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PCIntern

(25,347 posts)
Sun May 23, 2021, 11:57 AM May 2021

My family UFO story:

I want to preface this by saying that I come from a family which related it’s stories with exactitude. For example, my mother would not say that she went out and bought some Tastykakes, She would say that she went out and bought for peanut butter Krimpets, two Coconut Juniors and three lemon pies and two Tastyklairs. Obviously, this last sentence proves two things: I’m a Philadelphian and my mother spoke precisely. She never exaggerated, embellished, or lied. About anything. Ever. So I tell you the story and I believe it truly as though I had seen it myself.

She, my brother, and a friend of his were at what is now known as the Tarken playground near Frontenac Street in the Oxford Circle section of Philadelphia. In the clear blue sky, the three of them looked up and saw perhaps 1000 feet off the ground a giant teardrop shaped object possibly 50 yards across and of a color which was indescribable. It wasn’t gray, it wasn’t black, it wasn’t white, it bore no resemblance to any color which she had ever seen and it did not shimmer. It hung in the air silently and did not shift or move as a balloon would even during the five minutes with the stared at it. At one instant, two discs,relatively small, shot out at 90° angles From each other and she described them as disappearing over the horizon in but a few seconds.

At that moment, my mother stated that she realized that this was something with which she was utterly unfamiliar, she had worked for the War Department during the Second World War and was familiar with descriptions of aircraft, balloons, dirigibles and the like. She had seen weapons demonstrated and she knew this was not of the science with wish she was acquainted. She also realized that she and the boys might be in danger and got them out of there immediately looking Back over her shoulder and in the time it took for her to look forward for a few seconds and turn around the object was gone.

Now she was not alone in her sighting, she had run into other parents who were retrieving their children at the time and one delivery man who had seen it.

Now, my brother of blessed memory told the same story, of course with the impressions that the child has and corroborated her story in Toto. They had submitted the story to Project Blue Book in the 1960s if I remember correctly, and of course, never heard a word back from anyone.

Whatever these phenomena are they are not compatible with the knowledge base which we presently have vis-à-vis propulsion and ballistic dynamics. If they are from another time and place, from another civilization, from another planet, whatever they are,they are not part of our environment. To have experienced pilots, radar operators, law enforcement officers, military people of all stripes state that they have no idea what’s going on should at least pique peoples’ interests. I have my own thoughts about these things which are irrelevant to the telling of the story.

I would say to those of you who think this stuff is amusing, unbelievable, irrational, ridiculous, and easily explained, that it isn’t. It just isn’t. Too many people have attested to these experiences and whatever this is perhaps someday, I hope in my lifetime, it is revealed to the general public.

