Subject: Explaining the Unexplained From: CarolC Date: 21 Aug 00 - 01:34 AM Escamillo has requested a thread called "Explaining the Unexplained". He is particularly interested in Spaw's explanation of the cause of auras, but I think he would be happy to hear anyone's explanation of whatever is unexplained at this time. Anyone?.....anyone?...... |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Brendy Date: 21 Aug 00 - 01:38 AM Oh dear!!! B. |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: hesperis Date: 21 Aug 00 - 01:47 AM Where do callouses go when they die? Is there a heaven for the callouses that stay on a guitar player's fingers until the player dies, and a hell for the 'bad' callouses who didn't practice enough, and just faded away? Or do they just get reborn? (They don't seem to remember their past lives though. At least, mine don't.) hesperis (with her tongue stuck firmly in side of cheek, and blowing cooler air on her aching fingers.) I'll be serious in the morning. |
Subject: BS: Where Do Socks Go? From: Mark Clark Date: 21 Aug 00 - 02:05 AM A man I knew here in town, Rick Plummer, has answered the question: where do socks go? Nearly everyone has experience the loss of a single sock while doing laundry. The missing sock is never seen again. You may also be familiar with the old theory that wire coat hangers mate and reproduce in your closet when no one is watching. After a great deal of research, Mr. Plummer discovered why the socks disappear. It turns out socks are the larval form of wire coat hangers. So now you know the rest of the story. - Mark |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: CarolC Date: 21 Aug 00 - 06:48 AM This is why I like piano accordions. You can play melody. You can play chords. You can play melody and chords together. You can play with other people, or alone. It's fun either way. You can feel the sound that the instrument makes as it passes through your hands and fingers. The sound feels mighty. You can feel the sound as it vibrates in your ears. It is rich and full and it makes my ears feel good. Carol |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: RichM Date: 21 Aug 00 - 06:49 AM There was a science fiction short story written in the sixties(?)about bicycles being an alien life form. Reproduction took place in stages--like an insect--changing from safety pin, to coat hangar to bicycle. I would love to read this story again. Any sci-fi fans in Mudcat that might remember this story? Rich |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Little Hawk Date: 21 Aug 00 - 12:51 PM If one were to explain the unexplained then it would no longer be the unexplained. This could be a real letdown, and might bring a premature end to all kinds of thriving mini-industries. The continuing growth of the capitalist mega-monster requires the survival of the unexplained. For God's sake, stop now before it's TOO LATE!!!! Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo (twilight zone music). |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Mbo Date: 21 Aug 00 - 12:53 PM Not sure Rich, but I remember Jan C. Snow's essay on how Orange Barrells that you see near road construction, are actually alien life forms. |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: MMario Date: 21 Aug 00 - 12:58 PM Paper clip (the egg cluster)to coat hanger (larval form)to bicycle.(reproductive phase). a favorite. |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Little Hawk Date: 21 Aug 00 - 12:58 PM I heard a rumour that Republicans are life forms too. :-) |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Ebbie Date: 21 Aug 00 - 01:22 PM OK- I'll go first. You guys do the explaining, however. Two days after a friend unexpectedly died, another friend and I were walking along, talking about him. At a certain point, she said, "Ebbie", look up there- what do you see? I looked up into the sky, not many degrees above the horizon. I said, Yeah, looks like an E- an a- an r- an l!! In an otherwise cloudless sky was a band of clouds that formed our friend's name. (The only other place there were any clouds was right above the setting sun, way off to the west)It was completely stable and clearer than the old Drink Pepsi-Cola! smoke ads, if you're old enough to remember them. We were not nearly as astonished and disbelieving then as we are now- mainly it made us laugh tearfully at Earl's 'goodbye'. Now, three years later, the implications boggle my mind. So, everybody, if you can explain this to me I would welcome it. Ebbie |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: DougR Date: 21 Aug 00 - 01:43 PM What you two drinking at the time, Ebbie? :>) And I do remember those cloud-like signs you refer to. DougR |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: hesperis Date: 21 Aug 00 - 01:56 PM There are too many coincidences for it to be 'just coincidence' |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Gervase Date: 21 Aug 00 - 02:18 PM Well, it all comes down to Flann O'Brien and the theory of melocular interchange - at least, where it applies to bicycles. The short answer is, don't stand still in one place for too long, lest you become assimilated(sp?). (cf: The Third Policeman - one of the funniest books ever written in the English language) Failing that; just try