UFO ROUNDUP Volume 5 Number 20
Volume 5
Number 20
May 18, 2000
Editor: Joseph Trainor
E-mail: Masinaigan@aol.com
TWO NEW CHUPACABRA ATTACKS IN CHILE
Two new Chupacabra attacks were reported last week in Chile. The attacks took place in farm areas near the city of Concepcion, located 300 kilometers (180 miles) south of Santiago de Chile, the national capital.
"Four hens died a strange death in a section of Huertas Familiares in spite of the fact that the henhouse was closed and the birds were found in the backyard with mysterious incisions on their bodies."
"The Carabineros (Chile's national police--J.T.) have blamed wild dogs as the culprits in this case."
The dead hens were discovered by Sta. Emilia Parra Campos. "It was hardly the first time that animals had died in the farmyard at Huertas Familiares, in the vicinity of Coronel," a town 29 kilometers (12 miles) south of Concepcion, "where she has lived for 32 years. but the strange manner in which they were found by landowner Pedro Contreras--outside of the henhouse, scattered all over the backyard and with sharp incisions in their bodies--leads them to believe that something beyond the known was responsible."
"'Dogs rip their prey apart and pull the feathers off chickens,' said Emilia, still fearful and trying to explain that the henhouse door was locked and that the predator had attacked only the 'mottled' variety of hen, leaving the other six white hens alone."
"The penetration markes resembled those made by an icepick, one per lesion with a slight tearing of the capillaries..whatever animal that attacked must have been large because some of the attacked chickens showed (penetration) marks on both sides of the body. None of them were attacked in the throat, although there were marks on the wings, back and breast."
The attacks are believed to have taken place sometime during the early morning hours of Sunday, May 7, 2000.
"At around 9 a.m.," on Sunday, May 7, Pedro Contreras "went to the henhouse to feed his chickens, stumbling upon the nightmarish scene."
"'It was either the Chupacabra or another strange creature, because we have never had anything similar around here before,' he said."
"According to the Carabineros in the town of Coronel, who visited the site to investigate these claims, said the culprits were wild dogs that prowl the farms adjacent to urban areas."
The Carabineros "took the hens to the cuartel (barracks) at Lagunillas."
"The police report--which is the same one used for all the animal deaths--was reinforced by a neighbor, Salome Salgado, who claimed to have seen a black dog at 7 a.m. on the roof of the henhouse."
(Editor's Comment: Sounds like the infamous "Black Dog of Lake Erie.")
"However, Emilia Parra expressed her misgivings that a dog could reach the top of the structure given the height involved and the lack of any means to climb up there."
The other attack took place on Thursday, May 4, 2000 at a farm in Quillacoya, a section of Hualqui, a suburb of Concepcion. Six sheep and one goat were killed in the mysterious attack.
"A claim received at the Third Criminal Court of Concepcion is a result of the strange death of seven animals in Quillacoya...to open what will be the first inquest into the controversy unleashed by the so-called Chupacabras."
"The investigation was initiated by Judge Flora Sepulveda, who immediately summoned the owner of the animals and ordered the Department of Pathology at the University of Concepcion to determine the cause of the mass deaths."
"According to a report issued by the Carabineros at the Quillacoya cuartel to the criminal court, Paula Rodriguez Toledo reported last Thursday *May 4) that six sheep and a goat on her property were found exsanguinated (drained of blood--J.T.) after having been bitten by another animal. Rodriguez thinks the sheep and goat were attacked by wild dogs. The animals owners, however, are not so sure since the strange event took place during the early morning hours of may 4, when all members of the family were asleep."
"'No one seems to have heard or seen anything,' the Carabinero cuartel reported." (Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales, autor de los libros Chupacabras and Other Mysteries y Forbidden Mexico, y tambien Gloria Coluchi para esas historias. See the newspapers Cronica of Concepcion for May 8, 200 and Diario El Sur of Concepcion for May 10, 2000.)
