By GLENN HENDERSON
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Now that we've gotten that traditional ridicule out of the way, let's examine the topic with at least a modicum of maturity. While we're holding off on the chuckling, let's expand our minds to include unexplained phenomena, and I'm not talking about the state's latest effort at overhauling taxes.
I refer to those things that most newspaper people - meaning those who don't work for the National Enquirer - generally don't want to write about.
You know: flying saucers, ghosts, ESP, the supernatural.
Let me say right here that I fall squarely into the middle-of-the-road camp. I believe a large majority of these incidents can be explained away, and wild imaginations are commonly the root cause. But does that mean we can easily dismiss those that land in what we might call a gray area? I don't think so.
While growing up in Virginia, I twice saw objects in the sky that I couldn't explain, but I didn't obsess over them. They probably were natural phenomena, I figured. What exactly, I didn't know.
Mysterious blobs
This month, a woman came by our Stuart office and excitedly described seeing objects around the moon the night before. She took pictures with her cellphone, which were poor in quality but definitely showed what looked like a round red blob that apparently moved quickly away from the bright circle of the moon.
She called the National Weather Service, talked to atmospheric experts and ran it by an astronomer, but no one could explain it.
Perhaps it was some sort of reflection.
I have no idea.
That came to mind last week with the extensive news coverage of the mysterious blue blob caught on an Ohio gas station's security camera. For 30 minutes, it moved from one spot to another, in one instance reminding me of a scene from Ghostbusters, or perhaps a blue version of Casper the Ghost.
Then it was gone.
The public has tossed out dozens of theories: A swarm of bugs. An apparition from what used to be an Indian burial ground. More of those odd reflections. A hoax by the station owner.
I don't know. But I'm not so paranoid that I immediately dismiss the paranormal possibilities.
Reality TV shows depict frightened people searching for ghosts. I seldom watch them, but I've never seen them deliver the goods. Most of it is made-for-TV bunk, but does that mean there are no ghosts to be found?
I wish I could tell you.
Is Kucinich kooky?
Then there's Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a presidential candidate, who has been taking heat for a recent revelation that he sighted a UFO decades ago.
I have no clue what he may have seen, but who am I to say the guy's a kook?
Last week, I was talking on the phone with an elderly gent who, after warning me that I would think him crazy, told me that he occasionally has premonitions and once dreamed of a plane crash just before it happened.
Sure, it sounded crazy. But could I prove it to be true - or untrue, for that matter?
Not really.
My initial instinct is to dismiss these oddities as nothing more than mistaken identities, false interpretations or perhaps just wishful thinking.
But can we apply that standard to every single instance, and feel comfortable with such a generalization? Am I crazy to think otherwise?
I just don't know.
Somewhere, I saw the comment that "science is powerful, but it can't explain everything."
If nothing else, I'm comfortable with that.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/treasureco ... _1118.html
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
