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SON OF THE SUN of a place meeting this requirement where it would be possible to make a living. I suggested Twentynine Palms, California, and he decided to locate there. Thus, when I looked him up several weeks later, informing him I intended to be here for quite some time (having already found work), he was beside himself with joy. He insisted that I share his small place, which though hardly larger than a cabin, had a tiny living room, kitchen and bathroom. It would be good to have a level-headed companion like Earl, so without ado I 1 rae 14 brought in my scant luggage and this spot became my week-day home for about six months. On week ends I commuted to Los Angeles to be with my family. The cottage was situated on the road to the Twentynine Palms Marine Base north of the small village, at a point where the road makes an eastward bend and merges with an un- ~paved .om . 1 W «roo road. The intersection is known locally as “Indian Corners.” Here only the passing traffic and the occasional barking of a dog break the desert quiet. The town of Twentynine Palms itself lies near the gateway to the Joshua Tree National Monument. It nestles in the Great ae aed +4 Morongo Basin in which are cradled also the communities of Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, Pioneertown, and Morongo Valley. Earl began to feel better here in the High Desert and he agreed with many others that it is one of the most healthful spots in the country. Earl was working also, and was fast becoming a desert native. In the middle of December, 1954, however, he decided to take a plane to his native Seattle for a stay of three days. Those three days were to catapult me into new horizons. They were not only to renew my lagging spirits, with respect to the subject of outer space, but to unfold things which were heretofore completely beyond my credulence. In retrospect, I feel certain that my stay of six months in Twentynine Palms and Earl’s unexpected three-day visit to Seattle coincided with a prearranged plan of visitors from space. When I came home that Friday evening after Earl had em- barked for Seattle, I washed, changed clothes, and decided to 16