Tom Benson, 3rd UFO Researcher To Die In A Week

Tom Benson, UFO researcher, UFO contactee, former Mutual UFO Network New Jersey State Director, and a former investigator for the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies, has died at the age of 77.

Tom apparently passed away on Tuesday, December 2, 2014, from pneumonia following complications from colon surgery in September.

(Benson is pictured above, on the left, with ufologists Jim Moseley, Antonio Huneeus and David Houchin.)

Benson, during the 1980s, was the editor of the zine, The Sixth Quark Journal. Above is Number 2 for 1981, which Benson self-published from his hometown of Trenton, New Jersey.

Benson worked for the State of New Jersey as a personnel management analyst, as well as a sideline selling vintage UFO books. 

Tom Benson was deeply involved with field investigations in New Jersey, and then presenting his research results at conferences, when our paths overlapped.

One presentation of Benson's has been used in various field manuals throughout ufology. It issued from his personal investigations of an alleged UFO landing case from September 1986. The insightful paper he gave at the MUFON Symposium at American University in 1987, was entitled, "Misinterpretation of Slime Molds as UFO Physical Trace Evidence."

Most people, in recent years, only heard about Benson through James Moseley's Saucer Smear Newsletter. On November 16, 2012, Moseley, 81, died in Key West, Florida (see obituary, here). Since Tom Benson was a close friend, he inherited Moseley's archives.

Tom Benson is the third UFO-related researcher/writer to have died recently.

Now Tom Benson joins the list of those who have written about ufology in the past, who have died this fall.

Wes Nations, 47, died on November 25, 2014. Read his obituary, here. 

Rocky Wood, 55, died on December 1, 2014. Read his obituary, here.

Reading of these men's deaths have revealed surprise as to where their lives took them.

Patrick Huyghe, author of Swamp Gas Times, and publisher of Anomalist Books, writes: "I remember Wes Nations and Crash Collusion; I used to exchange zines with him. I never knew about his Vagabond identity though.​ He was a cool guy. Sad to lose him at just a young age." 

Jerome Clark, author of The UFO Book, emails: "I used to know Rocky Wood many years ago but had since lost touch with him. He was a nice guy. I'm sorry that he suffered and died too soon."

Others have mentioned that they "did not know that Rocky Wood was an expert on Stephen King."

Condolences to their friends, family, and loved ones.

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The formal obituary follows:

Thomas Anthony Benson Jr Obituary
Date of Birth:
Monday, September 13th, 1937
Date of Death:
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014
Funeral Home:
Brenna-Cellini Funeral Homes
2365 Whitehorse Mercerville Road
Hamilton, New Jersey, UNITED STATES
08619
Obituary:
Thomas Anthony Benson, 77, of Ewing Township, New Jersey, passed away surrounded by his loving family on December 2, 2014 at the University Medical Center of Princeton. Born in Manhattan, New York, he had resided in Ewing for most of his life. A U.S. Army veteran, he was educated at Trenton Boys Catholic, Mercer County Community College, and Rutgers University. He received his Masters in City and Regional Planning, graduating cum laude from Rutgers University. Thomas retired after 35 years of service as a personnel management analyst with the State of New Jersey, Department of Personnel. A good father, he was instrumental in sparking his daughter Marisa’s interests in diplomacy, and the arts and his son Alan’s interests in soccer, as well as in rocks and minerals.
Throughout his adult life, Tom had an abiding interest in Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO’s). He taught a course at the local high school on ufology. He served as State Section Director and Investigator for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). In the late seventies, he founded a UFO study group for the scientific study of UFO’s. Tom traveled extensively to present talks, participate, and sell books at many UFO conferences, including MIT and the American University. In the eighties, Tom published his UFO magazine the Sixth Quark Journal. Once at the National UFO Conference (NUFOC) he was awarded the honor of Ufologist of the Year. He was a member of the New York Fortean Society.
He loved folk music, especially the tunes of Pete Seeger. A social activist, Tom marched with Martin Luther King for freedom. He was an avid collector of Christmas and Halloween decorations, and was known by family, friends, and neighbors for his magical displays. As a book dealer, he enjoyed selling books online through ABE Books. Tom was a master gardener and helped begin the Ornamental Horticulture Program at Mercer County Community College.
Tom was a courageous, competent and compassionate person with high moral values, and will be deeply missed by all who knew him.
Son of the late Thomas A. and Ann (Shestko) Benson; he is survived by his wife, Melanie; his daughter, Marisa; son, Alan; sister, Susan; two sisters-in-law, Eileen and husband Jack Simzak, and Susan Miller; niece, Nancy Miller, and nephews, Andrew and Stephen Miller.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, December 12, 2014 at 10:30 am at Incarnation Church, 1545 Pennington Rd., Ewing, NJ. Cremation will be private. Calling hours will be held Thursday from 5 to 8 pm at the Parkside Brenna-Cellini Funeral Home, 1584 Parkside Ave., Ewing, NJ 08638. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Mercer Street Friends, 151 Mercer St., Trenton, NJ 08611 or Isles, Inc., 10 Wood St., Trenton, NJ 08618. Please visit Tom’s tribute page at www.brennacellinifuneralhomes.com
Brought to you by:  Brenna-Cellini Funeral Homes

