Terry sez:
> <http://kevinrandle.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/jesse-marcel-has-died.html> http://kevinrandle.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/jesse-marcel-has-died.html > > "Just minutes ago I received some very sad news. Jesse Marcel, Jr. > died of a heart attack on August 24. He was alone, at home, > apparently reading a UFO book when he died." > > <more> > > Hmm, I wonder which book? Just to be clear, this is an OT subject thread. Now, with that disclaimer in place, let me yammer on a bit more and hopefully amuse a few Vort lurkers. Sigh. Another first-hand witness leaves us. RIP, Jesse. At least he's with his dad again. As for the mysterious book Jesse was allegedly reading, probably not the one I'm about to mention. A brand new Roswell research book "Inside the Real Area 51: The Secret History of Wright Patterson" has been published by authors Thomas Cary and Donald Schmitt. http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Real-Area-51-Patterson/dp/1601632363/ref=sr_1_1 ?s=books <http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Real-Area-51-Patterson/dp/1601632363/ref=sr_1_ 1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377710631&sr=1-1&keywords=inside+the+real+area+51> &ie=UTF8&qid=1377710631&sr=1-1&keywords=inside+the+real+area+51 http://tinyurl.com/n97ox9w I attended an informal potluck gathering a couple of weeks ago held in the Milwaukee area where Don Schmitt brought copies of the book prior to it its official publication date. Cary and Schmitt contend that analysis of most UFO wreckage (including the alleged Roswell incident) was performed primarily at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, not Area 51. Also included in the latest book: Additional revealing testimony from a dwindling group of survivors. I placed a review of Area 51 out at Amazon. See posting by: orionworks: http://tinyurl.com/q5m3xfy I know that at least one person read my review. Within 48 hours of posting it I got a message from Zazzle.com: http://www.zazzle.com/down_the_road_aways_posters-228452404509522238 .informing me of the delightful fact that a customer had purchased a print from one of my classic acrylic paintings, titled "Down the Road A'Ways". I created this painting back in 1980. A Zazzle poster sale of this nature tends to be a rare occurrence these days. While Amazon book review statistics don't give any counts as to who may have read it, particularly since no one has yet left a comment, or a helpful vs. not-helpful count, I nevertheless suspect my review had something to do with this recent Zazzle poster sale. The movie, CE3K, was still fresh on my mind when I created this painting. It was done in acrylic on illustration board, 15"x20". The painting was sold in 1981 at a now defunct SF art gallery out in the East Coast. The original was sold for a tragic pittance. Fortunately, back in my "analog" days, I always made sure I got 4"x5" inch color positive transparencies produced by a professional photographer. It cost me $$$, but it was worth it. I suspect I've made more money from the sale of reproductions, via post cards, greeting cards, posters, rather than from the sale of original pieces. These days, everything I do is digital, so what the hell is an original! ;-) PS (more juicy gossip trivia concerning a tale of UFO investigators): Many UFO observers have known about a highly publicized rift that exploded between two well known and respected UFO researchers, Kevin Randle and Don Schmitt. The incident occurred back in the 1990s. Before the rift, both of these researchers had co-published a couple of well-received books on their Roswell research. Those books were probably responsible for inspiring the production of a well-received Roswell movie "Roswell" 1994, produced by HBO: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111021/ It starred Kyle MackLachlan as the late Jesse Marcel, sr. As for what caused the rift between Kevin Randle and Don Schmitt. Well. One day, Don made a catastrophic judgment error in not telling his co-author partner at the time, Kevin, of the fact that he worked as a mailman during his day job. What made this incident so senseless, patently ridiculous, and utterly stupid, was the fact that nobody really would have given a rip what Don's day job was. Unfortunately, Don was super sensitive about his perceived public image, and for a number of complicated personal reasons which I will not go into, Don did not want Kevin to know the harmless fact that he was a mailman. Don essentially lied to his partner, Kevin, confirming to Kevin that, no, he wasn't a mailman. Meanwhile, Kevin then went to bat publicly claiming that his partner, Don, had confirmed to him