, CO!
DB is a good friend, and he immediately asked the man if he'd give a business card to Ms. Goodall. The reporter said, "Yeah, sure." DB handed him a http://www.northamericanbigfoot.com/ business card and thanked him.
DB has a good sense about people, and he knew that there was no way this guy was going to give a card to Jane Goodall for some bigfoot weirdo. DB decided to linger near the wall and watch the reporter. The reporter seemed annoyed that DB actually expected him to follow through on what was promised. DB knew that too, which is part of the reason he lingered...
Soon lights were flashing and the film crews started filming. Jane Goodall was approaching, followed by two assistants.
DB knew the reporter was not doing any favors for anyone that day, so DB simply walked up to Jane Goodall and said, "Hello Ms. Goodall. I didn't want to miss this opportunity to introduce myself. I'd like you to have a business card of my friend, Cliff Barackman. He's a bigfoot researcher in the Pacific Northwest.
Ms. Goodall stopped, smiled, and took the card. She read the card and said, "Bigfoot? Oh my!"
The two assistants behind her probably felt a little anxious at this point. Jane, however, had a twinkle in her eye. DB described it as almost mischievous.
She thanked DB for my business card, and asked the assistant to give a picture in return. The assistant shuffled through a bag, and came up empty handed saying, "I can't find one".
"You're fired!" Jane replied. The room chuckled, and for the first time DB noticed that the cameras were rolling and he was being filmed with Jane Goodall talking about bigfoot. Several newspapers and TV outlets covered this story, and at least one camera was running, getting all of this on tape (which probably ended up on the proverbial cutting room floor).
A little more rummaging in the bag turned up one last photograph. "I think this is the last one," the assistant declared.
Ms. Goodall took the photo, checked the business card saying, "Cliff's his name? Right." She put the pen against the photograph, lifted it off and gave a deeply thoughtful look before penning a short inscription. She handed the photo back to DB.
And off she went.
[I wonder if she looked... Just in case: Thank you, Jane, for everything.]

I bet she does a mean "whoop"

Dr. Jane Goodall and Dr. John Bindernagel
http://www.janegoodall.org/
http://www.rootsandshoots.org/
http://www.janegoodall.org/africa-programs/index.asp
http://www.janegoodall.org/research/default.asp
Here are Ms. Goodall's comments regarding bigfoot on NPR:
Wow, how cool!
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone has more credibility when it comes to primate research than Dr. Jane Goodall. I'm glad she sees things from a point of view similar to ours. When the existence of the Squatch is incontrovertible, she'll be hailed as a visionary, and rightly so.
ReplyDeleteGreat story! Jane Goodall is an amazing person.
ReplyDeleteI just heard Ms. Goodall on NPR this morning talking about Bigfoot, and she said that many people she has talked to in African tribes have told her about a monkey that walks upright with no tail.
ReplyDelete