Info-ParaNet Letters Volume 1 Issue 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 Subjects - Welcome to ParaNet Re: Gulf Breeze Jaques Vallee & "Dimensions" Corrections --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: mcorbin@paranet.FIDONET.ORG (Michael Corbin) Subject: Welcome to ParaNet Organization: Paranet Information Service, Denver, CO (303) 431-1343 Welcome to ParaNet! I wanted to take this opportunity to give you all a couple of ideas about what this newsletter is about. First, Paranet is the world's first international news organization to provide information about the mysterious UFO phenomenon. For over forty years, our government and the civilian population has attempted to study and understand thousands of reports of Unidentified Flying Objects. Out of the thousands reported, it is estimated that around 20% of these sightings were truly unexplained. It is ParaNet's idea to link the layman with the 'movers and the shakers' in the UFO community and keep people informed of the latest findings. This is accomplished via our network message area combined with a vast library of text files which have been contributed to ParaNet by the scientific and research community. What we will accomplish via this newsletter is the marriage between ParaNet's network and you, the Unix user. We encourage your input and contributions of ideas, materials and discussion. The rules are simple....No personal attacks. We expect divergent opinions and viewpoints from skeptics, scientists and the general population. It is in this spirit that ParaNet has grown to the level that it is today. A few other minor details. With this newsletter, you may reply to any message that you wish via the path that it comes to you. If you wish to contact me personally, you can do so either by sending mail to me at mcorbin@scicom.alphacdc.com, or by phoning my voice at 303-420-6758. I will do my best to reply to you promptly. If you have material that you wish to contribute, please insert it into a private message to me or send it via postal mail to me at: ParaNet Information Service P.O. Box 928 Wheatridge, CO 80034-0928 USA With this in mind, let's get to it. Hope you all enjoy! Michael Corbin Administrator -- Michael Corbin - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: ...!scicom!mcorbin INTERNET: mcorbin@paranet.FIDONET.ORG ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jim.Delton@f1.n304.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Jim Delton) Subject: Re: Gulf Breeze Organization: FidoNet node 1:304/1 - NEXUS, Flagstaff AZ If the florida blimp is the same as the one they are flying in southern Arizona to catch drug dealers, it is unlikely anyone will mistake if for a UFO. It is tethered in place and contains a bunch of radar equipment for long range survelience of planes coming up from mexico. The plan calls for something like 4 to 7 of them spread out across the whole southern border of the country eventually. -- Jim Delton - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: ...!scicom!304!1!Jim.Delton INTERNET: Jim.Delton@f1.n304.z1.FIDONET.ORG +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: mailrus.cc.umich.edu!edhew@xenicon.UCAR.EDU (Ed Hew) [In the message "Info-Paranet Newsletter", Paranet Aliases To All: > > I would like to pose a hypothetical question to you. I am very > interested in your comments. > > Scientist X voluntarily does field investigation on a UFO > sighting. Witness E writes a book on sighting and pays scientist > X for use of his materials. Does this tarnish the scientist's > objectivity? I would tend to think that anyone time *anyone* is paid for the use of their information there is a possibility that such information may be coloured to suit the financial benefactor. Specific to this case, I'm sure that most scientists will have enough integrity to *not* massage the facts, but then there will always be some that can be bought, as with any other group of humans. > Mike --ed {edhew@xenicon.uucp} Ed. A. Hew Technical Trainer Xeni/Con Corporation ->work: edhew@xenicon.uucp -or- ..!{uunet!}utai!lsuc!xenicon!edhew home: edhew@egvideo.uucp -or- ..!{uunet!}watmath!egvideo!edhew home: changing to: edhew@xenitec.uucp [but be patient for new maps] # I haven't lost my mind, it's backed up on floppy around here somewhere! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: megatron@charlie.oz.au (Peter Tzanetos) >Scientist X voluntarily does field investigation on a UFO >sighting. Witness E writes a book on sighting and pays scientist >X for use of his materials. Does this tarnish the scientist's >objectivity? > Sounds a little familier. It would all depend of the way that the writer presented the scientist work. A scientist is not able to speculate in what might be. He is dealing with the facts that he sees and must present them that way. If for example he made a study of radiation around an alleged UFO landing, and reported that the radiation was higher than the surrounding area but still at a level that you could expect from the rocks in the area then it is up to the writer to report accurately on these findings. In the above the scientist cannot say that anything had landed if all he has is the proof of radiation consistent with the minerals, although higher than the surrounding area. It is the duty of the writer to present the research of others as he received it and clearly make comments as being that of he own or others but not that of , "Scientists proves that UFO landed". In Whitley Strieber's book "Communion" he presents a report from his psychiatrist Dr. Donald Klein in which its states that he is not suffering a mental illness. That does not mean that he feels he is telling the truth or that he is not suffering from a medical condition. In summery then, the credibility of a scientist will not be affected if his research is presented as he finds it. If distorted then that scientist will be in a position to have to clear what he said and may not be so keen on further assistance with UFO writers. Bob... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Linda.Murphy@paranet.FIDONET.ORG (Linda Murphy) Subject: Jaques Vallee & "Dimensions" Organization: Paranet Information Service, Denver, CO (303) 431-1343 Picked this up yesterday --- it is the first Vallee book I had ever read, and prior to that, his short interview in an issue of UFO Magazine... on Page 223 "I have alluded to the fact that the major groups of UFO believers have been closely monitored by government agents. There is a good reason for this attention: their influence can be manipulated for political goals or simply as a test of various forms of deception. One of the recommendations of a recently declassified CIA/US Air Force panel on UFOs, which met in Wahington in 1953, was precisely to monitor the activities of civilian groups: 'The Panel took cognizance of the existence of such groups as the "Civilian Flying Saucer Investigators" of Los Angeles and the "Aerial Phenomena Research Organization" (Wisconsin). It was believed that such organizations should be watched because of their great influence on mass thinking if widespread sightings should occur. The apparent irresponsibility and the possible use of such groups for subversive purposes should be kept in mind." "It is difficult to be more explicit. This political control factor does explain certain bizarre aspects of the UFO problem, including the behavior of some celbrated contactees, who could have been set up in their roles in order to propagate alleged extraterrestrial messages in this and other countries." **** skipping down "Also among the leaders of NICAP (National Investigations Committe on Aerial Phenomena), one of the most influential UFO groups in the 50's and 60's, were at least three well-known intelligence operatives: Bernard Corvalho, Nicholas de Rochefort, and Colonel Joseph Rayn, men who were trained practioners of the modern techniques of psychological warfare." **** skipping over to next page "Many UFO groups are gullible to any rumor that seems to support the extra- terrestrial credo, without seriously investigating WHERE the rumor comes from and WHO may have an interest in spreading it. The skeptical zeal of some of the more vical debunkers is also inspired by the need to maintain political control. To prevent genuine scientific study from being organized, all that is needed is to maintain a certain threshold of redicule around the phenomenon. ........Efforts are made to systematically discredit professional researchers who investigate the phenomenon." (brief descriptions of psychological warfare where, in Britton, "equipment has been developed to use low-lying clouds as a screen off which to bounce huge propoganda shows. Tape recordings of primitive gods have been prepared, to be played from helicopters, thus frightening tribes... **** further *** Durring the Vietnam war U.S. military unit called the 4th Psysop Group invented an image projector called the "Mitralux" -- which used slides and a 1000 Watt lighbulb to project pictures on buildings, mountains and cloud banks -- **** Vallee also says that under Nixon administration, a White House task force had proposed a scheme for the invasion of Cuba that involved a submarine equipped with lasers. It would "paint" an image of Christ over the island to simulate the Second Coming. This "miracle", it was thought, would disturb the Catholic population in Havana, paralyzing communications... and etc., to the point, where commandos could seize strategic points and overthrow the Castro Regime)... I also found it interesting, where Vallee talks about "contactees" who are sometimes *warned* about the information they put out (such as "Now is not the time") --- and if they persist, well.... , the case cited, the individual asking the woman to stop was "deadly serious". It is of interest that Vallee makes the comment that by the time various investigators get to the individual, so much has transpired, that many reports are left "incomplete" or lack enough detail, or various forms of investigation had wound up leaving the individual in such a confused state, that it is nearly impossible to get to the bottom of the situation. The title of this particular subchapter "The Phenomena Negates Itself" is very appropriate. I can only say one thing Mike --- if you haven't read this book, I highly recommend you pick it up and read it. And also, due to some "innuendos" that are rippling around --- I can only say --- anybody who goes to the Library, can come up with this information. It is just a matter of putting it together. However, it is only a matter of how it is put together, whether or not it makes logical sense... And to find that more then one individual can also come to same types of conclusions independantly, then merits, in my mind, a workable hypothesis in regards to