Father and Son Went Fishing—Then Something Swam Toward Them!

Jeremiah Byron (0:00)

You're listening to Bigfoot Society, and I'm Jeremiah Byron. In this show, we go beyond the campfire stories to bring you firsthand encounters from people who say they've seen something impossible, from backwoods trails and remote mountain haulers to quiet farms and crowded highways. The stories come from everywhere, and each one leaves us with more questions than answers.

These are the voices of the people who've lived it. So settle in, because today you'll hear another account that just might change the way you see the woods forever. So stay with us. Please keep Jeremiah in your prayers as he continues his fight against cancer. For more updates about his medical journey, please go to the CaringBridge link in the show notes. Thank you.

This episode includes discussion of suicide and suicidal thoughts. If this brings up difficult feelings for you, please know you're not alone and help is available. In the United States, you can call or text 988 or chat via 988lifeline.org to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It's free, confidential and available 24 hours a day. You don't have to be in immediate danger to reach out. Whether you're in a crisis, feeling overwhelmed, or just need someone to talk to, trained counselors are there to listen. If you're outside the US, you can find international helplines at findahelpline.com, which will connect you with local support in your country. If you believe you or someone else is in immediate danger, please contact your local emergency number right now. And thank you for taking care of yourself while listening. All right, Bigfoot Society, you've got the privilege of talking to your friend, John Reiners today. John is an author and we'll show it right off the bat. Newest book is Aquatic Sasquatch. We're gonna be talking about today. It is an amazing book.

We were just talking, John, we recorded our first interview and you were like, this is about a year ago today, which is pretty wild. So welcome to the show, John. How are you doing today, sir?

John Reiners (1:55)

I'm doing just peachy, Jeremiah. I've been fishing at Dale Hollow Lake, so life can't get any better than that.

Jeremiah Byron (2:01)

I love it. I love it. What a lake that is. It's massive.

John Reiners (2:04)

It's beautiful.

Jeremiah Byron (2:05)

Man, how have things been for you since the last time we talked with this whole journey you're on?

John Reiners (2:10)

Well, everything's gone well. I'll give a little bit of bio for those that hadn't seen me on your show a year ago. My name's John Reiners. I've written three books.

I graduated high school in 85, so I'll be 60 coming up next month. So I'm kind of getting long in the tooth to my coworkers. I work at a hospital, so most of the people I work with, they're a lot younger. So I'm the old man, but guess who they come to if they need some advice.

So I've been a nurse for 26 years. I worked orthopedics for 20 The last five years, I worked in mental health and there's a family history. And like, I have a sister that unfortunately committed suicide at one point. So I knew at some point, I would get into working in mental health. And with that, that's very rewarding. It's tough to do, but years earlier in my nursing career, I wouldn't have been able to talk to people who are depressed and sad. So I always tell people, if you're in any kind of deep depression, make sure to get help. Don't try to self treat or self medicate. That does not rarely work. But anyways, I was in the US Coast Guard after high school, saved up money for college, and started a wicker and rattan importing business, did that. One day, I just realized after working 100 some days in a row, without a day off, you know what, I want to go to nursing in the 80s or early 90s, I went to nursing school and the rest is history. So that's a little bit of bio on me.

Jeremiah Byron (3:35)

Absolutely. You've had quite the journey and you have had an actual Bigfoot encounter yourself, which we talked about in the first episode, but I realized there could be some people that haven't heard that. You'll have to go back and listen to it. But do you mind sharing a bit about what happened that day when you had that experience?

John Reiners (3:54)

Yeah, it was about a year ago when I was on your show and that was episode 969

It was about the same time of year. But anyway, to kind of encapsulate, I'll kind of abbreviate the beginning and the setup. But long story short, I was being sent home at the hospital. I worked on an immunocompromised unit and I was also working on the COVID floor. Well, I couldn't take COVID back to the other floor, which was really devastating for the patients there. They would swab you every morning after work. Well, that evening, I was ready to go to work, tested positive, so you can't come to work for seven days.