New Blog Address

Hey all, Follow me to Louisiana and read the blog from there. Come to
shawn-connors.blogspot.com
and read my new blog "Shawn's Louisiana Jambalaya & ti-lagniappe"

See ya there!!!!!

Shawn

Final Post from Jamaica

Howdy folks,

As the title says this is the final post from Jamaica, I'm sitting in the air port in Kingston waiting to board my flight home. I will be changing the title of this Blog when I arrive in Louisiana (name to be revealed soon), so check back soon for my continued ramblings from another part of the world. Thanks for the inspiration over the last few months. Now for the final time from Jamaica.....LATAH MON!!!

This is more like it!

This is a photo of something that has become unusual over the past few months. We actually had more that 4 ships in port today!!! We had eight sips and all but 4 of our gantry cranes were gainfully employed. Albeit for only 10 hours but still it was nice to be busy for the day. I also managed to get a photo of one of the Port Authority tug boats going out to escort another arrival. We actually have three of them but with the reduction in volumes one is in dry dock and the other is a mile out getting another vessel into port. Here are some more random pictures I took today. It was a good day on the port.

"The Truth" Chapter 5, The Hospital

Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) Hospital, Roswell New Mexico, 0740 hrs - 3^rd of July, 1947.

As the military ambulances pulled into the hospital sub-basement entrance normally reserved for casualties, the Emergency Staff of the hospital was caught by surprise. They had set up their emergency operations with the emergency room and their dedicated entrance as the center of the response to the accident.

The federal agent in charge for now was a young hot shot from Albuquerque introduced to everyone as Agent Carter. He had sent one of his subordinate agents along with 4 of the MPs to escort the vehicles back to the post. The agent in the ambulance hadn’t introduced himself to anyone; in fact he had not said a word during the entire trip back from the crash site.

As they approached the hospital his first words had been to order the driver of his vehicle to find a back entrance with less people. As would be expected with a catastrophe of this sort the hospital had become a circus. There were people everywhere trying to get information and answers to their questions. The press men had shown up from the local news paper and radio station and the news paper photographers had their cameras ready to snap that elusive Pulitzer Prize winning photo of the aftermath of this tragic accident.

The agent had given orders to the driver of the lead ambulance in which he rode, to avoid any unnecessary exposure of the cargo in the vehicles. Although the agent had not been instructed by anyone yet, he was sure that his superiors would want this kept as quiet as possible, after all, he was escorting the only the evidence the public would ever need to convince them that there really were aliens.

The alien bodies where immediately unloaded and taken by gurney to the morgue. He then placed two of the MP escorts on the doors to the morgue with instructions that no one gets in without his express permission. The live alien that had communicated to the soldiers a short while ago at the crash site had not communicated with anyone since its initial request for something to drink. It was taken upstairs under cover of a trench coat. The freight elevator was used to get him to the 4^th floor isolation ward, where he was placed into a padded cell with an armed guard posted at the door. The guard was left with the same orders as the others, which was that no one was to get in without his expressed permission, until it could be determined what should be done with it. They left one of the soldier’s canteens in the room and then left and bolted the door.

The alien took the canteen and went to the rear corner of the room opposite the door and sat down. He was scared, thirsty and sick about the situation he found himself in. His entire crew had been killed. He was alone on an alien, violent and savage planet. He was worried that the savage race of this planet would not give him a chance to communicate that he meant them no harm. He had felt the fear and suspicion from everyone that he had been in contact with so far. Especially the human that was apparently in charge of the transport he had been forced into. He had gleaned images of a threatening nature from him as they traveled. The others were suspicious, and afraid of him, but didn’t appear to be of a violent nature. The only one he felt that he could effectively communicate with so far was the tall soldier he had flashed to at the field where he had crashed.

The alien pilot was not sure how bad the damage was to his ship; he had not been able to communicate with it since he woke up with all the soldiers staring at him. As he reached out with his mind the alien searched for the receptive thought of the ship. He could not communicate with it. It wasn’t there. He should have been able to communicate with the ship over a much greater distance than they had traveled. All he could glean was darkness. The ship must have been heavily damaged for him not to have at least a basic contact with it.

After the conscious joining of pilot and ship, effective communication could be made over thousands of miles. He felt as though half of his consciousness had been ripped away. He was truly alone. He leaned his head against the soft surface of the wall and closed his thoughts and eyes. He tuned out and tranced, he needed to clear his mind from everything for a short period.

(RAAF), Hospital, 4^th floor Isolation Ward, Roswell New Mexico, 2320 hrs - 3^rd of July, 1947.

As he again became aware of his surroundings and his situation, the alien thought to him self, how much time had passed? It seemed to him that he had been lost in his desperate silence for an eternity. Without moving the alien realized that again he was not alone. Quietly sitting in a chair in the opposite corner of the room was a man in a white shirt and black tie that he had not seen before. The alien reached out with his mind and was bombarded with images of extreme and very graphic violence. It shocked him and he drew in a breath with a shudder. This person was an agent of the government of this world.

This man had now become aware that he was being watched by the alien and shifted in his chair. He spoke for the first time saying, “What should I call you”. The alien flashed his name to the man but he didn’t seem to receive it. He paused and said, “I am David Rothman”, and a few seconds later he said, “I guess I’ll just call you AL.” “Why are you here?” David asked, as he stood from the chair. AL had to find a way to communicate with these people. He focused all his skill and ability into a single thought. He thought “CRASH”. David reacted with a jerk of his head and said “so you do speak.” AL tapped into this human at last, and received a flood of imagery from him.

AL began to flash images that he had gleaned from the minds of all the people he had come into contact with so far. David was confused, and then in a flash of understanding he knew what was happening. He said aloud, "you do not speak verbally, you speak in imagery?" A picture of fireworks came to his mind. David began to think of a thousand questions he needed to ask and received an image in his minds eye of a highway traffic jam. He calmed his thought process and decided he would try to think about one thing at a time. He thought where did you come from? A Picture of a solar system flashed into his mind in full living color, but he could not recognize it, and then as if he was watching a movie the image began to move and zeroed on a planet within the system. He again said aloud, how far is this from earth? The number 22.7 and a man taking a picture with a flashbulb popping flashed into his mind, this didn’t make any sense to David, and he was getting a headache. He decided to try another question, but at that moment an image of the Space Craft flashed into his mind, and then he was overwhelmed with alien images that he didn’t understand, his head felt like it would explode. He yelled and the images stopped.

As he looked at the alien, David began to think that this could be very dangerous, and that it was going to take a while to effectively communicate with this being. At that moment a single image came to his mind. It was like David was watching a motion picture; it was the mental image AL was projecting of when the Soldiers had found him. Then the image zoomed in on the tall MP that had given him the water. David immediately recognized Bryan’s face and got a sick feeling in his stomach. He didn’t know what was happening, and then the alien began to show signs of extreme agitation. David rushed to the door and pounded on the observation port. The door opened, and he stepped out. The door closed behind him quickly as AL stood from where he was sitting.

As David left the room he received an image of the aliens lined up next to AL. Though he had not been there he had just mentally seen the crash site, and then an image from what appeared to be an alien covered by a dark blanket and then physical pain racked through him. He didn’t understand the image or what he was feeling but he was sure that AL had just mentally sent it to him. Then with such force that it made him dizzy David realized that one of the others was communicating with AL and AL had flashed it to him directly. Another alien was alive!

David screamed at the MP asking where they had taken the other bodies. The MP said they had taken them to the Morgue, so David ran down the hall to the elevator and jammed the button so hard he thought he had broken it. He waited for a few second and then bolted through the stairwell door. David ran down six flights of stairs to sub-basement level where the hospital morgue was located. He was winded and didn’t stop when the MPs said HALT. He tried to step around them while flashing his badge to them but was physically stopped by the MP on the left. He again showed them his ID and said as he was catching his breath, “doesn’t this badge mean anything to you people?”

They examined the badge and ID closer and informed him that they had orders from the other agent not to allow anyone access and again they refused him entry. David said to himself that he didn’t have time for this and kneed the MP on his left squarely between the legs and as fast as lightning and before the other MP realized what was happening David punched him so hard on the tip of his chin that it knocked him out cold.

He entered the morgue and began to check the alien bodies. It was a gruesome and shocking task as he uncovered each of them. Then as he uncovered the last one it grabbed his hand. David yelled for assistance and the MP that had been kicked crawled on hands and knees to the door. He saw what was happening and crawled to the table against the wall. He managed to pull the phone down off the table and was connected with the hospital operator automatically. The MP said something into the phone that David did not hear and then the MP collapsed again against the wall.

The Alien held David’s hand and looked at him with the biggest cold black eyes he had ever seen. Then in a thunderous mix of images and pain, so loud and intense that David’s head felt as though it would explode and the room began to spin, the alien mentally transferred a jumbled mix of information and feelings to David. He had never experienced anything like this before and then it all stopped. As suddenly as it had begun, it stopped.

The alien's hand relaxed its grip on David and then went completely limp. David knees shuddered and gave out from under him, and fell across the alien on the gurney. He was so dizzy; it took him several minutes to regain his senses. As he got his legs back underneath him and regained his footing, he grabbed the gurney using it as support and moved it into the hallway. He screamed at the MP for help and the man rose from his position against the wall. He also grabbed the other side of the gurney for support as David asked him where the operating rooms were. The MP said they needed to get to the elevator down the hall.

