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Info-ParaNet Newsletters Volume 1 Number 468
Info-ParaNet Newsletters Volume I Number 468
Sunday, September 1st 1991
Today's Topics:
How old are the 'greys'?
Hudson Valley Tape
Hudson Valley Tape [2/3]
Hudson Valley Tape [3/3]
Blue Grass Crop Circle
Blue Grass Crop Circle (part 1)
Blue Grass Crop Circle (part 2)
Blue Grass Crop Circle (part 3)
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From: cwns1.INS.CWRU.Edu!al463
Subject: How old are the 'greys'?
Date: 1 Sep 91 05:03:55 GMT
From: al463@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Christopher A. Joseph)
How old is the classic 'grey' description?
I have in my posession a comic book dated April, 1967 (Flying Saucers,
#1 DELL). The aliens are depicted as being pale white, with large
heads, and large eyes. They are short in stature and look very much
like what we would call a 'grey'; too much to be a coincidence.
It just has me wondering now.
Chris Joseph
--
Christopher A. Joseph (Chris)|'You can go wrong by being too skeptical
al463@cleveland.freenet.edu |as readily as by being too trusting'L.L.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
'!ELUR sebboH dna nivlaC' << Subliminal Message | FNORD!| Praise "Bob"
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From: Jim.Speiser@f100.n1010.z9.FIDONET.ORG (Jim Speiser)
Subject: Hudson Valley Tape
Date: 1 Sep 91 04:52:00 GMT
I thought I would cross-post this series of messages from the Science echo.
They are from Maury Markowitz, with whom I have been corresponding regarding
the Hudson Valley case for the past year and a half. I'll be working on a
response, but I thought ParaNet readers would benefit from Mr. Markowitz'
wry post (or is that riposte?)
===========================================================================
Message #10825 "Science" (RECEIVED)
Date: 27-Aug-91 13:25
From: Maury Markowitz
To: Jim Speiser
Subj: UFO Tape
Next Reply is Message #10826
AHHH! That's where you went. I wanted to get a message FROM you to reply
to so that I would not get your name wrong (I'm very bad with names).
Anyway, I did receive the second tape (and in one piece no less, OK, NOW
you can send the XXX rated stuff :-) and viewed it several times...
You're not going to like me very much, but this SHOULD be public...
Recently, Jim sent me two tapes about the UFO cases around Brewster New
York. About 1 1/2 years ago, I stated here on this echo that I was of the
opinion, reading about it only, that the "object" being viewed were airplanes
flying at night with the cockpit lights on. I also felt that there was a LOT
of circumstantial evidence to support it, like...
A police officer chased one of the objects around the back roads until he
watched it land, in the form of airplanes, at the local airport.
The bulletin board at the airport sported "UFO burger, with unidentified
flying sauce"
All meetings about the UFO's were well attended by pilots
Several pictures of stickers etc reading "UFO's, do it better!" were to be
found in pilot's homes.
All of this seemed pretty obvious to me. But Jim stated that there were
several objects that could not be explained away this easily, and sent me a
tape on them...
In the first tape, the single "famous" object is to be seen, it consists of
a ring of 6 lights with one "leading" them that flashes. After viewing the
tape, I still have no trouble stating, that in my opinion, that these can
EASILY be explained as airplanes. Furthermore, seeing as I have seen planes
from just about every angles as a skydiver, I could even make an ID as 152's.
I did rie to Jim's challenge, and took the tape to the jumping club, there
the pilots (oops, that should be 182's above) pointed out that I was wrong,
the circle was probibly 152's, and the lead was a 182, easily identified by
the flashing light on the wing (of which, our 182, CF-NBW sports one).
Jim them sent me a second tape, and now I'm even more convinced...
The second tape had two shows on it about Brewster. The first talked about
this and that, and showed the ring again. Then they mentioned that planes
had fakes SOME of the sightings, but that the people who filmed this one saw
a "faked" on that they could tell was airplanes. However, this one showed a
sort of wedge, and was obviously MUCH closer , as the lights were much
brighter, while in the same basic formation (bright light in front, dimmer
light right behind it).