UFO AIMS BRIGHT LIGHT BEAM AT A MOTORIST IN ARGENTINA
"Once again, sightings of strange objects flying over the area have been in the news" in Tandil, Argentina.
Tandil is a mid-sized city located 110 kilometers (66 miles) northwest of Mar del Plata and 384 kilometers (230 miles) south of Buenos Aires, the national capital.
"Several people claim to have seen powerful beams of light last Tuesday," May 7, 2000, "with characteristics that do not match any machines known to man."
"One of those persons is Hugo Macias, 60, who works for La Capital newspaper in Mar del Plata for the past 37 years and delivers newspapers every morning, traveling between that community, Balcarcel and Tandil."
"'On Tuesday (May 7) at 5 a.m., as always.' he ex[;ains, 'I left the newspaper at the Policia Nacional (station) at Planta Terrena, which is on the way to Puerta del Abra heading (east) toward Mar del Plata. I traveled another 6,000 meters (6 kilometers or about 4 miles--J.T.) and suddenly heard a very strange noise approaching me from behind, and I found myself 'contained' within a powerful bright light. I say 'contained' because the light covered a diameter of 50 meters (165 feet) and penetrated all sides of my vehicle. It seemed to pierce the rooftop."
"How long did this last? 'Seconds only, but it appeared to be rather long.'"
"Were there any other vehicles on the road? 'None whatsoever. During the remainder of the trip, I may have passed two other cars. It was a light traffic day.'"
The Argentinian newspaper El Eco de Tandil questioned Macias about the sighting.
Reporter: "So what happened later?"
Macias: "Well, I returned to Tandil and discussed the event with a group of friends and with a gentleman who belongws to the Army Command and to whom I bring the newspaper every day. When I returned to Mar del Plata, I decided to stop at the police station and see if the duty guard had seen anything during the night. But he wasn't there. There was another one who told me that there were five or six separate witnesses who had seen the same thing."
"But the story doesn't end there," Macias added, "On the same day, with a half-hour (time) difference, a similar case hadbeen reported over Tandil. The gentleman from the Army Command told me that there were guards on duty the very same night I had my experience who witnessed a light in the sky, with a very strange shape."
Reporter: "Are there objects commonly seen here?"
Macias: "On the way from Tandil, I made this comment to Officer Lopez of El Dorado (a town on Camino Nacional 226 near Tandil--J.T.) who is knowledgeable about UFOs, and he advised me as to why the (Argentinian) police avoid getting into the subject."
According to Macias, Officer Lopez made the astounding claim that "NASA can send an airplane with six scientists anywhere in the world and carry with them an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) in which they can visit locales in person. Many lolcal residents don't like strange visitors there."
Macias: "My experience was lovely because what first began as fear is now satisfaction at having been contacted by something which researchers in the field would like to have seen but never have."
"The power of the beam of light is not a power produced by any luminous sourcee that we now have," Macias added, "At the time I felt nothing at all, physically, but for the past five days I have felt a headache, laryngitis and other symptoms. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. Nor did I ever think it could happen to me. I'm just happy for the chance to have lived through a spiritual experience like this one." *See the newspaper El Eco de Tandil for May 9, 2000. Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales, Gloria Coluchi y Mario Robini para esta histopria.)
POPE REVEALS THE THIRD SECRET OF FATIMA
"The Vatican Saturday (May 13, 2000) which for decades has kept this shring" at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, Portugal "at the center of conspiracy theories and doomsday cults, describing the secret as a vision of the 1981 assassination attempt on the pope."
"Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, explained that the one concealed part of the (1917) prophecies revealed to three Portuguese shepherd children by an apparition of the Virgin in 1917 was a vision of an attempt to kill a pope."
"'The bishop 'clothed in white' makes his way with great effort towards the cross amid the corpses of those who were martyred,' Soldan told 6,000 pilgrims gathered at the sanctuary where (Pope) John Paul II had just beatified two of the shepherd children, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, and thanked the Virgin for saving his life on May 13, 1981."