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(Thanks to George P. Hansen and Patrick Huyghe for the initial news, plus T. Peter Park for the link to the formal obit.)

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The following are the links to my remembrances for the three ufology researchers/writers who died in one week (November 25 – December 2, 2014):

Tom Benson

Rocky Wood

Wes Nations

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Thank you.

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From UFOs to Johnny Vagabond, Wes Nations Takes His Final Trek

Wes Nations was a young man when he passed away on November 25, 2014, at the age of 47. He left behind a legacy of 1990s' alternative Austin-scene involvement that was close to legendary. But what came next will be circulating among the winds for decades to come. He exited the self-publishing field to undertake a long-held vision he'd fostered. He rid himself of most of his worldly possessions (the main exception being his beloved MacBook) and took off to travel for a year. His globe-trotting turned into six years on the road, a highly praised blog, and a persona known around the world as "Johnny Vagabond."

James Wesley ("Wes") Nations was born on July 1, 1967, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Famed for water sports, fishing, kayaking, and birding, Aransas Pass is the home to the largest hummingbird garden in Texas. Before Nations, the most recalled person from Aransas Pass was Emory Bellard (1927-2011), former University of Texas offensive coordinator and head coach at Texas A&M, inventor of the Wishbone formation. The citizens of Aransas Pass now have the genius of Wes Nations to add to their history, and they should be proud of him.

Nations began to make a name for himself in the age of news magazines ("alt-news-zines") in the 1990s. Wes Nations was the editor and publisher of Crash Collusion Magazine.

SMiles Lewis, Austin anomalist, conference organizer and archivist, personally alerted me to Wes Nations' death and his far-reaching linkages. Lewis observed:

Wes was my entre to the world of alt-news-zines in the 1990s. He was friends of many of the 1990s Zine Scene publishers (and early website operators) from the Excluded Middle magazine (Greg Bishop, Robert Larson, Peter Stenshoel), Steamshovel Press (Kenn Thomas), Adam Gorightly, E.L.F. Infested Spaces (published by me), The Konformist (Robert Sterling), The Devil's Advocate (Tim Brigham), and many more.

Meditative pose at Bell Rock, Sedona. 1997 Texufornia Kookout, with Peter Stenshoel, Paul Rydeen, Adam Gorightly, Mick Taylor, Dave Reimer and Wes Nations. Back row, Greg Bishop. Facebook.

As Nations planned his escape from Texas civilization to travel the world, he had to figure out what to do with his large library. Lewis writes: "When Wes moved away from Austin he gave away his vast collection of books and most of them went to Paul Rydeen and I. It was Wes's collection and mine that made up the foundation of my non-profit Anomaly Archives collections."