at least one aspect of the phenomena. Vallee also states that the entire problem MUST be looked at from an "International" level --- which, as we both know, is the intent and goal of ParaNet as we expand to embrace the world... [now, if I can get cooperation from my computer, perhaps we will realize our goal] -- Linda [above from "Dimensions" by Jaques Vallee (C) 1988 Balantine books, pages 218-227] ( 1:304/1) -- Linda Murphy - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: ...!scicom!Linda.Murphy INTERNET: Linda.Murphy@paranet.FIDONET.ORG ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: mcorbin@paranet.FIDONET.ORG (Michael Corbin) Subject: Corrections Organization: Paranet Information Service, Denver, CO (303) 431-1343 It has been brought to my attention that I have erred in a couple of factual statements that I have made pertaining to the Gulf Breeze matter and some statements that I made regarding Ed Hanson. In the interest of fairness, I would like to stand corrected on them: 1) Ed Hanson (Walters) never admitted that he was 'Believer Bill'. Although this is the general consensus among some researchers, there is nothing to substantiate this at all. 2) Ed Hanson (Walters) never admitted to hoaxing a ghost photo. Recently, ParaNet received some letters from Ed Hanson who is now claiming that Dr. Smith's reputation could be less than favorable. Although ParaNet never endorsed Dr. Smith nor his ideas, we continue to rate the Gulf Breeze case a hoax. Irregardless, of what issues are raised about Dr. Smith or Ed Hanson, the fact still remains that the issues here are not necessarily the credibility of the parties involved, although this can be important, but more importantly, whether the photos of the UFO are hoaxed or authentic. Therefore, the challenge still stands - We are asking MUFON to provide the original photographs of the Gulf Breeze UFO for an analysis by an independent laboratory to determine their authenticity. Again, if Gulf Breeze is authentic and Ed Hanson has been visited by ETs, the photos will stand the test of an independent laboratory. Finally, in the interest of fairness, we have provided a copy of the letter by Manual Hunneus and will be providing a letter from Ed Hanson in refutation to Dr. Smith. The following messages are also being printed here for the readers benefit dealing with a couple of articles written by Jennifer Tucker, a Staff Writer for the Tribune Newspaper in Pensacola. These may be very interesting. Mike -- Michael Corbin - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: ...!scicom!mcorbin INTERNET: mcorbin@paranet.FIDONET.ORG ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: mcorbin@paranet.FIDONET.ORG (Michael Corbin) Subject: 10289FL.UFO Article Organization: Paranet Information Service, Denver, CO (303) 431-1343 NEWS CLIPPING SERVICE DATE OF ARTICLE: January 29, 1989 SOURCE OF ARTICLE: Tribune LOCATION: Tampa, Florida BYLINE: Jennifer Tucker ======================================================== THIS FILE WAS PROVIDED BY THE UFO NEWSCLIPPING SERVICE AND PREPARED BY PARANET ALPHA -- PARANET INFORMATION SERVICE 1-303-431-1343 9600 BAUD DENVER, COLORADO NOTE: THESE FILES ARE NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE OF THE PARANET INFORMATION SERVICE NETWORK ======================================================== GULF BREEZE UFOS CONTROVERSY HANGS OVER PANHANDLE TOWN By Jennifer Tucker Tribune Staff Writer GULF BREEZE--Ringed by two story pines and six figure real estate, Gulf Breeze is a mostly unremarkable town severed by U.S. 98 in the Florida Panhandle. To visitors, its most memorable feature is a flashing neon fish pointing the way to Pensacola Beach. To 6,000 residents, its most pressing problem is a 70 mile detour around the Pensacola Bay Bridge, hit and crippled by a barge two weeks ago. In 16 years, only two murders have torn this town. In 12 years, only 10 bank robberies have occured. But in the last year and a half, more than 135 local witnesses have reported seeing something they can't identify. One prominent Gulf Breeze resident has taken more than 30 photographs of a UFO. This man, who protects his anonymity behind the name "Ed," has photographed a craft so fantastic and unfamiliar that many people believe the pictures are first rate fakes. Skeptics merely point to the east where Eglin Air Force Base, one of the country's largest military installations, lies like a wall to wall flying carpet. The Gulf Breeze stories--told to the nation by NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" and CNN, among others--have inspired UFO researchers to undertake a dramatic debate of possibility vs. probability. Researchers agree on only one thing: Either the Gulf Breeze UFO sightings are some of the most phenomenal ever recorded, or the Gulf Breeze UFO sightings are some of the most exaggerated ever reported. Among the eyewitnesses are a federal judge, a politician and a prominent physician. THE NEIGHBORS Art and Mary Hufford don't even live in town. Their homey, ranch style house is on a sycamore lined street in Pensacola, a bridge's drive away from Gulf Breeze. But the Huffords remember, in perfect detail, an evening in early November 1987. The couple was in their car, just two miles from home, when they saw something gray, oval and silent fly over the treetops, Art says. The craft remained in view for several minutes, yet when they got home and talked