"'He, too, falls to the ground, apparently dead, under a burst of gunfire,' the cardinal said, describing the vision."
Francisco and Jacinta are now on the fast track to sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. Two mircales must be attributed to them before they can change their title from Blessed to Saint.
"The announcement was an effort by the Vatican to put an end to the kind of fevered speculation that has at times overshadowed the shrine's spiritual importance to hundreds of millions of Catholics. Versions of the secret, broadcast on hundreds of Web sites (usually under headlines like 'Third Secret Revealed!') range from worldwide nuclear annihilation to deep rifts within the Roman Catholic Church that lead to rival papcies" to an invasion by aliens from space.
"Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who shot the pope in St. Peter's Square (in Rome) in 1981, told prosecutors at this trial in 1985 that his attempt was 'connected to the third secret of the Madonna at Fatima.'"
"Fatima fanatics have held hunger strikes--one even hijacked a plane--to try to force the Vatican to disclose the secret. During John Paul's visit to the shrine in 1982, on the first anniversary of the assassination attempt by Agca, a knife-wielding Spanish priest tried to kill the pope but was wrestled to the ground by security officers."
"John Paul has always credited the Virgin of Fatima with saving his life in 1981, when the assassination fell on her feast day, May 13. After he first visited the shrine in 1982 to give thanks for his survival, a bullet extracted from his body was placed alongside diamonds in a gold crown worn by a statue of the Virgin."
"In 1991, on the tenth anniversary of the assassination attempt, he returned again to give thanks for his life and as well as the recent collapse of Communism, a fate that believers say the Virgin also predicted in 1917."
"'On this solem occasion of his visit to Fatima, his holiness has directed me to make an announcement to you,' Sodano said, adding that the pope 'wishes his pilgrimage to be a renewed gesture of gratitude to Our Lady for her protection his papacy. This protection seems also to be linked to the so-called third part of the secret of Fatima.'"
"The cardinal said the secret in its entirety would soon be published by the Vatigan 'after the preparation of an appropriate commentary.'" (Editor's Comment: Here's where the Vatican and I come to a parting of the ways. I vividly remember the assassination attempt in 1981, and the circumstances do not fit the 1917 prophecy. The Fatima kids' prophetic vision of a pope forced to walk down a pathway with thousands of corpses on either side is ominously similar to Padre Pio Forginone's vision of 1970. Bothvisions refer to the "Good Pope" or "the Pope of the Last Days" who will be murdered by the Antichrist's one-world government in the future.)
"The pope Saturday referred to the prophecies, speaking of 'Fatima, where these times of tribulation were foretold,' but he made no mention of the 'third secret.' Instead, he once again gave thanks 'for the goodness of God towards me, when severely struck on May 13, 1981, I was rescued from death.'"
"The pope, who turns 80 on Saturday (May 20) met privately inside the basilica near the children's tombs with the third surviving witness to the apparitions, Lucia (Abobora) dos Santos, 93, a Carmeltie nun, who believers say was the main recipient of prophecies from the Virgin about 20th Century debacles."
"But it is the third secret, which legend says was delivered to the Vatican in a sealed envelkope in 1943 and has been kept secret by all the popes who have seen it, that has kept Fatima at the center of apocalyptic fears nd controversy. Vatican officials did not say why the secret was not revealed sooner."
"The fact that the pope put the two dead witnesses to the Virgin's apparition on the path to sainthood Saturday was another sign of his devotion to the cult of Fatima. Francisco and Jacinta Marto are the first children ever beatified by the Roman Catholic Church who were not martyrs. Beatification if the penultimate step before sainthood."