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My family UFO story: (Original Post) PCIntern May 2021 OP
This kind of thing really does ned to be taken seriously and not scoffed at. nt Binkie The Clown May 2021 #1
Your credibility in making such statements may be enhanced True Dough May 2021 #3
Friendly burn, but right on target! RVN VET71 May 2021 #27
Because RVN VET71 inspires immediate confidence. tonedevil May 2021 #96
Bah! Clowns get a bad rap. nt Binkie The Clown May 2021 #28
I take evidence seriously. Anecdotes are at best indicative only and interesting sometimes. . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz May 2021 #44
All evidence begins life as anecdotes. Binkie The Clown May 2021 #65
That was a truly thought provoking post Binkie. nt. druidity33 May 2021 #81
Damnnnn. Dropping' knowledge... live love laugh May 2021 #99
One of my buddies has a convincing story. There may have been a reasonable explanation, but I know brewens May 2021 #2
I don't find it unbellievable or amusing at all. nancy1942 May 2021 #4
"Until I see proof that UFO's do not exist" TwilightZone May 2021 #7
Proving a negative does not exist WA-03 Democrat May 2021 #35
"Until I see proof that UFO's do not exist I see no reason to doubt their existence" brooklynite May 2021 #11
I am still waiting for a decent video of a ghost dalton99a May 2021 #22
Why in the world do you think a ghost might be captured on video? Perhaps there's no visible triron May 2021 #88
I don't think you know how video works! Nt USALiberal May 2021 #97
So what is the energy signal that produces the video if it's not EM? triron May 2021 #109
If there are no visible electromagnetic emissions, how could someone (supposedly) see a ghost in the Dial H For Hero May 2021 #110
I completely believe in them... Blue_playwright May 2021 #43
Years ago people saw incubi and succubi. Now they see ufos. Anecdotes are not much evidence. nt Bernardo de La Paz May 2021 #45
Prove I don't have a way to make gold from sand! Prove it! Nt USALiberal May 2021 #85
Thanks for sharing, PCIntern. That's very similar to my UFO experience Glorfindel May 2021 #5
I'm really struck by the similarities in how the craft moved cilla4progress May 2021 #6
I feel it's arrogant when others declare we must be alone, or that only we can seek new life. n/t Akoto May 2021 #8
Probably not any more arrogant than insisting that some inconclusive videos... TwilightZone May 2021 #10
Just like some that are being arrogant in ruling eye witness reports as fake and more because SWBTATTReg May 2021 #16
Not fake edhopper May 2021 #18
Right...and all 100% of all of the thousands of reports by qualified witnesses are fake or SWBTATTReg May 2021 #20
Beat down? edhopper May 2021 #21
That's a false interpretation of UFO skepticism Silent3 May 2021 #34
Yes arrogant is the word. housecat May 2021 #49
As a skeptic I find it more probable and believable that: Goodheart May 2021 #9
So aside from calling my mother and brother liars, PCIntern May 2021 #12
How many false statements can you pack into one sentence? Goodheart May 2021 #15
when a whole host of folks qazplm135 May 2021 #67
LMAO Ferrets are Cool May 2021 #52
Lol, nice try! Nt USALiberal May 2021 #86
Your story is not proof of anything! Nt USALiberal May 2021 #98
Why does a "good skeptic" Loki Liesmith May 2021 #23
The entire point of his/her post was to call me and those like me out. Goodheart May 2021 #24
I'd suggest that considering that very tame closing paragraph a call out Loki Liesmith May 2021 #57
That's hilarious coming from somebody who was obviously offended by straight talk. Goodheart May 2021 #61
Straight-talk? PCIntern May 2021 #68
adding paranoid qazplm135 May 2021 #75
Why should a "good skeptic" leave dubious claims alone? Silent3 May 2021 #36
A good skeptic qazplm135 May 2021 #48
After one examines possible alternatives, however, one has to rate the relative possibilities... Silent3 May 2021 #53
I listed two others qazplm135 May 2021 #54
Your "two others" were not others at all. Merely just restatements of my point number 3. Goodheart May 2021 #64
I wasn't responding to you, so no need for me to enumerate your possibilites Silent3 May 2021 #83
Which is exactly why I included point number 3. Goodheart May 2021 #63
This message was self-deleted by its author Thtwudbeme May 2021 #31
Thanks. I agree with you! Duppers May 2021 #93
I'm a skeptic too qazplm135 May 2021 #46
Your 4 and 5 are part of my 3. Goodheart May 2021 #60
no they aren't qazplm135 May 2021 #66
Of course they are. Goodheart May 2021 #72
Bet you're a laugh a minute lillypaddle May 2021 #58
This is not a party, but a discussion forum. Goodheart May 2021 #74
It's clear that you take yourself VERY seriously lillypaddle May 2021 #90
100% agree! Nt USALiberal May 2021 #87
Was that in the 1960's? I had an uncle in the Strategic Air Command at Pease Air Force Base Vinca May 2021 #13
Thanks for sharing your story. I think people will only believe if they see for themselves. Maybe SWBTATTReg May 2021 #14
I believe and have never seen anything like an UAP. triron May 2021 #89
There will always be people who deny the existence of UFOs left-of-center2012 May 2021 #17
And they likely have a strong belief in a God housecat May 2021 #51
Just like there are people who will never believe the earth is orb-shaped Victor_c3 May 2021 #104
Which way LunaSea May 2021 #19
Point down. PCIntern May 2021 #69
I always find it hilarious that in this vast vast universe we are scratching to understand, RKP5637 May 2021 #25
To be highly skeptical of UFO stories in not stating categorically that something does not exist Silent3 May 2021 #39
Did I say it was aliens? n/t RKP5637 May 2021 #42
They were after Tastyklairs for sure bucolic_frolic May 2021 #26
Finally a plausible explanation! RVN VET71 May 2021 #30
I also have a ufo story that has been collaborated by several family members kimbutgar May 2021 #29
I believe you. mac2766 May 2021 #32
I've never seen a UFO, but have seen another type of evidence - crop circles. TheRickles May 2021 #55
After all, no human could crush wheat like that. Oh, wait.... Dial H For Hero May 2021 #108
But actually, the wheat is not crushed. TheRickles May 2021 #119
I went to look at a crop circle on the edge of town. Swede May 2021 #116
Now that everyone has iPhones, there are photos everywhere. TheRickles May 2021 #121
There is a formula for conspiracies, Swede May 2021 #124
Those kids got beamed back up to the mother ship. :-) TheRickles May 2021 #133
I've wondered if color usage is constant Marthe48 May 2021 #33
I've had those come true later dreams. I_UndergroundPanther May 2021 #91
The 2 dreams my husband had portended disaster Marthe48 May 2021 #125
Optical illusions and jumping to conclusions CloudWatcher May 2021 #37
The Fermi Paradox is really interesting The Revolution May 2021 #114
Not sure I want to meet up with anyone who can isolate a ship and crew Warpy May 2021 #38
I knew a man who lived on a farm out in Kansas. leftyladyfrommo May 2021 #40
I call BS on this so-called 'Tarken Playground' Orrex May 2021 #41
About 40 years ago we had a very odd next door neighbor who worked at NASA housecat May 2021 #47
On a number of occasions during my life, mac2766 May 2021 #59
Thanks. Yes I considered that but housecat May 2021 #62
could have been sleepwalking qazplm135 May 2021 #76
I've never sleepwalked but it is an interesting thought housecat May 2021 #113
Recommended. H2O Man May 2021 #50
Many "Christians" do have a problem with even... Duppers May 2021 #94
Right. H2O Man May 2021 #134
Aliens have already invaded the White House Ziggysmom May 2021 #56
That's very funny!! PCIntern May 2021 #70
In 1979 my friend and I were on my newly purchased land. panader0 May 2021 #71
Interesting for sure frogmarch May 2021 #73
Thank you for sharing this Hekate May 2021 #77
Sentience Mishap ymetca May 2021 #78
They are real, I've seen one flotsam May 2021 #79
"It was as pretty as anything I ever saw." -- Evelyn Trent Kid Berwyn May 2021 #80
Debunked!!! Nt USALiberal May 2021 #103
A more down to Earth perspective: Dial H For Hero May 2021 #106
About four years ago I was taking out the trash here in SC-PA... JoeOtterbein May 2021 #82
People see ghosts, have esp, after death experiences, nothing provable! Nt USALiberal May 2021 #84
Thank you so much for validating something Duppers May 2021 #92
Your mother was definitely lying Sur Zobra May 2021 #95
I have a theory about UFO sightings in general Victor_c3 May 2021 #100
UFOs events are 100% real. Voltaire2 May 2021 #101
It never fails to amaze me just how many people believe in such things. Dial H For Hero May 2021 #102
Are you religious? Just wondering. elevator May 2021 #112
Not in the slightest. Dial H For Hero May 2021 #115
There are things we don't understand, therefore aliens. Voltaire2 May 2021 #122
You are ignoring the points. elevator May 2021 #126
Is energy always conserved? The Revolution May 2021 #118
The answer to this question is within the book I mention in a post below. elevator May 2021 #127
+1000 USALiberal May 2021 #129
There is ample credible evidence of incredibly advanced technology. elevator May 2021 #105
there is zero evidence of 'advanced alien technology'. Voltaire2 May 2021 #107
Eyewitness testimony, especially by credible people is used as evidence often. elevator May 2021 #111
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Dial H For Hero May 2021 #117
UFO encounters happen all the time. elevator May 2021 #132
We have no idea it is a craft! Nt USALiberal May 2021 #131
Lol, ok! Nt USALiberal May 2021 #130
If I don't know what it is, it's a UFO. jcboon May 2021 #120
There is definitely something "weird" going on with all these sightings... cbdo2007 May 2021 #123
The 5% brain BS is not true........ USALiberal May 2021 #128

True Dough

(17,099 posts)
3. Your credibility in making such statements may be enhanced
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:11 PM
May 2021

if you didn't carry the name "Binkie the Clown" and display a clown avatar!

 

tonedevil

(3,022 posts)
96. Because RVN VET71 inspires immediate confidence.
Mon May 24, 2021, 02:02 AM
May 2021

My point being we all have nicknames on this board. Tonedevil has received some sideways glances.

Binkie The Clown

(7,911 posts)
65. All evidence begins life as anecdotes.
Sun May 23, 2021, 04:29 PM
May 2021

Look how long the anecdotes of rocks falling from the sky took before it started becoming evidence of meteorites.

And in the final analysis, there are only two kinds of evidence: Personal experience and anecdote. I remember my physics teacher telling me about the Millikan oil drop experiment to measure the charge on an electron. Should I take his word for it. After all, to me his recounting of the experiment was just an anecdote. Whats that you say? It's repeatable. Yes, I've heard that anecdote too. It doesn't matter how many physics books repeat the anecdote, the plural of anecdote is not evidence. Until I experience it for myself it's all anecdotes told by "authorities" who are called authorities by virtue of the fact that they tell the same anecdotes as other people who are also called authorities. Sort of like "The Bible is true because the Bible says it's true." How does that differ from "My physics teacher tells me the truth because he says he tells us the truth." What that? Other science teachers tell the same anecdotes? Well, other preachers tell the same anecdotes too. Doesn't make them true.

And in an even more final analysis, all we know is the sensations inside our head. Our conscious awareness may or may not be evidence for an "outside objective world." Maybe such a thing as objective reality doesn't even exist. Truth is, we'll never know for sure. (Google "Donald Hoffman" for starters.)

"Science is not about finding the truth at all, but is about finding better ways to be wrong." —Thomas Schofield

And never forget that today we laugh about things that science believed 500 years ago, and what we believe today will be laughed at 500 years from now. "Smug" and "science" are not compatible.

brewens

(13,400 posts)
2. One of my buddies has a convincing story. There may have been a reasonable explanation, but I know
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:08 PM
May 2021

those guys were terrified. I know every one of them, and all but my buddy were some of the toughest kids from our neighboring town. I played sports against all of them. If all of those guys ran screaming from something, you best haul ass and outrun them!

nancy1942

(635 posts)
4. I don't find it unbellievable or amusing at all.
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:12 PM
May 2021

Until I see proof that UFO's do not exist I see no reason to doubt their existence. Too many people have seen them and they can't all be wrong.
My Dad saw one on his way to work many years ago...and so did the neighbor who was riding with him. They weren't the kind who made stuff like that up.