about it, Art says they couldn't come up with a rational explanation. "It just didn't make any sense," says Art, a soft spoken chemical engineer with a master's degree and 25 years' experience at Monsanto Chemical Co. Both Huffords are elders in the Presbyterian church, and Mary is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Pensacola. "We thought UFOs were something that happened to Billy Bob out on a boat after too many beers," Art says, wryly. But then, several weeks after their sighting, the couple saw Ed's photographs in the Pensacola edition of the Gulf Breeze newspaper. "It was like someone had taken a picture out of our brains," Art says. "That was it." Through 1988, the couple shared their experience with others similarly affected. At social gatherings, when Art mentioned the sighting, he says people would pull him aside with whispered confessions of their own experiences. And Art is convinced that what he saw was not a product of modern technology or man made trickery. "Frankly," Art says, "the debunkers make me mad. I saw what I saw." PARTY INVITATIONS Fenner and Shirley McConnell of Gulf Breeze had sent out invitations to their annual June get together with tongue planted firmly in cheek. The front of the invitation featured a cartoon of alien creatures rollicking through city streets, and inside they told revelers it would be a "UFO watching party." Two days before the 1988 party, the couple says, their invitation sprang to life outside their bedroom window. They saw a cylindrical craft, ringed in windows and lights, hovering over Pensacola Bay. Fenner McConnell, a physician and medical examiner for Florida's District 1, says the craft came within 75 yards of the house, and at one point "I thought it was going to land on it." Shirley McConnell, a caterer, says she was overcome by "an eerie feeling," but she immediately recognized the craft from Ed`s photographs. The couple went outside to get a better look. It hovered for nearly four minutes and then "kind of drifted away," Fenner McConnell says. "I'm not saying that I believe it's from another planet," Shirley McConnell says, "but it's something I had never laid eyes on in my life. People can say whatever they want about me, but I know what I saw. Ed didn't make this up." Likewise, Brenda Pollak says the large, lighted craft she saw twice in one night during the spring of 1988 was not a figment of her imagination. She was driving east across the Pensacola Bay Bridge when she saw it the first time, looking "too big and too bright...and very different from anything I had ever seen before." Nearing her home on Shoreline Drive in Gulf Breeze, Pollak pulled into the parking lot of the city's recreation center and parked. She says she watched the craft hover over the bay--unaware that a few blocks away, Ed was taking a photograph of the very same craft. "I was exhilarated," says Pollak, a two term City Council member who works with Ed on community projects. "I can tell you now--for every one person who has reported seeing the craft, there are 10 who talk about it but don't want anyone to know," Pollak adds. "And I can also tell you if this is a hoax, it can't be Ed because it would make him look like an idiot and the community look crazy." THE RESEARCHERS Scientists can't help making comparisons. In the 1970's, a Swiss laborer named Edward Meier took hundreds of photographs of a 'spaceship' near Zurich. Although some people consider his photographs authentic, others believe they are fakes, basing their conclusions on damning photographic analyses. Nevertheless, scientists acknowledge that Meier`s pictures are remarkably clever. So it is with Ed, whose photographs have been analyzed and scrutinized by two of the country's foremost photographic experts. Moreover, the photographs--and Ed's cooperation with some UFO investigators--have caused a political rift so powerful that participants think the case could damage the future of UFO research in America. At odds are investigators with the Mutual UFO Network, a 20 year old group of scientists and 'grass roots' researchers, and the Center for UFO Studies, a non profit conclave founded by J. Allen Hynek, a leading American astronomer who died in 1986. Network directors support Ed's story; the center does not. The network bases its opinion primarily on the findings of Bruce Maccabee, a Naval physicist studying optics and underwater sound in addition to working with the FBI. The center bases its opinion on its own researchers as well as on Robert Nathan, a member of the technical staff of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. INTRICATE REPORT Maccabee, who published an intricate 90 page report examining the evidence, concludes that the photographs are real. He applied the properties of physics and various mathematical theories to determine things such as the size of the ship, the distance of the craft from the camera lens and odd angles of the photographs. More important, Maccabee says, he wasn't "biased by the idea that it's too impossible, therefore it can't be real." Critics would "rather take the approach that if the pictures could have been hoaxed then they must have been," he says. Maccabee reasons that Ed could not have performed the photographic feats necessary to pull off such an elaborate hoax. "A professional magician would have a difficult time doing this," he says. Last year, staffers at a Pensacola television