Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology out if anyone else reported seeing the object. For some reason he was transferred to the weather department. Maybe they thought he was seeing giant orange hail? They told Pete that he was most likely seeing the HaleBopp comet, which was scheduled to be visible in the sky locally during this time. Pete assured the station that the light we were witnessing was in the southwestern sky while the Hale-Bopp comet was slated to appear in the northeastern sky. When we played the film back a bit later, we were amazed at the close-up view it offered. The vibrating orange orb was spinning like some hypnotic device wielded by a kohl-eyed, goateed magician to attain power over his victims. Later I would stumble upon the Prophet Ezekiel’s description of his encounter with similar phenomena as fiery “wheels within wheels” or the Ofanim.” That night, Suzi and I searched the Internet for mention of other orange orbs appearing in the evening sky. The “UFO Roundup” Web site posted similar stories of orange orbs low on the horizon in Australia. Witnesses there said the orbs of light were completely noiseless while blinking in and out. I decided to send a note to Joe Trainor, the site administrator. That just goes to show how eager I was to discuss what I’d witnessed and connect with any other witnesses in the Phoenix area. As carefully as I could, I described the color, the time, the direction, the behavior and the appearance of the lights both via the naked eye and through the camera’s magnification. The next morning Trainor requested a bit more information and my permission for him to pass my email along to the MUFON director in my area. MUFON stands for Mutual UFO Network. The idea of getting that involved set off warning sirens that I might be turning around a bend in the road that might forever label me as “one of those crazies” who give credence to the unexplainable. I feared this experience might lie beyond conventional wisdom that declares “everything has an explanation.” I threw caution to the wind – I’d talk to the MUFON guy if … I could keep my name out of it. I didn’t consider any degree of participation in a UFO sighting to be a career enhancer at IBM where I was hot in pursuit of an ascending career. I found myself looking forward to an adventure with a real UFO hunter. What would he look like? Indiana Jones meets Fox Mulder? The sightings intensified over the next couple of nights as I waited to hear back from Trainor’s connection. On Tuesday two orbs arrived to light up and go dark, light up and go dark. Neighbors dropped by to see the light show appearing around 9:00 p.m. each evening. One orange orb became two orange orbs and then three. At one point a military jet flew right toward the blinking amber lights, causing them to disappear. By the time I ran to get my video camera, the intense spiraling lights reappeared once again. I wrote another note to Joe Trainor at “UFO Roundup” to update him about the second night of sightings. Again similar reports come in from Australia. There, people were seeing these orbs actually moving close to the ground. That worried me a bit imagining swirling amber globes showing up on our balcony … but the fear was fleeting. Before long I snapped back to enjoying the moment and savoring the adventure drawing me in. We faced a long night of uncomfortable speculation before hearing back from Bill Hamilton, our local MUFON director on Wednesday, March 12. Two notes Wednesday morning got my adrenaline pumping – One from Joe Trainor asking if I’d heard from Bill Hamilton and the other from Hamilton himself. Hamilton wanted to meet me that day and left me his phone number. I eventually reached him later that afternoon. Hamilton embodied a Joe Friday matter of factness but with a friendlier, warmer tone. He wanted all the specifics, the facts as I saw them. He wanted times, positions, descriptions, behavior, the same things Trainor requested but in even more detail. Apparently he was filling out some report over the phone. Hamilton asked if he could swing by the next day to review my videos. ”Sounds great,” I said with some surprise. I was surprised he wouldn’t want to show up at the house that evening, as we’d seen the orbs every night since Monday with no indication of them quitting. As good as his word, Hamilton called me Thursday morning requesting to drop by that evening with a friend and photographer, Tom King. Hamilton worried that he might arrive fairly late in the evening since he and Tom were meeting a famous UFO guy at the airport that night, Dr. Steven Greer, Director of the Disclosure Project. That evening, I saw orbs all over the sky, and I thought the event was over by the time Hamilton and Vol. 6 No. 1
28