http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iajrgFU5-MQ

MRIPA (Midwestern Researchers and Investigators of Paranormal Activity) is in the beginning stages of creating paranormal magazine/newsletter.

Even though MRIPA is creating it and there will be information about what we as a team has been doing, there will also be informational material in there such as Auras, spirit photographs, etc.. This new publication is also going to contain submissions by anyone who would like to contribute, on just about any paranormal subject you can think of. This will be a publication for everyone, by everyone!


We would like to make this a quarterly thing, meaning 4 submissions a year. If people submit items and this takes off we believe that this could grow into something bigger. This IS a paranormal magazine for "Everyone," just created by MRIPA.


If you have any questions or if this something that interests you and you would like to submit something for us to put into the newsletter/magazine please email Rachel at rachel@mripa.net.


This will be an electronic email publication. You can request to be added to the email list by sending an email to rachel@mripa.net and put in the body of message "please add to newsletter email list."

You can visit the new Myspace site for changes and information regarding the White Crow Newsletter/Magazine! (Request to be our friend!)

www. myspace. com/thewhitecrowforeveryone

Also visit the official White Crow wesbite at :

www. thewhitecrow. org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhNdxdveK7c

bout freaking time.......

Don't Believe Everything You Think

by William Frank Diedrich


Every waking moment of every day the voice in the head chatters on. It tells you stories about who has wronged you; stories about what you can't do; and stories about who you should blame. In conflict, the voice adds up other people's faults and your virtues. Don't believe everything you think! Seldom are these thoughts new. They are repetitive stories and recurrent memories playing over and over again. These memories create negative emotion. This kind of thinking is common to all of us in varying degrees... Is there a cure? Can we transcend our negative tendencies and limitations?

It has been written that we think around 60,000 thoughts per day, and that over 90 % of them are the same thoughts we thought yesterday. We are creatures of habit. If you would step back from your thoughts and look at them, you will find that your negative and blaming thoughts repeat themselves. There are certain people you complain to yourself about many times over. You may resolve some of those complaints only to replace them with new people and situations to complain about. The theme is the same. It may be frustration, or feeling victimized, or being outraged. The problem always seems to be someone else..

If you are happy with that, you need not read the rest of this article. However, if you are like most people, you are tired, and perhaps stressed, when you think of certain people or situations. You would like to feel more joy, more peace, and more empowered with others. The quote from Robert Greenleaf at the top of this article is a universal truth. The problem is NEVER out there. It is ALWAYS in here. It is in your own mind, but don't blame yourself. There is action you can take..

How you perceive your interactions with others is rooted in either of two mindsets. You are either a center of attention, or you are a center of influence. As a center of attention, the world revolves around you. You expect others to think, feel, speak, and act in ways that make you feel better. As a center of influence, you are aware that your thoughts, feelings, words, and actions influence others. You recognize that you are all that you can control. You also recognize that you cannot control others. Most of us spend most of our time as a center of attention. Even though we may be aware of our personal responsibility in relationships, we slip into the center of attention mode and emotions take over..

As a center of attention we blame and complain. We are focused on what others should be doing for us or what they are doing to us. As a center of attention we seek to preserve the ego, which is our self image, our view of self. The ego is easily threatened. It usually sees itself as better than or less than others, because it is always comparing. The ego is vain. It is in love with its own thoughts and opinions. We all have an ego..

The truth is, you and I are not our egos. The ego is a part of us, but it is not who we are. Who we are is something much deeper. You may call it your soul, or your Higher Self. You may call it your conscience or any other name. The point is, there is a deeper part of you that is an observer of all your thoughts and behaviors. It is a higher mind that is capable of making good choices. It is through this higher mind that your intuition speaks. It is through this higher mind that you feel compelled to seek the wisdom of a higher power..