They moved into the elevator and the doors closed. In the space of time it takes for a slow moving elevator to travel three floors David looked at the MP and said “sorry about kneeing you” The MP said “you got lucky, I didn’t expect a Government Agent to move so fast, but I assure you sir it will never happen again”. Then he looked at David and said, “My name is Frank Cortez, and you owe me a beer and a chance to get even.” David reached across the gurney and took Franks hand and said, “David…David Rothman, maybe later well see about that.” As the elevator slowed, and the bell rang for the floor, Frank looked at David and said with kind of a half smile, “I understand now why you where so motivated to get into the morgue, but how did you know?” Then without time for another word the doors opened on the 2^nd floor.

As they exited the elevator a nurse standing at the counter of the nurses’ station across the hall screamed and dropped the stack of charts that she had been about ready to set on the desk. Instead of standing there in shock as the other two nurses at the desk were doing, the nurse that had dropped the charts ran to the gurney and said, “It’s true, they really are aliens.” She immediately took charge of the gurney and guided the two men pushing it to the first of three operating rooms. She looked at the men and said, “I’m sorry I screamed it was just so surprising to have such a creature of myth made into a reality for me”. The nurse explained, as they began to cut the alien’s uniform off, that she had read of aliens for years but had never believed they really existed.

As they finished cutting the uniform off, they got their first real look at the alien’s body. It was in tact and about 4’ tall. The extremities seemed to look "normal" for lack of a better word, and with no obvious deformity or swelling which would indicate it had any broken bones. It was very thin and looked extremely frail, it was gray in color but it had a greenish tint to it. Its hands had what appeared to be a thumb and three long fingers, all still present and intact. The skin was smooth and it had what appeared to be a large bruise on the center its chest. It also had a small bruise on the side of its head but no other obvious injuries. They could not tell whether it was a male or female as it had no discernable genitalia.

As they observed the alien being, a doctor burst into the room, screaming at the nurse, “Why aren’t you people masked.” Two other nurses entered carrying surgical masks and gowns for the three of them. Then like a well oiled machine, everyone started doing their jobs, and Frank and David stepped back into the corner of the room. The nurses started hooking up monitors, then one of the nurses said, “I found the pulse, it’s weak but palpable.” Then she slipped a blood pressure cuff over the aliens arm.

As the doctor took charge and began the examination of the alien body in front of him, he looked curiously at David and said, “You’re with the government right?” David said simply “Yes”. The doctor said, “I don’t suppose you have an alien anatomy book stored in your TOP SECRET comic book collection do you?” Frank sniggered and the nurses smiled and paused for half a second, then the doctor said, “No I didn’t think it would be that easy, I guess I’ll have to wing it.” The nurse said “I can’t read the pressure, doctor; every time I inflate the cuff I loose the pulse. He responded with, “Just keep track of the pulse then.” As the doctor continued with the basic examination, David told the nurse that had helped with the alien’s uniform, to bag the clothing in a plastic bag and seal it; he was going to take them with him.

One of the nurses drew a large syringe full of the alien’s blood, which turned out to be a dark green color. She said that nobody would believe her when she told them. The doctor told her to rush it to the lab. Then David stopped them all and said in a very load and commanding voice, “Listen to me everyone, I am David Rothman from the office of Special Security and Intelligence in Washington DC. I am here at the orders of the President of the United States. We don’t need to start a panic here, and if the word gets out that we have real aliens here on tis base it could be devastating to the world as we know it. For this reason, everything that is said and done in this room is classified as "TOP SECRET, NEED TO KNOW ONLY", this also goes for any tests conducted and any blood work as well. Is that clear?” Everyone stopped what they where doing and looked at the Doctor. There was complete silence in the room for approximately 2 minutes as everyone absorbed what had just been said. Then the doctor said to everyone, “You heard the man, now let’s get to it before we lose our patient.”

(RAAF), Hospital, 4^th floor Isolation Ward, Roswell New Mexico, 0020 hrs - 4th of July, 1947.

As the man called David Rothman left the room, AL was mentally communicating with the other alien in the morgue. It had come to him with such suddenness that he didn’t know how to image it to the human standing before him. With a burst flash and with all the mental strength he had, he transferred what he was seeing and feeling directly to the man that had just left.

When he finished the burst flash, AL shifted his thoughts again back to Shiri, the young student that had been traveling with his crew as part of her studies. He began to mentally tell her what he had experienced so far and she responded back with fear and pain. He tried to calm her and asked her to explain where she was, but she didn't know. She flashed the blackness that she was experiencing and let him help her to control the pain she felt from her head and chest. Shiri attempted to sit up, but couldn’t move. Her chest and back hurt her very badly. As she again made a second attempt to sit up, she heard noises from beyond her vision. It sounded far away but got very loud and then all of a sudden it got very quiet.

Just as she was about to make another attempt to sit up, she was blinded by bright light, in a reflex, she reached out her hand and found that someone was standing next to her. She clasped the hand that she had found and it seemed very strong and warm, and it grasped her hand back. As her vision cleared she realized that there was a human standing next to where she was laying down. A name shot into her mind from Milsus, the pilot. It was the Human’s name, David Rothman.

In a misunderstanding of his meaning, she had assumed that Milsus had sent this man and given her his name because he was a person with whom she could trust her consciousness with. She didn’t hesitate at all and began to transfer her mental stores to this human vessel. Just as the flash of memories was ending she became very weak. Something wasn’t right, she had a heaviness across her legs that hadn't been there before. Her vision was beginning to close in like she was falling into a hole. The blackness was closing in from the edges of her vision and then just before she lost sight of her surroundings she heard Milsus say “Be careful what you share with him, he's dangerous!” She lost all the feeling in her body as she realized that this human was laying across her legs. She was terrified and fully in an uncontrollable panic. She was losing her consiousness with the thought that she had just wasted her entire life’s history and experiences, and that it would probably never be recovered.

She mentally blasted out the last fleeting thought that she could think of. She sent it out to anyone that could hear it. As her vision faded she mentally screamed, “HELP ME!”

(to be continued)

Howdy Folks!

I managed to get home early yesterday morning and pretty much spent a lazy day reading. I know I probably should have been typing but I was really tired. I'll probably spend some time translating today so I will post the next portion of the story sometime this week. For today however I'm going to post some photos of some I took, one handed from the car while traveling, of the sights from Kingston to Montego Bay. Enjoy! Oh and Happy Mothers Day!

This is called "Flat Bridge". It's a one lane concrete bridge that has withstood countless hurricans and floods for the last 40 years. The water usually covers this road by about 10 feet and washes the roads out on both sides but the bridge reamains intact. Constructed by the British Corps of Engineers, it has become a landmark of engineering the Jamaicans try to match continuously.

Houses and comunities like these are built over the course of decades. The people of Jamaica normally get a mortgage loan for a small 1 to 3 room block and concrete structer, than pay it off over 10/20 years. Then they add to the structer to make it a full sized three to six bedroom house with all the imenities they can get but they do it as they have the money so construction can and generally does take multiple generations to finish.


This is a new condo complex they are building just outside of Montego Bay. If you could have gotten in before they started construction you could have purchaesed one at the very reasonable price of US$60,000, but now with construct almost complete everything is already sold and the resale price is from US$1million to 1.75 million depending if you want an ocean side condo or not.

This is Montego Bay from the Bottom Road Beach, I love the colors of the water...It will definatly take time to get over leaving this place.

Alright thats about all for now I'll write more later and look for the continuance of the story next week!

Until next time. Latah Mon!

Mothers Day!

OK Here's the dilemma.

My mom passed away a few years ago, I'm over the sorrow and I still miss her but I've gotten over it. Now, My father has since remarried to a wonderful woman whom I've known for many years as she and her husband (also deceased) were friends of my mom and dad while I was growing up.
I was in Jamaica when they got hitched and so I haven't been able to see them in person since this all took place. My siblings have had the chance to welcome her into the family in person and all I've been able to do is talk on the phone. So...here's the rub, I know that my dad wants us (me and my siblings) to make her feel like she has been accepted and thinks we should love her as much as he loves her. All fine and good, but I can't seem to keep from calling her by her first name even though, when my dad talks about her to us "kids" he calls her mom like he used to do my real mom. I think that this woman is very nice and sweet and I'm thrilled that my dad and her have found love again after their first spouses (is "spice" the plural?) passed away.
All this to ask, do you think it is appropriate to wish her a happy mothers day, send a card, and all that wrought, even though I don't think of her in that way yet? Do I go through the motions even though I don't feel it, to make them happy? Or do I wait until I do feel comfortable (if ever) calling her "mom" and meaning it?
Your comments would be welcome.

Latah Mon.

The Winners

OK, I am a man of my word and though only a few people suggested names for the continuance of the Blog, I have decided, because they made the effort I would as well. There were two names suggested that I considered and though I still have not decided what to call it, I'm going to split the prize money. I will divide it and give each one $500.00, I will see them both when I get back to the states and will pay them what I promised in person. When I decide what to call the blog, you will all know.