Then they also talked to a guy at JPL. Jeez, you thought the creationists
took stuff out of context! The guy comes right out and states that he is
sure these are NOT spacecraft (to paraphrase), and says simply that while
airplanes is given as the explaination for the one film "and I see no reason
to disagree", there is no explaination GIVEN for the second, and he sees no
reason to give one. The narrator then comments "IN other words, it remains
unexplained". OH COME ON!!! I'd SUE if they did that to me on a show!
cont'd...
--
Jim Speiser - via FidoNet node 1:104/422
UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name
INTERNET: Jim.Speiser@f100.n1010.z9.FIDONET.ORG
--------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jim.Speiser@f100.n1010.z9.FIDONET.ORG (Jim Speiser)
Subject: Hudson Valley Tape [2/3]
Date: 1 Sep 91 04:53:00 GMT
Message #10826 "Science" (RECEIVED)
Date: 27-Aug-91 13:38
From: Maury Markowitz
To: Jim Speiser
Subj: UFO Tape
Previous Reply is Message #10825. Next Reply is Message #10827
Here's the neat part. The second show talks about itself a little, and
how they were going to explore things like faith healing, metal bending etc.
Great. You guys have got to here the line he says at the beginning, while
completely correct, it's one of those old "well, it's just a THEORY"
things... where have we heard that before.
This one was a classic, whenever they talked to someone (no, we didn't
coach them on what to say, NO!), they would put at the bottom what they did,
like "high tech bio engineer". Hmm.. is there a "low tech bio engineer".
I'd like to know what he does, perhaps pump out septic tanks?
ANYWAY... they get to one guy how stars describing the object that he saw
as a triangle, then they show you some pictures that he drew of it... hmmm.
funny, looks just like the one that the first tape showed as being an
obvious
fake! At least THEY got it on tape! My sister and I started laughing so
hard we were crying!
At the end came the REAL hit... they get one sceptic (the guy who writes
for AW&ST, I forget his name) to talk abut it. He says that it's funny,
because he was talking to one of the bosses at the FAA and was asking him
why
they let the pilots get away with these stunts. Well, apparently I was
wrong, there is no law againced it. So he points out that if one of these
guys crashes and someone dies, he's going to be on the Hill the next morning
trying to explain why they didn't stop it. The next day, a FFA guy goes out
to the airport and tells them to lay off. Not one UFO has been seen since.
Hmmm.. like the crop circles...
a) Aliens can get sued by the FAA and thus respect the ruels..
b) They cannot fly during the day...
c) They can metamophize into airplanes in flight...
etc etc etc.
Jim, before this was nothing more than a curiosity. Now I'm CONVINCED.
Thanks!
You also stated that JPL said that the objects were afixed to a ridgid
object. I replied that it was probibly an off-the-cuff statement and that
they had not yet taken a good look at it. Well, I got the file... and due
to the amazing cut and paste...
Several of our scientific folk have taken a look at the tape.
The examination has been only visual - I don't think we can apply the effort
needed for a really quantitative analysis.
Funny, you stated that this was not the case. Amazing how close I came,
don't you think? And as to off-the-cuff...
We would guess that the lights are
attached to one rigid object - a guess might be an airship (blimp) of some
sort.
GUESS Jim, GUESS! BOTH my guesses about the statement were true as well,
they had not taken a good look, and just made a guess after a cursory
examination! Have YOU written to them to find out their current thoughts on
the matter?
cont...
--
Jim Speiser - via FidoNet node 1:104/422
UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name
INTERNET: Jim.Speiser@f100.n1010.z9.FIDONET.ORG
--------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jim.Speiser@f100.n1010.z9.FIDONET.ORG (Jim Speiser)
Subject: Hudson Valley Tape [3/3]
Date: 1 Sep 91 04:54:00 GMT
Message #10827 "Science" (RECEIVED)
Date: 27-Aug-91 13:51
From: Maury Markowitz
To: Jim Speiser
Subj: UFO Tape
Previous Reply is Message #10826.
About the sound... this weekend I was out at the club (I'm there every
weekend that the weather is nice), and I watched NBW take off. While it was
still only 1/2 a mile away (or less, hard to tell from the angle, but still
over the runway which is under 3000 feet), the aircraft was SILENT. No, I
don't mean quiet or hard to hear, I mean SILENT. And this was at full
throttle, full pitch (take off run). Again, I state that I find it entirely
believable that the objects described and photographed (taped) are easy to
explain as aircraft, even without all the circumstantial evidence. If you
don't believe this to be the case, that's fine.