If you notice that you are feeling resentful toward someone, the part of you that notices, is the real you. The part that is resentful is your ego. The voice in the head (the ego) will keep telling you the story that makes you feel resentful. It will tell you that it is the other person's fault that you feel this way. Yet, it is your story. It's your movie and you are the writer, producer, director, and the star of the drama. As you focus on this story you become more and more resentful. At this point you may ask yourself, why am I doing this to myself? There are several answers to this question... You think repetitive negative thoughts because:

• it is a form of mental entertainment
• you are addicted to these kinds of thoughts
• you like the drama
• it justifies your opinions and behaviors

You can decide to stop giving these thoughts your energy. As you give energy to blaming thoughts, you are the one who suffers. As you play it over and over again in your mind, justifying your behaviors, and criticizing theirs, it really doesn't make you feel good. Believe it or not, Greenleaf's advice that change begins in here does make you feel better. As you open yourself to seeing how you may be affecting another; as you begin to offer compassion for others; you will lighten up..

When we have negative thoughts and feelings toward someone, our view of them is distorted. We see them in ways that justify the way we feel. Humility is the answer. Humility is the understanding that you really don't know anything. When you take the attitude that you don't know anything, you are open to learning something new. You are open to seeing people differently..

These words I offer here are well-known to me. I have studied this and practiced this. I have a passion for this work. Yet, despite my study, I still find myself blaming. I have conversations with my mind. I have taught myself to ignore my ego's rantings and ravings and focus on what I really want---peace, resolution, or goal attainment..

There are still times when the emotions are overwhelming, My conscious mind wants to resolve the situation, but my ego and my emotions have totally taken over. In this situation, I pray. I let go of the situation and give it to my Higher Power, Sometimes I have to give it away many times because the thoughts keep coming back. What matters is the intent. Regardless of how self righteous you feel, if your clear intent is to let go and be at peace, then you will accomplish that..

There is no need to hate, be disgusted by, or to condemn anyone. Accept people as they are, and hold no grudges. You will feel better for it. Of itself, the human mind is not dependable. It is full of stories, memory fragments, jingles, and disconnected thoughts. The mind has to be managed. The mind is sometimes like a patient that needs healing. Other times it is a child who needs correcting. Undisciplined thinking will lead you into many unpleasant dramas. Be aware of what you think, but don't believe it. Ask your Higher Power for help in seeing truly. Withdraw attention from repetitive negative stories and focus your attention on solutions, opportunities and blessings... Your thinking, then, will serve to uplift both others and yourself!

You Are Not Your Mistakes!
by Kenia Morales


So many individuals feel disappointed of themselves because of the mistakes that they have made in life. In fact many do not only feel disappointed but some are even looked down on by their family and peers. These individuals are often referred as the "black sheep" or the "bad seed". These labels whether believed by oneself or others are somewhat devastating, the negative image will always dampen their positive qualities. Not only will outsiders overlook the good points but it will also paralyze the individual from trying to do anything different ..



It is very hard to feel confident about trying anything new once one sees self in such a negative light. Let's call it the "why even bother mentality". This type of mentality it's based on fear. It is being scared of even trying to do anything positive. Once a person's confidence has been crushed it can not stand to make errors or won't even believe to be capable of accomplishing anything positive..


For those individuals affected by the "why even bother mentality" you can get rid of this negative state of mind by keeping in mind that we all make mistakes and that they are simply part of life. In fact it is how we mature. We fall, pick up, learn and keep on moving with new insightful knowledge..


So, for your own sake keep in mind that you are not your mistakes and you can always learn a valuable lesson from experiences. They will help you make wiser choices the next time around... Instead learn to appreciate both positive and negative experiences each in their own way!

THANK YOU LIGHT WORKERS! I'm spreading the love and light....


Personal Growth
by Jan Engels Smith
____________________________


You are an incredible spirit of divine perfection, the same composition as God. Creator is an ocean and you are a drop of water in that ocean. You carry within you the exact components and properties of the entire ocean. You are made of God, in the reflection of God, and God is in you..

God has many names: Great Spirit, All That Is, Mother/Father, Great Mystery, Allah, and Lord. All are interchangeable. Your spirit, which is housed in your body, is part of that giant whole. In fact, everything is made up of the same energy..