the fact that he was not a mailman. Inevitably, when evidence began to suggest otherwise other investigators began snooping around. I believe one of the principal "investigators" who finally cracked the case out into the open was no one other than Stan Friedman, another well known and respected UFO investigator! http://www.stantonfriedman.com/ The "uncovering", I was told, occurred when Stan called the post office where he had learned where Don was alleged working. He asked for Don Schmitt. Someone handed the phone over to Don. Perhaps Stan was momentarily stunned hearing Don's voice. Who knows.. In any case, Stan, didn't want to be recognized as Mr. Friedman. You have to understand, all these UFO investigators knew who each other - intimately since they have been on numerous talk shows together dong the circuit, etc... Stan initially tried unsuccessfully to disguise his voice with the use of a badly mangled accent. I gather there was a pregnant pause over the phone before Don replied, Stan! That's YOU isn't it! When Kevin heard the news, he was initially stunned into a state of shock. It is perfectly understandable why Kevin soon afterward began severing all prior professional ties he had with Don. I remember quite vividly some of Kevin's justifiable rage - sometimes at point blank range. I recall numerous private email exchanges I had with Kevin during this time period. I think for a while Kevin wanted to destroy Don's professional reputation as a UFO investigator, as if Mr. Schmitt had become the white whale Kevin must slay. I recall Kevin at one point posted out at DEJANEWS the personal opinion that he felt that his former UFO investigator partner, Don Schmitt, was a "pathological liar". I remember that post. I printed out a hard copy for my own records. Several months later, however, Kevin must have decided it was unwise to have made such a public accusation because the post suddenly disappeared. Fortunately, DEJANEWS gave authors the ability to remove their own posts, particularly after they mulled the consequences of their posting actions. Again, this is probably a very good thing! Never the less there exits hardcopy evidence languishing about in musty file cabinets in basements here and there. A few years later when TIME magazine wrote a fluff piece on the Roswell legend, which included brief criticisms (gossip) concerning the alleged reputations of various UFO investigators the phrase "pathological liar" was printed. TIME's use of the phrase "pathological liar" clearly did not attempt to insinuate in any way WHOM the term "pathological liar" was meant for. However, those of us in the peanut gallery knew precisely whom the phrase was meant for. Fortunately, these days this highly visible rift between two heavy weight UFO investigators has become a matter that has morphed into something less scatological in nature. It is my understanding that Don and Kevin are back on speaking terms with each other, though perhaps discretely. I believe there has even been some behind the scenes correspondence concerning various UFO investigations. I wonder if some of that reconciliation might have been due to the fact that to the best of my knowledge Don never. not once retaliated in public during all the time Kevin in the midst of his own catharsis publicly vented his outrage with countless posts in places like DEJANEWS. Payback? Who knows. Don knew he had made some extremely bad judgment calls. He knew he got himself into trouble all on his own volition. He talked quite candidly about some of these personal miscalculations to close friends and supporters. those he trusted. Time to move on. The point being, we all have personal flaws. We are all human, and to be human is to occasionally f*#k up, and occasionally to f#*k up royally. I know I have as well. But what does that have to do with what we excel at. Way back in the 1990s, Don Schmitt was a top notch UFO investigator. He still is today. Despite what his fiercest critics would insinuate Don never stopped being a top notch investigator. I still count Don as a close friend of mine, someone that I've known since the early 90s. There is still more Roswell work to complete, and unfortunately today that work must be done with one less person who personally felt in his own hands the original wreckage. In conclusion, if some of you enjoyed this little walk down UFO memory lane, please feel free to support your favorite not-so-quiet lurker Vortex-L artist by going out to: http://www.zazzle.com/orionworks and purchase a couple of my post cards! You might find a UFO or two out there. or something else that suits your fancy. ;-) . and I'll keep checking Zazzle sales statistics. Regards Steven Vincent Johnson Svjart.orionworks.com