to get a bus in London. Now THERE"S unexplained for you... |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Ebbie Date: 21 Aug 00 - 02:22 PM Nope. No drink. And there were only enough clouds to make the letters. My friend said later that she had seen it a few minutes before she called my attention to it. She says she was so relieved that I could also see it. Now, of course, I wonder if anyone else in town saw it! Previous to this, like everyone else I had "seen" shapes in the clouds, i.e. rabbits, ships, dogs, whatever but never had I seen even a letter much less a word with all the letters in the right order and even less the name of someone who was on my mind. Ebbie |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: SINSULL Date: 21 Aug 00 - 02:43 PM No big deal. Earl was saying goodbye. Clever man. Weren't you lucky to know him? |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Kim C Date: 21 Aug 00 - 03:35 PM I don't know that I've ever seen what could be called a ghost but I've sensed a lot of things. I said before in another thread that according to the first law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be increased or decreased, it simply changes form. So that would mean that there's all kinds of energies floating around us. (auras?) Some people feel them, some people don't. So maybe there is a scientific explanation for ghosties after all. Mister said that when he was a boy, and his grandfather died, he saw him. Came to his bedroom and stood there by the bed and looked at him for a minute, and he was gone. An old college roommate said the same thing about her grampy, too. Another friend told me of his friend, a man who died not from cancer, but from the experimental treatment. He and his wife both saw this man after they buried him. Maybe when people don't get to say goodbye, they come back and tell you. There's a lot of folk songs about that sort of thing, so there must be something to it. |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: catspaw49 Date: 21 Aug 00 - 03:49 PM "auras?" I said something about that? Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Little Hawk Date: 21 Aug 00 - 05:06 PM Well, I guess I might as well tell my dad's story... He was a soldier in WWII, fighting on the western front. He said that he saw a number of friends shot and killed right in front of him, while engaging in firefights with the Germans, who fought like hell. Only the complete Allied air supremacy made it possible to defeat them on the field of battle, generally speaking. At any rate, he said that when these friends of his died, he could see their souls leaving their bodies. I said, "What do you mean exactly? What did it look like?" He said, "Well, it looked like mist or steam rising, but in the exact form and facial expressions of the man who had just died." "So then what happened?" I asked. "It just passed away like mist," he said. "Anyway, I was too busy keeping myself alive to pay it more than a second or two of notice." Now, the really weird thing is that despite those experiences (or maybe because of them), my dad has shown absolutely no interest in spiritual phenomena for the last 5 decades! He's a workaholic businessman (still going strong) who is entirely uninterested in anything except business, science, and technology! Go figure. His single-minded obsession with material things and material success is partly what has driven me to explore more esoteric subjects...in reaction. He doesn't deny his war experiences now, but he seems uninclined to draw any further conclusions from them. One other thing happened to my dad which lay entirely outside his usual notions. A few years ago his brother died. They had never liked each other, but my dad was executor of the will. About 6 weeks after Uncle Harry died, my dad was driving alone in his van to Toronto. He suddenly became aware that he was not alone, looked to the right, and saw Harry sitting in the passenger seat clear as day. "What the hell are you doing here?" my dad exclaimed. "What's happening with the money," snapped Harry. "Is the money flowing to my children?" (Just the sort of thing Harry would say...) "The money isn't going anywhere right now, because it's all tied up with the damned lawyers," retorted my father, more or less beyond astonishmen at this point. Harry glared at him for a second or two, then vanished. postscript: The money did eventually flow to Harry's children. My father does not drink or take any drugs. He is still utterly earthbound in his general attitude, determinedly scientific and logical in his general outlook (he's a professional engineer with an M.A. and a Ph.D. in thermodynamics). He is not given to having hallucinations (unless you count the army experience and Uncle Harry). He accepts the fact that those were real experiences, but prefers not to dwell on them. |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: KT Date: 21 Aug 00 - 05:18 PM Little Hawk, this is fascinating. One would think that given his experiences, he would be more drawn toward things spiritual. And yet you have indicated, that is not the case. I'm wondering if you've ever asked him why.... I know of another case where someone had a profound experience most people will never have, and like your father, just doesn't go there.