TwilightZone

(25,342 posts)
7. "Until I see proof that UFO's do not exist"
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:22 PM
May 2021

You understand that's impossible, right? Can't prove something doesn't exist.

That is, of course, the basis of most conspiracy theories (the lack of evidence is proof), inside and outside the UFO world.

WA-03 Democrat

(3,017 posts)
35. Proving a negative does not exist
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:01 PM
May 2021

Last edited Sun May 23, 2021, 03:06 PM - Edit history (1)

has challenged logic experts for over an eon.

brooklynite

(93,880 posts)
11. "Until I see proof that UFO's do not exist I see no reason to doubt their existence"
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:36 PM
May 2021

Do you apply the same level of belief to Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and ghosts?

dalton99a

(81,091 posts)
22. I am still waiting for a decent video of a ghost
Sun May 23, 2021, 01:26 PM
May 2021

Billions of people with cellphones - and hundreds of millions of 24/7 surveillance cameras - and still not one good picture or video

It is disappointing, actually


triron

(21,916 posts)
88. Why in the world do you think a ghost might be captured on video? Perhaps there's no visible
Sun May 23, 2021, 11:25 PM
May 2021

electromagnetic emissions?

 

Dial H For Hero

(2,971 posts)
110. If there are no visible electromagnetic emissions, how could someone (supposedly) see a ghost in the
Mon May 24, 2021, 10:51 AM
May 2021

first place?

Blue_playwright

(1,568 posts)
43. I completely believe in them...
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:27 PM
May 2021

How old is the universe? How many civilizations have grown and died off on millions of planets over the millions of years? I think it's arrogant to think we are the only sentient life that has ever sprung up anywhere.

We're probably someone's senior thesis project in alien anthropology class from some distant galaxy. LOL

Glorfindel

(9,706 posts)
5. Thanks for sharing, PCIntern. That's very similar to my UFO experience
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:13 PM
May 2021

It was in 1972, summer. I remember that because my sister's house was under construction.
My mother and I were visiting, getting in the way, and expressing approval of the carpentry, etc.
One of the workmen present said, "Look up there! What is that?" And in the northeast sky there hung a very shiny, metallic-looking, oblong thing with rounded ends. It was impossible to tell how high or how far away it was. My brother-in-law guessed 1,000 feet high and a couple of miles away, but it was just a guess.

We observed the object for a minute or so, and then two much smaller objects came out of it and whooshed away in opposite directions, but both of them moving away from our vantage point. They were gone maybe five minutes while we continued to observe the "thing," and then they came back and entered into the larger object. After a minute or so, the large object moved away northward at incredible speed and vanished in a second.

This was witnessed by me, my mother, my sister, her husband, their daughter, and five or six
carpenters. I have never seen anything remotely like it, before or since. I wish I had thought to record the date, but I didn't.

Like you, I hope explanations will be offered in my lifetime, but I am not optimistic.

cilla4progress

(24,589 posts)
6. I'm really struck by the similarities in how the craft moved
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:18 PM
May 2021

in so many of these stories - and it syncs up with what I saw one time.

I was looking up at the sky through large pines on my property. I suddenly saw an object that, seriously, could have been a fast insect at close range, reflecting bright sun, or something far more distant and super bright.

I watched it for a really long time - well, seemed like, as these things go, right? 30 seconds can seem like a lifetime.

I watched it, trying to discern which of those 2 things it was - it's movement was so fast in random directions - zigging and zagging back and forth, changing directions, really quickly. And then suddenly disappearing.

Although I continue to think that it could have been an insect only 30 ft. above me, reflecting the sun, moving so quickly and then disappearing....certainly the more logical explanation is a craft much further up in the atmosphere.

Also: when my husband was about 6, about 60 years ago, he saw the classic cigar-shaped craft over Puget Sound, riding home in his mom's car from school. He saw it stationary for several seconds and then it suddenly disappeared!

TwilightZone

(25,342 posts)
10. Probably not any more arrogant than insisting that some inconclusive videos...
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:34 PM
May 2021

and anecdotal evidence are conclusive proof that aliens exist and are routinely visiting us.

Absolute statements made without supporting evidence are misguided, regardless of the source. We don't have enough information to insist on either extreme.

SWBTATTReg

(21,859 posts)
16. Just like some that are being arrogant in ruling eye witness reports as fake and more because
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:54 PM
May 2021

there is no physical evidence...this is akin to saying that a Boeing 747 flew over me, but no one else was with me at the time. So, the Boeing 747 wasn't real?

I think perhaps one story/one witness report can be ruled as not being conclusive enough but tens of thousands of witness reports by highly trained personnel? Give me a break.

edhopper

(33,216 posts)
18. Not fake
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:59 PM
May 2021

that would imply deception. It's just that eye witness accounts are grossly unreliable. Even those by "trained" people.

SWBTATTReg

(21,859 posts)
20. Right...and all 100% of all of the thousands of reports by qualified witnesses are fake or
Sun May 23, 2021, 01:13 PM
May 2021

unreliable...right, do you realize just how ridiculous this unilateral approach of yours in accepting anything sounds, despite witness reports by highly (notice, highly) trained personnel flying the damn airplanes as well as the Pentagon releasing videos of such aircraft?

There's always skeptics out there unfortunately and I ignore people like you. I'm sick and tired of your beat downs for really, no reason at all.

Silent3

(15,020 posts)
34. That's a false interpretation of UFO skepticism
Sun May 23, 2021, 01:58 PM
May 2021

There's a big difference between insisting that Earth has the only intelligent life in the universe (unlikely) and accepting that reports by people who interpret odd lights in the night sky as alien visitors are valid evidence of that intelligent life.

Goodheart

(5,264 posts)
9. As a skeptic I find it more probable and believable that:
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:28 PM
May 2021

1) your mother lied to you
2) your mother hallucinated
3) your mother misinterpreted what she saw

Quite frankly, sorry, you are in no position to know that your mother "never exaggerated, embellished, or lied."

PCIntern

(25,347 posts)
12. So aside from calling my mother and brother liars,
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:38 PM
May 2021

You, who never knew either of them have scientifically drawn the conclusion that you are correct and everyone else is wrong.

Congratulations upon being you.

Goodheart

(5,264 posts)
15. How many false statements can you pack into one sentence?
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:50 PM
May 2021

I didn't call either of your relatives liars. I said it was more probable and believable that they are, and offered up two other states where they might not be liars but simply wrong about what they claimed to see.

Nor did I draw an absolute conclusion that I am correct and "everyone else" is wrong. Not that "everyone else" is at odds with what I said, anyway.

qazplm135

(7,447 posts)
67. when a whole host of folks
Sun May 23, 2021, 04:35 PM
May 2021

see something you said in the same way,

a "good skeptic" would ask which is more likely

1. They are all wrong and you are right.
2. Maybe you could have said it better

Loki Liesmith

(4,602 posts)
23. Why does a "good skeptic"
Sun May 23, 2021, 01:27 PM
May 2021

feel a need to weigh in on someone else’s experience when that person isn’t making any kind of ontological claim?

What does it accomplish beyond virtue signaling?

Goodheart

(5,264 posts)
24. The entire point of his/her post was to call me and those like me out.
Sun May 23, 2021, 01:30 PM
May 2021

And to invite response. Summarized by his last paragraph:

"I would say to those of you who think this stuff is amusing, unbelievable, irrational, ridiculous, and easily explained, that it isn’t. It just isn’t. "

Do you see now?

