Lincoln City

You know, it really is God, right? Okay, gotta tell you this story because it's one of my favorite stories about people at the retreat.

In July, there were a bunch of us widows hanging out together in this place called Lincoln City, Oregon.

I think there were l- there were 11 of us, and we were going hiking, and we see this couple leaving, and we're just being silly, and we're, like, clapping for them.

Like, "Good job, you finished the trail." We started chatting.

And if anybody's ever been to Oregon, there's a lake called Devil's Lake, and in that lake is reported a monster.

And this lake is close to Lincoln City.

Now, I have family that live in that area, so I kinda know where it is.

But according to Native American legends, this giant...

What reason, we don't know.

Now, my brother lives in Otis, in Oregon, near Lincoln City.

And over there, there is a preserve.

And I'm not exactly sure the nature of it, but there's a sign that basically says this is a preserve for 374 some odd animals.

Because of that, I got a pretty good look at her, and I remembered her face.

The next day, we were about 25 to 30 miles away at an outlet mall in Lincoln City, and I saw this same woman shopping there.

Then, we were at the Goodwill in Lincoln City, and my kids accidentally cut in front of a guy.

I apologized to him, so I specifically remembered what he looked like.

He was bald, and he had these really distinctive, chunky half-loop earrings.

Maybe she got into a car somewhere.

Maybe somehow it was a different woman dressed identically.

And Newport and Lincoln City are tourist towns along the same highway, so I understand why we might cross paths with the same tourists.

What reason we don't know.

Now, my brother lives in Otis, in Oregon, near Lincoln City.

And over there, there is a preserve.

And I'm not exactly sure the nature of it, but there's a sign that basically says this is a preserve for 374 some odd animals.

And, uh, and it was summertime.

And I said like, "N- no, I don't wanna get hypothermia." Now why, why was I thinking that? Because I was imagining swimming in the Mediterranean just like the beach vacations that I had taken as a child, which were all to Lincoln City, Oregon.

The Oregon coast, man.

I mean, if you...

In August you can go out into the ocean in, on the Oregon coast and in Lincoln City.

And if you don't get hypothermia in the first five minutes, then probably it's because you've gotten carried out to sea by a riptide and consumed by a great white shark.

I mean, you're not doing that.

And we went, and I swam, and my life was better because actually it was wrong.

In September, two steamship line employees named Robert O'Donnell and Vern Harms reported a large-headed, thick-necked animal 40 miles off Tillamook Bay.

And at Nelscott, a beach town that's part of Lincoln City now, more than 30 people stood on the shore and watched a 30-foot animal with a slender neck and a snake-like head moving through the water offshore.

There were others down the coast with fewer details attached.

At Bandon, people described an animal 12 and a half feet long with a bulbous nose and a body like a cow's covered in brownish hair.

Nehalem is a blip on the map on the coast highway, which is for the most part uninhabited.

Nehalem is a small little farming town on the coast between Astoria and Lincoln City.

And if you don't know those towns, I don't blame you because those are small towns also.

Well, it's like me, one of my favorite places to go camping here in Washington is Kalaloch, right? And Kalaloch is the lodge and the corner shop and the campgrounds.

I said, "Oldevi, where, you know, where do you live now?" And expecting him to say, "Well, y-you know, maybe near the, where the old Midway Drive-In used to be on Highway 20, or maybe North Albany, or maybe south down in Corvallis, or maybe up around the Timber Hill area, or downtown Corvallis, wherever." "Oldevi, where exactly do you live now?" I asked him.

His answer, "Lincoln City." [laughing] I said, "What? What do you mean Lincoln City?" "I mean Lincoln City." You know, it's hard to go, "William Blake." "What do you mean William?" "I mean William Blake." "What do you...

William Blake?" "Yeah, William Blake." "What do you mean William Blake?" "I mean William Blake." "Well, I mean Lincoln City." Did you hear what I just-- Yeah, you did.

Oldevi lives in Lincoln City.

Now, I don't know if John knew that, if Josh knew that, if Dougie knew that.

He lives in Lincoln City.

He's here now.

I said, "Uh, so how do you, you know, how does that work? You're at all of our road shows." "Yes," and he's lived in Lincoln City for three years, and he comes to all of our road shows from Lincoln City.