The two winners are Tami, and Steph.

Until next time. Latah Mon!

"The Truth" Chapter 4, The Report (part 2)

Foster Ranch, Main House, Roswell New Mexico, 17:00 hrs, July 3rd 1947

Rick was actually lying down on the couch. Sarah couldn’t believe what she was seeing. For as long as Sarah had been married to this man she had rarely seen him lying down while there was still daylight. Rick never even took to lying down when he was sick, which wasn’t very often. As she busied herself in the kitchen preparing dinner for the guests that would arrive within the next hour or so, she was almost overcome with feelings she had not experienced before, it felt almost like panic. She had been told by the man that she loved more than life itself that he had seen and touched aliens from another world. She was excited, concerned, and frightened all at once and it was about to overwhelm her.

Kaitlyn was in the kitchen with her, she was in the process of making rolls for her family and the Army men that were coming home with her brother. Sarah sat down at the small table in the kitchen and Kaitlyn had noticed that something was wrong; she dropped everything and went to her mother’s side. She kneeled down beside her mother and asked if she was feeling alright. Sarah reached out and hugged her tightly. In a release of emotions that had been building since Rick had returned from the barn after his ride, she wept on her daughters shoulder. She wept tears of love and concern for her husband and family, tears of joy that her family was coming together for the holiday, and tears of apprehension at the surprising events that she had been told about this afternoon. She sat in the chair and held her loving daughter as if their family’s life’s were about to be changed forever.

After several minutes of this Sarah dried her eyes, stood up and said they must finish dinner and get ready for company. Then emotionally, again she reached out and hugged Kaitlyn quickly and then held her daughter at arms length. She looked at her as she hadn’t looked at her before. Who was this young woman she was holding in her arms? She’s so mature for her age, she thought to herself. She is the type of daughter that every mother dreams of, and Sarah was extremely proud of her.

Kaitlyn, though still young, was truly beautiful in appearance and personality, but the best part of her beauty was that she didn’t seem to know just how beautiful she was. Her complexion was lightly tanned, as smooth as glass, and blemish free. She had the most beautiful brown eyes. She had inherited her father’s eyes, thought Sarah, but unlike her father Kate's eyes seemed to have little specks of gold mixed in. They would sparkle when she was happy, excited, or when she was being mischievous. She had dark blond hair that she normally kept wound up and pinned in a bun, but today she had let it down, washed and brushed it out. It was just over shoulder length, as fine and soft as a newborn baby’s hair, and it was filled with soft natural curls. She had let the sun dry it as she was reading one of the books from her summer reading list from school.
Kaitlyn was a month away from her sixteenth birthday; she was about 5’7” tall. A full 5 inches taller than any of her girl friends from church and school, and taller than most of the boys her own age. It made her a little bit self conscious, but her mother had always told her that the other girls only wished they were as tall as she was and that most of the boys would soon catch up and surpass her in height. She sometimes felt lanky and awkward around her brothers and their friends. However, all of her life she had been loved and encouraged by her family so she always felt good about herself inside. Sarah had seen her with her friends at church and as she walked the 3 miles to and from school. Everyone Kaitlyn knows seems to consider her a friend. She is easy to talk to and fun to be around, she has a good solid character as well as a good sense of humor, and Kaitlyn is always smiling. This Beautiful smile was what Sarah was seeing now.

Kaitlyn had told her mother that she loved her and then in a playful way, told Sarah that she could use her shoulder as a snivel rag anytime she felt the need. “I’m sorry dear” said Sarah, “I’ve just been really excited about this weekend, and then with your father coming back from his ride with the burns and story of how he got them, I was just feeling a little overwhelmed.” As an after thought, Sarah smiled and said “Thanks for letting me snot on you though,” and with a little giggle, “I feel so much better now.”

Sarah and Kaitlyn laughed with one another and then continued to make dinner. Sarah was thinking to herself that her family was going to be her biggest achievement in life, but especially Kaitlyn. This young woman was truly a treasure, worthy of the best man of her time.
She prayed with all her heart that Kaitlyn was blessed with a man just like her father, someone that was caring, loving, and understanding; a real man’s man but with a heart of gold. She prayed that Kaitlyn found someone with whom she would always feel safe and protected, and that she found someone that she could trust implacably and be completely open and honest with.
“Mom!.…Earth to mom!” The statement brought Sarah out of her deep thoughts and back into the kitchen. “Yes dear” Sarah said, and Kaitlyn nodded at the stove where the oven was beginning to smoke. “Oh My,” Sarah said as she lunged for the door of the oven, "I do hope I didn’t ruin the roast." Kaitlyn laughed and said, “I like it with the blackened outside!” Kaitlyn snickered with joy, as her mother began to laugh at herself for losing track of the cooking time. She managed to cut off the section that was burnt and the rest of the roast turned out fabulous, with just a hint of smoked flavor that really did add to the favor of the meat. Kaitlyn would have to remember that process for later experimentation.

It was 20 minutes to 6:00pm and Sarah told Kaitlyn to go and get ready for dinner while she finished up. Kaitlyn headed upstairs while Sarah went to the living room and woke up Rick who was snoring loudly. “Honey, its time to get ready,” Sarah said and Rick grumbled and moved upstairs to wash up.

With the promptness that only comes from military training, at 6:00pm sharp, a sedan pulled up to the ranch house and four men got out, straitened their clothing, and knocked on the door. Then Bryan opened the front door and called into the house that he was home.

Rick and Kaitlyn had been coming down the stairs and Sarah entered the living room from the kitchen. They all hugged one another and then Bryan made the introductions.

“Rick, Sarah, and Kaitlyn Foster, I would like to introduce the RAAF Provost Marshall and my boss, Colonel Ted Hunt.” Bryan said, as they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, Bryan continued with the next man, “and this is Colonel Walter Haut, he is the Public Affairs Officer for the Post,” and again the exchange of pleasantries. Then Bryan introduced a man he had just met an hour and a half ago. “This is Mr. David Rothman from Washington DC”. Rick shook this man’s hand with a solid, firm handshake and looked him dead in the eye for a period that seemed long to everyone in the group. Rick was sizing him up as to his character and whether this man could be trusted. Bryan knew what was happening, as did the two officers, and they also observed Mr. Rothman’s reaction. To Rothman’s credit he looked Mr. Foster strait in the eye and did not falter or release his grip until they had both completed their first impressions of one another. He then shook both of the ladies hands and said “very nice to meet you all.”

Sarah not understanding what had just taken place said with a nervous laugh, that dinner was ready and would be served in a few minutes. She pointed them to the bathroom and told them if they would like to wash up there were fresh towels hanging on the rack. While the guests moved in the direction of the bathroom Bryan hugged his mom and dad again as it had been several weeks since he had seen his mom and he was still very concerned about his father.

Bryan had warned the PM and guests that his mother would probably have prepared dinner for them, and that his family was from the school of thought that a guest should be fed and given the opportunity to relax no matter why they were meeting. After the initial attempt by everyone in the vehicle to bow out saying that it wasn’t necessary, Bryan said they would offend his mom if they did not eat at least a little of what she had prepared. So they resigned to the fact that they would be having dinner and spending some additional time at the ranch. Bryan thought to himself with much amusement that if he knew his mother, these gentlemen where in for a meal they would not soon forget, as his mom could cook like nobody else he had ever known. They were in for a treat!

Sarah and Kaitlyn brought dinner to the table and everyone was seated. Rick asked God’s Blessing over the meal and welcomed everyone to his home. Then the feast began. Everything was so good that it wasn’t long before the Army men threw caution to the wind and fully enjoyed the unexpected, but thoroughly delicious, home cooked meal that they had been invited to. As the meal progressed, and as everyone relaxed a bit, they began to establish somewhat of a rapport with one another. They began to address one another by their first names.

During the meal Kaitlyn had sat quietly, eating with her best manners and quickly stealing glances at the visitors at her table. She was especially curious about the only man at the table that was in a suit. All the other guests including her brother were in military uniform. The government man, David Rothman, was quite attractive and had caught her glancing at him; she demurely lowered her gaze and did not repeat a glance in his direction thereafter, fearing he would catch her again.

After everyone around the table had been completely, if not overly, satisfied and they showered compliments on the cooking abilities of the hostess, the conversation turned to the reason they had come here. They had requested to speak with Rick alone but he told them that he would say nothing that he had not, nor would not, share with his immediate family anyway. After a slight pause they agreed to have the conversation at the table.

David skillfully took charge and steered the next part of their conversation with a request for Rick to explain what he had seen from the beginning of the incident.

As Rick began to tell what he had experienced, he became animated with the details and even a few sound effects. You see Rick Foster was a story teller extraordinaire; he could tell stories around a campfire that would entertain everyone, no matter what age they were, for hours. Kaitlyn knew that nobody on earth could tell a story like her father.
She as well as everyone else were all transfixed on her father and could not pull their eyes away from him. As Kaitlyn had not heard the whole story yet, she was rapt with anticipation and concern at the facts and details her father was skillfully unfolding.

