Let me just state from the start that I never watched the TV show, The X-Files. And no medical professional has ever hinted that I should seek mental health counseling. I do, however, enjoy gazing at the night sky and its “billions and billions” of twinkling lights (as the late, Cosmosauthor Carl Sagan used to say). I’m pretty good at picking out planets, but other than the Big and Little Dippers and Orion’s Belt, I’m at a loss to see any of the astrological characters such as a scorpion, lion, water bearer, et al.

With those caveats in mind, though, let me just say that once upon a time, about 35 years ago, I witnessed something unusual occur in the atmosphere above me.

It was right at dawn. I was on vacation at a lake in Michigan and was up because my very young daughter had decided to arise early, and she I were examining rocks at the beach so as not to disturb anyone else in our cottage. While she found all manner of treasures, I happened to look east toward a point of land that jutted out into the water. The sun was just beginning to lighten the earth when five quite distinct and very bright objects rapidly came over the treetops and quickly disappeared to the west. Nobody else that I know of was around at the time, and my daughter’s total concentration was on her growing collection.

I looked in the local paper the next day to see if anyone else had reported seeing anything. They hadn’t. So, until now, I’ve pretty much just kept that little incident to myself.

But recently, it has come to light that several military pilots have reported witnessing some interesting airborne activity within the last few years. Objects have been reported frequently over the east coast of the U.S. A near-miss official mishap was filed by one flier. And at least one pilot and co-pilot photographed an object skimming over the surface of the ocean at tremendous speed without any obvious means of locomotion. It seems there have actually been more than 10,000 reports of unidentified flying “things” by civilians and military personnel over the past 70 years.

Are any of the sightings something more than wayward weather balloons, strange-shaped clouds, or even freakishly fast drones? It’s hard to say. Nobody, as far as the public knows, has managed to capture any object either physically or even with a high-resolution photograph. Every picture tends to be just a wee bit grainy and out of focus.

Many people believe we Homo sapiens are not alone on the planet. The mystery surrounding what occurred in Roswell, New Mexico, in the summer of 1947, when a rancher discovered unidentifiable debris in his pasture, has yet to be successfully debunked to the satisfaction of many questioners, hundreds of whom still visit the Roswell area every year.

The popularMen in Blackmovies have allowed imaginations to run wild too. Those imaginative scenarios place all manner of extraterrestrial beings living quite contentedly among us mere Earthlings in myriad disguises, most going about their daily mundane lives and enjoying life.

Even given my own experience in Michigan, I personally have some trouble with the notion of visitors from wayout-of-town. But Hollywood examples certainly help suspend reality. I mean, as Tommy Lee Jones’ character in the original MiBfilm reported, “Elvis didn’t die. He just went back home.”

Why stop with Elvis? Perhaps fiction writers could make eerie cases for the likes of Michael Jackson, Robin Williams, Marilyn Monroe, Ben Franklin, Nikola Tesla, Howard Hughes, Winston Churchill, Salvador Dali, Michelangelo and more who could all just have visited for a while.

Perhaps there should be questions surrounding the origins of somebody like North Korean despot Kim Jong-Un? He often doesn’t seem human. And he isbuddy-buddy with Dennis Rodman, you know. (Can Dennis prove he is indeed a native of this planet?) Former California Governor “Moonbeam” Jerry Brown might be another person of interest. Actually, you could probably pick any number of politicians and put them on the questionable list – even those who have occupied the White House, or want or wanted to reside there. (Feel free to make your own selections.) Just a cursory look at the current Congress would no doubt provide ample suspects.

Are we 7 billion mere mortals on this spinning orb all alone? With no unexpected company? Granted, it’s a beautiful planet. But we aren’t always the best stewards of it. And we do tend to fight amongst ourselves a lot. Maybe there’s a good reason no sighting has ever amounted to anything. Perhaps no one from another world wants to stay.

 

©MMXIX. William J. Lewis, III – Freelance Writer