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Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Linda Kelly Date: 21 Aug 00 - 06:26 PM Time for my Hampton court story- many years ago when i lived with my parents I came into the lving room and saw quite clearly on the TV a news reporter and a fire engine standing in front of a building which I recognised as Hampton Court Palace- as I was in a hurry I thought no more about it and went to stay with a friend. It was a bank holiday saturday. On the Monday morning I turned the radio on and they were still talking about the fire and the poor woman who died. I made a passing comment to my friend as to how this was old news. Rubbish she replied it had happended in the early hours of the Monday morning. I did not beleive her clearly having seen it reported two days earlier and had to phone my father for verification. Spooky or what. It has happened several times since but not for many years. I have had a couple of unexplained experiences but have not seen a ghost although many of my entirely sane friends have. |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Bill D Date: 21 Aug 00 - 06:34 PM if, after I'm gone, I discover I have some influence over clouds in the sky, I hope I will find something cleverer than my name to write...*smile*..like "Weathers fine...wish you were here", or "Kilroy IS here" it sure is the case that some experiences DO remain unexplained...and I sort of like Little Hawk's first idea,,,that remaining unexplained may be best for some..... |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Cobble Date: 21 Aug 00 - 07:23 PM Many things are beyond what we think of as normal,in 1995 my mother died. Father told me on different occasion's that he had seen mother appear to him, but he could not see her face, it was blurd. Until the third os forth time, the last time when he could see her face clearly, in his own word," she was wearing clothes he had never seen her wear in life. She looked so young and beautiful". I belive this was the last time she appeared to him. Then one day he went into the bathroom and there was the most fragrant smell of flower's, which vanished after he went out to get a towel and returned. To put my part in this story, three days before my father died last November, I was going out of my back gate, when I smelled the most beautiful smell of flower's, on a wet dull November day? All I can think of is my mother came to tell me it was dad's time to go. the day was picked well because he loved to talk about his service in the army. The date 11/11/99, many years before armistice day. RIP dad.