Unfortunately, no longer alive to witness the ceremony is Francisco Marto's catechism teacher, Sister Maria Annunciata of Aljustrel, Portugal, also known as the "Accidental Seeress." Upon hearing of the apparitions back in 1917, and aware of the nine- year-old boy's penchant for mischief, she was very skeptical. "Francisco Marto--a saint!?" she said, with a laugh. "That will happen when they elect a Polack the pope." (Nice prediction, Sister. You're a regular Nostradamus--J.T.) (See the Duluth, Minn. News-Tribune for May 14, 2000, "Vatican Reveals 'Third Secret' of Fatima," page 10A. Also La Republica of Rome, Italy for May 14, 2000.)
TWO CROP CIRCLES APPEAR NEAR ZIERENBERG, GERMANY
Two crop circles appeared on May 1 and may 9 in fields of oilseed rape near the small town of Zoerenberg, near Kassel in Hessen state. Kassel is 150 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of Berlin.
"Germany's first crop circle of the year and the New Millenium appeared on monday, May 1, 2000 in a field of oilseed rape at Aitenhasungen," near Zierenberg.
"Bsically, it was a dumbbell shape and about 25 meters (83 feet) in length, with two different-sized circles, one with a standing centre surrounded by a curved or kinked pathm accompanied by two grapeshots, one showing a single standing stalk in its centre."
"The lay was nice, and no muddy footprints or crushing marks were present when the formation was found at about 6 a.m. Later visitors to the field caused much damage and left many muddy traces on the flattened crop due to a very humid (damp) soil."
"Since 1998, the area around Zierenberg, near Kassel, has become Germany's crop circle hotspot. Each May 1 (Beltane), a new formation has been found each year in this vicinity."
"Eight days later," on Tuesday, May 8, 2000, "Klaus Listmann discovered a single circle of about 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter in a field of oilseed rape at Gut Rangen, again near Zierenberg."
German cerealogist Wolfgang Ring "reported that it was nearly impossible to enter the field without causing a track by walking through the one-meter high rape that had grown into each other, creating a non-walkable 'jungle.' Neverthless, the circle itself showed no entry tracks. Nor was it connected to any walkable path." (Vielen dank zum Andreas Mueller von International Crop Circle Archive for this report.)
HIGH-FLYING UFOs SPOTTED OVER DENVER, COLORADO
On Wednesday, May 10, 2000, at 9:40 p.m., the witness, his wife and his brother-in-law "were standing our apartment" near the intersection of 72nd and Wadsworth Streets in Denver, the state capital of Colorado, "when I noticed a 'star' moving very rapidly across the sky in a northerly direction. While watching this, we saw it pass another circular object that was heding south. The second object disappeared over our apartment building."
""In a few minutes, another object reappeared in a northwesterly direction at first, but then changed to a northeasterly direction. There appeared to be stars that were moving. There were no trails, flashing lights or sounds of any kind. I personally have never seen anything that would explain what we saw."
"Because they were mere pinpoints of light, I have no reference to estimate the altitude, but my guess is that they were very high, far higher than commercial aircraft. But this is only a guess." (Many thanks to Cliff Capers of Skywatch International for this report.)
JESUS CHRIST APPEARS IN A KANSAS TOWN JUST BEFORE A BIG TORNADO
On Palm Sunday, April 16, 2000, an apparition of Jesus Christ materialized at the fairgrounds in Parsons (population 11,300), a small town in southeastern Kansas about 55 miles (88 kilometers) northwest of Joplin, Missouri.
Dozens of witnesses at a carnival (fun fair in UK--J.T.) saw the apparition, described as "a figure with his arms outstretched, wearing a long white robe."
A Polaroid photograph was taken, which shows the glowing figure standing in a darkened parking lot with carnival lights and amusement ride lights in the background. The photo was published on page one of the Parsons, Kans. Sun on Wednesday, April 19, 2000.
"Ann Charles, editor of the Parsons Sun, said the time- lapse photograph...was delivered to her office a few moments before the tornado struck."
"The people of this small Midwest town say Christ saved them from a killer tornado--and they claim this amazing photo proves they were granted a miracle."
"The twister (USA slang for tornado--J.T.) swept through Parsons, Kansas on Palm Sunday, just two hours after the picture was taken. More than 200 homes and buildings were flattene, but only a handful of minor injuries were reported, including a broken leg."