Loki Liesmith

(4,602 posts)
57. I'd suggest that considering that very tame closing paragraph a call out
Sun May 23, 2021, 03:03 PM
May 2021

Is perhaps a bit thin-skinned.

Silent3

(15,020 posts)
36. Why should a "good skeptic" leave dubious claims alone?
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:08 PM
May 2021

If it is somehow a matter of polite discourse to leave dubious claims alone, as if "someone else’s experience" is a sacred and untouchable thing, that only serves to elevate those dubious claims.

In general, a "good skeptic" values skepticism not just as a personal stance, but as something beneficial to society that's worthy of promotion.

Further, it is important to distinguish between having an experience, and interpreting an experience. Raw sensory experience is of course completely personal. But the moment you begin to try to put your sensory experiences into words to convey a story of what you believe was the cause of your experience, then what you say can be quite debatable.

qazplm135

(7,447 posts)
48. A good skeptic
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:33 PM
May 2021

Would consider all possible alternatives, not just the ones that render the witness a liar or delusional.

Silent3

(15,020 posts)
53. After one examines possible alternatives, however, one has to rate the relative possibilities...
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:47 PM
May 2021

...of the alternatives.

I haven't seen any case yet where "it was aliens" rates higher than "liar" or "delusional", or simply being a quite normal human being with a normal level of poor ability to evaluate strange perceptions and handle incomplete information.

qazplm135

(7,447 posts)
54. I listed two others
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:51 PM
May 2021

that were just as possible.

A stealth bomber flying around in the 60s or 70s would have looked quite alien and not required any of the things you listed.

Similarly advanced craft today could do the same.

But I see, you're invested in being a jerk. You do you.

Silent3

(15,020 posts)
83. I wasn't responding to you, so no need for me to enumerate your possibilites
Sun May 23, 2021, 10:16 PM
May 2021

And nothing I said disagrees with thinking a stealth bomber (or something else prosaic) is much more likely than an alien visitor. That was, in fact, my general point.

Goodheart

(5,264 posts)
63. Which is exactly why I included point number 3.
Sun May 23, 2021, 03:50 PM
May 2021

Perhaps your first inclination is to cast aspersions instead of actually reading and absorbing?

Response to Goodheart (Reply #9)

qazplm135

(7,447 posts)
46. I'm a skeptic too
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:32 PM
May 2021

But that's a pretty disingenuous listing...

4. Saw something that behaved as she related but would have been totally explainable by a person with the right knowledge.

5. Saw something real but misinterpreted what she saw due to optical effects or other natural reasons that caused her to see something that wasn't quite what it appeared to be. (Not a hallucination but an illusion combined with confusion).

Doesn't require her to be a liar, exaggerator, or having hallucinations at all.

Goodheart

(5,264 posts)
72. Of course they are.
Sun May 23, 2021, 05:11 PM
May 2021

YOU even in fact repeated my word "misinterpreted". LOL. Next time read first instead of jumping into jerk mode.

Goodheart

(5,264 posts)
74. This is not a party, but a discussion forum.
Sun May 23, 2021, 05:13 PM
May 2021

If the OP didn't want his tale and conclusions straightforwardly discussed he/she should have kept them to himself/herself.

lillypaddle

(9,580 posts)
90. It's clear that you take yourself VERY seriously
Sun May 23, 2021, 11:37 PM
May 2021

Good on you. So I'm guessing you are not a laugh a minute at a party, nor on a discussion forum.

Vinca

(50,172 posts)
13. Was that in the 1960's? I had an uncle in the Strategic Air Command at Pease Air Force Base
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:40 PM
May 2021

in New Hampshire and I remember stories of strange lights in the sky and sightings of something on the horizon along the coast of southern Maine. I've always figured it would make sense for E.T.s to exist. We can't possibly be alone in the universe. Interesting story about your mother.

SWBTATTReg

(21,859 posts)
14. Thanks for sharing your story. I think people will only believe if they see for themselves. Maybe
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:47 PM
May 2021

some will actually believe when others tell them of things (second hand) that they actually didn't see.

I've only have a few friends that will accept w/o question my statements on various things. And I'm thought of as 'highly intelligent' and thus have a reputation of being no nonsense type of guy, a lot of us are here on DU.

I find this really ironic being that we do have to accept a major part of the reality we live in without actually 'understanding what we are seeing and/or experiencing on literally thousands of items, and feel the impact of such things on a constant basis even though we can't see them, e.g., gravity, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, electromagnetic force, and maybe a newly discovered 5th force. We know that Gravity exists, otherwise we would go flying off the face of the planet, for example.

A lot of people filter events/facts/etc. such as UAP events/UFOs out of their minds, because they have a closed mind or are so narrowed minded and not open to other possibilities. If some don't actually see events / things / etc. that actually transpired perhaps down the street or thousands of miles away, with their own eyeballs, it's still the same response, they don't believe or refuse to believe.

It's ignorant or naive or stupid to think of things like this in this manner. We can't be everywhere at once so believing others when they state otherworldly facts etc. becomes more and more important. Unfortunately, there are others out there that play around w/ the facts for some nefarious purpose of some highly suspect people and groups. We must continue to shift through the realm of the constant onslaught of facts and / or information and decide for ourselves what is real and what isn't.

Highly qualified pilots, witnesses by the tens of thousands (maybe even millions by now), and I myself have witnessed / seen for themselves these craft with their own eyeballs. My event had the object basically floating over me at about 100-200 feet as it proceeded in a straight line above Independence, MO...my sister saw it too as well as other witnesses. Broad daylight, nothing to obscure the sighting what-so-ever, an event I'll never ever forget and probably will never see again another similar thing.

What really gets me is that why don't people believe that things can exist out there, because we don't have the technologies to build such things? We're, as a human race, just beginning to understand our world better, the microscopic, the bigger picture, etc. in which we all live. We are constructing items that have over 100,000 parts. We understand how to construct vaccines for more recent proof of our prowlness as a species.

Unfortunately, the bullies are trying to take over any kind of rational discussion on literally any topic. We'll have to simply tough it out, and tell the damn bullies to shut their damn mouths. I'm kind of tired of being bullied by the likes of djt, M green and her filthy mouth, ted cruz, and the likes of these ignorant people. Thank god that they don't impact our daily lives otherwise we'd all be in for some crap if one had to live and breath by what these thugs say or do.

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
17. There will always be people who deny the existence of UFOs
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:57 PM
May 2021

I suspect they are the space aliens who live among us.

housecat

(3,121 posts)
51. And they likely have a strong belief in a God
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:43 PM
May 2021

that can't be seen or hasn't been seen as often as these visitors (or residents)

Victor_c3

(3,557 posts)
104. Just like there are people who will never believe the earth is orb-shaped
Mon May 24, 2021, 10:01 AM
May 2021

... no matter how much proof and science you throw at them.

RKP5637

(67,032 posts)
25. I always find it hilarious that in this vast vast universe we are scratching to understand,
Sun May 23, 2021, 01:32 PM
May 2021

that anyone can state categorically something does not exist. There is simply not enough information. It will be interesting to see what is presented to congress, I think it's next month ... but I believe anything really major will be kept under wraps.

Silent3

(15,020 posts)
39. To be highly skeptical of UFO stories in not stating categorically that something does not exist
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:19 PM
May 2021

It is merely stating that alien visitation is an unlikely explanation for the many things some people attribute to alien visitation.

When there is "simply not enough information", the proper response is simply to say you don't have an explanation and don't understand. Period. "It was aliens" is not the best or most likely way to explain the otherwise unexplainable.