Kevin Revolinski said in his Wes Nations' remembrance,

He dreamed, planned, and saved, and finally, in 2009, already in his 40s, he set off on a one-year journey that became indefinite. Johnny Vagabond was born. He worked hard on his writing and photography, and due in no small part to his keen sense of storytelling, he was soon a typical inclusion on any list of travel bloggers to follow. 

Wes Nations' trips turned into a well-loved blog by many. "He was Johnny Vagabond in the travel writing world," Kevin Revolinski wrote. 

After Wes Nation died, Glenn Dixon recalled that "Wes was fairly well-known in travel blogger circles. One time Dixie and I were having lunch in our favorite restaurant, TierrADentro, and were approached by a cute young couple. They said hi, and then asked me, 'Are you Johnny Vagabond?' I got a big laugh out of this. Johnny Vagabond was Wes’ alter ego and the name of his blog. I’m pretty sure I told them that, no, I’m much younger and more handsome than him, but that I could connect them."

In Leigh Shulman ode to Wes Nation, she shared an overview sense of Wes' blog: "Raw is the word I hear most often applied to his writing. Things like how he almost killed a man who offered him an eight year old girl for sex. Or stories about the ethereal nature of travel."

 At Joshua Tree.

 Traveling the world, Wes soon found it was about the people, more than the places.

Wes at Tikal, a couple years ago. 

When the journey on which Wes Nations found himself reached its final destination, via liver disease, he was "back in his hometown, his parents Tommy and Barbara at his side. He had traveled full circle," as Keith Revonlinski nicely put it.

One of Wes Nations' favorite photographs of himself, which he used as his profile pix on blogs, Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere.

The man moved from writing about UFOs and conspiracies, to sex slaves and the mistreatment of the disenfranchised. We appreciate seeing the world through his eyes, even for such a small amount of time. 

Most of his peers, in the end, agreed, despite Nations' blog's tagline that "He's traveling cheap, taking pics, and telling lies," he saw truths and reported realities through his writings and images. He will be missed.

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The following are the links to my three remembrances for the three ufology researchers/writers who died in one week (November 25 – December 2, 2014):

Tom Benson

Rocky Wood

Wes Nations

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Consider supporting the work of this blog with a modest or generous donation.

Every amount assists.

Thank you.

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Rocky Wood, 55, Expert on Kaikoura UFOs & Stephen King, Dies

Former UFO author, Horror Writers Association president and Stephen King scholar Rocky Wood, 55, died December 1, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia, of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Rocky Wood was born October 19, 1959 in Wellington, New Zealand.

Wood was a freelance writer for over 35 years. His writing career began at university, where he wrote a national newspaper column in New Zealand on extra-terrestrial life and UFO-related phenomena and published other articles about the phenomenon worldwide, in the course of which research he met such figures as Erich von Däniken and J. Allen Hynek.

Some of Wood's ufology articles include, 

1978. The UFO Phenomenon in New Zealand – A Brief Review "Erich von Daniken and UFOs in New Zealand" April.

1978. "Was a UFO Responsible for the Disappearance of an Australian Aircraft?" Wairarapa Times-Age 16 November.
1978. "Did a UFO Kidnap Australian Pilot and Plane?" The UFO Examiner December.
1979. "Sky Watch" New Zealand Truth 16 January.

1979. "Did UFO Abduct Aircraft?" Fate Magazine, March.
1979. "Final Conclusions on the Kaikoura UFO Mystery" Earth Colonisation Report  April (with Dr Jan Feike de Bock).
1979. "The Greatest UFO Film Ever Made" Fate Magazine, June.
1979. "Degenerate Humanoids and UFOs" AUFOS Newsletter, July/August.
1979. "The Kaikoura UFO Controversy" (special issue of the Earth Colonisation Report) September (with Dr Jan Feike de Bock and Dr Bruce Maccabee).
1979. "UFO Centre Will Study All Cases" New Zealand Truth 4 September.
1979. "UFO’s – Phenomenon That Won’t Go Away" Kapiti Observer/News Shopper 8 October.
1979. "UFO Blitzes Police Car and KOs Driver!" New Zealand Truth 23 October.
1979. "Leaked Files Show UFO Sighting" New Zealand Truth 13 November.