She had never known her father to exaggerate or stretch the truth in any way and was in shock at the revelations she was being made privy to. She was trying to come to terms with this new situation that had now been revealed by the man she trusted more than anyone on earth, when David cleared his throat and asked for some water.

Kaitlyn, in a daze of disbelief, jumped up and moved to the kitchen without saying a word and quickly returned with a tall glass of water. She approached the table from behind David and to his right and for the first time she noticed how muscular he was and again thought to herself that he was very attractive. Then she smelt his scent.

She was not sure if it was his very sweet and agreeable scent, or because of the excitement and slight trepidation she felt over the story she had just heard, but Kaitlyn felt a sensation that she was unfamiliar with. A shiver went through her from the top of her head to her toes and she felt a tingle in her tummy that she had never experienced before. She placed the water on the table and lingered just a second to breathe in his scent again, then she quickly took her place at the table again.

Bryan having experienced things in a little different way from his dad was also listening intently to what his father was telling them. Bryan was mentally making notes of the details his father had remembered and confirming them in his memory as these forgotten details flooded back to him. They let him finish his story completely before they began to ask there questions.

As Rick began to answer questions from everyone at the table about what he had witnessed, Col Hunt and the Col Haut, coming to their senses, got out their note pads and pens.

Ted asked Rick to explain how he received his injuries again and he repeated that part of the story. Col Haut asked several questions as confirmation of what Rick had said. Then from out of left field David asked, “How many head of cattle do you have here Rick?” Rick looked at him and answered, “Approximately 2000 head, give or take a couple of dozen.” Then again with something that didn’t appear to have any bearing on the conversation David said “So that makes your ranch one of the largest cattle operations in this state, am I correct?” Rick, with a slight hesitation, answered him with a simple “Yes”.

David looked at Rick with a new found respect. He mentally filed Rick Foster into the category of few he had ever met. He had credited Rick with the respect that one gives an opponent of rare and superior abilities, as he drifted out of the conversation. The questions the others were asking him did not intrest him any longer. He had drifted into his own deep thought process.
David stared at this man, whom he had just met and share a meal with. He admiradly thought to himself, Richard Foster is a self made success. He is physically and mentally tough; he is an honest and forthright businessman. He does not openly brag, nor rest on his laurels. He is likeable, understated, and very friendly, in a reserved sort of way. For David this was a rare thing for him to deal with, as he was used to the stuffy politically minded types of Washington D.C. Rick showed that he had the drive and determination to successfully accomplish anything he set out to do. He had succeeded where many had tried, and failed. Rick Foster was truely a man of character.

Regretfully, David thought, he liked this man. Under any other circumstances he could consider establishing him as a friend. He was thinking it was regretful, because he thought to himself that liking him may make it more difficult to do what he may find himself having to do in the not to distant future.

He pushed these thoughts aside for now and refocused his attention to what was being said. Rick had just asked, "what about the alien that was taken back to the post alive?" “I have not had a chance to see him yet Rick” was the answer that David gave. He candidly told Rick that he had gotten off the plane and was picked up by the Colonels and Bryan, just in time to come here. His plan was to see this alien for himself as soon as they got back to the post.

The others asked a few more questions of no real consequence. Then they finished the interview with friendly handshakes all around, and had to beg off of the desert that Sarah had made them, pleading the simple fact that they would all bust if they tried to eat any more. Sarah smiled with satisfaction at their excuse, and said “maybe another time.”

They all thanked their host and hostess again as Bryan and Rick saw them out to the car. Bryan informed the PM of his approved weekend pass and requested that he be allowed to stay with his family and not return back to post with them. Col Hunt readily agreed after receiving Bryans completed report and statement earlier that afternoon before their departure from post. It had been well done and complete, and had earned him the Col’s compliments as to the detail of it. He informed Bryan that he would see him in his office first thing in the morning on Monday and they parted ways in the driveway of his family’s home.

Bryan looked at his father in the light of the porch after the car disappeared down the driveway and said to him with a wide grin, “that’s some sunburn you have there pop!” Rick grabbed him around the neck and held his head in an elbow lock and they laughed as Rick gave his son a noogie. Rick had done this with all his boys from the time they were little. He rubbed his knuckles on the tops of their heads and ruffled their hair. Bryan let him finish the noogie without too much resistance and then hugged him again as they went back into the house with their arms around each other.

Bryan and Rick made small talk for a while until his mother came from the kitchen into the living room; she had finished cleaning the kitchen with Kate’s help and went to hug Rick. Bryan looked at his father as his mother and sister entered the living room and said with a deep breath, “we have a lot to discuss this weekend dad.” Rick not really knowing the full extent of Bryan's meaning, agreed by saying “we sure do, but it can wait until morning.” Rick gave Sarah a hug and kissed her, then said “It’s late and your old man is tired.” He looked at Sarah and said to Bryan “We’re going to bed, and I suggest you do the same. We have a lot to do in the morning to prepare for the BBQ. Your oldest brother and his family will be here at first light but Dale won’t be here until later, he wants to pick up his girlfriend before coming out to the house.” Bryan agreed thinking; the disappointment he had to reveal to his father could wait a while longer. Rick looked at his son and said “I’m glad your home Bryan.” A shot of guilt went through Bryan’s conscience as he told his mother and father good night and headed upstairs to his old room.

He would find the right time to tell them both about his decision to reenlist before the weekend was done. He had to; he couldn’t live with this feeling that he had somehow ruined his father’s grand plan. As Bryan wrestled with his thoughts he heard his sister come up the stairs and remembered how grown up she had looked this evening. He made a mental note to himself to tell her that tomorrow. Then he heard her door close softly down the hall from his room.
As the peace and quiet fell on the house, Bryan lay on his bed and listened to the night sounds of the ranch. The sound that he fell into a deep and dreamless sleep to was the rhythmic sounds of the crickets chirping outside his window.

What an interesting day!

It has been the hottest day of the year thus far. It's almost 87 Degrees, but it's EXTREMELY Humid. It feels like we have a monster storm looming off shore. Last time I looked it was supposed to be clear but....we never really know in the tropics. I finished all my admin duties at the office and decided I would go onto the port to chat with everyone and get some pictures.

Well it seems that I was told by a security guard that I don't have the clearance to take photos on the port any longer. This situation is new to me because having a camera with me and taking photos of things that I see that are hazardous and such is in my job description. Some rookie security guard, whom I didn't know nor have I seen before, tried to confiscate my camera and we about came to blows. I told him if he reached for my camera again I was going to show him his southern polar region up close. Of coarse this fine illustration went right over his head and I had to resort to island vernacular. He did however get the point, in no uncertain terms, that he wasn't getting my camera, and that he was going to get hurt if he tried to take it again, but he REALLY wanted it.

I called the head of security for the port and explained what was happening and he asked to speak with the guard. I tried to hand him the phone but he wouldn't take it and was trying to walk away. Now by this time the head of security was upset and said he would be right over. I told the security guard that he needed to remain with me but he tried to leave, so I signaled to my people who then stopped him by force, and held him.

I couldn't figure out why he had wanted my camera so bad, I mean it's a nice camera and all but he was down right animate, so much so that it set an alarm off in my head, so I started reviewing the images I had taken, which wasn't many, but I realized that in the background of one of my photos was this same guard coming out from between a row of containers.
Now anyone with any experience on a Marine Cargo Port knows you don't EVER walk between the rows, because the Straddle Carriers can't see you and you'll get run over. 100 ton piece of equipment against a human body....you get the picture! So we cordoned off the area and conducted a little search. It seems that there was some.....shall we say....illegal activity going on in between the containers.

When the head of security came to the scene and I explained what had taken place he took the guard away and up to the writing of this post I believe they are still interrogating him. I had to surrender the photos I had taken, but I'll get the ones back that they don't need.
Battling corruption where we can, and talk about being in the right place at the right time.
I am now heading to the British High Commission for a briefing. I don't expect it to be fun or entertaining but, at least I get to end my day when it's done. Whooo Hooo.

Until next time,
Latah Mon!

"The Truth" Chapter 4, The Report.

Roswell Army Air Field, Roswell New Mexico, 11:00 hrs, July 3rd 1947

Bryan had just finished the briefing that he had been told by the MP Desk Sgt to expect earlier. The location for it had been rescheduled from the Provost Marshall (PM) Office to the Head Quarters (HQ) Building Conference Room. Bryan had been briefed on protocol and what was going to be expected of him during the briefing from the PM, Colonel Ted Hunt. He was informed that the briefing would be for the Base Commander and 15 other high ranking military officers and civilians, and that Col Hunt would be sitting in the briefing as well.

Bryan was exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. The officers had asked Bryan to give his report over and over while they fired questions at him from all sides at once. Then openly they discussed what Bryan had witnessed like he wasn’t even there in the room with them. They would, from time to time during the briefing, exchanged glances of disbelief with one another as Bryan relayed his version of the events of the previous night and they took their notes. Then at last they had started asking the questions that Bryan knew were bound to come up. They asked why Bryan hadn’t brought his father back to the Base with him as a witness. Bryan made it a point to remind them all that even though Richard Foster was his father, he was after all a civilian and not subject to any military jurisdiction. The incident had occurred outside of federal lands on private property and the Sherriff had complete jurisdiction as soon as it was determined that this was not a military aircraft.