"Stunned survivors asked themselves, 'Why were our lives spared?'"
"Then their local paper ran the photo three days later--and the mystery was solved."
"'That's Jesus Christ,' said Parsons resident Lanette Stice. 'You can see the rays of light going across from the (carnival) rides, and then right smack in the middle of it is Christ.'"
"'It means that God was there to protect us, and that Jesus had his hand on our town,'" she added.
"Mayor Tom McLarty says he has no doubt that the miraculous photo shows The Savior."
"'It doesn't take much imagination to see the image with outstretched arms,' he says, 'And to think the carnival was wiped off the map just a few hours later.'" (See the Parsons, Kans. Sun for April 19, 2000. Also Sun: Unexplained Mysteries and Marvels for Nay 23, 2000, page 34.)
UN AND REBELS SLUG IT OUT IN SIERRA LEONE
Heavy fighting continued last week in the west African nation of Sierra Leone between United Nations peacekeepers, also known as the "Blue Helmets," and forces of the rebel Revolutionary Untied Front (RUF).
From Saturday, May 6, to Monday, May 8, 2000, RUF guerrillas and UN forces battled for control of Masiaka, a town 72 kilometers (45 miles) east of Freetown, the national capital.
"The (UN) peacekeeprs withdrew from Masiaka, 45 miles east of Freetown, after exchanging gunfire with unknown attackers and running out of ammunition, UN spokesman David Winhurst said."
"Helicopter reconnaisance showed Masiaka was empty Tuesday afternoon (May 9, 2000), Winhurst said. He added, 'Freetown is not going to fall to the RUF."
"Hundreds of refugees from the Masiaka area had reached the edge of Freetown by Tuesday afternoon, officials said."
Within the capital itself, rioting broke out on Monday around the residence of Gen. Foday Sankoh, leader of the RUF. When Blue Helmets failed to hold back the crowds of rock-throwing demonstrators, Sankoh's guards "opened fire on demonstrators. Thirteen civilians and six soldiers were killed."
"The United States has saidthat the U.S. Air Force is prepared to fly in a battalion of 700 to 800 peacekeepers from Bangladesh."
""Late Monday, the United Nations began evacuating some of its 266 non-essential civilian employees. An additional 55 were staying in Freetown, UN officials said."
French diplomat "Bernard Miyet, the head of UN peacekeeping operations, arrived in Freetown and was meeting UN soldiers and officials to assess the situation and 'to demonstrate to the world...that we'rde determined to put the peace process back on track,' Wimhurst said."
Throughout the week, troops from UN member nations continued to reinforce the embattled United nations Mission to Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). A battalion from Jordan arrived on Wednesday, may 10, 2000. "The Jordanians' arrival increased the UN force to 9,000, although 500 remained hostages (P.O.W.s) of the rebels. More troops from Jordan, India and Bangladesh are expected eventually to bring the force to the total of 11,000 authrorized by the Security Council.
But the RUF has been recruiting, as well. The number of rebel troops has now reached 15,000, up 50 percent from last week. The RUF is outfitting the newcomers with weapons, uniforms and equipment taken from its UN prisoners.
"Fred Eckhard, the spokesman for UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan, said there were reports that RUF troops were 'on the move' and UN personnel were undertaking 'an emergency mission' to determine how many civilians were fleeing towards Freetown."
Also on Wednesday, RUF soldiers "reportedly were in Waterloo, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) south of Freetown."
"'Waterloo is now the front line,' said Joseph Jalloh,, an army commander" loyal to Sierra Leone's central government. "He said the government expected an attack there by to forces of the rebel RUF."
"'We hope it does not come to a pitched battle, but in effect we are preparing for one,' said Eckhard."
On Thursday, May 11, RUF forces attacked Newtown, just east of the capital. Firefights were reported on the outskirts, and hundreds of civilians fled west.
Two permanent members of the Security Council, Britain and Russia, committed military forces to the fight.