1980. "New Zealand UFO Studies Centre: Kaikoura UFO Controversy," ed. by Rocky Wood. Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand UFO Studies Centre, 4th special issue.

1980. "Future Looks Bright for UFO Searches" New Zealand Truth 15 January.
1980. "When a UFO Can Become an IFO" New Zealand Truth 22 January.
1980. "Strange Signs in the Sky: What are They?" New Zealand Truth 19 February.
1980. "Mystery in Night-Lights" New Zealand Truth 26 February.
1980. "Lights With a Roar – The Rarest of All!" New Zealand Truth 25 March.
1980. "Mystery of the Mutilated Animals" New Zealand Truth 22 April.
1980. "What UFO Did to Police Car" New Zealand Truth 6 May.
1980. "Amazing Space: God and the Maori War" New Zealand Truth 8 July.
1980. "Kaikoura UFOs: At Last the Full Story" New Zealand Truth 2 September.
1981. "Lights At Sea Puzzle Parkers" New Zealand Truth 24 March.
1981. "Aussie Triangle Theory Suspect" New Zealand Truth 31 March.
1981. "Huge Tank Drained in UFO Visit" New Zealand Truth 14 April.
1981. "Space Probe Spots Odd Bodies" New Zealand Truth 2 June.
1981. "Debate A Major Advance in UFO Research" New Zealand Truth 9 June.
1982. "Ancient Astronauts Aren’t Shot Down" New Zealand Truth 13 April.

Wood also wrote articles on the security industry published in the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand and South Africa.

Wood was one of the globe's foremost experts on Stephen King, writing many articles and books on the author, including The Complete Guide to the Works of Stephen King (2003), Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished (2006), The Stephen King Collector’s Guide (2006), Stephen King: The Non-Fiction (2009), and Stoker Award winner Stephen King: A Literary Companion (2011). 

Wood assisted King with research on Doctor Sleep, sequel to The Shining, with King calling Wood “my go-to guy for all things Shining….The Rock knows my work better than I do myself.”

In 2002, Wood traveled to Orono, Maine, and spent three weeks researching the Stephen King Archives at the Special Collections Unit of the Raymond H. Fogler Library at the University of Maine. Wood has undertaken five research trips to Maine in the course of his research on King's work.

Wood was a Trustee in the Horror Writers Association from 2008-10, and was elected as president for the 2010-12 term. He was re-elected for the 2012-14 term. He also wrote non-fiction graphic novels, including Stoker Award winner Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times (2011).

Wood was diagnosed with ALS in October 2010. He is survived by two daughters and a granddaughter.

See the January 2015 issue of Locus for the announcement of Wood's death.

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The following are the links to my three remembrances for the three ufology researchers/writers who died in one week (November 25 – December 2, 2014):

Tom Benson

Rocky Wood

Wes Nations

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Consider supporting the work of this blog with a modest or generous donation.

Every amount assists.

Thank you.

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Death of Skinwalkers' Misty Upham: Accident, Suicide, or Murder?

The Native American (Blackfeet) actress Misty Upham, 32, who has been missing since October 5, 2014, was discovered dead in a ravine in a Seattle woodland, close by her sister's apartment, on or near the Muckleshoot Nation, on October 17th.

Upham appeared in several films, including Skinwalkers (2002), Frozen River (2008) - shown immediately above -, Diango Unchained (2012), and August: Osage County (2013).

Skinwalkers (2002) is not to be confused with the more horror-oriented Skinwalkers (2006).

In some Native American legends, a skinwalker (in Dini/Navajo = yee naldlooshi) is a person with the supernatural ability to turn into any animal he or she desires. To be able to transform, legend sometimes requires that the skin-walker wears a pelt of the animal. In most cases, this pelt is not used in modern times because it is an obvious sign of them being skin-walkers. Similar lore can be found in cultures throughout the world and is often referred to as shapeshifting by anthropologists. I personally, as long ago as the mid-1960s, interviewed people who had encounters with what they assumed were skinwalkers, running beside their speedy cars, in Arizona and New Mexico. There is nothing funny about skinwalkers and shapeshifters to those who feel they have seen them.