However, I'll do one better. I'll invite you to join me out at the club,
and I'll even pay for a ride in FOU (nteresting, FOU, UFO...) the Beech
Bonaza, which I know you'll enjoy (notably watching the crazies like me jump
out the back of it at 10,500 feet! :-). You'll get a good chance to see and
hear what I'm talking about. And if you wish, I will demonstrate the
reaction mass effect for you, that Cy states airplanes do not use. In other
words, I'll let you get blown on your kiester too! :-)
Maury
--
Jim Speiser - via FidoNet node 1:104/422
UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name
INTERNET: Jim.Speiser@f100.n1010.z9.FIDONET.ORG
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From: shemtaia.weeg.uiowa.edu!jrblack
Subject: Blue Grass Crop Circle
Date: 1 Sep 91 10:02:56 GMT
From: James Roger Black <jrblack@shemtaia.weeg.uiowa.edu>
The next five messages constitute ParaNet's preliminary report on a
crop circle and related events which occurred recently in the town of
Blue Grass, Iowa. Copies of portions of the report will be sent to the
primary witnesses for confirmation and clarification, so there may be
some (hopefully minor) changes in the report after their input has been
received. Any major alterations, or significant further developments,
will be reported in future messages.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Black jrblack@shemtaia.weeg.uiowa.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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From: shemtaia.weeg.uiowa.edu!jrblack
Subject: Blue Grass Crop Circle (part 1)
Date: 1 Sep 91 10:04:20 GMT
From: James Roger Black <jrblack@shemtaia.weeg.uiowa.edu>
PARANET INFORMATION SERVICE
Field Investigation Report
CASE NUMBER: PN-91-0001
REPORT NUMBER: PN-91-0001-1 (29 Aug 91)
INCIDENT DATE: Wed/Thu, August 21/22, 1991
INCIDENT TIME: 9:30 pm to 3:00 am Central Time
INCIDENT LOCATION
Blue Grass, Iowa (90 deg 45 min W, 41 deg 30 min N)
WEATHER AND ASTRONOMICAL CONDITIONS
Clear skies, no precip, temp in low 70s, wind < 10 mph [1]
Sunset 7:57 pm Wednesday, sunrise 6:21 am Thursday
Moonrise 5:58 pm Wednesday, moonset 3:34 am Thursday
Saturn 8.5 degrees from moon. No other planets visible.
Lunar illumination 91%.
WITNESSES
Delmar 'Snowball' Meyer, farmer, Blue Grass, Iowa.
J.H., farmer, Blue Grass, Iowa.
M.A., housewife, Blue Grass, Iowa.
S.S., shift worker, Blue Grass, Iowa.
Names of confidential witnesses will be made available to
authorized ParaNet researchers by request.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
James Roger Black, Iowa City, Iowa (author of this report)
Robert W. Atwood, Iowa City, Iowa (photographer and associate)
SUMMARY
A 46.5-foot circle appeared in a corn field east of Blue Grass,
Iowa, on the night of Wednesday/Thursday, August 21-22, 1991. One
witness saw an unidentified light moving over nearby fields around
9:30 pm. A second witness on a road adjacent to the field
reported seeing a classic saucer descending toward the field as if
preparing to land between 12:30 and 1:00 am. A third witness
heard an unusual 'rumbling, bumping sound' between 2:00 and 3:00
am. A second circle appeared in a different field on the night of
Saturday/Sunday, August 24-25, 1991, but it appears to be a hoax
perpetrated in response to the first circle.
BACKGROUND
Blue Grass, Iowa, is a farming community of approximately 1400
people near the Iowa/Illinois border. It sits astride U.S.
Highway 61 between Davenport (4 miles east of Blue Grass in the
'Quad Cities' area) and Muscatine (20 miles southwest of Blue
Grass); Interstate 80 lies about 7 miles to the north and the
Mississippi River about 4 miles to the south. Despite its
proximity to a major metropolitan area, Blue Grass still has the
feel of an isolated rural community, and the surrounding corn and
soybean fields can be quite dark and forbidding in the dead of
night.