All things---every tree, rock, grain of sand, gust of wind, drop of water, animal, insect, bird, planet, star---are expressions of the divine, and we are all interconnected in a divine and profound way-





The universe is unlimited,
and if you choose to explore it,
you will awaken to
a whole new way of knowing
a whole new way of being!


Spirit is available to all people at equal levels; there is no "better than," or "more deserving." The choice to raise your consciousness means to broaden your awareness, open up to new possibilities, step out of your comfort zone, and allow information other than what you already "know"..

The following basic truths are unifying principles I have learned in my work with the spirits. These truths present concepts about healing and working with energy. They also provide suggestions on how you might apply them to your own life to enhance your process of healing and well-being..

I guarantee that if you make them a part of your daily life, your life will improve in a dramatically positive way-

Anyone, at any time, can make choices for happiness and for healing. This includes you. Read the following truths and begin to ask how they might affect your life..


Universal Truths



1) God loves and values you unconditionally-

2) You are first and foremost a spirit---a soul having an earth experience. This earth-walk is but one fraction of your being..

3) Your spirit has a divine purpose-

4) You agreed to forget your previous existence. This makes becoming enlightened a quality of remembering who you are. Remembering is embracing this reality and then making the necessary changes in your life to reflect this truth. Respect, honor, compassion, and reverence for all life are necessary components for the path to awareness..

5) You are here on earth to experience, to create, and to remember. If you do nothing more from this point on in your personal growth, you will achieve two out of the three before you die: You will experience and you will create.You cannot help it. It is happening every second of every day. It will, however, take a conscious decision to remember. It is a conscious decision to awaken, to grow spiritually, and to become the greatest version of yourself..

6) Walking the spiritual path means that you made a decision to seek the truth of who you are. The quality of life that you live is strictly a matter of choice. You may choose to live your life at any level of awareness; all are honored and respected; nothing is judged..

7) The universe is continually offering opportunities, opening doors, and answering prayers. You can choose to be conscious and awaken to these offerings..

8) Judgments, punishments, opinions of right and wrong or good and bad are human concepts. These concepts are illusions that hide the perfection of the soul. Judgments and punishments do not exist in the spirit world..

Life is a journey of becoming, a continual cycle of evolving from one lifetime to the next. What you do not achieve in this lifetime, you will achieve later. You choose the rate at which you evolve. To follow the spiritual path is a choice and a matter of readiness, but it offers phenomenal rewards. Your spiritual path is a completely personal experience; no two existences unfold in the same manner. As the spirits constantly remind me, everyone participating in the earth-walk will eventually come to complete consciousness. It is only a matter of when..

Judgments are what most often get in the way of personal growth. When a person directs judgments toward others, it usually indicates personal feelings of inadequacy, unworthiness, low self-esteem, and lack of self-love. Judgments can cause fear, hatred, arrogance, war, greed, anger, blame, jealousy, pain, and loneliness---the psychological disorders of the human experience. They are often imprinted heavily and cloud the reality of one's own being, which creates tremendous fear. Judgments have nothing to do with truth or the perfection of the soul. Our job as humans is to clear ourselves of the many judgments we hold toward others and ourselves..

Spirit does not pressure you to change, because you are loved unconditionally for all of eternity. The urge for change is a pressure you feel from within---your own soul urging you to create a better life. Happiness, peace, deep joy, and a closer connection to Source are all available to you. Something has encouraged you to ask questions, to seek, to pick up spiritual material... If your life is not being lived from a place of fullness, love, spontaneity, passion, sensuality, and divine joy, then you probably need to make some changes in your life in order to attain these qualities!..

janengelssmith. com




We travel to wonder
at the beauty and majesty of nature
We look to the heavens -
and wonder at the might
and glory of the cosmos
We even wonder at
the Seven Wonders of The World
Yet every morning we look in the mirror -
straight into the eyes of God...
without wondering-
Allen Stacker-

1.) Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate antidepressant.



2.) Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.



3.) Always pray and make time to exercise.