The synchrocinema Skinwalkers is a 2002 mystery television film based on the novel by Tony Hillerman, one of a series of mysteries set against contemporary Navajo life in the Southwest. It stars Adam Beach as Jim Chee, Wes Studi as Joe Leaphorn, and Misty Upham as Nina. It was produced as part of the PBS Mystery! series.

Joe Leaphorn, a seasoned cop accustomed to the ways of Phoenix, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque, has returned to the Navajo Nation. Recovering from cancer, his wife, Emma, feels rejuvenated by her home's landscape and people. Leaphorn is less sure about their return. Well schooled in urban policing, he is soon confronted with a particular Navajo case: a mysterious killer who has a special antipathy for medicine men. He works with a partner Jim Chee, an FBI Academy grad who is training to be a traditional healer.
Roman George's body is found miles from his abandoned truck and surrounded by ancient symbols etched in blood. A local archeologist holds the key to the symbols he left behind, so Chee and Leaphorn pay him a visit at a nearby Anasazi ruins. There, these unlikely partners find further clues indicating that the murderer may be a "skinwalker," a Navajo witch with the power to shape shift, or change from human to animal, move with lightning speed, and to kill with curses. Fearing that his mentor, Wilson Sam, will be next, Chee convinces the medicine man to hide in a nearby motel.
As Chee juggles the day-to-day police work on the reservation, Leaphorn tracks down clues to the identity of the evasive criminal. More ancient symbols are found at an abandoned paint factory, where a local gang has been congregating. What do the signs mean? Who is sending these messages in blood? Could the murders be linked to the old Dinetah Paints scandal? Chee does not have much time to mull these questions over, as he soon finds himself in the killer's crosshairs. Source.

For a complete overview of the various theories related to Misty Upham's death, please see here. Most focus on a suicide or an accident.

Some individuals, such as actress Juliette Lewis, feel a more sinister backstory may be in play.

Her family claim that she tripped and fell down a hidden embankment while hiding from police. She was missing for 12 days until her body was found.

In summary, Misty Upham was apparently bipolar and suicidal, and may have taken her own life. She may have been fleeing what she felt was a police pursuit, and fallen, by accident, into the ravine. The family has some strong feelings about her death, of course.

The following is a statement from the family:

We would like to provide the following information to all of Misty's friends and family. We believe that Misty's death was accidental. She did not commit suicide.
We believe she ran into the wooded area behind her apartment to hide from the police.
The area in question has a hidden drop off and evidence suggests that she slipped and fell off of the steep embankment when she tried to get out of a view from the road.
She simply did not see the drop off. We searched near that area that evening she disappeared and missed seeing her purse by 25 feet.

