What If UFOs Were . . . ? (Part 1)

​Let’s talk UFOs, or rather, UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena), the new designation introduced by the U.S. Department of Defense in late 2022. For better or worse, I’ve had four sightings, one with some telepathic communication with the occupants of the craft in question. To my knowledge I’ve never been an actual “experiencer,” someone taken onto a craft, introduced to members of its crew, and given explanations about what they’re up to. So, no, I’m not ready to write my book or go on the road to share my experiences. No worries, though. Plenty of others are already doing that...

My first sighting, fortunately with a friend, took place in the backyard of a house in Wilmette, Illinois, in summer 1961. I had graduated from college the spring before and was about to go to graduate school. On that day, my friend and I were using a tractor-lawnmower to mow the extensive backyard of elderly friends. Suddenly I saw a silver disk hanging in the air in the general direction of O’Hare Airport, west of where we were. (Wilmette is a near-north suburb of Chicago.) It was impossible for me to estimate how far away it was, how high, or what its dimensions were. Interestingly, my friend, an Asian Indian in a doctoral program at Northwest University, told me to stop looking. For whatever reason, I didn’t ask him why. That night, however, I had trouble sleeping. The next two instances were also daylight sighting: one as I was crossing the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey and the other from my window seat on a commercial plane flying over the Georgia-Florida border. Both were of dark flying forms making erratic movements.

The last, most dramatic sighting was in Hawaii in late 1971 or early 1972. I was walking from our Honolulu carport toward our house at about 8 pm when I saw a croissant-shaped craft moving from side to side as it headed, noiselessly and without lights, toward the Ko`olau Mountains that separate Honolulu from windward O`ahu. I wanted to get my mother-in-law to witness this event with me, but just then our infant daughter started to cry, the light in her room went on, and Grandma was busy. By this point the object was about to fly over my head. So I sent it a thought-request to pause in its flight as a sign that it “heard” me. It did, hovering right over my head for a few seconds, then continued on. So I sent it a question: “Do you believe in God?” This time I gave it no way to answer. It disappeared to the right, then re-appeared and continued over the mountains and out of sight. A night class in science was being held in a University of Hawai`i building across the street. I knew the professor, so I ran over and told my story. Everyone, including Dr. Siegal, went outside and looked up. Of course, there was only the night sky to see. The next day one of the students from the class sought me out and told me that, per his roommate who had been listening to the radio, many calls had been received at that time about a UAP flying over Manoa Valley, where I was, toward Oahu’s Windward Side.
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Now, as I think about all this, I’m wondering what “they” are doing here. What if they are more evolved beings, spiritually as well as technically, I thought, who are here to help us, like mentors or coaches, to leave the present dark age of violence and materialism and enter a new renaissance in which we are able to save the planet and all its precious cargo while learning to live in peace and helpful cooperation with one other. If that in fact happens, at 84 I probably won’t live to see it. But for all our children and grandchildren, I sincerely hope that my wish will one day come true.

Who knows if they are real and, if so, what or who they are? I’m hoping for the best.