Friday, September 23, 2016

Warning: Do you live along the 37th Parallel?



You live along the 37th Parallel if you dwell in such places as Santa Cruz, CA., Colorado City, AZ., the Four Corners, Cairo, ILL., Bowling Green, KY., and even the Pentagon. But maybe you’ve just passed through the area. Did you per chance see any strange lights? Notice anything peculiar, out of the ordinary? Did the earth suddenly move (and we’re not talking about your raucous Saturday night shenanigans here)? If in Northern New Mexico, did you happen to hear the Taos hum? They say only two percent of the population can actually hear it. I say, if you can’t hear it, it’s only because they don’t want you to hear it. Unfortunately, I cannot responsibly divulge who they is. For if you are privy to such sensitive information, you may find your home ransacked, your pantry insulted, and dozens of your socks mismatched, strewn about as if caught up in a frenzied tempest. Or perhaps it’s only laundry day. 

But if you’re still with me, and I trust that you are, I would encourage you to study up on the strange occurrences visited along the UFO highway. Please pick up a copy of Ben Mezrich’s new book, The 37th Parallel. Mezrich introduces the reader to Chuck Zukowski, a UFO investigator from Colorado Springs. Mr. Zukowski has studied and documented dozens of cattle mutilations, animals found slaughtered in the fields though without a trace of blood or footprints or evidence of predator involvement. Often the animals are missing their tongues or ears or even rectums. Cases such as these more likely than not go unresolved and then forgotten -- until the next time. Zukowski, along his equally curious sister, search for possible extraterrestrial involvement and find out way more than they ever bargained for. 

This reader usually leans more toward the skeptical side on matters involving UFOs, more Scully than Mulder. But I must admit that I, too, have seen a creature that appeared more alien than anything I’ve encountered in the natural world. It looked at me with eyes not fearful or aggressive, but more like fellowship and understanding. Now these were the days of ‘Just say no,’ and I can safely say that I was so sober you could bounce a quarter off my consciousness. But that’s just my story, not nearly as exciting as Ben Mezrich’s interesting, entertaining, and even frightful true story about Chuck Zukowski. Maybe you’ve seen something out there, but be careful, maybe that something has seen you as well. 


Fear Not Weary Travelers

Friday, September 9, 2016

Oregon pictures to share with you...

Nothing like a dancing carrot to chase the blues away.
Lincoln City, Oregon
My favorite farmer
A Czech beer, a Mexican rubber ducky. It's bathtub time. 
Tiki bar interior
Glass pumpkin show
Tillamook Cheese factory

And now a short poem from your friendly neighborhood poet...

The Man Who Lost His Cheese

Where is my cheese?
Where has it gone?
I just want my cheese
back where it belongs.

Did you steal my cheese?
Did you make it go?
I really miss my cheese.
I just wanted you to know.

(It's a work in progress.)
Reminds me of that old joke where the horse bellies up to the bar and the bartender asks, "Hey, why the long face?"
But Hebee and Shebee have been together for 130 years so it can't be all that bad. 
Time for a beer.

Oregon sunset
Jeez, enough with the sunflowers already!