"Secretary-General Kofi Annan, speaking at a late-night emergency meeting of the Security Council, welcome the deployment of about 800 British troops as well as the offers by West African countries to contribute extra forces-- including a possible rapid-reaction force that could take on a combat role in enforcing the peace accord."
"Russia is considering sending 100 peacekeepers to join the United nations mission in Sierra Leone, if the plan is approved by President Vladimir Putin, the Defense Ministry said Thursday."
All week British Westland helicopters "moved UN troops to the front as they evacuated British citizens."
"On Thursday, Prime Minister Tony Blair said British troops would have no combat role. But he added that they migght remain here for as long as a month to help the United Nations build up its force."
"At the United nations," in New York City, "Annan said major nations with powerful militaries needed to live up to their responsibilities in Sierra leone. 'The UN is as strong as its member statesm' he told reporters as he entered UN headquarters. 'I hope some of them will come to the assistance of those who are in there doing the bidding of the Security Council."
Many members of the USA Senate have criticized Annan's intervention in Sierra leone. During hearings this week, Sen. Rod GRams (Republican of Minnesota) "called the UN force's performance in Sierra Leone 'a train wreck.' He said, 'Peacekeepers cannot maintain security for themselves, much less anybody else.'" (See USA Today for May 10, 2000, ""Peacekeepers pull back after attack in Sierra leone," page A10. Also the Duluth, Minn. News-Tribune for May 13, 2000, "U.N. chief wants more U.S. military help;" the St. Paul, Minn. Pioneer Press for may 13, 2000, "U.N. chief laments limited U.S. role in African peacekeeping efforts;" and "More troops arrive to protect Freetown against rebels." Also USA Today for May 11, 2000, "U.N. peackeepers prepare for 'pitched battle," and for May 12, 2000, "100 Russian troops may join U.N. force in Sierra Leone.")
*Editor's Comment: Lest we forget, this war began when the Security Council decided that it would no longer allow the sovereignty of the UN member states ro stand in the way of its "humanitarian" military operations. Don't think the Security Council will limit itself to small countries like Sierra Leone and Gambia. Blue Helmets could just as easily occupy the USA's state of South Carolina, the UK's Derbyshire, Russia's Crimea or Mexico's Yucatan.)
from the UFO Files...
1988: LONESOME HIGHWAY
For want of a better term, this phenomen could be called a Highway Space Warp (HSW) experience. There's a case now being investigated by ufologist Mike Harman which took place in West Texas back in 1988. (The names have been changed to protect the privacy of the witnesses--J.T.)
On December 22, 1998, Mark Hasbrouck, 30, a truck driver from Wilmington, North Carolina, stopped his Peterbilt rig at the USA/Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona.
"I was leaving Mexico with a load of broccoli, and I had waited all day to get shaved ice blown into the truck (trailer) in Nogales (Sonora state, Mexico). I went north (on Interstate Highway I-19) and picked up (Interstate Highway I-10 and began the easterly trek."
"I was stopped at the exit scale in Texas, as I had run out of hours. (In the USA, truck drivers can only stay on the road for a limited period of hours--J.T.) I was forced to shut down for eight hours. It was 3:20 or so p.m. I logged that I had left the road at 3:15 p.m. on December 22."
After pulling into a roadside truck stop, Mark let the engine idle while he had a shower. Then he went to the truck stop diner. Here he met a couple of eastbound gearjammers (USA slang for truck drivers--J.T.) Since they were all headed east, they decided to travel together as a convoy.
The two drivers were Larry Greenwood, a man of African ancestry from South Carolina, who used the nickname of "Congaree" on the citizen's band (CB) radio. And 40-year-old Zeke Matlich, who used the CB call sign of "Zero."
One after the other, the eighteen-wheelers pulled out of the truck stop. With a roar, they headed east across the night-clad "brush country" desert of western Texas. Mesquite and sagebrush rolled away toward the black brooding nountains on the southern horizon.
