I seen it! I seen it! But what did I see?

January 23, 2008 09:56 am

— The year — 1959 — a Ford Fairlane winds its way west along Highway 377 on the outskirts of a little town called Bluff Dale.
The time — Friday afternoon, around 5 p.m.
The players in this little episode — a man and a woman in their early 20s. The woman is looking out the window at the passing landscape. It’s one she has seen too many times to count as she has traveled this highway since childhood. They are on their way for a weekend at the homeplace in Proctor.
The man has his eye on the road, but as the road swings a little southwest and over a hill his eye catches something shiny in the sky. At first he thought it was a plane, but as he followed the winding highway the round object stayed in the same place about 10 to 15 miles ahead.
He mentions it to the woman who leans forward in her seat to better see what he is talking about. The object doesn’t move. As they cross the railroad tracks and make the turn into town, the car slows, the young man pulls over to the side of the road, stops the car and steps out to see it better.
By this time, a truck and a car have stopped behind and several cars have stopped on the other side of the highway. Some people had gotten out of their cars and they were all looking up. The object glows and is hanging in the sky much like a picture hung on a wall.
Suddenly, another glowing object rose from the ground and settles just a little below and behind the first object. They both hung in the air for about 45 seconds or so, then accelerated at a phenomenal speed arcing across the southern sky disappearing out of sight. The air is filled with silence. Those two objects never made a sound.
Now, while this was happening, the woman was not that brave. She kept her seat in the front of the car. Everyone seemed to be frozen in time, standing with their heads up trying to come to a conclusion on what they had just witnessed.
The man driving the truck came over to the man exclaiming, “I seen it. I seen it. But what in the heck did I see?” The young man had no answer for him, and they both stood there still, looking into the sky. Finally, everyone started their cars and pulled back onto the highway to continue their travel. Everyone had a look on their faces that mirrored the one on the young woman’s face. What had they just seen?
Now, everyone is talking about the object seen recently around Stephenville. Well, the one that was seen in 1959 was around Stephenville. Did it forget some luggage all those years ago and return to pick it up? Did they pick someone up or drop someone off? Some things just can’t be explained.
While mulling over these sightings, there is nothing better than a good soup and salad. What could be better than a Dutch oven filled with a wonderful creamy soup?

Out of this world corn and shrimp soup
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced fine
3/4 cup (6 ounces) softened cream cheese
2 cups milk
1 (15-ounce) can cream style corn
1 (10-3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1-1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 green onions, sliced
Spray a heated Dutch oven with cooking spray. Add chopped onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute 5 minutes. Stir in cream cheese, reduce heat and cook until cheese is melted. Add milk, corn, soup and tomatoes; cook 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil. Add shrimp; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from heat. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle each serving with green onions. Each serving is about 250 calories.
This next salad is delicious and filling. If you like, grilled chicken can be added or maybe some tender beef slices.

Salad greens with onion, apple and Gruyere cheese
Cooking spray
8 (1/4-inch thick) slices onion
1 teaspoon sugar, divided
6 cups gourmet salad greens
1 cup sliced Fuji or Gala apple
1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated pepper
In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, arrange 4 onion slices in pan and sprinkle with sugar. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
Combine salad greens, apple and cheese. Combine water, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper; pour over salad, tossing to coat. Place salad on plates and top with onion slices. Each serving is around 86 calories.

The couple hasn’t talked about this incident to many people. They both knew they weren’t UFO kooks, hadn’t been drinking or seeing things. There was no explanation for the objects they saw. Their speed was phenomenally fast and it wasn’t a reflection of anything down on the ground.
But ... Jim and I did see something that day in 1959 that couldn’t be explained. Maybe we were in the Twilight Zone ...
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Janis Saunders may be reached at jks4417@aol.com. Columns submitted to The Weatherford Democrat by guest writers reflect the opinions of the writer and in no way reflect the beliefs or opinions of The Weatherford Democrat. Aliens need not call.