Col Hunt, sensing that Bryan was about ready to shoot the fat, overbearing officer from Military Intelligence (MI) for what he had just said, stood from the table and said “SSG Foster’s actions in this instance were correct, and he should be commended.” He then grabbed Bryan’s hand in a firm hand shake and placed his other hand on Bryan’s shoulder then whispered, “Calm down son, I’ll handle this” to Bryan. No one else in the room seemed to have noticed this exchange or what the Col had whispered to Bryan. What had put Bryan on edge was when the officer from MI had suggested to everyone that they contact the sheriff and have Mr. Foster picked up, or arrested if necessary, and brought to the base for questioning. Bryan was about to lose his military bearing and jump down the fat slug’s throat, when Col Hunt intervened.

The Colonel said to everyone present, “A move like that could be misunderstood as a violation of Mr. Foster rights as an American citizen.” He then suggested that he would go to the Foster Ranch with Bryan and a representative from the Command Group and the Public Affairs Office (PAO) to talk with Mr. Foster there, if Bryan could secure an invitation for them. Col Hunt then looked at Bryan with an understanding glare in his eyes, and Bryan following the Col’s lead, by agreeing that he would arrange it. Bryan was truly thankful to the Col for keeping him out of trouble, but he could not have stood there and let his father be arrested just to satisfy some idiotic Military Intelligence Officer.

Bryan used the phone in the commanders briefing room and secured the invitation from his mother for later that evening. He confirmed that there was to be four people including him and then Bryan quietly asked his mom how his father was. His mother said he had returned to the ranch about an hour ago and was in the middle of explaining what had happened as she was cleaning and dressing his burns. She said, “Bryan, I don’t know if he’s trying to pull my leg or not. You know how playful your dad is sometimes” Bryan told her they would have plenty of time to talk about what had happened later and to believe what he was telling her. He also confirmed with her that he would be staying there on the ranch with a friend for the remainder of the holiday weekend. He ended the call and Bryan then informed the PM that they were expected at the ranch at 6:00pm. He then asked the Col, if he should meet them there or if he was to ride with them out to the ranch. Col Hunt told him to stay close to the barracks and that his driver would pick him up at 1630hrs. He was then ordered not to discuss the event with anyone outside of the people in this room. He was also ordered by Col Hunt to prepare his official statement and complete his report, but not to turn it into anyone but him. Then Bryan was dismissed.

As Bryan left the briefing room and stepped into the hallway, he shook his head and had to laugh to himself; Military Intelligence…If only there was such a thing!

As he left the Head Quarters (HQ) Bldg, Bryan realized that the security at the base was as tight as he had ever seen; In fact it was as if they were preparing to go to war. The MPs and soldiers were in full combat gear and seemed to be everywhere. Bryan found out that while he was in the briefing, they had mobilized and brought in additional help from the local National Guard Unit in Roswell and posted them at every structure on the base, with special emphasis placed on vital areas. The HQs Building, MP Station, the PAO, and the Hospital had a guard posted at every entrance. Every place seemed to have additional security; even the Post Exchange (PX) had extra guards around it. It was like the Base Commander was gearing up for an imminent attack or possible intruders. In addition to the vital areas of the post, there were guards set into sand bagged fighting positions around one of the large hangers at the interior edge of the Air Field closest to the hospital. They also had a corridor cordoned off with soldiers in sandbagged positions between the Airfield and the Hospital, giving an unobstructed direct route from the Hanger to the hospital basement doors.

Bryan took note of the placement of the additional security as he headed back to the barracks on foot. When he arrived, everyone descended on him in unison like vultures. They were shooting questions at him as though he was in a shooting gallery. All he could tell them was that he had been ordered not to discuss the events he had witnessed. Someone in the crowd said rather loudly “see I told you it was a new bomber, and it was probably fully loaded. That would explain the explosion.” Another said” We heard it was Aliens, and a few people in the small crowd uncomfortably laughed, but all eyes were on him to see if he reacted. Bryan held himself together well and did not react to the probing for information; he repeated what he had been ordered to say…Nothing. He responded by asking if anyone had seen Sean. They all denied having seen him. As Bryan went upstairs to his room a small crowd followed him and continued to press him for information. He got to his door, unlocked it, stepped into his room and closed the door. After a few more minutes the crowd that had followed him had gone about their business.

Bryan quietly slipped out of his room and went up the stairwell to the next floor. He opened the door to the third floor and moved left down the hall to Sean’s room. He quietly knocked and Sean yelled “Go Away”. Bryan whispered, “It’s me, can we talk”. Bryan heard Sean’s movement through the door and then it flew open. He looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in a week. The first thing he said was “Bryan, I need you to tell me what you saw”. Bryan Quickly moved into the room and shut the door, and then as he turned he examined the scene that was Sean’s Barracks Room. The bed was undisturbed and neatly made, nothing was out of place, though the locker door was open half way and the cover to his foot locker was open, but nothing was disturbed. The overhead light and table lamp were on even though light flooded into the room from outside through the uncovered window. Sean sat down at his desk as if that is where he had gotten up from, and Bryan noticed that Sean had poured himself a sizable drink from the crock jug sitting on the desk. Sean had supplied his liquor cabinet with several 8 ounce glass tumblers shaped like barrels. Bryan was betting that this drink hadn’t been the first, but he would have been wrong.

Sean was obviously upset, as he looked up at Bryan, he said, “I know what you’re thinking, but I haven’t had a drop all night, I’m stone sober. I poured that drink 4 hours ago but I’m afraid to touch it. I’m afraid that if I drink it, I won’t be able to stop”. Then he said”Bryan, I need to know how many people died in that crash?”

Bryan told him everything would be OK after he got some sleep. Sean looked at his friend and asked again with tears welling in his eyes “Bryan how many?” Bryan thought about it for a second, and then realized that Sean was suffering from some kind of professional remorse. He thought that this had been a plane crash while Sean was on duty, and somehow he felt responsible for it. Then quickly, in a flash of pure clarity, Bryan looked at his friend and said one word. “None!”

Sean looked at him with the most confused look Bryan had ever seen. Without saying another word, Bryan sat down in the chair opposite Sean’s desk and without being invited, poured himself a glass full of whiskey from the jug. He then took a long pull from the glass, took a deep breath and marveled again at the smoothness and flavor of the liquor. He leaned the chair back on two legs and looked at Sean. Then, against the orders of his superior officer, Bryan began to tell the story again, this time he embellished it with all of his conjecture, thoughts, and feelings. It was the first time he had gotten to put it all together and tell anyone all the things that he wanted to say about what had happened. All the other times in the last few hours he had repeated just the facts as he remembered them and nothing more.

When Bryan had reached the part of the discovery of alien life, Sean stopped him and reached across the desk for his drink. He downed the whole thing without taking a breath. As Bryan poured them both another more reasonably sized drink, he continued his tale. He reached into his pocket and removed the bits of metal and cloth. Up to now he had not told anyone else that he had removed this from the ranch. As he and Sean examined the metal fragments and the writing, Sean began to open his mind to the existence of life from another world. Over the next 45 minutes or so of questions and answers with Bryan, Sean’s demeanor changed and the depressive mood he had been in faded away. The smile returned to his face, and Bryan knew that sleep was soon to come.

After he completed his second drink, and telling Sean everything that had taken place in the last 24 hours, Bryan put the items from the crash back into his pocket and stood up. He took his friends hand in a firm handshake; he told him that he had been ordered not to discuss this with anyone, and he asked Sean to keep it to himself for now and that they would discuss it when they were alone this weekend. Then he slapped himself on the forehead and said “Oh shoot, I almost forgot, I want you to come out to the Ranch tomorrow for a BBQ”. Sean immediately said without missing a beat, “what should I bring?” Bryan said with a grin, “Make no mistake Sean Flannery, if you step foot on my land without a couple of jugs of this fine product of your homeland, I’ll wrap a cue stick around your head!” then as an after thought, “Oh and don’t forget your appetite. Mom knows your coming and she’s going all out. There will be enough food for an Army.” “Pack an overnight bag as well and stay the weekend, well play some pool and ride the horses. It should be a lot of fun.”

Sean showed Bryan to the door and again they shook hands. Sean said, “You are the best friend I’ve ever had Bryan.” Bryan, laughed and responded with “That’s just the booze talking you old lush, but if you play your cards right, I may introduce you to an old friend of mine this weekend who used to, and still may, think the same thing.” Then holding his nose he added “whew…and trust me when I tell you, she smells a lot better than you do to! Take a shower!” Then as he was going through the door, Sean said in a cheesy southern drawl “I’ll take it under advisement partner, but a skunk smells his own scent first cowboy, now git!” And Sean hit him in the arm with a solid punch. They both laughed as Bryan went down the hall and Sean shut his door.

Bryan was going back down the stairs rubbing his arm; he went past his floor and stopped at the phone at the bottom of the stairwell. He took out his wallet and removed a little black book, he looked through it until he found the number he was looking for, picked up the phone and dialed. After three rings a soft feminine voice answered and he said Ashley, is that you?

