Is It Live, Or Is It Swamp Gas...

..I came up with that phrase when I was giving a friend of mine some specs on the theater poster for the second production run of my play "Rednecks & U.F.O.'s". That's kind of the eternal question for a lot of people. At least for me, and some who have never had a face to face with an alien grey, or one of the other alien species described by abductees. Truth be told, the whole concept of beings from other planets stopping in for a visit intrigues the hell out of me. Do I think it's possible? Why not? Who's to say that there aren't technologically advanced races on other planets out there (in one solar system or another) who fly to other parts of the universe(s) to scope out what's going on "over here"?

First, let me say that any person who doesn't acknowledge the likelihood of there being life on other planets...well, that is just plain ignorant. There have been recent discoveries of planets deemed habitable light years away from us (Gliese 581 g; 54 planets in the 'Goldilocks Zone' outside of our solar system). Maybe they can support life...maybe they already do. Will we find out? I doubt that space travel will advance that far within the remainder of my life time. (Bummer.) However, the thought of that happening in the future is really exciting. I wish I could go along for the ride.

The "alien presence" has been historically documented for ages. Whether one believes in the accounts or believes them to be myth is up to the individual. Ancient Egypt (the pyramids); 'Chariots of the Gods' (the land drawings on Nazca Plains in Peru); 'Missing Link' (a widely held theory that aliens genetically engineered Cro-magnon man). Spend some time on Google and you'll find theories that range from the fascinating to the absurd. In more contemporary times there have been occurrences of the odd and disturbing that have been attributed to aliens...animal mutilations (cows being the most prevalent), crop circles (I think these have pretty much been debunked), etc. The most prominent claims of aliens visiting the Earth have been those of abduction.

I have done quite a bit of reading about supposed alien abductions, some more believable than others. There were some that reeked of possibility (Betty and Barney Hill being one). Probably the main abduction story that rings as close to true as any of them is the case of Travis Walton. My reason for writing this blog entry is that the Travis Walton story was featured on the 'Today' show a couple of days ago. They are doing a series of stories called, 'Unexplained Mysteries'. A visit to Snowflake, Arizona, to check in with Travis marked the first episode of their featured series. (You can find the video segment at the bottom of this post.) His 'event' happened in 1975. A logger, he was on his way home with the team he was working with. They were driving through the national park they were working in, and they saw a glow through the trees.

The above video is from the movie 'Fire In The Sky' (1993), a feature film based on Travis' story. The clip is of the scene where Travis gets abducted. From what I've read in interviews with Travis, the movie account seems pretty accurate as to what he, and the witnesses, say happened.
Travis was gone for 5 days. Based on his memory from that time, he experienced some pretty scary stuff. Hollywood has a tendency to "spice things up" a bit, so there is some definite creative license used here. That being said, Travis's account is pretty intense.



The movie got panned for the most part, but I found it interesting. I think the skepticism of a lot of people out there kept the reviews in the realm of disbelief. I recommend it. Knowing it's backstory makes it worth the watch. The case of Travis Walton is said to be the only documented case of alien abduction. There were half a dozen witnesses...the guys working with him that day. In the video segment from a couple of days ago, the interviewer asks him if his experience still stays with him...if it has effected his life? What a dumb question. I don't know if I would ever be able to sleep through the night again after something like that.

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Was Travis Walton really abducted on that evening in 1975? His fellow loggers say he was. Travis' neighbors in Snowflake...the one's who told him they didn't believe, now say they do. The story feels like it leans more towards the positive side of the truth meter. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm an open minded person who suspends my belief/disbelief until most things are proven to me one way or the other. On the case of Travis Walton, the only ones that know and will ever know what really did happen that night are those that were present. A fascinating tale nonetheless.