As in most small towns, everyone knows everybody and their
business, which leads leads to some interesting relationships
among the witnesses in this case. For example, M.A.'s husband
regularly plays cards with Snowball Meyer; and C.S., who helps
care for M.A.'s husband because of his chronic medical problems,
is the brother of S.S. In a larger community such inter-
relationships would immediately raise questions of collusion; in a
town like Blue Grass, it is merely an inevitable part of the local
culture.
The Blue Grass area, like much of eastern Iowa, has been a hotbed
of UFO activity for years. One sightseer we encountered during
our investigation told us that she had been 'chased home' in her
car by a brightly lit UFO in 1956, and we were told that another
Blue Grass resident's vacation campsite in southern Iowa had been
buzzed by bright lights earlier in the year. Last year a similar
crop circle in a corn field near Milan, Illinois, just across the
Mississippi River, was examined by MUFON investigators [2], and
several UFO-related incidents were reported in the press. Two of
the witnesses in the present case reported frequent nocturnal
lights and close encounters during the past two years, culminating
in the events which are narrated in this report.
EVENT #1: SNOWBALL MEYER'S CROP CIRCLE
On Friday, August 23, 1991, ParaNet investigator Robert W. Atwood
of Iowa City, Iowa, learned from a co-worker that a crop circle
had appeared in a field owned by the co-worker's father-in-law,
Delmar 'Snowball' Meyer of Blue Grass, Iowa. Mr. Atwood
immediately contacted me by telephone and together we drove to
Blue Grass, arriving at Mr. Meyer's farm at about 5:30 pm.
Snowball has been a farmer ever since he left the Marines in 1954;
he has been at his present location for 20 years. He is 57 years
old, with three children, and remarried after the death of his
first wife. He has no religious affiliation and no hobbies--'just
this crazy farming' and a few rounds of golf 'when I've got the
time'. He is respected by his neighbors and described as 'not one
to draw attention to himself.'
The farm is located approximately 1.25 miles east of Blue Grass
amid gently rolling hills, on the southeast corner of the
intersection of Highway 61 and Coon Hunter Road. It appears tidy
and prosperous, with five major buildings and some metal storage
silos in addition to a large farmhouse. There is also an older
concrete silo standing by itself at the southeast corner of the
homestead.
We were directed to the circle by Mr. Meyer's son and grandson;
Snowball himself was already at the circle with some friends when
we arrived. The circle was situated in a corn field about 150
yards south of the homestead, on a slight incline which slopes
downward toward the northwest. The field is completely surrounded
by an electric fence except for a large metal gate on the north
side. Mr. Meyer's family assured us that the fence was
electrified Wednesday night, and that due to its design (using
line current instead of a battery) it would deliver a particularly
nasty jolt to anyone who came in contact with it.
Local television station KWQC had already visited the farm and
carried a 'humorous' story about the circle on their noon news
report, prompting a number of neighbors to visit the site before
we got there; but Snowball had been careful to minimize damage to
the circle and the surrounding fields. The corn was well over our
heads and closely planted (about 3.5 feet between rows and only 6
inches between individual plants within the rows), and we had to
walk carefully to keep from damaging the remaining crops. A
pronounced trail leading from the gate to the circle had been
formed by the steady stream of visitors and family members; two
smaller trails leading toward Coon Hunter Road were attributed to
sightseers who had come that way after the fence was turned off.
Snowball insisted that he had carefully examined the field
immediately after finding the circle and that there had been no
evidence of trails or footprints at that time.
He explained that he first noticed the circle about 6 pm Thursday
afternoon while driving on Coon Hunter Road. He added that the
circle was only partially visible from the road, appearing from
that vantage point as a semicircle rather than a complete circle,
but that from the moment he saw it 'something told me this is what
I was going to find.' He was certain the circle was not there at
6 pm Wednesday (which is corroborated by the fact that the leaves
of the fallen plants were still green when he first examined them
Thursday evening). He concluded that the circle must been formed
some time Wednesday night; but he could recall nothing unusual
about that night, and he confessed that he was completely baffled
by the whole thing. He also said that he had never had any
problems in the past with vandals, pranksters, trespassers,
thieves, or any other peculiar or troublesome events.
