Holmes, not missing a
beat, said "Yes, and he's going to hell."
Stunned and outraged,
the man of the cloth admonished Holmes. "You must not say such
things!"
"Well," Holmes responded, "you expressed a
medical opinion, and I have just as much right to a theological opinion."
As long as UFO
sightings have occurred in the USA, media representatives historically rushed
off to interview the first convenient astronomer in their line of sight. Why is that?
Because things are observed in the sky, astronomers are assumed to have
answers all ready to go, like microwave burritos? Yes, right or wrong, very often they do --
since they are asked and need to come up with something rational, so as not to
become the laughingstock of colleagues.
The late Dr. J.
Allen Hynek, obviously, was an astronomer whose talents the Air Force enlisted
when its UFO investigations began, and he did provide valuable insight, all the
while slowly shedding his skepticism.
Yet -- how interesting that astronomy was the first tell-me-why
discipline that came to mind both officially and publicly as the UFO phenomenon
took form in the modern world, particularly when one considers that astronomers
primarily concern themselves with places in the universe other than our
planet's atmosphere and things which come and go within its confines.
A few days ago,
Frank Warren's The UFO Chronicles (see site link) updated the Knowles Family
UFO car chase (Australia) from the eighties, a fascinating case, and when I
took a walk through "memory
lane" via old news reports I discovered that one all-knowing expert
astronomer had suggested the UFO encounter -- which involved an object that not
only chased, but apparently lifted the family's car off the road -- was not a
UFO incident at all, but merely something related to a meteor shower!
Many involved in
UFO investigations over the years are particularly familiar with
"experts" who step out of the woodwork to claim ownership of UFO
mysteries with the application of a dab or two of the soothing ointment of any
save-the-day explanation that blows with the wind. Unfortunately, the "cure" often
bamboozles both media and public because (gasp!) impressive credentials abound.
Credentials
rarely impress me anymore. Probably
because the White House is so full of them -- and so full of "it."
And while I'm
momentarily alighting upon the subject of politics, I need to make
it clear that my political rant has nothing
whatsoever to do with the non-political links in this blog. I don't know the political opinions of most
folks in the link list and don't care to know -- they appear here because of
their own clearly-defined interests in other areas.
I must, however,
make note of something conservative talk show host/author Michael Savage
said last week. A fervent contributor to
various animal charities, Savage half-joked that when he's retired in his
eighties or nineties someday, his wish would be to fly on a helicopter with
Navy SEALS, serve as a tail gunner and mow down poachers of elephant herds who
kill monstrously and beyond redemption for ivory -- a highly valued substance,
particularly among the Chinese. Hey Michael,
wouldn't it be super to wipe out those folks, too?
But meanwhile,
you're wondering why I don't write more about UFOs, the intent of
this blog for its first few years. Well,
it's because I've said it all, scanned and posted it all, and by now it's best
to let folks in the link list keep you updated -- and they do some great work. Am I through with the UFO subject? Have I changed my opinions? Let's put it this way: When I was allowed a thrilling tour of a SAGE
facility (tied in with NORAD) as a teenager * in the sixties, and a crusty old
Air Force chief master sergeant, steeped in USAF intelligence, took me aside
and suggested that he and I probably share the same views regarding the UFO
issue, I knew what I needed to know -- that UFOs are real, and that people in
high places know it, too.
*I wrote all about
this for Argosy UFO magazine, and
later included a lengthy blog entry here: http://robert-barrow.blogspot.com/2007/09/i-was-teenage-us-air-force-spy.html
