Trip down memory lane (with Pictures!)

As I have been blogging over the last month or so, it has been made fairly obvious by now that I am not a fan of the ETH. At this point in my journey into all things Fortean I have come to realize that I have no real working theory about UFOs. Sure I like Mac Tonnies' Cryptoterrestrial Hypothesis or Jacques Vallee Psychosocial Theory of UFOs. Both excellent theories and I like to entertain both of them, or many others. (Hell I even like Richard Shaver's Deros and Teros[slightly kidding]). It wasn't always like this though. Come with me as we take a little stroll down memory lane.

Along time ago in a galaxy far away, hmm wrong story. Back in my middle school days (which may  surprise you to know were in the late 90's) I was just starting to get interested in the whole UFO/Alien thing. My first entrance into the 'field' was a potential minefield in the form of this book.

That is, in case you can't make it out, Cosmic Voyage by Courtney Brown. This book is a rollicking ride through the authors use of Remote Viewing. Through the course he remote views a number of things such as; Jesus, The Buddha, Ancient Martians, Martians Currently living underground on Earth, and the Galactic Federation. Definitely nothing in that book that screams 'True Believer' (sarcasm). Because of this book I was convinced at the time that Martians had fled to our planet after a natural disaster (which I actually still entertain) and that the Grey aliens were here on behalf of the Galactic Federation in order to save mankind from a nuclear disaster. The book is basically a catch all of every crazy thing that most members of the First Church of Ufology believe in or likely agree with. One of the more out there things that is related in the book was that ascended spirits were influencing the writers of Star Trek in order to prepare humanity for the reality of the ET presence.

It's safe to say that at this point I was a 'True Believer' in the sense that I was convinced our planet was being infiltrated by all manner of ETs. After Cosmic Voyage I tried to find all of the books on UFOs that I could. The next book that I happened upon in a used bookstore was this little gem.

This book was Faces of the Visitors by Kevin Randle and Russ Estes. On the same day that I picked up Faces of the Visitors, I also got this book.

Alien Agenda by Jim Marrs. Both of these books are interesting reads. Alien Agenda was great for a neophyte like I was at the time. It has a little bit of everything in the Ufological arena. MJ-12, Roswell, Area 51, Biblical UFOs, Underground bases, conspiracy theories and just about anything else that you can think of. As for Faces of the Visitors, I don't think I understood at the time the implications of this book. Basically Randle and Estes list a lot of classic UFO/Alien encounters along with an artist's rendition of what the creatures looked like. I guess when I first read it, I must have assumed that all of the entities that are in the book represented the ambassadors of Brown's Galactic Federation. As I have gotten older I think that the variety of shapes and sizes of the Visitor's may more accurately represent the phenomenas fluid, dare I say it almost 'shape-shifting', nature?

Around this same time I happened upon some really interesting figurines that I still have to this day. While other kids may have been playing video games or sports, I was inside reading books on aliens and playing with these action figures.

The top figure had actual come with a spherical silver marble which I apparently lost sometime ago. They were made by Shadowbox, a company that is apparently no longer around. Damn these things are actually worth a pretty decent amount of money. (Hmmm which do I value more nostalgia or cold hard cash? Decisions, decisions). So contrary to how my posts may paint me, I too was once a 'True Believer'. But much like the toys that I have now put away on my shelf to look at fondly as memories of my past, so too have I done away with the ETH.

These days I read voraciously all the books that come out in this field, whether I agree with them or not necessarily. I do this because, not entirely unlike the 'True Believer's', I too am searching for the Truth that is out there. The difference is, I don't think I already have the answer. Instead I am ready to be surprised by whatever it may turn out to be.

Well this concludes our little trip down memory lane, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. If you are missing any items, lost and found can be located on the 2nd floor room 204, also gifts and merchandise are available in the Gift Shop on the 1st floor. Be sure to recommend the 'Tony Morrill Memory Lane' experience to friends and family. Until next time this is your friendly neighborhood Fortean Philosopher Tony saying goodnight and good luck.