[End part 1 of 5]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
From: shemtaia.weeg.uiowa.edu!jrblack
Subject: Blue Grass Crop Circle (part 2)
Date: 1 Sep 91 10:06:58 GMT
From: James Roger Black <jrblack@shemtaia.weeg.uiowa.edu>
[Blue Grass Crop Circle: begin part 2 of 5]
Snowball reported the incident to the Scott County Sheriff's
Department almost immediately (at 7:06 pm Thursday according to
the official report), but the investigating officer had dismissed
the incident as an act of 'vandalism' despite an inability to find
any footprints or any evidence of how it was accomplished. [3]
Snowball said that the incident had left him 'keyed up' and
nervous, and that he had trouble sleeping Thursday night; he said
it bothered him to think that things like this could happen on his
land without his knowledge or consent.
Within the circle, the corn plants had been swirled counter-
clockwise around the center in a manner similar to the wheat
circles in England, with the individual stalks lying at right
angles to the radius. With few exceptions the stalks were not
broken off but rather had been simply pushed over flat against the
ground as if by a high wind, with the roots on one side pulled out
of the ground and those on the other still buried. (Those stalks
that were broken off--we counted only four, all clustered together
near the western edge of the circle--were broken cleanly just
above the roots, and there was still considerable moisture in the
break.) There was no evidence of any damage to leaves or stalks
(both of which are very fragile due to the low rainfall in recent
weeks), and none of the ears had been detached. Four other plants
which had previously been pulled over and broken by foraging
raccoons (as evidenced by their gnawed and discolored ears) were
still standing in various parts of the circle; they measured
between 19 and 30 inches tall and showed no evidence of recent
damage. In one place--again on the western edge--the leaves
seemed to have been swirled around adjacent stalks somewhat like
the 'braiding' patterns reported in English wheat circles.
We measured the circle's diameter half a dozen times, and each
time arrived at the figure of 46.5 feet with an error of at most a
couple of inches. The investigating officer from the Sheriff's
office had examined the center of the circle and found no evidence
that a spike or post had been driven into the ground there; we
conducted our own search and found nothing either. The
circumference was clearly defined, again in the manner of the
English circles; a plant inside the circle would be pushed over
and lying perfectly flat, while another plant only six inches away
but outside the circle would be standing perfectly straight and
untouched. The only irregularity was on the western edge, where
two or three plants outside the circle were slightly damaged; but
Snowball attributed this to the carelessness of the sightseers who
had come from that direction and insisted it had not been that way
when he first arrived on the scene.
The ground in this particular field is mostly clay and was
extremely dry (again due to the near-drought conditions), with no
evidence of any moisture at all in the first three or four inches
of soil. Snowball informed us that the field is neither deeply
tilled nor chemically fertilized; instead he prefers to turn the
cows loose in it after the harvest and 'let them fertilize it for
me.' As a result, the soil is quite hard and compacted.
Nevertheless, the surface was covered with a light, powdery layer
of dust which was easily disturbed; a cooler carried into the
circle earlier in the day by one of Snowball's friends had left
clear marks everywhere it was set down. We found it was possible
to walk through the field without leaving footprints if one wore
flat-bottomed shoes and took great care, but field boots left
characteristic marks everywhere.
There was no obvious difference between the ground inside the
circle and the ground outside of it, and no evidence of
desiccation (beyond the drying and yellowing one would normally
expect of uprooted plants in the hot summer sun). Several grass
plants were still green and standing amid the flattened corn, as
were a number of shorter buttonweeds; but the taller buttonweeds
had been broken (although not completely detached) and then
knocked over in the same spiral pattern as the corn. Near the
center of the circle one very tall buttonweed plant had been
broken twice and left standing so that it formed a square with the
ground about two feet on a side. The top edge of this particular
plant was a noticeably different color than the rest of it (grey
instead of dark green), but otherwise there was no unusual
discoloration of any of the plants.