(To Be Continued)

Clearification

This just to clearify, not just people from Louisiana can vote. I want to continue this blog from Louisiana. Have fun and be creative.

Shawn

I'm Back!!!

Howdy folks,

I just got back to the island, it's the first time I've been warm in 10 days. I was on vacation in Louisiana with the family and had a great time, though I nearly froze to death. Who would have ever thought that I would be cold in La. I wore long sleeves and bluejeans the whole time I was there. I have been in Jamaica so long I've acclimatized to the weather. Hopefully it won't take too long to readjust when I leave here for good. Next story installment will probably be next week as I brought the family back with me for their spring break and we are in Montego Bay with my bestest good friend Mario. I did manage to talk my wife out of our good digital camera for my remaining time here so I will be posting more photos for my last few months here. I haven't decided what to do with this blog as yet, because if I'm not in Jamaica anymore how can it be Shawn's Jamaican Ramblings.

OK I'm leaving it up to you. I will give a thousand dollars to the one person who comes up with the best name for the continuance of this blog from the great state of Louisiana. Get busy, I will decide from the best entries in the remarks section of this entry by midnight Friday, the 17th of April 2009. Be creative and tell your friends and neighbors, your doctor, psychiatrist (cause we are all a little crazy), teacher friend, nuclear physicist, the witch doctor up the street, anyone and everyone you can think of. All remarks will be read, and the best one (in my humble opinion) will be chosen.

Bye for now, I'm off to do a little bit of Scuba Diving with my spouse.

Latah Mon.

"The Truth" Chapter 3 - The Discovery (part 2)

Bryan fell to his knees and lunged at his father to hug him. He then realized that his dad was injured. He appeared to have burns on his neck, arms, and presumably his hands; there were small blisters on all of his exposed skin. His hands appeared to be covered by makeshift bandages from what had been his dad’s undershirt. “Dad Are you OK” Bryan managed to say as he looked at his father. His father smiled a half smile and said he would be fine if he could get to the creek for some water. At that point Bryan had three canteens pushed into his field of vision. It seemed with the yell of a live person everyone had run to assist.

Bryan Held his fathers head carefully and gave him a drink from the canteen in sips. With each sip of the water his father seemed to come back to life. Bryan had a thousand things running through his mind. He asked his dad how he had gotten here and what had happened. His dad said, “Slow down son. Let your old man wake up a little before you grill me over the fire. What time is it anyway?" Bryan laughed a laugh of complete relief. His dad was OK. Injured yes, but he still had his sense of humor. That told Bryan he was really OK no matter what he looked like.

Richard Foster, his father, was the toughest and kindest man Bryan had ever known. He was the kind of man that could be in tremendous pain and never let it show. He was what Bryan wanted to be like. Tough as nails but with a heart as big as the ranch he dedicated his life to. When Bryan was about 16 he had seen his dad kicked in the chest by a bull. His dad got up off the ground and punched the bull right in the snout. He had seen his dad knock a full grown bull down with a single punch. As the bull tried to shake off what had just happened Rick went to his truck and got the rifle. He shot the bull in the head with one shot as he said some off hand remark about never being able to trust that bull again anyway. Rick then assigned the ranch hands to butcher the animal and bring the meat to the house, then after a second thought, he told them to cut a few of the finest cuts into steaks for the men at the bunkhouse that evening with his compliments and his thanks for all the hard work they had accomplished. Then he told Bryan to drive him to the doctor in town. The doctor said his dad had two broken ribs, in addition to the deep purple bruise that covered most of his chest. The doctor wrapped and taped his chest and then ordered Rick to lie in bed for a couple of weeks and take it easy for a while. Rick thanked the doctor for the advice and for patching him up, and then they headed back to the ranch. Rick never even winced from the pain that Bryan knew he was in. When they got home Rick didn’t even slow down he told Bryan and his older brothers that he wouldn’t be lying around while there was work to be done.

As he was remembering this Rick had asked Bryan something. He then asked it again and by this point Rick hit Bryan in the arm, and yelled “wake up boy”. Bryan apologized and then asked what he had said. Rick asked if they had seen the others yet. Bryan said “just the dead one over there”, and pointed in the direction he had come from. Rick was getting to his feet and said “I must have missed that one, I was talking about those”, and pointed at a grove of trees a little farther up the ridge line that was behind him. Everyone’s attention followed his finger and then they realized there was a small group of bodies laying in a row lined up in the trees. As they walked to the trees, Rick explained that he had burnt his hands while he was recovering the bodies and moving them up here from the crash site. He said the ground had still been hot when he came over the ridge. After he had moved the bodies he had sat down against the tree to bandage his hands. He wanted to get to the creek but the fumes had made him a little dizzy. He was so tired from the heat and exertion, and still a little fuzzy from the fumes, he had apparently passed out while he was wrapping his hands.

Rick looked at Bryan with the most serious expression Bryan had ever seen him make, and said something that Bryan would remember for the rest of his life. “Aliens, Real aliens crashed on our ranch!” Up until this point, this had all been a blur, a nightmare of sorts for Bryan. The vocalization from his father, his mentor, his hero, had brought the reality home to him. Bryan felt sick again. Rick continued by saying “I have never in all my days thought that the stories of little green men from mars were actually true. I thought these stories were someone’s imagination, or a comic book fantasy. Who was ever going to believed this?” He continued in somewhat of a hushed tone, “We have to call the sheriff and get him out here right away, before those government folks get wind of this." As he said this, Rick realized he was actually surrounded by the same “Government Folks” he was talking about. He looked around at the soldiers with him, who were all smiling at the comment he had just made, and said with the most serious face, “No offence fellas” They all burst into laughter.

As the laughter faded and, he could hear his dad’s voice again, He was shaking his head and muttering something about Leprechauns being next, but Bryan’s attention drifted else ware and he wasn’t hearing his father any more. His focus was now on the five bodies that were lined up in the trees in front of him. As they approached the row of bodies that Rick had gently placed there, one of the aliens moved. Rick had thought it was his imagination, or a reflection from the lights at first, but when everybody froze as if the world had just come to a stop he new it hadn’t been. In a flash they fanned out and trained their weapons on the alien. When it rolled over and sat up in to a sitting position, it realized that it was not alone, and it also remained motionless. They all stared at each other for several minutes, but it actually seemed like an eternity.

Rick was the first to break the silence. He whispered to Bryan, “I can’t believe one of them was still alive, I had no idea. I didn’t know how to check and they all appeared lifeless”. The alien then moved for the first time since realizing it wasn’t alone. It raised its small hand in what appeared to be a gesture of greeting. Then it put its hand to its small mouth and then pointed at Bryan with the same hand. Bryan nodded and grabbed a canteen from the soldier next to him. Mike Slager said to Bryan, “what are you doing”, Bryan replied, “I’m giving it the water it just asked for”. Mike argued, “Bryan, that thing didn’t make a sound”. “Sure it did, I heard it, plain as day, and it even speaks English”. Bryan replied. Rick said, “Son, your friend is right, it didn’t make a sound”. As his father’s words echoed in his ears, Bryan heard the sirens coming in the distance; coming from the direction where they had opened the fence and entered the ranch. At that moment he realized this was going to be a really, really long night.

He had been relieved of the command of the scene 4 hours ago, when the sheriff had arrived. He had walked back to his Jeep and still had no communications with the other patrols or the Desk Sgt; nobody’s radios seemed to work here. He drove the jeep over and picked up his father and then backtracked to the last spot he had had communications with the post and reported in. He briefed the Desk Sgt. The Desk Sgt, not believing what he had just heard, ask Bryan to “say again all last transmission”. Which if translated to civilian terms, means the Desk Sgt is telling him he’s full of crap, stop messing around give him the real story. Bryan repeated what he had said and after a long pause on the radio, the Desk Sgt responded with “Roger, Wait.” After about fifteen minutes Bryan was contacted and informed that there was a team coming from Washington D.C., as well as investigators from the FBI office in Albuquerque and that they were enroute to conduct their own investigation. He informed the Desk Sgt that as he was scheduled to be off for the weekend and his shift was long since completed, that he would stay out here pending the arrival of the investigators from the FBI and then he would be enroute back to Post. The Desk Sgt confirmed his request and told him to report to the Provost Marshall’s Office before he ended his tour of duty. Bryan acknowledged the transmission with “roger, wilco and out, which means “understood, will cooperate, and ending transmission.” Then he headed back into the area.

After the Base Ambulances, under escort by four soldiers from 4th platoon had left to take the Alien that had spoken to Bryan without speaking, and the other bodies back to the base Hospital, Bryan had taken his father back over the ridgeline to where he had been camping. He checked Shadow, and then had to convince his dad that he should get some rest. He left him comfortably lying on his bedroll, while Bryan went to fetch a medic to properly dress the burns his father had suffered. Upon his return Bryan had found his father sitting in the creek, in his skivvies with Shadow standing next to him. He begrudgingly left the creek and let the medic put some salve on the burns and then properly bandage his hands. The medic then said he would be fine with some rest. He retied Shadow to the tree and helped his father get comfortable. Then sat by the remenants of the fire, rested himself and tried to obsorb all that had happened this night.

