IN THE NIGHT SKY

Watching CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and EARTH VERSUS THE FLYING SAUCERS (spinning pie pans was more like it) blasted my brain into recall mode last night. I once thought I saw an alien spacecraft late one night many years ago when returning home from a university class.

I was traveling across the Flint Hills when I noticed a low, slow-flying light to my northeast and it was moving southwest in my direction. "This can't be an airplane," I thought, because the light was too low and the "object" was moving too slowly. I kept watching the light and then finally pulled over, as it was certain that this dark aircraft was going to cross right over me. Ooooh! Was I ever excited! I was gonna see a genuine UFO!

I got out of the car, ready for action. All was quiet, but I could still see the shadow of the craft headed my way. "Here it comes!" --And underneath one of the wings I could distinctly read, "USAF." Well, son-of-a-letdown!

But what in the world was a low-flying air force vehicle of some sort doing in the Flint Hills at midnight and hardly making a sound? This baby was barely humming. I later found out it was a stealth plane on maneuvers from McConnell Air Force Base in nearby Wichita. Damn. So much for my close encounter.

I still think it would be totally cool to see an actual unidentified flying object. I wasn't afraid of what I thought might be one in the Flint Hills--just excited. I wouldn't actually want to join up with aliens like Richard Dreyfus did in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS..., nor would I want to experience an alien attack like the nonsense in EARTH VERSUS... or WAR OF THE WORLDS, although I must admit that Tom Cruise's acting in the latter movie was creepier than any alien could ever hope to be.

Well, that's all for now. Big Bore is beaming me out of here so we can go run errands. If I see any strange objects floating around in the sky, you'll be the first to know.