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