At twilight over the ridgeline, Bryan observed for the first time the full magnitude of the crash site. The oblong crater was about 400 feet long from the craft to the edge of the furrow and burnt grass and 25 feet wide at it’s widest point. The earth had been pushed aside to carve a gouge from level at the beginning to about 9 feet deep at the end of the furrow. Pieces of the craft had broken off on impact and were strewn over the entire pasture, Bryan found and collected a few small piece of metal with some kind of writing on it from the dirt, and some sort of cloth material that he thought was part of the alien’s uniform. It was about a 9” X 9” piece. It had been hanging from a branch of one of the juniper trees when Bryan collected it. He decided he would keep these items and folded them up together into the cloth and placed it in his uniform pocket. After all this was his families land and Bryan thought he would study the things when he got them back to the Post. As he stood on the ridge overlooking the scene, Bryan was again awestruck by the sheer magnitude. There were now over a hundred people moving through the area sifting through evidence, taking lots of pictures, policing up and loading pieces of the craft into 2 ½ ton trucks. Bagging and loading body parts and pieces of the alien crew that could actually be identified as alien, and marking areas with stakes and twine, then taking measurements. They were also inventorying, photographing, and stacking the bodies of the dead cattle.

Bryan thought he should probably get a head count of the cattle for his father who was fast asleep. He mentally put it on the list of things he still had to do, but it felt small, like it didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Then Bryan saw the suits. The feds had arrived. Bryan decided it was time for them to leave and go home. He woke his father who was in a really deep sleep. When he was completely awake, Bryan filled him in on what was currently happening. He helped his father get his things together and sent him strait home with a promise that he would finish here with what needed to be done. They packed Shadow and Bryan promised to be home this evening and they would all talk about what had happened. He told his father that his mom would worry herself sick if he didn’t get home before lunchtime. Rick agreed and headed out over the other ridge. He had planned on bee lining it back to the house. He yelled back at Bryan over his shoulder to make sure the feds didn’t destroy anything. “And fix the fence after they leave Bryan, we don’t want the cows getting out.” It was the last thing Rick said to him before he disappeared in the trees at the top of the ridge. Bryan was alone now with nothing but his thoughts.

Then Bryan felt it. He felt the enormity of the change that had occurred in his life in the past 9 hours. He was tired, really tired, like he hadn’t slept in a week. He also knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that life as he had known it for 26 years had now changed. There was life on other planets. Bryan had actually communicated with it. He had touched it, and now he began to question the human belief system he had come to trust. Human nature took on a whole new meaning. How different was the human species from that of this alien he had communicated with a couple of short hours ago. Bryan decided he was going to find out. He looked forward to the challenge, and the wonder of it set in. How was this life form different from the human race?
He looked around again at the empty camp site, the fire was out, the grass was trampled, and dad had left his handkerchief. Bryan picked it up, and looked down at the fire pit. He stirred the cold coals with a stick to make sure they were out and thought of Ashley Olson. Bryan Smiled, maybe he would invite her to the BBQ this weekend as well, if she wasn’t already busy?

He headed back down to the stack of cattle carcasses, and counted them. Then without even speaking to the Feds, Bryan got into his jeep and left the ranch the way he had entered. He told the guard at the fence to make sure when everyone left to close it up again, and then showed him how to do it. He left the soldier, heading back towards the post with three things on his mind….a Game of Pool, Sleep, and Cherry Pie!

(To Be Continued)

Catastrophi

Wah Gwon Mon!

I'm at home today, waiting on the Tile crew to arrive for the second day in a row. Last Monday I got my clothes washer back from the shop but hadn't really used it since then. Saturday morning at about 06:30, I put a load in the washer and went to my kitchen to make a pot of coffee and fix breakfast. I ate in the kitchen then did the dishes, as I was standing at the sink, it dawned on me that the water was still running in the washing machine. I went into the living room to get to the washer and stepped into about two inches of water. The washer hadn't progressed through its cycles and was stuck in the fill cycle. The water overflowed the top of the tub and flooded the front part of my apartment. Then as I was squeegeeing out the water the tiles, all but maybe twenty, popped and buckled. So I been here for two days so the Tile crew could finish the repair job. Of course as is usual here in Jamaica, they were supposed to be here at 08:00, its now 09:18 and they are still not here. I hope this isn't a sign how the rest of my day is going to go.

For those interested I will post the next installment in a couple of days. Enjoy. Latah, Mon.

"The Truth" Capter 3 - The Discovery

North Fort Training Area, RAAF, 20:00 hrs, 2nd of July 1947.

Bryan was making his way as fast as he could to the border of the ranch. He was in a M151, ¼ ton Jeep with a soft top and no doors, the standard patrol vehicle for the MPs at the RAAF. He was thanking God that he had elected to reassign his partner tonight as his route was taking him to areas outside the post that he had only been to on horseback and he would not have attempted to go there in a jeep had he been responsible for someone else’s safety.

Thinking back about 4 1/2 hours ago to the Guard Mount, or Patrol Inspection, prior to the beginning of the shift, Bryan had indeed had himself a partner. Because Bryan had some personal things he wanted to do while on patrol, and because he had some serious thoughts he needed to mull over without having to explain himself to a partner, Bryan decided that he wanted to work alone this evening. He picked a Supernumerary; it’s the glorified name for a soldier that was at the top of the bunch for the evening. The soldier in his platoon that looked the sharpest and had adequately but professionally answered all the questions posed to him during the inspection. Bryan picked the soldier with the best shined boots and sharpest uniform and gave him the day off. Bryan’s scheduled partner took this soldier’s place in the patrol lineup.

On any given patrol shift here at the RAAF there were 7 two man patrols and a patrol supervisor. The Patrol Sup could be either a one or two man patrol depending on the strengths of the platoon on duty. As the Sr. Ranking Squad Leader, Bryan had the responsibility as Patrol Sup for Swing Shift tonight. They were assigned duties based on Platoon number. Right now, in the Rotation 2nd Platoon, his platoon had the Swing shift, 16:00 – Midnight. 1st Platoon had Mid Shift, Midnight – 08:00, and 3rd Platoon had the Day Shift, 08:00 – 16:00. 4th Platoon was in a training cycle and had deployed for a field training exercise to North Fort Training area. If the reports they had received from the public were accurate, 4th Platoon would be in the general vicinity of the projected crash area.

It never ceased to amaze Bryan how a situation can change in a matter of hours. Now, Bryan was moving cross country, through the New Mexico Desert in a jeep at its top speed with one canteen of water, a .45 cal pistol, seven rounds of ammunition, and the most desperate thoughts running through his mind. You see, Bryan was very worried. He knew his father sometimes travels out this direction when he first takes off to ride fence. But 5 hours ago Bryan’s situation was quite different.

Bryan had called his mother Sarah before he left the barracks, at 15:00 hrs this afternoon for work at the the MP Station. He had asked her if they were still having the annual Bar-B-Q on the Ranch for the 4th. Bryan had wanted to bring a few of his friends and wanted to make sure it was OK with his parents before he made the invitations. His mother had squealed with joy at his request. In her excitement she said that Rick, his Father, had set out early this morning to ride fence. And that he would be back tomorrow. She was so excited that he was coming home for the holiday. It had been a long time since the entire Foster Clan was together in one place for anything, and the 4th of July BBQ was always so much fun. Sarah had promised to make Bryan his favorite desert, cherry pie, if he made it for dinner tomorrow. He laughed and readily agreed as his mouth watered when he heard her say cherry pie. His mother was very happy when he ended his call with an "I Love You Mom", and hung up the phone, and as a matter of fact, so was he.

Bryan had been in the Transit Barracks when this whole mess had started. He was about three hours into his shift, and had finished the personal business he had needed to get done. He was talking with a group of his coworkers and friends in the dayroom when all hell had broken lose. They were standing watching, and critiquing, the game of pool being played when the earthquake hit. It moved the balls on the table and made everyone look around to find cover.

Then the radio traffic started spouting about some kind of Plane Crash. As it was not really busy tonight, all the Patrols were requesting permission to join the search for the crash site. Bryan had to immediately respond to the requests with a net call over all the radio frequencies they operated from, and issue a directive to the patrols. He would send one patrol north to the reported area and he ordered the others to remain in their assigned patrol areas. He would also be enroute to the reported crash site, as he was pretty familiar with that area. He remembered the last time he had been up there. with a chesser cat grin, he quietly said a girls name, and then looked around and checked to see if anyone had heard him or was watching him.

His father had taken him through that general area many times while they rode the fence line and tended to the ranch when he was growing up. Since he was his own man now and was always on the lookout for a quite out of the way place to take his girlfriends, he had taken advantage of this place and taken a pretty little blond girl named Bree Olson, into that remote area on horseback one weekend, to a little spot his father always camped at during his rides. He and Bree had planned on doing a little camping of their own. He had taken her there shortly after getting assigned to the RAAF and felt somewhat uncomfortable there, like his father was somehow watching him. As he refocused on the situation unfolding now, he thought, that is a story he would think about at another time.

