Missed My Ride Again

I thought I'd take a break from writing about writing and share one of my smaller obsessions. Unexplained phenomena. This is a picture taken by Charles Miller of a UFO cruising the NC skies. (I realize it's hard to see cuz my background is black, too)Darn, why wasn't I looking up? Gotta get my nose out of books once in awhile.

I'm not sure if this is the same UFO, but a few weeks ago, the news here played some 911 recordings for our amusement where people were calling in from all over NC freaked out by a ball of light arching across the sky. A former military pilot was quoted as saying the colors weren't right and it was moving too slow to be a comet.

Now, no one that was interviewed would actually say they believed it was an actual UFO or aliens or anything of the sort. Wimps. Maybe they've heard too many abduction stories and are afraid of the retaliating probe. Me? When I let my mind venture in the direction of us being the only life to pop up in the whole universe, I feel--not special--but lonely, insignificant and destitute. If we are the only life forms then are we just a random mistake? A virus that got out of control on the surface of one insignificant rock? Then what happens when our sun burns itself out or we blow ourselves up or a comet wipes out all life, etc??? Then life just doesn't exist anywhere? Ever? Nope, I can't buy it.

I've seen a UFO myself. Two, actually. It was about ten years ago when I lived in Ft. Lauderdale on the Fourth of July. Oh, you say...you saw fireworks after one too many margaritas. Well, yes...there were fireworks and margaritas involved BUT I was not hallucinating. It was a clear night, warm, perfect as only a Florida night can be, I was alternating watching the fireworks in the sky and the reflection off the lake when something higher caught my eye. It was one light zig zagging at high speed at first and then another popped up joining it in what looked like a game of chase. I turned to the person beside me and said "do you see that?" "Hah," they said thoughtfully following the lights, "they must of come to see the fireworks." I looked around at the crowd and no one seemed to be bothered by the high speed game going on in the sky...I couldn't even tell if anyone else noticed. I'd say it lasted no more than a minute then they just blinked out.

My parents also had their own close encounter. In high school, they were at a picnic and said a long cigar shaped UFO joined the party. Everyone got scared and took off. My parents, who are very straight laced and not prone to stories or exaggerations, swear the thing followed them home. My mother even said the neighbor got a picture of it but the lady had died and she wasn't sure what ever happened to the picture.

I wish there was some way to know for sure if these things were true. But, I have to wonder, even if one landed in the middle of Times Square and aliens took a leisurely stroll down Broadway...would we even believe then?

I'd put my money on no.