Regardless of topic, top ten lists, sometimes the top three, of the category make the rounds at New Year’s. In UFO Land and the realm of the anomalous, we see a collection of the Top Ten Best UFO Sightings, or some related list.
I’m not doing that.
For one thing, I haven’t been paying that much attention. Oh, I mean I have, as my fascination — obsession — with UFOs,spirits, aliens, monsters, cryptids, ghosts, and all things Fortean has been with me all my life. Add to that my own personal experiences and sightings, and I have nothing but “top ten lists” going on in my head.
I don’t mean to say I’m jaded — I’m not. I’m not, and will never be, one of those who, after years of study, throw up their hands in frustration and say “After sixty years of research we’re still no closer to finding out what UFOs are…” and so, they give up. Sometimes not only do they give up, they’ve decided UFOs don’t exist and alien beings are not real.
I remain devotedly interested in it all.
Lately I’ve been paying as much attention to mass media as I have actual cases. The mainstream media has been ignoring encounters of the weird stories since 9/11. Local media may pick up a story now and then, and sometimes a story will get brief national attention. Just filler.
Meanwhile, books are still being written about cases and strange subjects, shows like Ancient Aliens are still popular, and people are still telling their stories.
That last is what I’ve been particularly interested in lately — people and their stories. Some UFO Police insist that we need “scientific” approaches and that only credible stories should be investigated. But what is “credible?” If the witness insists up and down that she saw a Bigfoot like creature with red glowing eyes standing next to a landed UFO in her pasture, do we ignore the story because it’s too bizarre for us to handle, or do we own our dedication to All Things Strange and dive in? (Thank the goddess for researchers like Stan Gordon.)
Last New Year’s I saw a UFO. It was very odd, not just the morphing nature of the craft but the timing. (I mean, right at midnight when people were honking horns and setting off fireworks?) I think it was most likely a human made object however, and not an alien piloted machine. It was still a UFO however. What it was remains unknown.
Naturally I’m curious if I’ll see another UFO this New Year’s!
So, I haven’t come up with my own list of the best of ___________, but I remain, as always, absolutely amazed at the incredible number of strange experiences humans have every day on this planet. And beyond.