station tried to reproduce Ed's photographs using a model. They gave up after their attempts failed miserably, Maccabee says. He further admonishes skeptics for questioning the look of the craft--"Nobody knows what UFOs look like," Maccabee says. And he points out what he considers to be the weighty circumstantial evidence in Ed's favor--including testimony from friends and witnesses, one of them Ed's wife. Skeptics, however, side with NASA's Nathan. Although he acknowledges that he "hasn't given the pictures the kind of care Bruce has," Nathan says a visual examination reveals glaring inconsistencies--typical of double exposures. IRREGULARITIES IN PHOTOS The spaceship is brighter and more in focus than the background, he says, and these irregularities are repeated in picture after picture. Nathan concludes that the object looks like "a gas burner turned upside down" and that its apparent lack of symmetry is simply "inconsistent with what you would expect from a highly developed society." Mark Rodeghier, scientific director of the Center for UFO Studies, says the Gulf Breeze case has "deteriorated into a shouting match" because his organization was forced to play devil's advocate. Investigators with the Mutual UFO Network were too quick to judge the photographs favorably, he says, and those comments biased Maccabee's analysis. "Except those intimately connected with the network, 90 percent of serious UFO researchers think Gulf Breeze is a hoax," Rodeghier concludes. Among those who agree with that assessment is Philip Klass, considered the country's premier debunker of UFOs. Although he has not seen the Gulf Breeze photographs, Klass says he has scanned Maccabee's report and finds it improbable. "Any UFO case, whether it involves pictures or not, is sort of like that old adage that a woman cannot be 10 percent pregnant. If one photo is a hoax, then they all must be thrown out," says Klass, who surmises that the photographs are too "suspect" to be real. Klass reiterates his claim by stating, "In 22 years of investigating, I have never investigated or heard of a UFO case that cannot be explained in prosaic terms." JUST THE FACTS "I deal in facts," says Jerry Brown, Gulf Breeze's 42 year old chief of police, whose carpeted office smells faintly of cinnamon and coffee. "Granted--anyplace, any time, anything can happen to you. But why would people call about a prowler and not call about a UFO that's landed in their yard?" The police chief knows Ed and likes him. Yet Brown says he's concerned about the possibility "that one person, as a practical joke...could destroy what it's taken so many years to build." Ed`s supporters, meanwhile, believe Gulf Breeze attracted the unknown visitors because of the reputation the city already had built--as a well off, well educated, open minded community. "There is a direct correlation between education and the acceptance of the UFO phenomenon," says Donald Ware, Florida director of the Mutual UFO Network. "I am convinced the reason one man was given so many photographic opportunities is because the aliens wanted us to see those pictures," Ware says. ================================================================= Michael Corbin - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: ...!scicom!mcorbin INTERNET: mcorbin@paranet.FIDONET.ORG +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: mcorbin@paranet.FIDONET.ORG (Michael Corbin) Subject: 13089FL.UFO Article Organization: Paranet Information Service, Denver, CO (303) 431-1343 NEWS CLIPPING SERVICE DATE OF ARTICLE: January 30, 1989 SOURCE OF ARTICLE: Tribune LOCATION: Tampa, Florida BYLINE: Jennifer Tucker ======================================================== THIS FILE WAS PROVIDED BY THE UFO NEWSCLIPPING SERVICE AND PREPARED BY PARANET ALPHA -- PARANET INFORMATION SERVICE PARANET INFORMATION SERVICE BBS 1-303-431-1343 (9600) 1-303-420-6758 (VOICE) DENVER, COLORADO NOTE: THESE FILES ARE NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE OF THE PARANET INFORMATION SERVICE NETWORK ======================================================== 'STATE OF SIEGE' ED'S UFO ENCOUNTERS HAVE MADE HIS LIFE HELL By Jennifer Tucker Tribune Staff Writer GULF BREEZE--Ed isn't the "UFO type." He's a WASPish baby boomer with a kid in college and a two car garage. As a custom home builder in a community full of custom homes, he depends on personal referrals for his livelihood. He doesn't seem to need the money he could earn from a best seller based on his experiences. Yet local sources indicate he has recently signed a book contract. Nevertheless, Ed is the guy who has taken all the photographs, made all the noise, caused all the fury. Just over a year ago, Ed says a UFO appeared in front of his house in Gulf Breeze and he immediately took several photographs of the craft. Ed walked into the street to get a closer look and a "blue beam" shot down from the ship, temporarily paralyzing him, he says. At the same time, Ed says he heard a loud "hum" and was instructed by an authoritative voice to "be still." Within seconds, he says, he was raised off the ground, then thrown to the concrete as the craft disappeared. From that moment on, Ed says, a resonant "hum" always preceded the appearance of the UFO. Seven months later, after 21 encounters resulting in more than 30 photographs and one videotape, Ed says he was abducted again. This time, the aliens removed the hum and he has not