Here for the first time?

[johnhsime]

Are the visitations by ETs to Earth simply an on-going version of something which goes back thousands of years and which was documented by numerous religions, or is it a new thing brought on by recent activity among mankind, such as inventing the nuclear bomb?

jhs

[Deleted]

"Interesting" first post.

[johnhsime]

Thanks.
And it does pertain to military matters. For the big question is what does the military know and when did they know it? Are they aware it is going on and have been willingly cooperating with the aliens in return for technology and protection, or are they aware of what is going on and are kept out of the loop like the rest of us? Either way it pertains to the military in our society while our society is face to face with an outside....threat? opportunity?

[Swampy]

I'm going to create a section on such matters, John, so we can discuss it there - another member is also interested in such topics. In the meantime, perhaps you can tell us something about yourself.

[Swampy]

Jacques Vallee says that ET's are spiritual beings, as opposed to beings from another solar system.

Premier1, would you care to weigh in?

[johnhsime]

I am a mortician in Western Wisconsin who served in the Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa, from 1976 to 78, as an English teacher. I occasionally write about and speak in public on death related topics. UFOs have been of interest to me since Spring, 1982 when I had a "daylight disc" close encounter. I have written an annual UFO sightings article for a local newspaper for about the past 20 years. In the 1990s I began to deal with online forums such as CompuServe as a means of reaching out to others who had similar experiences and interest. The Africa experiences also served as a source for writing inspiration--specifically some published poetry--and for online connections such as Facebook and Yahoo. I think the ETs are from another planet, although I beleive they have developed abilities to manipulate realms we consider to be "spiritual".

[Deleted]

I can't wait until MS pipes up!

[Sir John]

My grandfather was a "mortician", we call them Funeral Directors or Undertakers here.

As for ETs, I have often said, here and elsewhere, that there are probably billions of inhabited planets in the universe. The very tiniest fraction are within 10 light years of us. Many will have only single cell forms of life, and many will be 1000s of years ahead of us.

If they have managed to get to the speed of light it must take them AT LEAST 20 years for the round trip. If they have managed to make a fool of Albert Einstein, then they do better than that.

I doubt they can.

JMO

(Welcome to our humble home)

SJ

[Deleted]

This strangely reminds me of the guy I met at my campground about four years ago. He came in with a million dollar or so motorhome and we would rarely see him at our gatherings. When we did, he really was a nice guy. His job was as a substitute undertaker! Whenever a smallish (in terms of number of people at the company) undertaker needed to take a vacation, this guy would sub for him. Said it made him rich(er) and he could pretty much take a job if he wanted, or not. He was based in SF, probably a good friend of Don's, but he traveled all over the country.

[Sir John]

Denny,

I can believe the million dollar motor home.

My grandfather put 16 grandchildren through boarding school. During the Great Depression he bought up most of the houses in his country town, foreclosed and auctioned. He then put the occupant back in as a tenant at a rent he could afford to pay, often nil. All he asked was that they look after the place.

Shepparton was a town of 12,000 people and he was the only Funeral Director. He also owned all the various Funeral parlors in the surrounding towns.

SJ

[johnhsime]

I guess I'm not doing something right. My wife and I make a living, but just that. We might take a vacation each year, sometimes we don't because we can't afford it. Health insurance eats up a huge amount of our money, and more every year as we get older. At age 61, I'm my youngest employee. The others are all a few retired gentlemen that I hire on a per funeral basis and my wife. Only my wife gets any benefits. If I had not inherited my business I could have never afforded to buy it, and I doubt whether any bank would loan anybody money to buy this place in such a tiny town. In the end I will sell out to one of my bigger competitors. Until then I try to get by being a cheaper, somewhat more old fashioned, less suburban-slick alternative to them.
I call myself a mortician because it incorporates the idea of funeral director and embalmer. Some people in the business are just funeral directors and don't touch bodies. I am also beginning to use the term undertaker because I find the public uses and likes it. But if I am ever describing myself for legal reasons I say mortician.

[Deleted]

Very interesting, thanks for the explanation of the differences between the names and for explaining that not all undertakers are rich. I didn't think they were necessarily but my opinion was formed based on the traveling undertaker and when I went in to make plans for my death. I'm doing it the cheap way - cremation - but it's still not cheap. I had to laugh because the day we went in to make the arrangement, Texas had changed their laws a day before which used to require the body be transferred to the crematorium in a wooden box, cost approx. $750. The change was made to the body being able to be transferred in a cardboard box for about $75. Guess which one we chose? ;D

[johnhsime]

what an astounding state law! the wooden box per cremation thing. We've used the cardboard/plywood base ting for years. I charge $80.

[Deleted]

Good timing on my part, though.

[Sir John]

Was talking to my grandfather as a young bloke back in the '50s, and the subject got around to the business of Funeral Directng.

He had a dry sense of humour, and he said to me that his business motto was "If I don't get you today, I will get you tomorrow".

The big wink was a delight!


SJ