I , Charles, went there after Fire Department officials recovered her body and you just can't see the steep drop until it's to late.
Misty was afraid of the Auburn PD officers with good reason. In an incident prior to her disappearance, the Auburn PD came to pick up Misty on an involuntary transport to the ER.
She was cuffed and placed in a police car. Some of the officiers began to taunt and tease her while she was in the car.
Because it was dark they couldn't see that we, her family, were outside our apartment just across the street witnessing this behavior.
They were tapping on the window making faces at her. Misty was crying and she told them you can't treat me like this I'm a movie actress and I will use my connections to expose you.
Then another officer walked up to her asked 'are you a movie star?, then why don't complain to George Clooney!'
After Misty arrived at the ER we went to see her and she has a swollen jaw, black eye and scratches and bruises on her shoulder.
I asked the ER staff what happened and they said Misty was brought in like that. Misty said she couldn't remember what happened but that’s why she feared the police.
I asked Misty to call the Auburn PD and ask to speak to the commander. When she was connected to, whom we believe was Commander Stocker she made a verbal complaint.
The official asked her 'what are you going to do about it?' She replied I'm doing it, I'm telling you so you do something about it.'
The APD official told her unless she wanted to file a formal complaint the matter would not be pursued.
The day the APD was called to do another Involuntary transport Misty left the apartment where she was staying.
When we tried to follow her Auburn PD officers told us they wanted to check for inside. We told them that Misty may have walked around the side of the apartment but they made us to go back inside.
They asked if we were hiding her and took time to search the apartment and get a description of what she was wearing.
By the time they finished Misty was gone. We believe that if we were not otherwise occupied we may have found Misty before she got hurt.
It is a tragic that Misty slipped and fell to her death trying avoid the police, it's tragic that she did not get the proper medication to treat her mental illness from her mental health care givers at Valley Cities Mental Health, it is tragic that the Auburn PD refused to help offer to find or at least change her Missing status to 'Endangered' to allow other agencies to get involved. But the real tragedy is this could have been prevented on a lot of levels.
We pleaded with the Auburn Police to help us find Misty but Commander Stocker made the decision that Misty did not fit the criteria of the Washington State Endangered Missing Persons Plan. This became a point of contention between us and the Auburn PD.
In a statement he gave to the press he said Auburn PD doesn't have any evidence that Misty is actually missing. He went to say that Misty packed her belonging and left her apartment. This was an inaccurate statement.
We believe that Commander Stocker had animosity against Misty due to a previous encounter. Why else would he refuse to allow common sense to prevail? Imagine a 32 year old woman with mental illness, without her medication, imagine she left in an unstable mental state, imagine for the first time in 32 years she lost contact with everyone for 11 days.
Now imagine she is Commander Stocker's daughter. Do you think this case would have been handled differently? Misty loved life, she had ambition, vision and a desire to make a difference in the world she lived in.
She tried to use her celebrity status to influence positive change and she became a living example of that endeavor. Now press reports are saying that Auburn police department found Misty.
The truth is the Native American community formed a search party and found her after several days of searching without the help of the Auburn PD.
We would like to thank the Muckleshoot Tribe and other Tribal volunteers for all their support in our time of desperation.
We would like thank all the wonderful supporters who could not be here but offered kind words and prayers.

One of Ms. Upham's Hollywood glamor photographs.

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Two Years Ago: FATE Editor David Godwin Passed Away

David Godwin, 73, died on October 16, 2012, in Minnesota. Godwin was born in 1939 in Dallas, Texas, and was a onetime resident of Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and New York City.

Godwin held a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin. During his life, Godwin worked as a manual laborer, a newspaper reporter, an editor for a petrochemical magazine, a technical editor for two NASA contractors during the Apollo missions, a typesetter, and a professional writer.

Godwin was the managing editor of FATE magazine in the years before he passed away. He had been a member of FATE magazine's editorial staff for more than a decade, and a close colleague of FATE Editor-in-Chief Phyllis Galde. She would write about him: "We had so much fun in the past 22 years. He was my best friend, my mentor, my business partner, and helpful caretaker of all the animals when I had to travel."

Godwin and Galde were actually roommates, and Galde had helped Godwin move from Texas. She would find his body, and noted to friends, "He died peacefully in his rocking chair with his headphones on.” 

Galde described it this way in FATE in March/April 2013:

I went to bed to read and he sat down in his rocking chair, intending to listen to music or watch TV. A couple of hours later, I saw that his light was on and went to ask him to shut his door or turn off his light. He was sleeping in his rocking chair. Only it was the long sleep. He looked very peaceful, head back, and arms resting on the chair arms. He has left a deep void, but was much loved.

Godwin was the author and/or editor of the following books:

Light In Extension (Llewellyn Publications, 1991) 

(The publication date is incorrectly listed as "1951" by Amazon and other sites.)

