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Old Man's Cave


This is just a short story of something that happened last weekend, when Rob (husband) and I went to Hocking Hills State Park in SE Ohio. We decided (translates to Rob decided) to go to Hocking Hills for the day last Saturday Sept 22nd, and do some hiking and sight seeing. I haven't been hiking in forever, so I was reluctant to go. That and I just simply didn't want to. Lol

As we parked, we noticed that several people had gathered to take pictures on the stone bridge that leads down to the path that takes you to Old Man's Cave. As we were waiting for them to move, we were talking about the history of the place. I have lived in Ohio for 18 years and have never been there, so Rob was telling me the different things we would see and where to be careful.

The crowd finally moved and we made our way down to the steps, leading to this beautiful rock formation. I was watching the sun glint off the water, instead of where I should have been walking, and I was getting a little close to the edge. I heard Rob (or what I thought was Rob) say "Be careful deary, it's a tittle of a drop from here." I started laughing and turned to ask Rob where he heard such an old fashioned word like tittle, and since when did he call me "deary." When I turned around I realized he was still up at the top photographing the bridge, and I was midway from the bottom, all alone. I thought maybe it was an echo from a conversation someone else was having close by, as the place echoed a bit when you spoke loudly.

Rob finally made his way down, and I was telling him about what I had heard. He looked at me and asked if the voice was a man or a woman, and started to laugh when I said it was a man's voice. I was a little mad when he laughed, as he knows how things go with me and he never has laughed at me before. After glaring at him and sticking out my tongue (adult like, I know), he proceeded to tell me that when he was younger, he used to go fishing a lot with his grandpa. His grandpa would tell Rob's grandma he was taking the 'little man' fishing, and Rob would tell his parent's that he was going fishing with the 'old man'. They would sit out at the lake behind their house in Indiana and fish for hours, and when Rob would get excited about hooking a fish, his grandpa would say "Pull just a tittle Robbie, you don't want to yank his teeth out."

I haven't heard the word tittle in YEARS, and certainly have never used it myself. We like to think that since we were at Old Man's Cave, Rob's grandpa took the opportunity to say Hi, and make sure I didn't meet my demise by being a careless hiker.:)

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The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, AppleSauce27, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Apfelkorn (guest)
2013-11-11 (1 year ago)
This is such a sweet sweet sweet story. It's a very nice idea that there are loved ones 'out there' who still watch over the living relatives.
Gargoyle (51 posts)
2012-11-16 (2 years ago)
Sorry, just ignore that last question!
I've just found MizMiMi02' stories!
I use a screen reader and it's not always very comprehensive.

Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
2012-10-19 (2 years ago)
MizMiMi! MizMiMi!

Where are you today?
And yesterday?
How about the day before that?
How's about the last two weeks?!
Because you certainly haven't been around here woman. Sad


I finally get someone, a regular someone, that has some 'mucho grande huevos' up in here, and you disappear off the face of the earth.
Seriously, I hope everything is alright with you and yours. The thought has gone through my head that perhaps you're on vacation. So I'm going to stick with that one until I hear otherwise.

Jav Scared

~Come back Shane... Come back!~ Crying
Raftingirl (2 stories) (113 posts)
2012-10-05 (2 years ago)
Whomever it was, looks like you have a guardian angle in them. As for tittle... Thanks ~ that made me smile.
MizMiMi02 (guest)
2012-10-05 (2 years ago)
Isandhu-It's a very odd word, but I have found myself becoming a tittle partial to it. Laugh It just rolls right off the toungue.
lsandhu (2 stories) (347 posts)
2012-10-05 (2 years ago)
Some mediums say our deceased loved ones are always with us and if that's true it could well have been grandpa saying hi and also cautioning you to be careful. I can't say I'd ever heard the word "tittle" before. Curious, I looked it up on the OED and its figurative usage to mean "the smallest or a very small part of something; a minute amount; 'jot or tittle'" goes quite far back (as far as the 15th century). I plan to use it at the very next opportunity.
MizMiMi02 (guest)
2012-10-05 (2 years ago)
It was a perfect validation Jav. I suppose it struck him right away, because tittle isn't exactly a word that's used widely now days. He says his grandfather was very protective, and a creature of habit. I can only guess that he thought Rob's idiot wife needed saving. Lol Laugh
What a wonderful, cool and fascinating discovery! I caouldn't imagine keeping a secret for that long, I just might implode! I'm going to check out that website, then we might have to visit Tuscon!
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
2012-10-05 (2 years ago)
The fact that Rob laughed when you told him what you heard is almost perfect validation of who it is. He never faltered at all, just came right to him. Sounds good enough for me, considering he's much like David in his belief about the paranormal, it's a pretty good standard to go by in this instance. And it's simply too sweet to ignore.

I love caves! Never pass up a chance to check out a new one, it's just that simple. As a matter of fact, David's boss is one of the three spelunkers that discovered the 'Kartchner Caverns' just outside of Tucson several; years ago. They kept that discovery a secret from the entire world for years until they had tracked down the landowners and researched all the laws for Parks and Rec. That and generally keeping those caves from becoming torn up and polluted by human hands before it they could be properly taken care of. They are massive and were completely untouched by humans before they found them. And an absolute wonder to see.
Here's a link to how it was discovered:

MizMiMi02 (guest)
2012-10-05 (2 years ago)
He thinks it might be his GPa as well. He's not so much into the whole paranormal belief, but I think he's leaning that way. I mean who really says tittle? Lol I'm glad to hear you enjoy them, I always like your also. Laugh
Fergie (28 stories) (930 posts)
2012-10-05 (2 years ago)
MizM, if that was Rob's Grandpappy, that was so sweet of him! I would like to think that was him too. What does Rob think?
Thank you for sharing a heartwarming experience with us... I love your experiences... They always sound such fun!