4.) Spend more time with people over the age of 70 And under the age of Six.



5.) Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants And eat less foods that are manufactured in Plants.



6.) Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat broccoli, almonds & walnuts.



7.) Try to make at least three people smile each day.



8.) Clear your clutter from your house, car, desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.



9.) Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control.

Instead, Invest your energy in the positive present moment.



10.) Realize that life is a school and you are here To learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum

That appear and fade away like algebra class .......but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.



11.) Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince And dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge

Card.



12.) Life isn't fair, but it's still good.



13.) Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.



14.) Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.



15.) You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.



16.) Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.



17.) Don't compare your life to others'. You have no Idea what their journey is all about.



18.) Ladies - Go on and burn those 'special' scented Candles, use the 600 thread count sheets, the good

China and wear fancy lingerie now. Stop waiting for a special occasion. Every day is special.



19.) No one is in charge of your happiness except you.



20.) Frame every so-called disaster with these Words: 'In five years, will this matter?'



21.) Forgive everyone for everything.



22.) What other people think of you is none of your Business.



23.) Time heals almost everything. Give time, time!



24.) However good or bad a situation is, it will Change.



25.) Your job won't take care of you when you are Sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch with them.



26.) Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.



27.) Envy is a waste of time. You already have all You need. God provides, remember?!



28.) The best is yet to come. (in Heaven)



29.) No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.



30.) Do what you think is the right thing.



31.) Call your family often.



32.) Each night before you go to bed complete the Following statements: 'I am thankful for __________.'

Today I accomplished _________.



33.) Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.



34.) Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast

Pass. You only have one ride through life so make The most of it and enjoy the ride.



LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH. LIFE'S A PRESENT ... UNWRAP IT! Have a Blessed day.

IT JUST KEEPS GETTING DEEPER....

As soon as I awoke this morning I turned on the local news broadcasts which were reporting that what we saw last night was a meteor shower... Nice to know that our military scrambles a dozen jets for a meteor shower.. Lame excuse..

While listening to the radio this morning at work, I heard lots of people calling in to explain what they saw. Everyone had some theory as to what it was. A guy calling himself "Mike" called in and smugly proclaimed that he had the answer to the mystery that has lasted months if not years...(Yes, this phenomena has been reported up here regularly for a LONG time.) He claimed the Air Force was flying dogfight maneuvers and shooting at each other with flares and kicking their afterburners to jazz things up. The amber/orange lights everyone saw were just flares and the jet afterburners.

If that is true – and it really isn't plausible for a number of reasons I will get into in a second – WHAT IN HELL ARE THEY DOING CONDUCTING THESE KINDS OF DANGEROUS MANEUVERS OVER POPULATED AREAS, IN THE ERA OF GLOBAL TERRORISM, WITHOUT NOTIFYING LOCAL AUTHORITIES OR EMERGENCY PERSONNEL!?
I certainly don't want a plane in my living room or one of their flares landing on my roof and setting my house on fire.
This explanation does NOT explain the orange balls of light. These OBOL (ORANGE BALLS OF LIGHT) behave in a very strange manner. There are no conventional aircraft that we know of, that can defy gravity and fly like these have been known to fly, and CERTAINLY NOT at the altitudes that these things are being seen at.
Objects that big, that close to the ground, moving that slow, tend to fall out of the sky really quickly.

I have been to more than my fair share of air shows, thanks, in large part, to my late father's participation in the Confederate Air Force and his radio controlled airplanes. I have spent many days at Mount Comfort Airport and I have also had the pleasure of watching the fabulous Blue Angels fly over the track at the Speedway and the beaches of Pensacola, Florida, where the big boys of the USN play.. Afterburners are REALLY LOUD.

EVERY time I have personally seen these OBOL's, and in every report I have read about them, they are COMPLETELY SILENT. Now you would be hard pressed to make me believe these OBOL's are afterburners when I can't hear a thing and they are within a couple miles of me. I have read that the alledged "sonic boom" was heard on the north side of Indianapolis. That would mean this 'sonic boom' was audible for a range of at least 3 counties.