Even if you believe it's unlikely that humans and other earthly life are alone in the universe, that still doesn't make "it was aliens" the best go-to explanation for weird phenomena.

RVN VET71

(2,686 posts)
30. Finally a plausible explanation!
Sun May 23, 2021, 01:49 PM
May 2021

Personally (he said, perilously throwing in his 2 cents) I cannot deny the existence of something I’ve never seen but, if these alien critters are really out there I just wish they’d stop farting around and contact us directly. Until such time, I will suspend my belief and choose neither to reject nor accept the possibility of their existence.

(I do seem to recall that the original Project Blue Book admitted that upwards of 2% of UFO sightings were verified sighting of something that could not be identified. I found that admission intriguing.)

kimbutgar

(20,882 posts)
29. I also have a ufo story that has been collaborated by several family members
Sun May 23, 2021, 01:43 PM
May 2021

In August of 1970 I spent a week in Lake Berryessa, Ca with family friends who brought me there with them for a vacation ( I was a second daughter to then even though I had my own family) It was a hot night and we used to sleep under a covered deck outside a trailer. While the Mother slept in her part of the trailer with her 3 year old son inside his crib. It was me and her daughter and three sons who slept on cots. I remember waking up after hearing this weird sound, that’s when I saw these lights of a bright object that was hovering and then it moved quickly scanning the area. By that time the Mother emerged and said “what’s that”?? We all said the same thing simultaneously. For about 5 minutes we watched this object move around, it was not a helicopter or anything I have ever seen. Then it speed off and then went up and away. All of us kids were scared and the mother got us all tucked in and we went back to sleep. The next day a couple of the nearby residents who had similar vacation talked about those wired lights and that strange object.


The Mother passed away 5 years ago and at at her funeral one of the sons brought up that incident and then we all recollected what happened that night with the same story. Another older stepson of hers also had a trailer cabin nearby and he said his neighbors also talked of that night.

I think we are too ignorant to not believe we are the only beings in this universe.

 

mac2766

(658 posts)
32. I believe you.
Sun May 23, 2021, 01:54 PM
May 2021

I believe your mother, brother, and his friend saw something. Along with other witnesses.

My position though, on beings from other universes visiting Earth is simple. If a civilization exists in the universe with the technology sufficient to move through the vastness of space and bring a spaceship into our atmosphere, I would think that they would clearly let their presence be known to us. I also believe that the technology exists and is used all over the globe to detect the presence of an alien spacecraft. As well, SETI has been attempting to capture any sign of life in outer space. They haven't found any evidence. Or, at least, they haven't released information stating that they've found evidence.

Having said all of that. I do believe that there is life somewhere in the universe away from Earth. As a matter of fact, I believe that in the vastness of space, life exists on countless numbers of planets. I just don't believe that any of them have visited us, nor are they trying to contact us. It's more likely that they have no idea of our existence, and that we are one of the countless number of planets that exist with life and they are planets full of people who, just like us, wonder if there is life on other planets.

A side note... what if our galaxy is an atom. What if every atom is a galaxy, and every galaxy is an atom that is part of a molecule, and every molecule is part of a much larger thing, like a kitchen table. And what if the size of an atom keeps getting larger and larger, and ever expansive. What if we - the humans living on Earth - are actually just a very minute piece of an atom that exists as a much larger thing, like a lawn mower. I think it would be neat to be a lawn mower, or a cookie in a jar, or maybe even a spaceship flying through space visiting other planets.

TheRickles

(2,001 posts)
55. I've never seen a UFO, but have seen another type of evidence - crop circles.
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:53 PM
May 2021

I have not seen a plausible explanation for how humans could create such massive (100 yards wide), complex (over 100 embedded circles), precise (following mathematical formulae like logarithmic spirals, with individual wheat stalks intact, not crushed) patterns in wheat fields than appear in heavily populated areas, over night, with no witnesses to their construction. I believe the circles are designs imprinted by non-human intelligences to send a message of mystery and beauty, not fear, to our planet.

Check out some designs by Googling "crop circles" (images), and see what you think. And thanks to PCIntern for sharing your story.

TheRickles

(2,001 posts)
119. But actually, the wheat is not crushed.
Mon May 24, 2021, 12:43 PM
May 2021

That's what so striking - the stalks are intact, bent at their nodes at 90-degree angles to the ground, and fused in this new position. Not crushed, broken, snapped or anything that you'd expect if humans did it. The "Doug and Dave" guys cited in this Smithsonian article never demonstrated their technique to outsiders, and their plank-and-rope technique is laughably crude as a mechanism for creating the best known circles.

I wish I knew how to post images, but if you GoogleImages "crop circle, Stonehenge, spiral", you can see what appeared overnight, literally across the street from one of England's most visited tourist attractions. Do you think those two retired farmers could have made this?


Swede

(33,144 posts)
116. I went to look at a crop circle on the edge of town.
Mon May 24, 2021, 12:31 PM
May 2021

It was large and perfectly a circle. Me and my buddy didn't spread the word, we waited for the university kids, or whoever to get the media involved. It never was. This was before iPhones, so no pictures.

I remain agnostic on this.

TheRickles

(2,001 posts)
121. Now that everyone has iPhones, there are photos everywhere.
Mon May 24, 2021, 12:47 PM
May 2021

Check out my post, above, from a few minutes ago. Though you might be putting your agnosticism in danger.

Swede

(33,144 posts)
124. There is a formula for conspiracies,
Mon May 24, 2021, 02:49 PM
May 2021

the more people involved the quicker the conspiracy collapses. Where are the buses full of university kids out making these circles?

Marthe48

(16,696 posts)
33. I've wondered if color usage is constant
Sun May 23, 2021, 01:57 PM
May 2021

through the universe. So many UFO stories describe red, green and white navigation lights. I can't believe all life forms would adopt those 3 colors, or even have exterior lights on their space vehicles. I don't think I've ever seen anything that I couldn't explain.

OTOH, My husband told me that when he was a child, about 4 or 5, he got up in the night, and went to his kitchen for a drink of water. Something unseen knocked him down. Something grabbed his leg and pulled it straight up in the air and started dragging him. He resisted and got back to his bed. Although this story is open to lots of jokes, he was dead serious when he told me, and didn't want me to share the story at all. At the same house, and around the same age, he was in the outhouse, and had the door open. As he was sitting there, he saw the Easter bunny go across the yard with a little wheel barrow. Again, this wasn't a story he liked to share. He didn't think either of these episodes were a dream. He passed away a few years ago, so I share the stories now. Maybe someone can explain what occurred.

When he was in his teens to 40s he suffered bouts of sleep paralysis. He would be having vivid dreams right before the episode began. Two of his dreams seemed to tally with news events which happened a few weeks after his dreams. Once he was having a particularly bad episode. I was asleep beside him and dreamed that he needed my help. I awoke, saw he was in an episode, shook him and yelled at him. Shaking him always helped him snap out of it. (Sometimes he was just sleeping and didn't appreciate my preemptive efforts) We learned that if he avoided sleeping on his back, especially when he was physically tired, he could avoid the worst of the sleep paralysis.

I thought the precognitive sort of dreams and the one time that seemed like telepathy were really strange. Even though the dreams and sleep paralysis happened decades ago, I never forgot them. I think I wrote the dreams, the news stories down, and also that he entered my dream for help.

I_UndergroundPanther

(12,452 posts)
91. I've had those come true later dreams.
Sun May 23, 2021, 11:39 PM
May 2021

I had this dream while in a psych hospital.


