An Interesting Observation, only Interesting Though.

Greetings. What people around the world have attested to has changed quite a bit since the modern history of the UFO phenomenon began during World War II. Nobody knows exactly why, but it does make for some thoughtful consideration. 

Many years ago, in Edinburg, Texas, I happened to come into the possession of a compact disc copy of "The Randle Report," a 1990's radio program out of El Paso, Texas, which was hosted by my friend Kevin D. Randle. The episode I received from Kevin featured an interview with the late Budd Hopkins, well known for his association with the abduction question. The interaction between Kevin and Mr. Hopkins was measured, at times playful, and often times, challenging. Kevin's skepticism concerning the abduction question came across clear as a Colorado sky, with Mr. Hopkins defending his own positions in a admirable manner. However, one single statement made by Mr. Hopkins stood out, and remains a point of interest for yours truly. I sincerely apologize for not being able to directly quote Mr. Hopkins, but I'll make an attempt at conveying his thoughts in my own meandering way.

During the conversations between the two gentlemen, Mr. Hopkins made note that witnesses in the 1940's were describing objects that did not resemble anything they had been exposed to in the media at the time, making mention of the Flash Gordon serials that were popular at the time. The spaceships in the serials resembled silver bullets with wings, having flames coming out of the back end. Witnesses at the time reported objects that were round, silent, and completely unlike the spaceships in the Flash Gordon serials. That would tend to support the idea that witnesses were not contaminated by what they had been exposed to, be it on the radio or on television. I have always found that possibility extremely interesting.

On a related point, I can vividly recall that UFO investigators felt that there would be an uptick in UFO reports in the calendar year after the 1977 release of the classic movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." In fact, the opposite took place, with a marked decrease in UFO reports in 1978. Not what one would expect, as in the Flash Gordon serials scenario in the 1940's, but only interesting.

To be clear, all of this does not prove anything, but it is....

Thank you for your time and consideration.