REAL sonic booms are very localized. You just don't hear them all over the place like that at the same time. The "official" explanation also doesn't explain the many sightings of black triangles that accompany these OBOL's.

Regarding last night (4/16/08):
I was personally in the area of U.S. 31 and 300 W from about 8:45 to about 10:00 PM Camcorder in hand, I was attempting to catch some of these OBOL on my camcorder for research purposes. At approximately 9:40 a BRIGHT amber/orange light appeared in the northwestern sky. It was VERY large, VERY bright and VERY SILENT. It hung in the sky in front of me, for about 45 seconds and then vanished. I expected to see more pop in because that is how all the other sightings I have had, unfolded.

After about 5 minutes passed and no other lights appeared, I was ready to head home. All of a sudden, I began to see aircraft approach my position from the north. One after another, they all poured into the area. I tried to count them but it was difficult. They were running WITHOUT their wing lights. The only lights they were using were tiny strobes. This made it a little harder to count them, except for the fact that the bright moon did illuminate them enough that I could actually make out a solid craft sometimes.

I COULD HEAR THEM, without question. They flew in formation and several at a time would break away and sweep back to the north, then back to the south and back again, bringing more with them. It looked like the sky was FULL of fireflies. It was quite a show, to say the least. At the time I was observing them I was also on the cell phone with a MUFON investigator who was positioned north of me and he was also observing some activity. It was obvious to me that they were sweeping the area.

They were NOT engaged in any "dogfight' activity that I could see. And all this occurred five minutes AFTER the OBOL was already GONE. So how could the OBOL have been AFTERBURNERS when there WERE no aircraft in the area for another 5 minutes? And not once did they light up their afterburners AFTER they arrived. I WAS THERE. I watched them, so I KNOW they are not telling the truth.

What is up with the metallic smell in the air reported SW of the area in question? Jet fuel doesn't smell like metal. I know what jet fuel smells like. If it truly is something the military is messing around with out here, above our homes and with the air our children are breathing, WHAT ARE YOU EXPOSING US TO? We already have enough problems around here with the Continental Steel Mill site. We don't need YOUR poison on top of THAT.

A friend of my family accessed the local police radio broadcast via an internet link, after hearing the blast, because he was concerned that something terrible had happened at the Kokomo Opalescent Glass Factory. He heard at least 2 responders said they had arrived "at the scene" and one individual referred to it as the "debris field"

Right after that, he heard them being given a directive to switch to a secure channel. One officer complained and was promptly told they all needed to be on the same frequency. A little later one of the officers said they could not reach Grissom, but then about a half hour later, he said that Grissom said they had NO PLANES IN THE AIR and that they HAD been doing maneuvers in the area but ALL planes were on the ground at the time of the event. After that, little was said, other than their positions and eventually they were scaling back the operation as the incident was an astrological incident. There was some chatter that there were eye witnesses who said they saw aircraft in the air just before the crash. He also heard a fireman question the asteroid theory as it would not explain the sound of the second boom, (aftershock) that it sounded like an explosion.

I don't buy the "official" explanation and I haven't met many people who do.

