Bruce Richardson W9FZ Woodbury, MN

TD Mischke has a wonderful podcast called "The Mischke Roadshow". If you navigate to the website, during 2020, you can find episode #128 "The Deer Hunter". The episode explores deer hunters in Wisconsin and Minnesota who have encountered strange and unexplainable noises and visions of Sasquatch-like creatures. The entire episode is great and you should listen to the entire thing. I've been telling folks about the wisdom that Sasquatch dispenses during his second dialogue portion. I took some time to transcribe the dialogue. You should listen to the audio from about minute 34:00 through 41:30 to hear the delivery. I like Sasquatch's pacing and phrasing. The part I like the best is the analysis and message of the song Row Row Row Your Boat.

Click to stream (right mouse click to download) 12 minutes of your life--this includes 4 minutes of dialogue that preceeds the transcription below. Shift-click opens a new browser window. Ctrl-click opens a new tab in your browser.

TD Mischke: The Wisdom of the Sasquatch

TD Mischke: “….but when I came to, the creature was closer to me. As frightening and otherworldly in appearance as before, but closer to me now. And again, I saw him turn his face in my direction; notice that I was awake; and I, with a deep all-encompassing sense of utter disbelief, listened, once again, as he spoke.”

Sasquatch: “ You feeling ok? You have quite a bump on your head. I didn’t want to leave you out there. You never know what’s in these woods. Some deer hunter comes along and steals your wallet or something. I have your rifle. It’s just outside the cave there. You can take it when you leave.

My name is Tarse. I’m an Obenon (Oberon?). You folks would say a Big Foot, a Sasquatch, a Yeti—maybe you even have a new term these days. I haven’t kept up with it. I live here. Moved down here from Canada about 16 years ago. This is my place here.”

TD Mischke: “Am I dreaming?”

Sasquatch: “Oh I suppose, in a way, we all are. What is life? The sages say it’s some kind of weird dream. You know your species has a song:

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

Life is a dream. I think it’s saying “don’t take it all so seriously”. “Lighten up.” The song asks you to row gently. You’re moving with the stream. It’s not necessary to row with intensity. You’ll get where you’re going with gentle strokes. Row merrily. Don’t fret so much. Life is but a dream. Nothing to lose sleep over. What is your name, by the way?”

TD Mischke: “Tom.”

Sasquatch: “Tom, you want some berries, Tom? These are quite good. You know any songs you want to sing, Tom?”

TD Mischke: “What?”

Sasquatch: “Maybe later. You seem like a decent sort. I can occasionally take a shine to you humans individually. As a group, you’re kind of depressing, however. I don’t want you to take this personally. But my species is not impressed with you humans at all. In fact, we routinely say “The universe must be stupid”. That’s our thinking: “the universe is stupid”. It makes a whole lot of endless space but doesn’t let us go to more than an infinitesimal fraction of it. It gives us nearby planets we can never visit. Meanwhile, on our beautiful planet, innocent creatures like the dinosaur appear and the universe kills them off. Murders them with meteor showers. They were wonderful. What was the beef? Humans, meanwhile, who show only the ability to pollute, and poison, and destroy this fine planet, they are left alone. No meteor showers at all. I would have sent a few of them. Certainly, during the Spanish Inquisition, or during World War 1…. or 2. When humans showed just how hopeless they are. But no, no meteors fell. What did the dinosaurs do that was worse than World War 1 and 2? You see, Tom, the universe is stupid. Stupid.”

TD Mischke: “I gotta get the hell out of here.”

Sasquatch: “You go ahead. I understand. Before you go, would you like to sing a song? Do you have a song you like?”

TD Mischke: “Yeah I, I do. You’re Canadian? Ok.

(Four Strong Winds by Ian Tyson--Neil Young's 1978 cover version increased familiarity with the song)
Think I’ll go out to Alberta
Weather’s good there in the fall
Got some friends I can go working for

Still, I wish you’d change your mind
If I asked you one more time
But we’ve been through this a hundred times or more

(Sasquatch joins in duet for the next two verses)

Four strong winds that blow lonely
Seven seas that run high
All those things that don’t change come what may

If the good times are all gone
Then I’m bound for movin’ on
I’ll look for you if I’m ever back this way

(some silent revery)

This has been a really weird night.”