seen or photographed a UFO since, he says. To Ed, 42, this was no phantom object, no trick of nature or imagination. It was real. It made his life a living hell. And it forced him to defend himself, he says, not against the aliens, but against the people who call him crazy. WORDS POUND "Look," Ed says in one of a series of telephone interviews, his words pounding with the passion of a clenched fist. "Before Nov. 10, 1987, I wouldn't have believed in UFOs either unless one landed in my front yard. "Uh, no pun intended." Ed guffaws like Gulliver in a land of Lilliputians. If Ed has been enlightened with truths no scientist knows, then it is wisdom learned reluctantly. He can barely get through a sentence without revealing his fears or defending his position. He describes the experience as "a state of siege." Yet, he doesn't plead for understanding. And he doesn't expect it, really. Besides the photographs themselves, Ed's take it or leave it attitude is his most convincing argument. And it's an argument he can't win, critics say, not with a pocket full of Polaroids. Ed, meanwhile, has remained anonymous because he fears his fate. "I would always be known as the UFO guy." He'd rather be known as a good businessman, a good father and a good buddy to the kids he says he's kept off the streets by welcoming them into his home. "No, no, no. It was an awful experience. If you ever take a photograph (of a UFO), do not show it to anybody. Put it in a drawer and show it to your grandkids," he says wearily. Ed's story is lengthy and strange, and he knows it. He says his first encounter, in November 1987, resulted in five blurry color photographs he made with a 17 year old Polaroid camera. TAKE A PICTURE "Put yourself in the mood of peacefully sitting in your office and looking out your front window and you see something that...looks like it just escaped a Steven Speilberg movie," he says. "You figure you better take a picture of it." Ed's humor about his experience is as revealing as it is disarming. Like a schoolboy trying to explain a pock marked report card, Ed uses humor to cushion the blow. His laughter bounces and rolls like a runaway basketball, but his words slam into listeners' ears with the power of a Michael Jordan slam dunk. For months, Ed snapped dozens of pictures. Many were taken near his home, situated in the sleepy center of town next to a large, overgrown field. Others were taken at Shoreline Park, a spot facing the skinny barrier island called Pensacola Beach. Stray kittens crowd the wooded park, whose main features are a whitewashed gazebo and a good stretch of concrete. Still others were taken along deserted county roads, whose curves are familiar to Ed, the builder. Skeptics and believers agree--the photographs are remarkably unidentifiable. The craft (or crafts) captured on film are mostly spherical in shape, with dark, recessed points that Ed surmises are windows. Lights encircle the bottom of the craft and a round bulb is perched on top. In many instances, Ed snapped the pictures in what he describes as frenzied fear, at dusk or near dawn. Moreover, the craft maneuvered so rapidly that Ed says his opportunities for precise pictures were limited. ALIEN ENCOUNTERS He also was having alien encounters Ed says he couldn't capture on film. On several occasions, Ed says, he was pursued by a "blue beam" of light that shot from the craft. He says a bowl full of bubbling residue was found in his back yard after one late night visit. The Mutual UFO Network, which initiated investigation of Ed's claims, had the substance analyzed at independent chemical laboratories in Florida and Texas. These revealed a strange liquid high in magnesium and trace elements, Ed says. More frightening were face to face meetings with the aliens themselves--what scientists call an encounter of the third kind. The first time he saw one of the "creatures," Ed says he was awakened at 3 a.m. by the now familiar hum that preceded their visits. When he peered out the glass doors of his bedroom, Ed says, he was face to face with a childlike creature clad in gray. He says he saw more of these creatures at a later date, an experience that produced one of the most dramatic photographs in Ed's portfolio. In it, the craft is pictured hovering just above the road, lights reflecting on the wet pavement. Moments after he took this picture, Ed says he realized the craft was moving toward him so he slid from the truck and crawled underneath it. From his prone position, Ed says he could see a blue beam flash from the craft several times, each time depositing a creature on the road. He assumed the creatures were "after him" and, riddled with terror, he jumped back in the truck and sped away. He didn't even think about taking a picture, he says. OFFICIAL VISIT After Ed's photographs began to appear in the Gulf Breeze Sentinel newspaper--with his approval but without his name--Ed says he was visited by two men who identified themselves as U.S. Air Force personnel. Wielding badges printed with "Air Force Special Security Services," the visitors behaved "very aggressively" and demanded Ed turn over his photographs, he says. Ed refused, explaining they were in the hands of professional photographic analysts. (Many were; others were still in Ed's possession.) By spring, two major UFO organizations--the Mutual UFO Network and the Center for UFO Studies--had been in touch with Ed. So had dozens