How to Choose Your own Tarot (Llewellyn Publications, 1995)

The Truth About Cabala (Llewellyn Publications, 2002)

Godwin's Cabalistic Encyclopedia (Llewellyn Publications, 1989, 1994, 2002)

True Ghosts 2 (Llewellyn Publications, 2010)

True Ghosts 3 (Llewellyn Publications, 2011)

True UFO Stories (Llewellyn Publications, 2011)

Godwin wrote about himself in the Cabalistic Encyclopedia:

David Godwin is a longtime student of the cabala, occult lore, and magick. Past Master of an esoteric lodge, he has authored The Truth about Cabala, Light in Extension, and How to Choose Your Own Tarot. As well as editing and publishing The Qabalistic Messenger and compiling the index to the current edition of Israel Regardie’s The Golden Dawn, Godwin has had articles published in FATE, Gnostica, Llewellyn’s Magical Almanac, The Golden Dawn Journal, The Texas Ranger, Dragon, Crypt of Cthulhu, and elsewhere.

Sometimes people who die do not receive the appreciation they deserve, because their death is little noted in the broader community. On this year's October 16th, let us remember Godwin for the good words and thoughts he shared in the realm of alternative insights.

In keeping with the theme of this blog, a twilight language viewing of David Godwin's name would note that Godwin has an Old English origin, with the Anglo-Saxon meaning being "friend of God, good friend." 

David is a name with Hebrew origins, and means "beloved."

David Godwin was a beloved friend of God and a beloved, good friend to many who would, even from a distance, know him via FATE and his books.

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Ufologist Dale Rettig Dies

Dale Norman Rettig

Rick Hilberg has posted on his Facebook page the following on September 8, 2014:

Just found out this morning that long time ufologist Dale Rettig passed away on September 3rd at his home in Walnut Creek, California. A memorial service is being held there today.
I knew Dale since 1963 when he headed an Illinois based UFO group that had a very professional looking publication.One of first activities together was interviewing Allen Hynek at his Northwestern University office later that same year. Although no longer active in the UFO field, he and I kept in touch over the years.
Dale and I worked very closely together back in the 1960s on several UFO publications and organizations, and he was one of the founding members of what would later become the National UFO Conference back in 1964 when its first convention was held in Cleveland, Ohio.

Tim Beckley also writes today:

I always mention Dale in my radio appearances. He had me out to do a lecture in San Francisco. We had a full house of about 400. I was to fly back East late afternoon on Sunday. Dale and a few others from his inner circle took me to brunch and over Bloody Marys I happened to mentioned that I should have tried to contact my old friend psychic and author Alan Vaughn who had moved to San Francisco from New York City a few years previously but didn't know how to contact him. Suddenly, the door to the bar swings open and Alan walks in with his dog. Thirty-five thousand miles away and we meet by "chance." After a good chuckle it turns out he is working on a book [later to be Incredible Coincidence: The Baffling World of Synchronicity] on sychronicities and our little episode gets a paragraph or two in the book, if you can find an old dusty paperback he did. I believe synchronicities play a big part with UFOs and spirits - its the new EVP, a means for "them" to let us know they are around. This episode with Dale was my first inkling of same.

Early Ufologists recall Rettig. 

Jerry Clark writes, "Back in the early 1960s when I was a teenage ufologist corresponding with my contemporaries, one was named Dale Rettig."

There is not too much, actually, in the official histories of ufology about Dale Rettig. Mystery, unfortunately, even follows Rettig in death, it appears.

On the official obituary of the Oak Parks Hill Chapel, in California, they have listed Rettig as:

Born: Wed., Oct. 27, 1948
Died: Wed., Sep. 3, 2014

But for their official obituary writeup, they list a different date of death:

Dale Norman Rettig
Resident of Walnut Creek
Born October 27, 1948-Passed September 2, 2014
He was born in Glenview Illinois. He worked in the legal system for nearly 38 years as a lawyer. He is survived by his spouse Yon H. Cho.
Memorial Services will be held Monday September 8, 2014 1:00pm at Oak Park Hills Chapel. 3111 N. Main Street, Walnut Creek, Ca. 94597.

I feel we have to follow his friend Rick Hilberg's date (September 3) that agrees with the funeral home's first listing.

Dale Norman Rettig went to Stanford University, in Stanford, California, then attended the Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, being admitted to The State Bar of California on December 19, 1973.

