Nexus - 0224 - New Times Magazine-pages

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With no waming, a strong sensation of what I can only call 'gut- wrenching dread' swept through my entire being. It was the most horrible feeling a person could know. My stomach literally sank. I consider myself to be in relative contro! of my emotions, yet this was something I had never known before. This was a raw and very real fear which appeared to arise from nowhere. From that moment on, the memories of 7th August came flood- ing back to my mind in an unstoppable torrent. Clear as daylight, it was as if a secret door had been unlocked. I want to share the release of these memories with you as accurately as I can, so I have drawn a parallel as close as possible to the true nature of its passing. heard. There was so much I wanted to know, so many questions I needed answers for. Within a few minutes, after the initial amazement had subsided, I predictably reverted to my usual analytical self. Did I honestly believe I had seen a genuine UFO? Undoubtedly my eyes believed that they had seen something, but my logical sense was just not ready to accept an explanation so outlandish. Brain function was gearing to override all data accumulated by the physical senses. "It must have been something else. It had to be." There was no room in my mind for fairy tales, only fact. But even logic could not debunk the very slim possibility that what I had seen was actual. After all, if I did not possess an open mind on spiritual matters, I would never have come to believe in God. Now God was an accepted part of my logical makeup, but it had not always been that way. Maybe logic itsclf was the very reason why our senses had become so limited. Since the day we were bom we have been pro- grammed as to what exists and what does not. Maybe true know!- edge lies in seeking beyond the boundaries of traditional program- ming. : Yet even if I had completely believed what I had seen a fe moments before, never in my wildest dreams could I have antici- pated the course of events which were to ensue later that evening. Not wanting to appear foolish, I attempted to hold my tongue. Five minutes later I was at bursting point; I just couldn't help myself. "Andrew, I saw some really strange lights in a field back there." “It was probably just a plane, Kelly." "No, it wasn't. Planes just don't land in the middle of nowhere. It was a circle of orange lights." "Then it was probably a helicopter." "Since when have you ever secn a round helicopter? And any- way, it was three times the size of a helicopter and it wasn't mak- ing any noise." I could almost feel myself pouting. He was not the slightest bit interested. Jt was one of the few times in my life I actually regret- ted never lcarning to drive. If I had been driving, we would have definitely gonc back for a second look. "So what are you saying, Kelly? That you saw a UFO? Okay, then, you saw a UFO, whatever you say." His tone was obviously patronising, and the conversation termi- nated there. Arriving at Eva's, Andrew decided to permit everyone a little laugh at my expense, relating to them what I thought I had seen. The joke was on me and I received a good serving of what I was to later leam were the typical flying saucer and little green men jibes that so many people in my situation have to leam to live with. I took it with a pinch of salt. They were probably right and I certainly didn't want to appear the idiot. I found myself laughing at my own stupidity—after all, it was rather ridiculous. Following the usual birthday salutations, which did not include drinking (I did not touch a drop of alcohol all evening), Eva and I set off for the bingo hall, one of her favourite haunts. I only men- tion this as it later becomes a crucial factor in the timing of events. We arrived back at her house around 11 pm. After a coffee and a chat, Andrew decided it was time to get a move on. Neither of us bothered to look at the clock before we departed, but I can safely assume that it would have been no later than 11.45 pm. Although Eva is herself unsure of the actual time we left, she too tends to agree with my assumption. We arrived home at 2.30 am. This I am definite about because I had spent the latter half of our trip arguing that I had suffered a blackout or lost some time somewhere. (The reason for this will On Saturday afternoon, 7th August 1993, we were making our way to Eva's in order to celebrate her daughter's eighteenth birth- day. Though we departed when it was still daylight, in the hour we were travelling it began to grow dark. J gazed out of the passenger window engrossed in thought. At dusk there was not a great deal to see, the surrounding landscape melting into a mass of silhouet- ted shadow. Then, quite unexpectedly, on the outskirts of Belgrave South we passed an unlikely object resting in a field, the sight of which tore me away from my daydream. Even though we were travelling at considerable speed, I was still able to catch a glimpsc for a period of two to three seconds of something that presented itself as a cir- cle of round orange lights with a slightly fluorescent haze about it. I was almost certain that I had just seen something of an extremely unorthodox nature. Unfortunately, Andrew did not notice as he was concentrating on the road ahead. Should I risk making a fool of myself by telling him what J thought I saw? For a few moments my mind swirled with disbelief. "Could I have actually seen a UFO? No! Impossible! They didn't exist— they couldn't exist—and yet...?" It was too much to contemplate. I must have been mistaken. My logic did not want to accept the alternative possibility. It was impossible. There had to be an explanation. Yet my eyes were also aware of what they had seen. There was total confusion of my mind at being presented with something it had previously pro- grammed itself not to accept as a part of reality. Amazement and logic began to play a vigorous game of tug-of- war with my reasoning. “Was!"...""Was not!"..."I saw it!"..."You're mistaken!"..,"It was there!"..."That's impossible!"... I began to pray. Faith in God plays quite a significant role in my life, and although the thought of asking God questions on UFOs may raise a few eyebrows, it seemed quite a natural thing to do at the time. I always tumed to God in times of indecision. It may not tie in with convention, but neither did my habit of con- stantly questioning the profound issues of life. The strange thing is that I truly do believe answers are provided. Not straight away of course, but many times J have looked back to the past concerning my pleas to God only to discover that some- how the answers have been subtly incorporated into my life with- out even the slightest recognition on my behalf. Many followers of religion profess belief in an invisible spiritu- al world. Could UFOs be a part of this? For one short mornent had I been allowcd a glimpse into another reality? Or were there really other civilisations somewhere out there in the universe? What if there was? Was God trying to show me something? “Wait for me—I'll be back down this way in a few hours." My mind was desperately screaming out the thought. If what I had seen was something of a spiritual nature, then maybe I would be 60 * NEXUS 71H AUGUST 1993 FEBRUARY - MARCH 1995