I dreamed of being on a dock at night,awhile before the sun came up. It was cool breezy, nice.

I saw paper lanterns
they were red with oriental letters on them, tassels on the bottom hanging up near a quiet houseboat
I knew people were asleep in there so I stayed quiet. The lanterns were swaying in the breeze. There were boats there and the water was lapping the dock poles. It was like I was standing there. Suddenly the air seemed to move,the water moved away like instantly fast . I could see the ground. It was muddy the shore line reminded me of an empty in ground pool and the moonlight glinted off the mud. A fish flopped nearby. Than I saw a wave just the top edge in the distance. Thought wow that's a big wave . I could smell the salt water in the air. I didn't put 2 and 2 together(the empty shore and big wave).It moved fast I just stood there watching it. As it got closer it was huge and black. It was coming at me like a curved wall. When it was like 3 feet away,
it was an overwhelmingly huge liquid wall closing in fast. I felt a tremendous cold whole body slam and a sensation like flying. I screamed and woke up panicky.

After a few minutes getting my bearings. I
Was so upset I walked out to the day room and asked the staff to talk with me.

We sat at a table and I told them my dream. I was still shaking. She asked me if I knew about Japan.. I said no,what about Japan.

We walked into the TV room and a tusinami had just hit Japan. It was all over the news.

My room was at the end of a long hall. There is no way I could hear the tv from there.

Staff knew it was a precognitive dream and said it was.

When I looked at the TV reports about it I had chills run up my spine . And I busted out crying.

Marthe48

(16,696 posts)
125. The 2 dreams my husband had portended disaster
Mon May 24, 2021, 03:19 PM
May 2021

The one I remember, he was viewing a military base. There was an explosion and fire. About 2 weeks later, there was an explosion and fire at a military base, maybe in Korea. The news story was so parallel to the dream that it was scary. I don't remember the details of the other dream he had.

He would have dreams of tornados and tell me how terrible the damage was. But after he had a dream like that, we almost always got unexpected money in real life. We joked about windfalls.

My opinion is that some of us have out of body experiences. It sounds like you sure had one. So real. It sounds like you had a supportive and able staff while you were at the hospital.

I don't sleep well, and someone recently said if I am not sleeping well, it is because someone else is dreaming of me. I like the idea.

CloudWatcher

(1,831 posts)
37. Optical illusions and jumping to conclusions
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:14 PM
May 2021

I don't doubt that people have seen things they don't understand. But anyone that has spent more than a few minutes with optical illusions has an appreciation of just how awful the human vision system can be ... it lies to us all the time! And I'm sure many lawyers could talk your ears off relating tales of eyewitness accounts that were totally inaccurate (and not attributed to intentional lying). So no, in fact you can not just believe your eyes.

But my biggest problem is with the leap from "wtf am I seeing" to "ohmygod it's little green men".

Leave them as unidentified (not even unidentified flying objects) and hold off on the extra-terrestrial attribution until there is evidence to support that rather incredible claim.

For just one recent case, I'dl highly recommend Phil Plait's column from May of last year: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/navy-videos-showing-ufos-not-aliens

Btw, I'm not anti-alien, I've spent thousands and thousands of cpu hours cranking away on SETI@Home, but the evidence just isn't there for local visits from the little green men. Sadly SETI has turned up zero evidence (yet) that we are anything but alone.

One more link ... if you wondering why SETI hasn't actually found any evidence yet (aka the Fermi paradox), I found these statistical arguments compelling: FHI: Dissolving the Fermi Paradox

The Revolution

(763 posts)
114. The Fermi Paradox is really interesting
Mon May 24, 2021, 11:53 AM
May 2021

The Fermi Paradox is a really fascinating question to consider, particularly because its possible to think of a lot of possible solutions.

I recently read Stephen Webb's book, "If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens ... WHERE IS EVERYBODY?". I would highly recommend it, as it discusses 75 different solutions, including UFOs and civilizations destroying themselves in various ways, like nuclear war or biological warfare. I want to propose a new solution that somehow involves social media

Ultimately, I belive his conclusion was similar to the paper you reference...we should conclude that there is no Paradox because intelligent civilizations are incredibly rare.

Warpy

(110,913 posts)
38. Not sure I want to meet up with anyone who can isolate a ship and crew
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:18 PM
May 2021

from the consequences of Newtonian physics.

People who see weird things up in the sky aren't the problem, and a lot of those weird things have no known explanation. The ones who bug me are the people who "know" they're malevolent aliens in cahoots with the government and we're being lied to about it. Seeing weird stuff happens all the time and has happened throughout history, especially Irish oral history.

I just file reports like yours in the "wow, interesting" bin. Nobody knows what it was and I'm not surprised no one contacted your mom.

I also wouldn't be terribly surprised to find out that we've attracted minor interest, our nascent study of exoplanets has shown us that this planet is odd, to say the least, directly orbiting a single star at a dangerously close distance, the Moon keeping us from being tidally locked and an oddly strong magnetic field shielding us from being blasted by solar wind.

As for being limited by the speed of light, that is no longer a given. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/physicists-break-the-speed-of-light-using-plasma-in-new-experiment/vi-AAKfjEw Baby steps, baby steps.



leftyladyfrommo

(18,816 posts)
40. I knew a man who lived on a farm out in Kansas.
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:23 PM
May 2021

He swore that a UFO landed in their yard one nite. They saw another one while they were driving down a road.

He absolutely believed what he saw was real.

Orrex

(63,086 posts)
41. I call BS on this so-called 'Tarken Playground'
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:23 PM
May 2021


Otherwise, it's a fascinating story. I have no idea what it might have been, and although I remain skeptical that it's of extraterrestrial origin, I'm much less dismissive of people's experiences than I used to be.

Thanks for sharing!

housecat

(3,121 posts)
47. About 40 years ago we had a very odd next door neighbor who worked at NASA
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:33 PM
May 2021

We joked that he was probably from another place. One night I awoke to a loud pulsating chorus of sounds like singing helicopters hovering over his house. When I tried to go to the window to see, I couldn't move. I was frozen in place. A second or a minute or an hour later it I was able to go to the window, but it was gone. My husband slept through it but he had no reason not to believe me.

 

mac2766

(658 posts)
59. On a number of occasions during my life,
Sun May 23, 2021, 03:34 PM
May 2021

I've found myself in a state of sleep where I was aware of my surroundings, but couldn't seem to move. Every time, in that state, I was hearing or seeing something that would startle me. Each time, I awoke understanding that I was dreaming the whole time. Very spooky experiences. It actually happened a few nights ago. I had fallen asleep on the couch. The dream was that I was hearing a loud noise coming from outside of the house. I opened my eyes and could see the hallway leading to the foyer. I tried to get up, but couldn't. I soon awoke, was able to move, and realized that I had been dreaming.

I'm not saying that you were dreaming. Your story, and one that I read in this thread earlier made me think of my own situation and thought I'd share it.

housecat

(3,121 posts)
62. Thanks. Yes I considered that but
Sun May 23, 2021, 03:48 PM
May 2021

at the time I did something to be sure I wasn't dreaming....but I don't remember what that was. So maybe I was dreaming --- maybe not.

qazplm135

(7,447 posts)
76. could have been sleepwalking
Sun May 23, 2021, 05:20 PM
May 2021

you dreamed part of it, while sleepwalking, then eventually woke up standing where you were standing.

Would also explain why your husband wasn't affected.

H2O Man

(73,333 posts)
50. Recommended.
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:38 PM
May 2021

But-but-but - we are the exact center of the universe, and clearly the ultimate in creation! Just look to the heavens on a clear night, or listen to Oral Roberts!