From the official records, Rettig worked for the U.S. Small Business Administration in Walnut Creek, California.

Dale N. Rettig married Yon H Cho on December 18, 1985, in San Francisco, California.

Rettig was an early organizer of ufologists and conferences, as can be seen in some of the first conferences' photographic records.

The American UFO Congress (which would become the National UFO Conference) in 1965 in Cleveland, Ohio at a Holiday Inn. L to R: David Halperin, Dale Rettig, Jim Moseley and Michael Mann. Photo: Rick Hilberg.

L to R: Cliff Stenberg, Dale Rettig, Rick Hilberg, Edward Biebel and Jim at the 1976 National UFO Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.

But sometimes Rettig suffered from the ongoing politics among Ufologists.

For example, as Rick Hilberg has noted, in a clarification of "A Brief History of the National UFO Conference," by James Moseley, written in 2001, that,

Jim omitted the name of one of the founders [of the National UFO Conference], namely Dale Rettig. Dale was a very active ufologist back in the early 1960s and ran an Illinois based UFO organization that had a very fine for the time, almost professional looking newsletter. Most ufozines of the time were either run on Ditto machines (remember those purple pages? ) or maybe a mimeograph. Offset printed publications were quite scarce, although I did start doing my “original” UFO Magazine by offset as early as 1964. Anyway, Dale, Allen Greenfield and I were the principals in a group called the American UFO Committee back in 1963 ( It was group that combined three organizations that we each were the heads of into one fairly large national group.), and it was at this time that Greenfield came up with the seminal idea of holding a serious, non contactee gathering in 1964 and seeing if it would take hold.

Our condolences to his family and friends. 

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Lauren Bacall, Forteans, Maserati, and Tridents

Lauren Bacall, the legendary film and stage actress who was known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks, died on August 12, 2014, at the age of 89 in a New York City hospital of an apparent stroke, noted ABC7News. The announcement came from the Humphrey Bogart estate.

Bacall's death followed by a day the passing of Robin Williams, whose middle name is McLaurin.

Director Howard Hawks gave Bacall the first name "Lauren" during her screen test for To Have or Have Not (1944). In that film, with Humphrey Bogart (whom she would later marry), when she uttered the one of the most famous lines in Hollywood history: "You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow."

Her last name was created from her mother's maiden name. Lauren Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske in the Bronx, the daughter of Jewish immigrants. Her parents divorced when Betty was 8, and the mother took part of her family name, Bacal. Betty added the extra L when she became an actress.

When I conveyed the news that Lauren Bacall had died on a Fortean forum last night, one wag came back with the sarcastic retort, "Alas, no trident."

The individual should have known better. Forteans are skeptically openminded, but we are no fools. The person, a friend actually, should have known that if ones looks, probably a discovery would be made.

In this period of history, it does appear that tridents are in evidence all around, literally and/or metaphorically, in deaths and disasters. Synchronicity works that way. Coincidences too. Read Jung. Or Charles Fort.

Lauren Bacall, it turns out, was the headliner for Maserati's re-thrust into the American market.

The company website for Maserati History related it this way: "In 2001, after 12 year absence from the US market, Maserati returns to the United States. A car manufacturer who can pass the quality and safety tests in the USA is ready for any challenge, and it is no coincidence that this return is celebrated in great style during the gala evening at the Italian American Cancer Foundation. The room is full of famous personalities such as Lauren Bacall, Ivana Trump, Umberto Veronesi."

Please note, Maserati used the phrase "no coincidence," I didn't.

For those following the Trident syncs this year, the Maserati Trident (with the company celebrating its 100th year) has been a focus of some synchromystic discussions.

Maseratis are getting in the news, as I write. See here.

The Maserati, as shown here in True Detective, 

has as its logo, the trident.

It is not presently known if Humphrey Bogart or Lauren Bacall ever owned one of Maserati's sports cars named the Trident. They did like sports cars.

The couple is shown here with son Stephen in and out of their Jaguar XK 120.

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