I had my camcorder out and had driven to Jackson Morrow Park to watch for the orange balls of light. I had seen them again yesterday and the weather was such that I thought tonight might be a good night to see them again. I am DETERMINED to get these bastards on video tape! I get to the park and shut off the lights and my car. The sun has just gone down. I sat there for about 20 minutes and got bored so I called my friend Tim, in Florida. I think we were on the phone for about 10 minutes when the OBOL showed up in the northwestern sky. It was about 45 degrees from the horizon and it was REALLY bright! it was HUGE. Like a baby aspirin at arms length. It was a yellowish amber orange color. And very sparkly. I grabbed for the camcorder and the bastard vanished. Just quickly grew smaller and then vanished. And there was NOTHING where it had been. No craft or anything. There was enough moonlight that I could have seen a big craft but there was nothing. DAMN IT. This is what sometimes happens so I got the camcorder up for more. They usually start to pop in, one by one till 2 or 3 or more appear and then they pop out the same way. Well, this one was the only one. No more came. Something was up. Within a few minutes the sky was ABSOLUTELY filled with what I called "fireflies". They were small jet aircraft. I could hear them. They were flying in double "V" formations and they were all over the sky where the light has just been. I watched as they made several sweeps of the area. 3 or 4 would break formation and swing back around toward the south and then make a tight turn back to the north. They did not have their red and green wing lights on but they did have on their strobes, so I could follow them, but it made it harder. That "firefly" effect was crazy! They were EVERYWHERE! Damn, more started showing up and I had a hard time counting them or keeping track of all of them! The sky was crawling with aircraft! UNBELIEVABLE!!!! After a few minutes they broke away and started moving to the north in small groups. WHAT SHOW THIS WAS!!! While this was going on, I called Glenn Means, a MUFON investigator in Peru. I had him on the phone telling him what I was seeing so you can ask him about the freaked out tone in my voice! I figured he would recognize this behavior as he and his wife are both retired Air Force. They live just north of me so they went outside and saw some of what I had seen. He told me that the area I was looking at is designated military air space. I had a weird feeling about what I was seeing. Like something was wrong. Something was up. Something BIG. For the record, I was sitting in the parking lot at Jackson Morrow, the lot by the volley ball nets. I was facing the west and scanning the sky from north to south.. I was just west of US 31 at Center Road. (300S)

After the jets left and it seemed as if there wasn't going to be any more OBOL tonight, I took my cameras and went home. Besides that, I had to pee. Once I got home, and peed... I stood outside for a few minutes, camera in hand, watching. Waiting for something I could feel in the air. At about 10:10 PM I finally gave up and came in. I got my jammies on and went into my office to work.

At precisely 10:24 PM there was a tremendous explosion outside my window. The window shook, my chair shook, my monitor shook, and it sounded like something fell on my roof and then off. (I need to go outside and see if there is anything or anybody laying in my yard!) I thought I had seen a flash of light out the window in my office that faces southwest. It all happened so fast I can't remember if I saw the flash before or after the explosion. I jumped up and ran in to the bedroom and woke Dave up screaming, "something is wrong, something is wrong!" I had the hair standing up all over my body. I still do! About 5 minutes later Casey called me. He is at the cab company in town. He says, "Mom, are you guys okay?" I said, "yeah, why?" And he proceeds to tell me that a plane has crashed close to our house! I just about shit my pants! I jumped up and ran into the bedroom to tell Dave and then I called Glen back. I ran outside to see if I can smell anything or see anything. I can't do either. I DO hear dogs howling and barking like mad again.

So I go back inside and up to my office to flip on the TV because it's 11 PM now and the news is coming on. First off the bat is a BREAKING NEWS: Explosion in Tipton County at the Howard/Tipton County line! Just a few miles from my home and dangerously close to where I had JUST been sitting in my car! They had a caller from Kokomo on the phone. She said that someone reported seeing 2 bright flashed of light and then the explosion happened. And the report said there was MUCH debris strewn about the area. NOW they've come back on and said the FAA in Indianapolis reports NO MISSING PLANES!

I am here to tell you right now, that explosion has something to do with the military and that bright amber orange light I saw tonight. I SAW THE LIGHT! I SAW THE JETS SCRAMBLE AND SWEEP THE AREA AFTER THE LIGHT DISAPPEARED. I HAVE A STRONG FEELING THOSE MILITARY JETS AND THAT BRIGHT LIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS CRASH. I WITNESSED SOMETHING BIG TONIGHT. I FEEL LIKE I AM IN SHOCK. I have been thinking about skywatching all day today. I knew I was going out tonight and I had a strong feeling I was going to see something but I didn't think it was gonna be like this! I tell you there were at least 10 military jets sweeping that area after the light appeared and they were flying without their wing lights on. Something was up and I HAVE NO DOUBT this crash is related to what I saw. I just hope whatever fell out of the sky didn't land on someone's house! It could have been mine! or my car! OMG I will let you know if I find anything on my roof or in my yard.. And for whoever or whatever was in whatever crashed, I pray you didn't suffer and are now with God. Unbelievable...........