I'll note that both Muhammad Ali and John Lennon saw what are known as UFOs. Neither would lie about such a thing.

Also, I believe it was in 1967 -- but I could be off a year either way -- everyone in our rural neighborhood witnessed a UFO in the early evening sky, flying very low. This made the national news, as it covered a long path in the northeast.

A few weeks later, as a victim of a Catholic parent, I found myself listening to the Sister say that there was no such thing as a UFO, for if there was, it would surely be in the bible. Thus, I asked her how the prophet Elijah had left the earth? "On a flaming chariot," she said. The room went silent, then people broke out in laughter. She called my father, and I got the holy shit beat out of me on the front lawn of the church.

In the many years that I served as the top assistant to the Onondaga Nation's Chief Paul Waterman, we used to discuss things like this. The traditional elders had a more open mind about such things.

Duppers

(28,094 posts)
94. Many "Christians" do have a problem with even...
Mon May 24, 2021, 01:20 AM
May 2021

the possibility of UFO vistors as your anecdotal post proves.

Wonderful post H20!

H2O Man

(73,333 posts)
134. Right.
Mon May 24, 2021, 03:57 PM
May 2021

I didn't know then, nor do I now pretend to know what it was. And no one else really knew, either. But the response to kids asking questions, or voicing their opinions, was very harsh.

For my birthday recently, my son got me a copy of a book that a relative who taught at the University of Cork wrote. He was a long time advocate of taking the Catholic parts out of education. He recognized that the strict enforcement of unhappy adults' rules was damaging to students.

panader0

(25,816 posts)
71. In 1979 my friend and I were on my newly purchased land.
Sun May 23, 2021, 05:09 PM
May 2021

40 acres with no neighbors for over a mile in every direction. It's more crowded now.
We were working on the garden in late summer about dusk. Over the Mule Mountains to the
east we saw three lights, perhaps 15 or 20 miles away. No shape could be distinguished.
The lights formed a triangle and the would change position without seeming to move.
They would be several miles from their original position instantaneously. We stared at each
in amazement. This went on for several minutes and then they vanished.
No human made craft could do what I saw.

frogmarch

(12,147 posts)
73. Interesting for sure
Sun May 23, 2021, 05:12 PM
May 2021

I wish your mother's sighting had been investigated.

A few years ago a friend (now former friend, I guess) of mine and I were talking about UFOs. Neither of us had ever seen anything unusual in the sky that we'd thought might be an alien craft. I told her I would wait for actual evidence that Earth is being visited by ETs before I believed in flying saucers. She, on the other hand, insisted that shape-shifting ETs were here, living among us. The more I disagreed, the farther from me she scooted her chair. Now she avoids me altogether. I wonder if she thinks I'm...nah.

Hekate

(90,202 posts)
77. Thank you for sharing this
Sun May 23, 2021, 05:26 PM
May 2021

Long ago, a co-worker of mine related a shared experience that scared the bejesus out of her and the friends that were with her. They were young, college age. They all agreed on what they saw, and that it was coming in their direction, and that it was inexplicable by any mental data base they had. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up to listen to her.

Your story is much more detailed, and I don’t doubt your mom (or you). “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio” is as true as it ever was.



ymetca

(1,182 posts)
78. Sentience Mishap
Sun May 23, 2021, 07:53 PM
May 2021

I'm going with the idea that I'm a tiny eating creature living in a "gut", explaining to my fellow microbes that we're all living inside an enormous body, like the Macrocosmic Man of occult lore. I'm a microbe Giordano Bruno, and so are you! That's at least as believable as anything else might be. Consensus reality be damned!

Try not to be too surprised when you are "visited" someday. It's only a matter of time before the inexplicable manifests. If you're lucky.


flotsam

(3,268 posts)
79. They are real, I've seen one
Sun May 23, 2021, 08:11 PM
May 2021

Don't know what they are but I'm familiar with many aircraft and what I saw 50 years ago no aircraft even today approaches that level of performance.

Kid Berwyn

(14,653 posts)
80. "It was as pretty as anything I ever saw." -- Evelyn Trent
Sun May 23, 2021, 08:46 PM
May 2021


Local UFO photos fascinated Air Force; farmer wanted to forget them

Updated May 17, 2019; Posted Oct 12, 2017
By Douglas Perry | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Evelyn Trent started yelling for her husband at about 7:45 that evening. She was feeding their rabbits in the yard of the couple’s Dayton farm when she saw it -- “like a good-sized parachute canopy without the strings, only silver-bright mixed with bronze.”

“It was as pretty as anything I ever saw,” she recalled later.

She ran into the house, found her husband -- and their camera -- and they raced back into the yard. Paul Trent spotted it too -- “a round, shiny, wingless object” hovering in the sky.

The 43-year-old farmer managed to take two photographs before the flying object disappeared into the evening mist.

Source: https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2017/10/famous_mcminnville_ufo_photos.html

Thank you for sharing, PCIntern. It may be a most special privilege given to the few who have experienced such moments.
 

Dial H For Hero

(2,971 posts)
106. A more down to Earth perspective:
Mon May 24, 2021, 10:06 AM
May 2021
https://skepticalinquirer.org/2015/01/the-trent-ufo-photosbest-of-all-timefinally-busted/

... Now, another researcher has weighed
in. Jay J. Walter of Phoenix, Arizona, the author of the suspense horror novel Blood Tree, did his own investigation. Working from high-resolution scans of first-generation prints that I sent him (scans I have now posted on the Internet Archive for anyone to research at http://archive.org/details/TrentHighResScans), he did his own photo enhancement using the venerable program ArtGem. He said that even using a 4.2ghz quad core 64bit processor with 8 gigs of system RAM, he was still getting “out of memory” errors. However, he persevered and produced a series of photos appearing to detect portions of a suspension thread above the object in both photos. The purported string cannot be seen across its entire length, which is consistent with the French skeptics being able to detect it only statistically. It is significant that Walter and the French team were working with different scans.

Another of Walter’s purported discoveries is what he calls a “logo,” an apparently flat area with two holes, where it appears a logo plate might be attached or possibly even a handle. Is this real, or is it simply “pareidolia”—seeing a pattern where none exists? Confirmation is needed.

Walter suggests that the object in question is an appliance motor shroud, approximately eight inches in diameter. “I think Trent walked to the garage one evening, tied a string to an appliance motor shroud via an old bolt, tossed the shroud over a wire and tied the other end of the string to an anchor near the ground, then took the two pictures. Logical, practical, and so much less effort for him than other theories. People just do what they do and Trent wasn’t going to go to too much effort just to fool his banker buddy.”

Do these new findings finally debunk the Trent photos? They would, provided they can be independently confirmed by other researchers, using other high-resolution scans from first-generation prints or the original negatives. Until then, people will continue to argue about such matters as the gauge of the wires and whether the model, if it was a model, would have to be five or six inches in diameter.

JoeOtterbein

(7,698 posts)
82. About four years ago I was taking out the trash here in SC-PA...
Sun May 23, 2021, 10:08 PM
May 2021

...I looked up to see what I call "a point of light" moving way too fast towards the west, then quickly turned north-west faster than I could blink.

A few seconds later two fighter-type jets flew very low and very fast towards the west. The "point of light" was gon,e before the jets came anywhere close.

Anyway, I have a funny little feeling, that I don't know what I saw. I know saw it. But I really don't feel that it was anything unusual. Just something "natural" that I saw taking out the. trash.

