Page 120 of 435
I was rapidly giving up the idea that abduction stories were concocted for fame and glory. For most people, the event was one of great shame, and they most certainly didn’t want anybody to know about it. That they were so desperate for help that they overcame tremendous reluctance indicates how severely they were traumatized. The question of the sanity of people claiming to have been abducted was also rapidly being answered in the negative. If millions of people believed that a guy, 2000 years ago, died on a cross and arose three days later, and were considered sane, then people claiming abductions, with far more direct experience and evidence, were undoubtedly sane also. I realized, however, that each individual case had to be considered separately. To assume anything from the beginning was not ethical. To begin an investigation of such an event meant that the only thing I would be dealing with was Candy’s memory - either conscious or unconscious. Thus, a consideration of her life history was necessary. I was going to be far more thorough with Candy than I had been with Pat. Candy was about 35 years old, the wife of a doctor, owner of her own fashion boutique, and mother to two girls. She had been born and raised in a very strict religious family, but, chafing at the restrictions, had left home at an early age to stay with a brother who worked in a designer clothing shop. There, she also began working in the same business and ended up marrying the owner. This man died, leaving her with a small child and a large inheritance. A beautiful young widow with a baby and a lot of money does not remain on the marriage mart very long. With her new husband, the doctor (the spitting image of Dudley Do-Right), she moved to Florida where they had a second child together. The object was to get away from the unhappy memories of the loss of her first husband and start a new life. The boutique she left in the care of her brother, who managed the business on her behalf. After her youngest child started school, Candy became bored and decided to go to work for a different doctor in the large medical complex where her husband also had his offices. She took an administrative position and settled into her role with ease. She was very At the same time, Candy began to attend a Metaphysical/Spiritualist church, probably more out of curiosity than anything else, but soon became deeply involved in the spiritualist beliefs and practices. At this 119 High Strangeness — Part One 3) No abduction occurred, but Candy believed it did. intelligent, charming and attractive.