As evening came on, we noticed a fair number of flies on the
fallen corn, but there was no other insect activity that we could
find. Snowball did inform us, however, that there had been some
rootworm infestation in the field. (Since rootworm weakens the
stalk near the base, it could explain the handful of plants which
had been broken off instead of uprooted.) We took pictures of
everything we could think of, but did not take any soil or
vegetation samples both because of the lateness of our arrival and
because we have not yet arranged for use of the necessary
laboratory facilities.
On our way out of the field we encountered a small herd of cattle,
both cows and bulls, penned up near the old silo. They seemed
unusually attentive to us, drawing up together in a mass and
staring at us for as long as we stood still. At the slightest
movement, however, they 'spooked' and ran some distance away, then
turned and stared again. Snowball's family said that their cows
have always been nervous and easily upset, so this is presumably
'normal' behavior for them, but it seemed very strange to us. We
asked Snowball whether there had been any mutilations or missing
cattle in the area; he said he was not aware of any, but that with
cattle often set free to forage in the fields it might be days
before anyone would notice if one did turn up missing.
During the two hours we spent at Snowball Meyer's farm, there was
a steady stream of friends and neighbors who wandered by to see
the circle. During the course of the ensuing discussions, we
picked up the names of three other witnesses to strange events on
Wednesday night and Thursday morning. During the next few days I
talked with these witnesses by telephone and discovered that
Snowball's crop circle was only the tip of the iceberg.
EVENT #2: 'A RUMBLING, BUMPING SOUND'
Our second witness, J.H., is also a farmer in the Blue Grass area.
He lives east of Blue Grass and north of Highway 61, which puts
him about three-quarters of a mile northwest of Snowball Meyer's
place.
J.H. told me that early Thursday morning, some time between 2:00
and 3:00 am, he got up to go to the bathroom and heard a strange
sound, coming from the southeast, which lasted for about two
minutes. He said that he 'never heard anything like it before,'
but at the time he attributed it to a tractor-trailer rig having
some kind of trouble on the highway. Now, in light of the other
events of that night, he now wonders if it might have been
something else. He described the noise as a 'rumbling sound with
a kind of bumping inside it' like 'a semi about to throw four caps
[tire re-treads] at once.' He said that at night in the country,
especially in the kind of weather they had been having lately, it
was possible to hear noises from far away, and he considered it
quite possible that he could have heard sounds from the vicinity
of Snowball's farm. He says he 'could kick himself' for not
looking out his bedroom window; it faces toward the east, and he
believes he might have been able to see the source of the sound if
he had only looked.
[End part 2 of 5]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
From: shemtaia.weeg.uiowa.edu!jrblack
Subject: Blue Grass Crop Circle (part 3)
Date: 1 Sep 91 10:09:26 GMT
From: James Roger Black <jrblack@shemtaia.weeg.uiowa.edu>
[Blue Grass Crop Circle: begin part 3 of 5]
EVENT #3: A POSSIBLE LANDING
Our third witness, M.A., is a 47-year-old housewife. She has been
married for 26 years, and lives with her husband (an ex-fireman
who lost his legs in a work-related accident), her mother, and
C.S., a 34-year-old friend of the family who helps care for her
husband; they also have an adopted daughter. She has an eleventh-
grade education but seems intelligent and articulate; she smokes
but does not drink or use drugs. She has never had any psychic or
occult experiences, and until last November had no interest
whatever in UFOs. (In fact, she says she has long had an actual
aversion to the subject--'whenever someone would mention them, I'd
get up and walk away.') She was raised Roman Catholic, and her
husband was raised in a Protestant church, but she says their
different backgrounds were never a problem; they 'believe in God'
but are not particularly religious and do not attend services
regularly. She prefers a 'slow-paced, quiet life' and "doesn't
want any attention'; she thinks she 'may have made a mistake" in
telling people about her experiences because now they make fun of
her and think she is crazy.
M.A. has been seeing UFOs in the Blue Grass area since November
1990, when she was driving at night with her mother and saw a
strange light in the sky. It drew nearer and finally hovered
about 150 feet above their car. At first she thought it might be
a helicopter, but then decided that wasn't possible because it
made no discernible noise. She stopped the car, turned off the
engine, and verified that she and her mother were both seeing the
same thing: a classic flying saucer.