Sorry it's been a while since I blogged. Lots of stuff happening.

My good friend and former co-worker, Brandi, is in the hospital right now, down at St. Vincent on 86th street in Indy, in ICU I am told. She went to ER here in Kokomo, for a migraine and wound up down there, with a diagnosis of Leukemia. BIG Sucks. She's a young-ish single mom, and a great friend. I am told she can access her Myspace from her room, and saw that she had posted last night, so.... LOVE YOU, BOO, just in case you are reading this. :-X

My BFF, Terri, has been fighting a battle with MRSA for several months now. I actually felt guilty about it because I felt like I kinda helped talk her into getting her knee replaced to begin with. I was gonna have the lap band surgery and she was gonna have the knee done. Then we were gonna both be flying high and were planning on a girls only trip to Fort Meyers in July. I did well but she developed a MRSA infection in the replacement knee and it went into her blood and bones and tissue and she almost died. I'm still going to Florida, but I am going alone. I do have lots of fabulous friends there who are gonna take care of me but it won't be the same without the BFF. We have been best fiends for 35 years and I can't imagine my life without her in it!

My niece had the band surgery a couple years ago and has had a lot of issues with it. I got an email from her the other day saying that she is having revision surgery on the 24th because her band slipped. (explains a lot of her problems..) I said a little prayer for her and hope it all works out for her. She's a good kid. (Well she isn't a kid anymore but I guess to me she always will be... :-) ) I have been stressing about my loved ones here lately.

While I have had all this going one, on the flip side, I have had some good things happen, too. I was contacted by my dear, old friend, Jerry Seivers. He is the State Director for Indiana MUFON. (The Mutual UFO Network) He was inviting me to the annual state conference. He does that every so often and I have rarely ever been able to get there. But I did this time. And I am so glad I did. I got to see Jer again. And I learned a lot of interesting stuff and I met a lot of wonderful folks. (And how's this for a small world... my NEIGHBOR was there! HOLY CRAP! I had no idea anyone around here was interested in that kind of stuff. THAT was cool!) When I got home, I bought a video about NASA and I got a book about the Skinwalker Ranch research project. I can't wait for them to arrive. These subjects were talked about, a little bit, at the conference. Mostly, it was about the latest "flap" here in North Central Indiana. (specifically from Kokomo north to Denver to Logansport to Fort Wayne.) Crazy stuff going on around here folks. Keep looking up. I am gonna try to help out MUFON when I can. I was a field investigator for them for many years, when I lived in Indy. I was the first one to ace the training test. :-) I kinda miss it, but I just don't have enough time in the day for all the things I want to do. I will do what I can for MUFON. They are my "peeps' :-) I plan on doing some skywatching with the Sony Hi8 night shot cam as soon as the weather breaks and if I get any of the orange balls of light, or anything else for that matter, I will get it to MUFON ASAP.

I met a couple of really neat guys at the conference, Glen Means and Roger (sorry Roger, I can say your name but I can't spell it.. lol) I hope we keep in touch. They are both up here in my neck of the woods and both investigators. Glen said something to me about getting together at his place in August for a skywatch/meteor shower party and I told him, "I'm there!" They are both working on the OBOL sightings and I hope I will have some more evidence for them here real soon.

I had a website for years, regarding my UFO stuff. It used to get thousands of hits a week. Life yanked our chain so much that we kinda let it go for a while. Now that Dave is retired and it looks like he isn't going to be able to find another job anytime soon, and with the generous offer of our new friend, Jason, we have some good bandwidth and Dave is currently revamping the old site. Give us a couple weeks and then check out www.xgenco.com/debshome. This site is going to be a little different than the old one. There will be a lot more of me in this one. I plan on doing a lot more writing about me, about my experiences, what I am doing now and about the UFO research I plan to do in the future. I also hope I can get some guest writers to contribute every so often. Jeanne...ya hearing me? LOL! I am excited about this.