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Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: catspaw49 Date: 21 Aug 00 - 08:31 PM Ya know Bill, its funny you should mention leaving things unexplained...............I asked Cletus if he had any experience along these lines and he said the only aura he knew about was the one surrounding Paw most of the time. Kind of a mixture of sulphur and sewer gas. But then that got me to remembering how Paw and Cletus had shot Buford and gave him that eulogy and all, then he turned out not to be dead since his backpack was full of a 12 pack and absorbed the blast. Since he was just knocked out and drunk instead of shot dead, its good that Paw and Cletus didn't bury him.......But I tell you the truth, when that ol' boy showed up alive, it damn near killed Paw instead. That reunion led to a joyous evening of the three of them and the Reg boys getting drunk on "Iron City" and 'Shine and roasting a hog out in my backyard alongside the garage. Of course, after a while, Paw started lighting up farts as is his wont and that's what I came to think about ought to be left unexplained. The neighbors began to complain about 11 o'clock or so after one of Paw's flamers had ignited the hedge on his property. That would have passed as the boys got it out pretty quick, being full of Iron City and all, but when a major rip set fire to his wife's bird feeder....well, that was it. I tried to calm the guy down and assured him nothing like that would happen again. He went back into his house dragging the charred remains of the feeder and a roasted squirrel that had been looting it when Paw let fly with that fiery thundersprecht. Anyway, I got them situated again and since my house has aluminum siding, my only request was that they point Paw towards the wall. I figured a good hosing would clean off the worst of it in the morning. I went inside and the revelry continued at a somewhat decreased decibel level with only an occasional flash lighting the window of my den. Around 2 AM the boys came in for a final pee call and of course they couldn't just go. I heard either Reg or Reg in my pantry and before I could get up there, the whole crew was playing sink the Cheerios in my downstairs bathroom. Karen came downstairs at this point and threw a fit since our kids watch everything the boys do and we were spending a fortune in Cheerios. After a severe ass-reaming from Karen, I herded them back outside and suggested they get some sleep around the smouldering pig carcass. I went back in and after cleaning and disinfecting the bathroom and taking a shower, I again settled down in front of the TV to watch a half-hour Infomercial on how I could make thousands a week by selling quinnine pills through Direct Mail Order and running tiny little ads. They were just getting to the good part with the testimonials and all when there was this giant blast from the backyard and the night sky lit up like a Buddhist monk. There was a moment of silence and then I heard Cletus yell, "HOLY SHEET!!!" Well, there wasn't anyway I could avoid it, so I went out through the garage into the backyard and there they stood, the whole damn bunch of them, except for Buford who was throwing up Iron City and pork fat down his bib overalls over by the smoking hedge. They were staring at an image that Paw's last fart had scorched onto the siding with their mouths hanging open. I stepped back and looked and my first thought was, "Well this ain't gonna' clean off too good and Karen will be really pissed." But when I started to say something Cletus stopped me and I noticed that the look on all of their faces was almost reverent. Paw was standing with his mouth agape and the others seemed awestruck as well, so I looked again. Cletus turned to me and said, "Doncha seez it Catspaw? Its rite thar!!! Paw done farted Jerry Falwell out his ass!!!" Well, I kinda' had to admit, it DID resemble him in the flickering light of the burning porker on the spit, but I was too much in fear of what the morning would bring from Karen to say anymore than tell them to get some sleep. Problem was, they didn't. I went back inside, the group outside quieted down, and I nodded off before I could get the 800 number for the "501 All-Time Polka Greats" by Myron Kopetz and the Nose Flute Kings. What I didn't know was that the group had gone off and gotten Pastor Sharphorn, his wife, the Ladies Auxillary, and the Deacons, from the "Church of Evangelical Brethren and Tongue Talking Mohunkers" and they arrived for a look-see about sun-up. When I woke up to the commotion outside it was about 6 AM I guess. The sight that confronted me was reasonably bizarre. At least 150 people were assembled in the backyard and I could see more coming down the alley. A small altar had been erected out of the remains of my stockade fence which was now on the ground, the crowd overflowing into my neighbor's backyard and trampling his stupid-ass garden gnomes into powder....it was the only high spot of the day. Those kneeling at the altar would place small plastic Madonnas and Jesus statuary at the foot of the garage wall and say a little prayer and move on to the donation box that Cletus was guarding. It was then that I noticed that everyone donating more than $25. was getting a "Holy Relic" to commemorate their visit to this newest religious icon which had previously only sheltered my vehicles and assorted cans of dried out wax and rubbing compound. There, perched upon a throne like affair that I noticed had been assembled from our porch furniture, was Paw. As each person gave his donation, Buford would cut a small piece from Paw's overalls and hand it to them. For $50. they got a piece from the seat, and for $500. a snippet from the flap of his longjohns. It was a kind of poor man's "Shroud of Turin" I guess. Business must have been good since Paw was missing one entire leg of his bibs and he was about bareassed already. I was dumbfounded and I was just considering how to set this up as an infomercial and start booking tours when the County Sheriff showed up and ran everybody off. Then he proceeded to fine me for 19 different offenses and gave me a summons to appear in court for destruction of my neighbors property. I was able to head off Cletus and the money, which covered almost all of the fines and my neighbor's friggin' gnomes, but it cost another 50 bucks to get rid of Falwell. Now if I could just get shed of the real one for the same price.......................Anyway, I have never been able to figure out how that happened and I suppose it is one of those things best left unexplained. I've always thought that Falwell was talking out his ass, but I never figured you could blow him out your ass, but Paw's a reall religious ol' coot so I guess you just never know. Really, I think Cletus had it right with his first two words, "Holy Shit!!"
Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: GUEST, Banjo Johnny Date: 21 Aug 00 - 08:36 PM For Carol C -- if she's still reading this thread. Don't forget: not only can you play melody and chords, but you can also play bass. You can play melody, chords and bass, plus you can sing along. PLUS you can carry it around while you play and sing, and you never have to plug it in. What other instrument gives you so much in one beautiful box? Another accordion joke: There is a very thin line between "accordion playing" and "mental illness". == Johnny in OKC |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: little john cameron Date: 21 Aug 00 - 09:00 PM Great stuff Spaw,ye're jist as nuts as me. LJC |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Ebbie Date: 21 Aug 00 - 09:46 PM Spaw, what are you afraid of? (*;*) Ebbie |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: catspaw49 Date: 21 Aug 00 - 09:52 PM Ya lost me there Ebbie.......then again, I'm not too bright. Sorry that I miss it!!! Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Ebbie Date: 21 Aug 00 - 10:08 PM LOL, Spaw. I was just trying- so subtly- to imply that someone who feels compelled to go into a comedic routine when a subject with which he's not comfortable is raised is evading it. Just standard psychobabble. And then I feared that I had gone too far- but I didn't think I had because when poke comes to push your comfort range of topics is very broad, and we're all aware of that. (Too broad for me sometimes. Yuck!!) So please ignore the pinprick. :~) Ebbie |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Escamillo Date: 21 Aug 00 - 10:19 PM Spaw!!! Guess what my very concerned wife Graciela told me just two minutes ago ? "Andrés, are you OK ? You're gonna suffocate up yourself !" Oh.. how I needed to ROTFLMAOOOOOOO!!! Your novel is now being saved to my library along with Truman Capote's works. I knew you was going to catch the idea.. it was necessary, after two serious threads about unexplained crop circles and astrology services offered. If I had the talent for writing, I would talk about the Close Encounters of the Fifth class, but I'll leave it for the real talents of the Mudcat ! Un abrazo graaaaaaandee - Andrés |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: catspaw49 Date: 21 Aug 00 - 10:24 PM Thanks Ebbie......I'm a bit of a dolt. Fearful? Certainly. Uncomfortable with the subject matter? Nah, just that I see humor in everything. Sitting at lunch one day with a group of other teachers and administrators, one of them turned to me and said, "You are the most irreverent person I have ever met." I said "Thanks." Its no secret here that I am truly agnostic. I find both sides lacking in factual matter and both require an element of faith which I am unwilling to supply. But I've been asked a lot, "Don't you want to know? Doesn't it bother you?" To that, I think Gordon Liddy had the best answer, but he wasn't speaking of religion or the supernatural. When asked what the trick was in being able to hold his hand over a candle til the flesh burned, he replied, "The trick....is not minding." And that is exactly how I feel. I believe in the power of good thoughts no matter from where they come. I believe in the power of music, art, and literature to transport us to places we have never been before and may never go to again. I believe their is a "chaotic organization" to the universe and to time that will always be beyond our limited capacities to understand. And I believe in the power of humor to keep me from ever caring that so much will always be unknown. Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: catspaw49 Date: 21 Aug 00 - 10:28 PM Hey Andres my friend.....I'm glad to occupy a place by ol Truman. I've been a little off form of late and haven't reacted to some of the threads as I used to, but your new buddy Carol stuck a prod in me and I'm glad she did because I enjoyed it maybe more than you did. I think I'm a frustrated writer........a bad writer, but in the Jean Shephard vein anyway. Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: MarkS Date: 21 Aug 00 - 10:58 PM RichM - I think the story you refer to was written in the 50s by Clifford Simak. I probably have it tucked away somewhere so give me a day or two to look through the old boxes and if I find it I will post it. MarkS |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: CarolC Date: 21 Aug 00 - 11:08 PM Banjo Johnny. Ahhh. So nice to find a friend in a world full of accordion haters. Best regards, Carol |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Art Thieme Date: 21 Aug 00 - 11:43 PM When my father was quite old---97---he started walking in his sleep and going for nocturnal journeys all over town. The first time the police brought him home they had extremely perturbed looks on their faces. They didn't know how to begin telling us what had gone down. Eventually they calmed down enough to tell us that pop had been talking in his sleep about having had sexual relations with a ghost. We had a huge laugh over that one. When the police didn't seem to think it was funny (one of 'em was white as a sheet) we all stopped laughing. When it happened again and again and then another time we dicided something had to be done about it. He'd even wander over to the town next to us -- about 4 miles away. Sometimes the police would just let him walk and usually he would get back home before dawn. There were people all over town, indeed our county, who he'd told the story of his sexual encounter with a ghost and how great it was. The strangest thing of all was that dad never ever talked about this when he was awake---only when he was asleep and walking around the shuttered town. He even walked right into strange homes spewing about the great ghost sex he was having. People knew he was harmless so it became a fun thing to have him stop by---even was thought to bring good luck. One Sunday we all went to church and dad was his old jovial self and wide awake. We had a guest preacher doing the sermon that week and I guess he had heard of my dad's night wanderings and his strange pronouncements. I think the damn guy had a Robin Williams streak in him 'cause right in the middle of the Sunday sermon he bellowed out, "Is there anyone here today who can honestly say he has had sexual relations with a ghost?" Well, it was so quiet in the church you could hear a pin drop. My father's arm (and hand) shot upward faster than an arrow shot from a bow and the incredulous pastor stammered, "Neil, for the love of God, are you telling all of us here and now that those stories you tell everone at night when you are sound asleep and wandering all over the place that you truly believe you had relations with a ghost?" "So sorry", said dad. "I thought you said goat!" Now, you explain that !!!! I sure can't. Art Thieme
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Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: catspaw49 Date: 21 Aug 00 - 11:52 PM Shaping up as one helluva' thread ain't it? Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: ol'troll Date: 21 Aug 00 - 11:57 PM Spaw, you write the funny stuff 'cause yer a smartass.I admire that. CarolC, What is the difference between a banjo and an accordion? The accordion is pre-pleated for easier cutting. Explain the unexplained? I can't explain why they won't let me have a pair of sissors in here. How do they expect me to cut out the bad jokes? troll |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Ebbie Date: 22 Aug 00 - 12:30 AM I'm not talking about agnosticism, Spaw. I respect that view. I agree that we simply don't know quite a lot of things- and I'm frightened of people who are terribly sure about anything. I am talking about anecdotal evidence, people's reported experiences. As an instance, science says "Hallucinations of seeing/hearing/feeling a departed spouse are commonly reported." Well, if it's that commonly reported,perhaps science might entertain the notion that just possibly it's not a hallucination at all. The flippant dismissal of such reports is just a tad disrespectful to the persons reporting it, in my opinion. And I truly am not attacking you- how many pekinese does it take to hurt a lion? When you are talking on a subject, I listen- and at the same time you make me laugh more than anyone else ever has, I think. I enjoy humor as much as the next one and the jarring retort that catches me off guard is often hilarious. I would welcome a PM from you if you want to cut off my nose. I doubt that you need defending from me but I have gotten one PM already asking me to lay off. Sincerely, Ebbie |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: ol'troll Date: 22 Aug 00 - 12:31 AM Little Hawk: Republicans are what Democrats become when they mature. (evil chuckle) troll You didn't really think I could pass up a straight line like that, did you? LOL |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Little Hawk Date: 22 Aug 00 - 01:03 AM ol'troll - LOL! Excellent comeback! Spaw - you are one very funny guy. LOL likewise. Your story may be destined to become a classic. Hopefully it