Bryan thought about calling to see if Sean was on duty, He wanted to invite him to the ranch for the BBQ anyway, and he figure he might be able to get some additional information about the crash. But after thinking about it, he then decided against it. He figured that if Sean was working he would be way to busy to talk. He would head out immediately instead. He could get the information from the Desk Sgt by radio while enroute. He would invite Sean to the ranch later, after his shift ended tonight. If Sean wasn’t working, then Bryan would find him after work or wake him up and maybe they could play a couple of games of pool on the table in the dayroom to wind down. But right now, Bryan was concerned that this thing might have actually crashed on the Ranch, so he didn’t waste anymore time.

He jumped in his jeep and headed north out of the post gate, and into the North Fort Training Area. This area is an open stretch of desert that went for what seemed like forever. Bryan had traveled cross country for about an hour and a half, occasionally getting radio reports from the Desk Sgt and stopping to check his bearing. He had lost radio contact with the other patrol about 10 minutes ago, mid transmission due to static.

Western Border Fence Line of the Foster Ranch, 23:00 hrs, 2nd of July 1947.

Bryan crested the top of a small ridge and saw the fence line about twenty yards in front of him. He knew that he was still too far south and turned left. He decided he would follow the fence line until he came to a place he had repaired a few of years ago, where all four strands of wire had been broken from a tree falling over and collapsing the fence. He would be able to open the wire drive the jeep through the fence and then quickly repair it the same way he had done before.

He thought about going in on foot but then thought that the pioneer tools on the Jeep may come in handy. These tools are standard vehicle inventory on the M151, they consist of a shovel, a pick, an axe, pry bar and a pick handle. The vehicle also has standard tools like a screwdriver, hammer, wrenches and tire tools. In addition to the tools the vehicle may come in handy as a mobile command post, someplace to lay maps out and direct operations from. He thought he should not separate from it at this point.

Bryan had just gone through a small stream when he spotted a soldier off to the right side of him. He was over the fence on the ranch waving and yelling to get his attention. It was one of the members of 4th Platoon. As Bryan came to a stop the soldier went between the wire by holding one strand and ducking under another. He approached Bryan and asked where he had come fromand if he had any information. Bryan recognized him; his name was Frank Cortez, he was a short muscular fellow. He had grown up in Florida, but it was said that his family was originally from one of the Caribbean islands. He was a likeable enough fellow, but not much of a pool player, though he tried and he really enjoyed the game. That is how Bryan had met him; they had played a few games together in the day room. Frank asked Bryan what he new about the Plane. And Bryan said that the reports were that it was a fast mover and crashed somewhere close by. Bryan asked where his Platoon Sgt was and Frank said His squad had been sent out from the Platoon CP (command post) a few miles away, to investigate.

Then from behind him Bryan heard a noise and turned to see the rest of Frank's squad approaching. He recognized Mike Slager, one of 4th Platoons Squad leaders, and one of Bryan’s peers. They exchanged greetings and immediately briefed each other on what they knew, which wasn’t much at this point as the 4th had just arrived on foot. Slager told Bryan they had lost their radio communications a while ago because of static. They were trying to re-establish communications, so they could request permission to leave the training area, and enter private property. Mike had sent Frank over the wire as a scout to see if anyone was around, but didn’t want to put the entire squad in jeopardy, for trespassing. Mike spouted off about the ranchers in this area not taking to well to strangers on there land especially armed soldiers. Mike figured it was safer for them on this side of the wire until they got permission to proceed so they wouldn’t be accused of rustling and shot on site from the owner of the land.

Bryan said “well being that this ranchland belongs to my family, I’m sure we won’t have that problem”. Mike looked at Bryan as if he had three eyes and asked if he was serious. Bryan sheepishly said yes and started to explain the plan of where they would cross the fence. Bryan took charge with Mike's blessing, and set the rally point (RP) approximately 1 1/2 miles up the fence line. Mike assigned one of his team leaders to bring the squad at a forced march to the RP and climbed in the jeep with Bryan.

They took off to the RP with the squad of 14 following them. When they were out of earshot from the rest of the squad, Mike told Bryan that they had seen the flaming craft shoot through the sky as it passed the Platoon CP. “It was huge “said Mike. “It was moving so fast that when it hit the ground it felt like an earthquake”. Mike said if he hadn’t been already sitting in his foxhole he would have ended up being thrown on his backside as most of his platoon had been. This resulted in a few minor injuries in his Platoon, a couple of broken bones and one soldier had a concussion from a tent pole hitting him in the head while he was getting some shut eye. Bryan told Mike that they had felt it all the way back at the Post. “Bryan, it was as big as anything I have ever seen at the airfield. It was much bigger than the bombers”, Mike explained. Mike shared his suspicion that it was an experimental aircraft, some new weapons platform or something that had not been shared with the rest of the world yet. He said “If they had a full crew we could be looking at a dozen or more casualties, and if there was anyone in the area where it hit maybe more.” Bryan tensed in fear for his dad’s safety.

“How come you never told me you were from around here?” Mike Asked as they drove. Bryan made some lame excuse about him not wanting people to know he was a local. But the truth was that Bryan really didn’t know Mike that well. He didn’t know what kind of person he really was. They didn’t have the same interests or hang out with the same people. Mike was a Gear Head, he liked cars and engines. That just wasn't Bryan’s cup of joe. Bryan liked the excitement of the chase, he liked the hustle, and he loved the intricasies of the game of pool. Whether he was chasing girls or bad guys Bryan, loved to use his head to try and figure people out. They were way too different from each other to be close friends.

They came to the Rally Point, and Bryan was right on track, he knew exactly where he was. There was a thin smoke and a strange odor in the air that seemed to cover this whole area. The fence was taken down and they had the vehicle through before the rest of the squad caught up. Bryan assigned a member of the squad to guard the hole in the fence and should the need arise, to keep the cows from getting out. And they moved into the ranch.

They had moved about 1000 yards when the smoke got heavier. It wasn’t as bad as it would have been during a wild fire but looked as though a fire had been put out for about two days and was still smoldering. It was in the air but didn’t really block their view. They spread out into a moving Squad V formation with the vehicle at the apex. All the grass and trees seemed to have been through a fast moving wild fire. They were scorched and smoking but not burnt completely. This whole pasture area would surely have to be cleared and set ablaze when it was safe to do so, to prevent a wild fire environment or an actual unplanned fire. Probably wouldn't be safe to do until winter though. Then come spring, this grass would be new and tender. The cows would soon love this whole area.

Bryan still smelled the strange odor; it was reminiscent of burnt fuel of some kind, and it was getting stronger. He checked the direction of the breeze and decided to enter the area from up wind allowing the gentle breeze to blow the smoke and fumes away from them, though it really wouldn’t matter as it seemed to be everywhere across this pasture.

They proceeded into what appeared to be the general impact area. They parked the Vehicle and moved out on foot. They had moved about 50 yards when one of the men to the left yelled that he saw something. They went to investigate and discovered a charred dead cow. This cow had been severely burnt and mangled. Its eyes were ruptured which means the heat was explosive and intense enough to flash boil the liquid inside the eyeballs. As they proceeded they began to find more cattle in the same if not worse condition. Then they spotted the crash site. Bryan ordered them to set up a parameter around the site at an interval where they could maintain visual contact with the men to either side of them.

As they circled the site, one man yelled for assistance, and then screamed a blood curdling scream. Bryan and Mike went to his aid at a sprint. When they got to him he was on his hands and knees crawling away from an object in the singed brown grass. They got to him and asked what was wrong what had he found. He couldn’t speak, he was in a panic, all he did was point at the charred lump in the grass. Bryan, being somewhat prepared to find another mangled cow went to the thing in the grass. As he got close enough to see what it was he stopped and drew his pistol. Mike, following him, got a look over Bryan’s arms as he held the pistol aiming at the thing they were looking at. After a few minutes, as the shock began to ware off, He said to Bryan calmly, “Bryan I don’t think that thing is alive. It’s so charred, it’s not moving and it’s missing a leg”. He calmly tapped Bryan’s arms and told him to holster his pistol. Bryan did as he was told and they approached the Body laying before them.

It was about 4 1/2 feet long. It had a head the size of a large oblong pumpkin and it was kind of a pale gray with a green tint to it. The eyes were large, black, and evenly spaced on the head but spaced wider than a human’s eyes would have been. Its nose was missing and looked as though it had been torn off in the crash. A hole was in its place and a green ooze was emanating from the orifice. What was left of the body was clothed in a light green jumpsuit of some kind. Though one of its legs was missing the other was still fully covered, as was half of its upper body. Bryan knelt down beside it, being careful not to touch it. He noticed that the parts of this body that were exposed were charred severely, but the parts that were still cover by the jump suit and the suit itself were completely undamaged by the heat. The smells from this whole area were an assault to his senses. He felt like his stomach was going to release its contents. He was fighting the urge to vomit, when someone to his right yelled that they found a live one.

Bryan and Mike leapt up and sprinted in the direction of the yell. They both had weapons ready as they approached the soldier and the body leaning up against a small tree. As they approached Bryan could make out what appeared to be long legs moving and covered in what looked like blue denim jeans. Then he recognized the footwear as pointed leather cowboy boots. As he stepped next to the soldier who was knelt down beside this body, Bryan looked down and yelled “Dad!”

(To be continued)