I know that might sound weird, but I really do feel like it was something "natural", so I have no need to worry about what I saw

In fact, until tonight, I never felt the need to tell anyone else but my wife.

Thanks for your post.

Duppers

(28,094 posts)
92. Thank you so much for validating something
Mon May 24, 2021, 12:06 AM
May 2021

I've said and known for decades: They are REAL!

I've had one sighting and what my husband and I think was one encounter, not sighting while we were driving. This was 40+ yrs ago. Most people we've told have been insultingly dismissive. (My hubby is an objective physicist, btw.)

Victor_c3

(3,557 posts)
100. I have a theory about UFO sightings in general
Mon May 24, 2021, 09:47 AM
May 2021

First, I’ll preface this by saying I’m generally a believer. There are some stories that are too fantastic for me to wrap my head around (like this one story I heard a guy describe on a tv show a secret underground base and a firefight he saw between aliens with laser guns and US special forces in this base), but I believe most simple sightings like those you described.

I believe that aliens are slowly conditioning us to being used to the idea that they exist. I don’t think that direct contact will happen in my lifetime, but generally alien presence will become more and more accepted and known to future generations as our technology improves. As we start to colonize our solar system and get the ability to travel beyond it, I suspect full fledged contact will be made.

Both of my grandparents saw a UFO When I was a teenager. They were driving on the interstate in the early 90’s and an object was spotted right above the highway. It’d stop for a few seconds, dart ahead a short distance, stop again, and then dart forward again. It did this several times before just darting off altogether. It was in the early evening, just before sunset and about 45 minutes north of Albany, NY on 87 and in full view of traffic.

An uncle of mine was an officer in the air force from the mid 1950’s through the 1970’s. He mostly worked as a navigator and pilot flying nuclear bomb equipped bombers and he had quite the security clearance. For a period of his time, he was assigned to work on project blue book. He never said anything about the project, but he did tell us all that we maybe should believe someone if they are telling a story about UFO’s.

Recent videos released by the pentagon of UFO’s further support my belief.

Voltaire2

(12,632 posts)
101. UFOs events are 100% real.
Mon May 24, 2021, 09:48 AM
May 2021

people see flying objects they can't identify a lot.

On the other hand there is zero credible evidence of advanced alien technology. Zero.

 

Dial H For Hero

(2,971 posts)
102. It never fails to amaze me just how many people believe in such things.
Mon May 24, 2021, 09:58 AM
May 2021

Ghosts, UFOs, Bigfoot, astrology, etc.....

 

elevator

(415 posts)
112. Are you religious? Just wondering.
Mon May 24, 2021, 11:06 AM
May 2021

There are theoretical physicists that believe than if string theory is proven to be correct that some aspects of astrology could have interesting implications.

It is also a scientific fact that energy is never lost, but simply changes form.

It is also a scientific fact that many new species are discovered on our planet every year.

It never fails to amaze me how many folks who ignore, or are ignorant of the above facts.

 

Dial H For Hero

(2,971 posts)
115. Not in the slightest.
Mon May 24, 2021, 12:08 PM
May 2021
There are theoretical physicists that believe than if string theory is proven to be correct that some aspects of astrology could have interesting implications.


I haven't heard that, but in any case string theory, while elegant, is entirely theoretical at this point.

It is also a scientific fact that energy is never lost, but simply changes form.


Quite so, but I don't see the how that relates to UFOs, ghosts, etc.

It is also a scientific fact that many new species are discovered on our planet every year.


Indeed, but it's one thing for a particular species of beetle to have escaped our notice. It's quite another for a breeding population of 8' tall humanoids to have done so in California.

It never fails to amaze me how many folks who ignore, or are ignorant of the above facts.


None of which lend credibility to the existence of UFOs, ghosts, Bigfoot, etc.


Voltaire2

(12,632 posts)
122. There are things we don't understand, therefore aliens.
Mon May 24, 2021, 01:59 PM
May 2021

Gosh, where have I seen this argument form before?

Ah yes, its a 'god of the gaps' argument recycled for aliens.

 

elevator

(415 posts)
126. You are ignoring the points.
Mon May 24, 2021, 03:40 PM
May 2021

Yes, string theory is a theory...so is gravity. The possible implications regarding string theory and astrology are discussed in an interesting book by Timothy Desmond "Psyche and Singularity" a study of Jungian Psychology and Holographic String Theory.

Living creatures are basically energy. What happens to that energy after death is debatable.

Don't know about beetles, or what address bigfoot uses, but the fact remains there are still many unknow species out there. There is also enough uninhabited, remote and almost totally untouched by human hand land mass in the US and Canada that a breeding population of primates is within possibility.

Surely you agree the existence of UFOs is undeniable. What they are is open to question.

I'm not a "believer" in any of the above, nor do I feel qualified to dismiss subjects, about which my knowledge is limited, out of hand.

 

elevator

(415 posts)
127. The answer to this question is within the book I mention in a post below.
Mon May 24, 2021, 03:43 PM
May 2021

It is about holographic string theory.

 

elevator

(415 posts)
105. There is ample credible evidence of incredibly advanced technology.
Mon May 24, 2021, 10:03 AM
May 2021

It is either human or alien. There are no other options. Zero.

Voltaire2

(12,632 posts)
107. there is zero evidence of 'advanced alien technology'.
Mon May 24, 2021, 10:18 AM
May 2021

Stuff you can't explain does not equal "credible evidence of incredibly advanced technology", rumors and stories are not evidence.

I absolutely agree that over the vast scope of the universe alien technological civilizations very likely exist or have existed, they just don't seem to be present in our little bit of the universe, in our moment in time.

 

elevator

(415 posts)
111. Eyewitness testimony, especially by credible people is used as evidence often.
Mon May 24, 2021, 11:00 AM
May 2021

Is it the best evidence? Not always, but it has been used to send people to their deaths. Films and photos are evidence as well and are used to prove guilt or innocence in a court of law.

The evidence is substantial that either humans, or aliens, are responsible for the craft that are now being seen, and that have been witnessed and filmed for decades, if not longer, display advanced technology.

 

Dial H For Hero

(2,971 posts)
117. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.
Mon May 24, 2021, 12:40 PM
May 2021

It's one thing for an eyewitness to assert that they witnessed a murder. Murders, sadly, occur all the time. It's quite another for the same person to claim that they witnessed an object fly through the air in a manner which violates physics as we understand it (let alone that they were abducted and probed by a Grey) when all they can produce is (at best) a blurry photograph.

Half the people on Earth are walking around with high definition movie cameras in their pocket. One would think that if UFOs had a truly "exotic" nature that there would be better evidence of their existence. The same, of course, applies to ghosts, Bigfoot, etc.

 

elevator

(415 posts)
132. UFO encounters happen all the time.
Mon May 24, 2021, 03:51 PM
May 2021

A very small % of people who report UFOs claim to be abducted or even see aliens. In fact most don't claim they are alien. Erecting strawmen about abductions is weak sauce. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of clear videos and photos going back decades and more being archived every year. This blurry photo is a tired old saw and only reflects a lack of effort to do some research into the subject.

cbdo2007

(9,213 posts)
123. There is definitely something "weird" going on with all these sightings...
Mon May 24, 2021, 02:35 PM
May 2021

and the skeptics aren't giving any good reasons we shouldn't believe them.

Probably not here from another planet but perhaps from another time or dimension.

All I know for sure is that humans can only harness like 5% of their brain function and our understanding is limited to physics that we understand. Yet even 100 years ago people would never have believed that we would have small computers in our pockets that can access the entire history of all human knowledge.

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