will be offered in some college courses soon, and be analyzed to absolute futility in the hallowed halls of "learning". A great thread indeed. |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: catspaw49 Date: 22 Aug 00 - 01:07 AM Ebbie my firend, NEVER lay off me and I feel you are far more than a Pekingnese and I far less than a lion. Your point on anecdototal evidence is well taken and I hope I didn't give the impression that I was giving short shrift to the stories. I have had far too many strange occurances in my own life to disregard anything as impossible and they become part of my "chaotic organization" theory. I think there are tings that go bump in the night which are worthy of deeper investigation whether or not a definitive answer is ever attainable. My son Tristan was born with significant delays and elements of mental retardation. The chances of his even being close to functional were low; so low in fact, the attending doctor would not release him to us from the hospital until she was sure we knew all the facts and the adoption agency had told us all the background genetic details. We have been very lucky that he has progressed as well as he has. About a year and a half later, our other son, Michael, came to us as a foster baby and after working hard to reunite him with his birth mother, we applied for permanent custody and were able to adopt him a few months later. All this background is prologue to this.........Tris will require someone to always be there for him even after Karen and I are gone. That's not why we adopted Michael, but the responsibility will fall to him and even now he is taking on the job at age 7. Now are you ready for the strange part? When we were going through Michael's file as the law requires, a cold chill went through both Karen and I. We had been in court completing Tristan's adoption before the judge between 2:00PM and 2:30PM on November 25, 1992. Michael was born a few blocks away at 2:15PM on November 25, 1992. Strange coincidence isn't it? Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Ebbie Date: 22 Aug 00 - 01:22 AM Thank you, Spaw. (And congratulations to your son on his latest achievement! On another thread I read about the new est development with his bike. Lovely.) Ebbie |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Escamillo Date: 22 Aug 00 - 02:26 AM A piece of Art from Art ! LOL !! Thanks Art Thieme ! As I was inspiring Carol to start this thread, (I'm the guilty) I wish to point out that the purpose was purely humorous. There are two other threads still running (on Crop Circles and Astrology) which host interesting and serious discussions about unexplained things. When I noticed that some humorous posts were popping up here and there in those threads, I suggested another thread, just for fun, especially to see how Spaw would explain misterious phenomena ! But I see that some Mudcatters are posting serious subjects, and I beg them to not feel offended or uncomfortable! If this thread becomes a serious discussion that's ok for me and (I guess) for all, but please don't see the funny stuff as out of topic. :) Un abrazo - Andrés
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Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: KT Date: 22 Aug 00 - 02:37 AM Spaw, that's a wonderful, heart warming story about Tristan and Michael. It speaks of the interconnectedness (is that a word?) that is so much a part of life but which is so often inexplicable. We don't need all the answers, do we, but I keep lookin' for 'em! Thanks for sharing it with us, Spaw. KT
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Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Wolfgang Date: 22 Aug 00 - 06:55 AM I also have a story to share: About 15 years ago two professors and an assistant professor (me) were sitting in a restaurant at Constance University and talking about many things. Then the older of the two professors talked about his doctoral dissertation way back in 1954 and how the oral examination had to be postponed because professor B. who was scheduled to examine him had shot himself in his office. He told with vivid detail about his own emotions as the secretary came out to tell him and how he was shattered and that he had to choose another examiner. Then the other professor said. "You must have mixed up the date, for B. shot himself in 1955." "No, no, I'm completely sure. You see, that's not a minor detail of my life. I just know when I made the examination and that it had to be postponed because of the suicide". They made a wager with me being the uninterested third party. I volunteered to go into the library and came back with a xerox of the obituary. It said 1955. The older professor was visibly shattered and refused to believe the obituary ('they make mistakes in obituaries, you know'). A part of his recollection of his own life was demonstratably wrong and it was not a minor part. It was so filled with emotions that he just couldn't believe he was wrong. He refused to pay for the wager on the spot. He payed months later without any comment at that time. He told much later he had checked several other obituaries (B. was famous enough to have several) and had checked the old records of his university to find that he made his dissertation in 1954 about one year before the death of B. Nevertheless, his recollection of what he had told us was still as vivid as ever though he accepted now it was wrong. The cases in which the recollection of a story can be checked against reality (like in the above case) are obviously very rare. When it has been done (scientists have tried that with ghost or similar stories since at least 1884) it often has been found that memories were not only in minor details wrong. Wrong memories can easily be induced in laboratories and in real life experiments. Since I do among other things research about illusions of memory I could tell you easily of more experiments or investigations showing wrong memories than you can tell me stories. For a bit more of my opinion you could read the last bit of my post in the crop circles thread. From my point of view, you should have a bit less confidence in your recollections than you seem to have. Wolfgang |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: ol'troll Date: 22 Aug 00 - 07:40 AM In WW2 my father was stationed in India and Burma. One day the choice of leading a patrol was between him and another captain so they cut cards. Dad cut the queen of diamonds. The other officer led the patrol which was ambushed and wiped out. Dad kept the card and put it in a scrapbook with other mementos and photos of the war. My father died in 1994 and in the seven years proir to his death he bedridden. His main activities were reading his Bible, watching westerns on tv and playing solitare. The last time I saw him alive, he was playing and talking to those of us in the room. "I need a queen" he said,"and here she is; the queen of diamonds. My lucky card." Those were the last words he ever spoke. He slipped into a coma from which he never awoke. Mom had both cards buried with him. troll |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: GUEST,Colwyn Dane Date: 22 Aug 00 - 08:30 AM G'day,
Ebbie regarding the name in the clouds - I have a book
Keeping to the cloudy subject: Wilhem Reich developed a 'cloud-burster'
Clouds appear to be quite pliable to the thoughts of 'Man'. Toodle-pip
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Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: catspaw49 Date: 22 Aug 00 - 09:10 AM Wolfgang, you're correct. Memory is quite fallible. Cletus reminded me today that they were drinking Falls City and not Iron City, 'cause Buford never threw up on Iron City. Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: Jeri Date: 22 Aug 00 - 09:12 AM ...and my uncle and a couple of friends once created a small, low cloud, and drove around town following its progress, waiting for it to rain. There is something in the human personality that can't stand an unsolved mystery. I'm quite comfortable saying "I don't know why that happened," although my imagination prevents me from at least trying to figure it out. My mother was once doing a crossword puzzle in one of those spiral books of puzzles. She reached to get her coffee cup, took a drink, and when she went back to the puzzle book, it wasn't there. We eventually found it in back of a bookcase about 8 feet to her left front (about her 10 o'clock position). Now, somehow, this thing had made it from her lap, sideways and over or through a 7' high bookcase filled with books and slid down the back without making a noticeable sound. Either it was phreak physics, or the poor thing was trying to hide and transported itself through solid matter. |
Subject: RE: BS: Explaining the Unexplained From: catspaw49 Date: 22 Aug 00 - 10:32 AM Uh, Colwyn........Just where is this cloud burster gizmo? No offense there pardner, but it seems to me if it was such a great thing and could do what you say, they could use one out in the western United States right now. Or is it in the same storage facility as the "Fish Carburetor?" Spaw |