About an hour later, Mark head a static squeal on his CB radio. Larry's voice came through. "Break for that Jammer. Got your ears on, son?"
Mark plucked his microphone off the dashboard. "Surely do, good buddy. That's a big ten-four."
"Jammer, my baby's running a little rough. You want the cradle? Come back."
"The cradle" was the middle position in the three- truck convoy. "Affirmative, Congaree. If you get in any trouble, give us a holler. Come back."
"Hammer down, Jammer. See you in Fort Stockton. Ten-four."
Stepping down on the accelerator, Mark eased his Peterbilt rig ahead of Larry's Ajax Transportation truck. Once again, he pulled back into the lane between the two and resumed the drive eastward.
"I was about a half-mile behind the first truck," Mark recalled. He could see Zeke's red tail lights ahead of him, speeding down the deserted interstate highway. They were speeding across the desolate 22-mile stretch of desert between Sierra Blanca and Allamore. It was December 23, 1988, and it was precisely 1:10 a.m.
"Something strange happened to me. Zero went over a hill in front of me. And I saw some owls in the road. They were brown with large luminous eyes. I remember thinking, What a strange thing..."
No sooner had he lost sight of the first truck than Mark hward Zeke's voice on the CB radio. "Breaker! Breaker! Jammer! Where the hell are you!?"
Mark thumbed the microphone's transmit button. "Right here, good buddy. Come back."
"Jammer! What happened!? We've been trying to raise you for the past fifteen minutes."
"We?" Mark echoed.
"Me and Larry. We've been burning up the air waves, but you ain't been answering."
Frowning, Mark thumbed the mike again. "Congaree! You got your ears on?"
"Don't bother, Jammer," Zero said. "He's standing right here with me. At the Allamore exit!"
Stunned, Mark stared out the windshield. Somehow Larry had passed him on the highway. How could that be? How could he have passed him in a truck of that size and not been noticed?
Sure enough, Mark found the two truckers "both ahead of me on the side of the road. I pulled over when I got to them. They said it had been 30 minutes ago when I last talked on the CB. I looked at my watch and said that it was 1:16 a.m. And we checked (the dashboard clock on) my truck, which was the same as my watch. And we checked both of their watches and the clocks in their trucks, and they were the same."
The strain was too much for Larry, who had been looking out the windshield when he suddenly and inexplicably lost sight of Mark's Peterbilt rig ahead of him. "The big guy began screaming and crying, and he left in a hurry."
Mark and Zero drove on to Allamore, Texas. They stopped at a truck stop cafe "and talked about it for quite a while." Neither man could figure out the eerie time discrepancy
Just then, Arla Seguin, the pretty dark-haired Latina waitress, stopped at their table. "Hola, caminoneros! Are you ready to order?"
Without even thinking about it, Mark blurted out, "Claro que si. Traigame un bistec con la salsa picante y las papas fritas, por favor. Tambien un Pepsi."
Arla instantly brightened. "Cuando estuve usted en San Luis Potosi, senor?"
Rapidly blinking in confusion, he replied, "I--I was never in San Luis Potosi."
Arla smiled impishly. "You really know how to fake the accent, then."
"I--I d-don't speak Spanish," Mark mumbled.
"Good buddy, what are you talking about?" Zero said. "I just heard you chatting away with this here gal."
"I can't speak Spanish!" Mark gripped his friend's forearm. "Listen to me. I never took the class in Spanish in my life, so help me God! I don't know any Spanish- speaking people." His eyes widened in terror. "Lord, what happened to me out there!?" (Many thanks to Mike Harman for this feature story.)
Next Week: Utah's Mysterious Gadianton Canyon
Join us in seven days for more UFO and paranormal news from around the planet Earth, brought to you by "the paper that goes home--UFO Roundup." See you then.
UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 2000 by Masinaigan Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post news items from UFO Roundup on their websites or in news groups provided that they credit the newsletter and its editor by name and list the date of issue. .
