Marge  Christensen  is  the National Public Relations Director  of  the 
    Mutual UFO Network.  A very important post,  the PR Director is charged 
    with "getting the word out" about UFOs, and for the past several years, 
    Ms.  Christensen has been doing that through her MUFON Newsletter.  The 
    last  issue  took on a rather dour tone,  as she lamented  the  current 
    state  of  affairs in Ufology,  and seriously considered resigning  her 
    post.  This article from the latest issue, however, sets a new,  upbeat 
    tone for the new year, the 41st of the UFO era. 

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               A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE DOLDRUMS

                              by Marge Christenson

    The reader will no doubt note a strong contrast between the tone of the 
    last  newsletter  and the tone of this one.  That is because  "a  funny 
    thing happened on the way to the doldrums!" 

    Over  the past several months,  Ufology had become pretty  discouraging 
    from my vantage point.  Media coverage popularized the UFO subject as a 
    type  of folklore;  abduction hysteria was rampant;  bookstore  shelves 
    previously  devoid  of  UFO  books  were  suddenly  copiously  stocked, 
    including reprints of some of the least credible books on the  subject; 
    respected   UFO   researchers  engaged  in  bitter  battles  over   the 
    authenticity of the MJ-12 documents,  with egos and personalities often 
    taking priority over facts and objectivity. None of this spoke well for 
    Ufology as a profession. 

    Concurrently,   inactivity and apathy appeared to dominate many of  the 
    persons  in  leadership positions in Ufology,  namely our  MUFON  State 
    Directors. Coordinating any type of programs or projects nationally was 
    virtually impossible. 

    Several Ufologists urged me to disassociate myself from MUFON,   which, 
    they felt,  is not a scientific, credible organization,  and would thus 
    erode  my own credibility if I remained involved.  I  was depressed and 
    was seriously considering resigning as MUFON's PR Director. 

    One day, I decided to clean out my files.  In browsing through the data 
    contained in those files,  I  realized that the UFO subject remains one 
    of the most significant enigmas of the 20th Century,  regardless of the 
    current  state of affairs in Ufology.  I  also realized that there  are 
    still  some  very  impressive,  top caliber persons involved  with  the 
    field, and with MUFON,  in spite of the fact that some good people have 
    recently resigned. 

    The intent of this commentary is not to be melodramatic,  but rather to 
    caution those of you who may begin to feel discouraged with the subject 
    or feel that you are getting "burned out"  to first sit back and try to 
    take  a look at the larger scope of things,  rather than to give in too 
    quickly  to  your frustrations.  Chances are that you will come to  the 
    same  conclusions I did,  and will decide to hang in there and give  it 
    another shot. 

    The  UFO  phenomenon is one of the most important enigmas of our  time, 
    and if we don't continue to gather data related to it,  and to research 
    the subject, no one else will do so, and mankind will be oblivious to a 
    subject  that  is someday going to have an impact on just  about  every 
    aspect of life as we know it on this planet.