She described the saucer as having a silvery metallic skin, small
square windows 'like bathroom windows' around the circumference, a
white searchlight on a pole above, a row of white lights around
the rim, and a set of multicolored lights underneath. Through the
windows she could see what looked like 'a computer room' with
colored lights and screens. (Her husband runs a computer
bulletin-board system from his home, so the computer metaphor
would come naturally to her.) The searchlight on the top was
shining forward, in the direction of travel, and was aimed
downward so that it illuminated part of the top of the craft and
bled over the rim 'like a flashlight shining over the edge of a
table top'. The lights on the underside were clustered together
near the center and were flashing red, green, and white. She
heard no noise at all,and she described the scene as actually
being quite 'peaceful.'
At first she said she was terrified, but then 'some kind of force'
took the fear away and she was able to contemplate the vehicle
calmly for about ten minutes. Finally she started the engine and
began to drive away, and the craft immediately moved away and was
lost to sight. Three or four times since then she has seen a
light which she believes to be the same craft moving in the
distance, especially late at night when she is travelling alone.
She finally got disgusted and decided to ignore it because of the
ridicule she was getting from her friends.
A couple of weeks before the corn-circle incident she saw the
light again and became extremely angry. She 'thought' (rather
than spoke) to it, 'If you're for real, why don't you land? Give
me some proof.' She now believes that this may have been the
reason for the circle's formation two weeks later.
About 12:30 or 1:00 am Thursday morning she was driving east on
Highway 61, returning from a friend's house where she had gone to
watch cable TV. Off to her left she saw the light again over the
fields north of the highway; she said it seemed to be directly
over Snowball Meyer's bean field. Once again she decided to
ignore it, but after turning south onto Coon Hunter Road she
realized the light was also moving south, across the highway and
toward her. As she watched in her rear-view mirror, the light
stopped over Snowball's corn field and began to descend, dropping
straight down until she could no longer see it. She continued
home and said nothing to anybody. (And lest anyone think the
witness was merely confused by the full moon, it should be noted
that the moon at that hour was in the southwest, ahead and to her
right. It could not have been visible in her rear-view mirror.)
Thursday morning she awoke with a headache and a backache, and her
ear hurt, all of which she attributed to 'sleeping on it wrong.'
She took a couple of aspirin, and the pain was gone by the end of
the day, but her back continued to be 'uncomfortable.' She said
that C.S. commented to her that she had come in awfully late, 'in
the middle of the night'; she is confused by this, since she is
certain it could not have been much later than 1:00 am when she
arrived.
Friday, on the noon news, she saw the corn-circle report and
immediately went out to Snowball's farm. She said that part of
her concern was that the news report was incorrect--they had said
the circle appeared Thursday night, when in fact she 'knew' it had
to have been Wednesday night. She arrived while the news crew was
still on location and attempted to convince them of the correct
date, but they stuck by their story until Snowball agreed with
her.
When Snowball invited her to visit the circle, she replied that
she didn't need to 'because I already know what it's going to look
like.' She did finally go to the site and viewed it from the
shelter of the still-standing corn, but could not bring herself to
cross the threshold into the circle itself. She said that she got
'real, real scared' and had a strong feeling that she was "not
invited.' She was afraid that if she stepped inside the circle,
something very bad would happen--but she had no idea what.
The events since last November have been difficult for M.A. In
addition to teasing and ridicule from others, she has herself
wondered from time to time if she was losing her mind. During the
course of the interview, she must have asked me a dozen times if I
thought she was crazy; she seemed much relieved to be hear that
there are thousands of others who have had similar experiences.
She says that her outlook on life has not been changed by her
experiences, and that she still has no interest in UFOs except as
they affect her directly. In spite of her own experience with
them, she 'still doesn't know if I believe in them or not' and has
'tried to push it away.' She says she has no interest in hearing
about the UFO experiences of others because she 'doesn't want to
start imagining things.' She only wants to know the answers to
three questions: (1) How was her fear taken away when she
encountered her first UFO last November? (2) Why was she so
afraid to enter the crop circle in Snowball's corn field? (3) Why
was she picked out for this bizarre sequence of events? She says
that once these questions have been answered to her satisfaction,
she never wants to hear about UFOs again.
[End part 3 of 5]
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