I am also excited about something else that is happening in my life right now. I stumbled upon a link to a group called MRIPA (Midwestern Researchers and Investigators of Paranormal Activity. Now, all of you that know me, know that I believe nothing happens without reason. There are no coincidences. To make a long story short, I applied to them for a position as an investigator and researcher and was accepted! I met Jason, the founder, along with Rachel, the case manager. They interviewed me and invited me to become a member that night. I was thrilled. There are a handful of people in my life that I consider my "crew", people like me. It's hard to explain but its a real feeling of connectedness with these people. Like Family. Jeanne, Forrest, Marc, Timmy... you know what I mean. We are different from others. We are Indigo Children. :-) Rachel and Jason are like us! I hope, in my heart, that one day you all can meet each other. As soon as they walked in my house, I knew working with them was where I need to be. The Universe puts you where you need to be and guides you, all you have to do is pay attention.. It is my intention to learn as much as I can about this branch of paranormal research. I think ALL paranormal activity is somehow connected and what I learn with M.R.I.P.A is going to make all my other research that much better. I have personally had so many paranormal experiences that don't, on the surface, appear to have anything to do with UFOS, but there were reasons this stuff happened to us. I believe the reasons are bigger than any one individual event, and the reasons are what tie it all together. I plan to write a lot about my "other" paranormal experiences and what I learn about this aspect of paranormal phenomena, as I hang out with and learn from Jason and Rachel and the other folks at M.R.I.P.A. MY website will be my personal thoughts, feelings, theories and experiences. The cool stuff we will, no doubt, uncover, as a group, will, I imagine, be available for you to view, at the M.R.I.P.A website. Rachel told me about a big investigation she is trying to work out the details for, coming up some time in the next few weeks, or months. I think I understood that I get to tag along and get some training at this investigation! I am so stoked! I hope they know what they are in for, right Jeanne, Forrest? They have no idea what a MAGNET I have been for this kind of activity my whole life! LOL! I guess maybe I should warn them to buckle their seat belts 'cause they are about to board the Debbie train and it's a wild ride! But then, again, after meeting Jason and Rachel, maybe I am the one who should be buckled in! ;-) LOL!

Seems like all this is starting to happen at a time in my life when I am (finally) ready for it. I TRIED to put all this on the back burner for many years. I said "no', so many times to the offers of speaking engagements and interviews, that they FINALLY started leaving me alone and I was happy about that! I lived in denial, as Jerry put it Saturday. Always trying to hide from it, and to hide who I am. I was working at a non profit, Christian organization for many years. Don't get me wrong, I loved it and I loved the people I worked with BUT.. this was NOT something they would have ever accepted and I really feared for my job. Not only did I love it but I REALLY needed the money! Now I am a tiny fish in a big pond and no one gives a shit about me or who I am or what I do. I just sit back in my little corner of the world and it's just me and the machines. They love me no matter what I do, as long as I keep feeding them parts.. :-) And my boss could care less what I choose to do in my spare time as long as I make tact and get her shipments built. To tell you the truth, it might not be a bad thing being know as the UFO/Ghost lady over there... The crazier they think I am the more they will likely leave me alone! LOL :-) My boys are grown and gone, moved out and into their own lives. They look at me like I am crazy most of the time but as long as I have a purse, they will keep coming over to visit.. hehe.. :-) (Actually I am really proud of both my boys. Each is doing their own thing and are productive members of society and I love them to death.) Both my parents are gone, now. My husband is retired and has time to take care of things around the house and to be my webmaster. And I have reached an age where, frankly, I don't give a jolly good shit what anyone thinks of me or my life or what I like to do OR what I believe. I wasn't put on this Earth to impress anyone and if they don't like what I do or who I am, they can kiss my big, fat, curvy ass. MUAW! :-X

I have had a crazy life and me thinks it's gonna get crazier. I have also managed, somehow, to live a relatively normal life for many years. Frankly, I like crazy better!

Stay tuned......