of media representatives, including the National Enquirer, which Ed says turned down the story because one analysis tentatively labeled the photographs a hoax. With that, the seed of suspicion was planted. And Ed, who states vehemently, "My word is my bond," was forced into a corner full of accusations. After taking 24 photographs with his old Polaroid, Ed began using cameras and film provided by UFO researchers--unbroken packages and factory perfect equipment. He produced 11 photographs with the new equipment supplied by UFO investigators. Ed also built a so called stereo camera that allowed him to take two pictures simultaneously, creating a 3-D effect. With this camera, he took about eight photographs. "If I hadn't taken any pictures with these cameras, I would have been branded guilty by non photography," he says, sarcastically. By using mathematical equations, analysts studying the photographs could determine its distance from the camera and its size. Most often, these conclusions placed the craft 65 to 180 feet from the camera, at an approximate size of 12 feet in diameter and 9 feet high. UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE These estimates correspond quite precisely to an unusual occurrence in Gulf Breeze during the spring. A circular patch of dead grass was discovered on the high school grounds, and lab analysis by UFO investigators revealed the grass wasn't killed by disease or suffocated by petroleum derivatives. The patch had a 12 foot diameter. In addition to providing his photographs for publication, Ed agreed to numerous psychological exams, a lie detector test that included a five hour interview, and an electronic voice analysis. In each case, investigators concluded Ed was sane and honest. "There was never any question that what happened, happened," Ed says. "But I don't know why me--why I was privy to these things. "I didn't feel 'chosen,' I felt abused," he says. "I was tormented, a prisoner in my own house. I surrounded myself with people at work and family at home. "My kids never knew if Daddy was going to go away and not come back." Ed says he took the photographs to the local newspaper because he felt a kind of civic duty to warn nearby residents. Yet his reward from skeptics was name calling tirades that labeled him "everything from an agitated fool to a schizophrenic," Ed says. People trying to discredit him, he says, have played "hide and seek with the truth" while distorting the facts to fit their opinion. CLASSIC CAMPAIGN "What this is is a classic disinformation campaign by the debunkers in order to brand me as loony tunes," Ed says, his voice rising in defense. "They ran out of legitimate scientific criticisms of the photographic evidence. You have to keep in mind that none of these debunkers have ever talked to any of the other witnesses." Dozens of independent eyewitnesses in Gulf Breeze and Pensacola have reported seeing UFOs in the last year, and many of these reports coincide with the appearance of Ed's photographs. Yet Ed has been criticized for being alone in his torment-- the only one able to take photographs of the craft. "Look, where are you at 3 a.m.? It would have been pretty bizarre to have a mass of people around me at 3 a.m.," he says. Moreover, Ed says his closest neighbors have seen the UFO. But they are afraid of ridicule. Currently, Ed says he has no plans to make his identity public or to sell the detailed, chronological log that he's written about the ordeal. (Sources in Gulf Breeze, however, report Ed has signed a lucrative book contract.) "I have no monetary motive here," he says. "Sometimes, I think a book might be the right thing to do for public education, but it might not be the right thing for my family. "What might be a lot of money to some people is not enough for me to sell my soul," Ed says. After long conversations, Ed's words are punctuated by sighs instead of laughter. He sounds less enthusiastic about the subject and more excited by the solitude he's enjoyed for several months. "Not to be frivolous, but I'm still the same old Ed. I've still got my feet on the ground. "But it has affected me almost daily," he says, chuckling softly. "I'll be doing mundane chores, like pumping gas or buying bolts at the hardware store. And I'll look around and wonder. "I wonder if they (the aliens) need gas. Or on a rainy, miserable day, I wonder if they are getting wet. "It's just...I know they are out there." ================================================================= JOURNAL EXCERPTS REVEAL ED'S FEAR The Gulf Breeze Sentinel published many of Ed's photographs as he presented them, even creating a special edition to showcase these images. The following are excerpts from Ed's commentary that accompanied the photographs appearing in the special section. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "After taking those original five photos in my front yard, what was unreported was the UFO shot a blue beam that froze and lifted me from the ground. The blue beam keeps you from moving even your eyelids, and your chest cannot expand, so you have to pant to breath. While in the blue beam, the UFO can talk to you using telepathy." ----------------------------------------------------------------- "A strange hum began in my head...I really thought I was going crazy but when I went outside, I again saw the UFO appear in the same spot in the sky...Finally, there was a telepathic voice command that I 'step forward.' I thought to myself, 'No way' and took another picture. The voice said in another language, 'Photographs are prohibited.'" ----------------------------------------------------------------- "The UFO was hovering at the back of the house as I went out with gun and camera in hand. I pointed the camera and the gun. I wasn't really going to shoot. I was just scared. The UFO winked out." ----------------------------------------------------------------- "At 3:30 a.m., we were in bed when I heard the dog bark. I jumped up and pulled up quickly the blind on the French door. There standing only 12 inches from my face was a shielded creature looking straight back into my eyes. I fell back and it turned to leave. When I recovered and ran out, the UFO was overhead...The UFO stopped me from following the creature so that the UFO could shoot over and beam the creature up in the blue beam." ----------------------------------------------------------------- "At 2 a.m., the hum returned and when we checked in the front I saw and photographed a totally different UFO, which seemed to have an energy veil shooting from the bottom." ----------------------------------------------------------------- "The sightings have changed me and my family and, if given the chance, I would simply not have taken the first picture which led to the next and next, until my contact with the UFO has become overwhelming." ================================================================= PHOTOGRAPHS IN QUESTION By Jennifer Tucker Tribune Staff Writer GULF BREEZE--The controversy in Gulf Breeze is not limited to a pocketful of Polaroids. It is made more puzzling by new explanations and startling accusations that threaten the credibility of Ed, the principal photographer of UFOs in Gulf Breeze. At the center of the debate is a teenager and his mother. And an old photograph that turned up several weeks ago. Seventeen year old Bill, who refuses to reveal his real name, was one of a group of kids who spent a lot of time at Ed's house during the last three years. He says they participated in games and activities designed to help forget the smallness of the city. Gulf Breeze has no movie theater, bowling alley or skating rink, and is situated in dry Santa Rosa county. Nevertheless, he and his friends used to have a lot of fun at Ed's house, Bill says. Among the activities were so called "spooky" games--seances, ghost stories and the like. Often, Bill says, Ed would take Polaroid photographs of the players and some of the pictures would reveal a "phantom...foggy thing" next to the image of the person. "It was all in fun," Bill says. "It got everybody spooked and stuff." "One time," Bill says, "Ed asked his house guests something like, 'Wouldn't it be great if we did an ultimate joke?'" Although Ed never revealed his plans, Bill believes the answer appeared in the form of a UFO. "Because I saw the pictures he took of the ghost thing, I figured this has got to be it...the prank," Bill says. "Ed never told anyone how he did the photographs. We all thought it was trick photography." Ed bristles at the notion that he has pulled a sophisticated prank. "First, I categorically deny that I ever used those exact words," Ed says. "There is nothing that I have ever done that can be construed as a prank." And that includes the 'ghost' photograph revealed only weeks ago, he adds. This photograph, of a young girl and a fuzzy white blur, were the combined result of a 17 year old camera, a film defect, and a game room full of mirrors and glass, Ed explains. He attributes the blur to reflections off glass. He did, however, take out of focus pictures when the kids' talk turned to ghost stories. "I did not recreate that photo repeatedly and intentionally at parties. No," Ed says. His rage also swells at the suggestion these gatherings were 'ritual seances.' "Kids like to tell ghost stories...and if that sounds like a ritual seance, I'll kiss your butt," he says, angrily. Bill's mother, Linda Chepult, says her son has been unfairly criticized for his honesty, and his reputation has been sullied by those who believe the UFO pictures are real. "The whole thing has gone to such an extreme that for an average person with reasonable intelligence, it's hard to believe," she says. "But I don't think Ed will ever come out and tell the truth because too many prominent people have supported him. "And besides," Linda adds, "I didn't like the seances and the blobs appearing over the kids' heads." Bill explains he has no reason to lie about what he saw or heard at Ed's house. "I believe in life on other planets," Bill says, "but I don't believe they are coming to Gulf Breeze." Ed, meanwhile, says he won't be labeled a liar so easily. "I'm standing up for my honesty," Ed says. "I'm not going to let somebody call me a liar without standing up and saying they are wrong. "Listen, the most important thing to me is my family. It is my first responsibility," Ed says. "Why would I want to make this up?" ================================================================= 5/89 Mike -- Michael Corbin - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: ...!scicom!mcorbin INTERNET: mcorbin@paranet.FIDONET.ORG ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INFO-PARANET NEWSLETTER ADMIN paranet-request@scicom.alphacdc.com ARTICLE SUBMISSION infopara@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM