Ozark Mountain UFO Conference—Part 2

“Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English).” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland  

 

In Part 1, I suggested UFOs, now referred to by the U.S. Government as UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena) are a frequent media and online topic. Now, it seems the topic is becoming more commonplace in the conversations of regular folks, without being accused of promoting a conspiracy theory. By the way, the latter term in my view is becoming a tedious cliché. Sometimes, yesterday’s conspiracy theory is today’s fact.

 

On Saturday (April 27), I spoke at the Southeast Missouri Literary Guild meeting in Cape Girardeau and mentioned the variety of topics that I have covered, including the UFO conference in Eureka Springs and Buck Nelson. Afterwards, a remarkably lucid 94-year-old woman detailed an alleged UFO crash, with dead alien bodies, that occurred near Cape Girardeau in 1941. She even recalled the name of the Baptist preacher who was summoned to pray over the bodies.

 

And since the last column, another Howell County resident, who is well-respected in the community and as honest as an affidavit, shared a UFO sighting seen as an adult. In an email, the  local experiencer says, “I saw it, and it is hard to believe. I was on top of the viaduct [the railroad overpass on Mo. Highway 137 (Harris Street)], and what I saw looked just like that picture [a flying saucer emoji]. 

 

“There were several windows at the base of the top, and they were lit up. I stopped at the top of the viaduct and watched it as it ‘hovered.’ The lights in the windows shut off—one at a time, not all at the same time. Then it rose and disappeared in the night. Crazy story, yes, but it definitely happened.” As previously mentioned, I have never seen a UFO, but I am curious. Now, I am curiouser.

 

The master of ceremonies at the 36th Ozark Mountain UFO Conference, Forest Crawford, the former state director of the Illinois Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) and frequent media consultant, set the tone of the conference with this caveat: “Examine the Evidence and Don’t Jump to Conclusions.” I concur.

 

The first keynote speaker on the program, William Konkolesky, the Michigan MUFON State Director, claims his “first memory in life, from age two, is a small gray being with large black eyes visiting him in his crib.” It would be the first of many encounters, abductions, and weird incidents over the course of his life. He is the author of several autobiographical books, and his experiences have been chronicled in TV documentaries and an ABC news special. 

 

I suppose if a stranger told me that at age two he saw an ET next to his crib, I would politely excuse myself, but Konkolesky by all appearances seemed normal, with an engaging personality, and I was there looking for stories. Plus, he had PowerPoint slides of photos, charts, and a graphic printout of the results of his Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test, which he offered as confirmation that he is not delusional. The MMPI is used by mental health professionals to assess and diagnose mental illness. 

 

Konkolesky told his story in an entertaining fashion and underscored it saying, “I never said it was possible, just that it is true.” Unfortunately, none of his visual aids included a photo of any of the ETs. All I will add is I believe he believes his story is true.

 

During breaks in the program, I strolled about the lobby and vendors’ area, with my press pass on a lanyard around my neck (trying my best to look official), trolling for stories. A middle-aged, professional-looking woman wearing stylish business-casual slacks and a beige, linen blazer approached me. “Do you have a moment?” she asked. Of course, I did.

 

She introduced herself as a physician from Michigan. I asked the obvious question. “What is a doctor from Michigan doing at a UFO convention in Eureka Springs, Arkansas?” She explained the nature of her work, providing medical services to less-populated areas, involved a lot of travel, and that she had seen some extraordinary things in the sky. And after seeing the online advertisement for the conference, she thought she might be able to get more information.

 

The doctor shared three incidents she had involving UFOs, which she gave me permission to share with readers. The first encounter occurred about twelve-years ago on Lake Michigan. From the shore a quarter-mile away, she and a friend observed “six silver discs” that appeared to be frolicking about in the air near an electrical powerplant. Thinking the discs were demonic, her friend became fearful and insisted that they leave.

 

The second event occurred sometime later when she was driving to a couple’s house for dinner. Through the windshield of her car, she saw several discs in the air at an undetermined distance that seemed to her to be engaged in aerial combat by the way they maneuvered relative to each other. Strangely, the discs appeared to be cloaked. She said it was like viewing them on x-ray film. Then, to her surprise, one of the discs broke apart into countless smaller pieces, almost like sparkles. Later that evening, her friends said they had seen similar objects in the sky.

 

The first two occurrences the doctor shared were relatively commonplace in terms of UFO reports. Her third experience, however, riveted my attention. Driving home in the early-morning hours after attending a medical conference in Ohio, through the passenger-side window, she saw a pyramid-shaped craft hovering above the tree line about 300-yards away. “It was as big as a football field.”

 

As she told the story, she paused midsentence and asked, “Are you familiar with the ‘Masonic eye’?” I said, “Yes, the all-seeing eye on top of the pyramid on the back of a dollar bill.” “That’s right,” she said, “and on the pyramid craft, there was a window right where the eye would be, and at the window, a bipedal humanoid figure with two arms stood looking out.” 

 

Astonished, she pulled to the side of the road and rolled down the window. The craft was silent. Then, a blue laser-like light shot out from the UFO horizontally above the tree line, and a moment later, a yellow light beamed downward to the ground.

 

Suddenly, fear gripped her. “I was afraid it would follow me.” Nevertheless, she pulled back on the road and sped off. When she got home, she said, “I went upstairs, got in bed, and slept with my clothes on all night long.”

 

What was my takeaway from the doctor’s story? Foremost, she shared her events in a matter-of-fact manner—almost clinical—as if to say, “That’s what I saw, believe it or not.” Moreover, her body language and facial expressions were not that of an evasive witness, and I’ve seen a few. Finally, it is hard to imagine why a quite normal-appearing, obviously intelligent doctor would travel 800-miles to a UFO convention with a fabricated story. But I will leave conclusions to readers.

 

To be continued in Part 3, which will feature TV personality and former UK Ministry of Defense investigator, Nick Pope, and other keynote speakers at the conference.