Roswell: Ufology’s Albatross
Copyright 2017, InterAmerica, Inc.
So, I read, at the Anomalist, that Greg Bishop did one of his Radio
Misterioso round tables (with cronies) about Roswell from the recent Roswell
anniversary gathering.
Let me say that Roswell is the allegorical equivalent of
Samuel Talor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Here are a few
excerpts that coincide with the drudge that is Roswell:
"At length did cross an Albatross,
Thorough the fog it came;
...
We hailed it in God's name.
It ate the food it ne'er had eat,
And round and round it flew.
The ice did split with a thunder-fit;
The helmsman steered us through!
And a good south wind sprung up behind;
The Albatross did follow,
And every day, for food or play,
Came to the mariner's hollo!
...
And some in dreams assurèd were
Of the Spirit that plagued us so;
Nine fathom deep he had followed us
From the land of mist and snow.
'God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!—
Why look'st thou so?'—With my cross-bow
I shot the ALBATROSS.
...
And every tongue, through utter drought,
Was withered at the root;
We could not speak, no more than if
We had been choked with soot.
Ah! well a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.
...
The Mariner, whose eye is bright,
Whose beard with age is hoar,
Is gone ...
He went like one that hath been stunned,
And is of sense forlorn:
A sadder and a wiser man ..."
So you can see that Mr. Bishop and his pals may be likened
to the crew aboard the ship of this great poem.
A summary of what the poem is about can be found at Wikipedia:
Roswell is the albatross that staid, boring ufologists and
UFO buffs keep resurrecting to kill with vapid and stupid, redundant podcasts
and blog entries (me among them).
But if you get the message of Coleridge’s great work, you
know that Roswell, like the albatross therein, is a soul killer and offers doom
for those who keep striking at it.
RR
posted by RRRGroup at
Thursday, July 27, 2017
4 Comments:
I'd say that it's more like Moby Dick and Captain Ahab. Of course, there is a very easy way to avoid falling into this trap. As I always tell people, don't get obsessed by such things as Roswell. Or, indeed, anything paranormal.
For example, I would never, ever let Roswell (or Bigfoot, MIB stories, etc etc etc) get in the way of a soccer game, a night with friends down the pub, seeing a band, or taking a girlfriend out, etc.
The danger in all this (the albatross angle, the Ahab-like obsession etc) is that it can affect lives considerably (and miserably), unless of course there is balance in life.. No balance means going nuts. Unfortunately, in some cases that has clearly happened.
By
Nick Redfern, at Thursday, July 27, 2017
I know you place UFOs and your paranormal interests in perspective, Nick.
That some don't, as you note, is a sad commentary on what the fringe does to some of us.
It's an addiction akin to opiates, something that Coleridge indulged but to artistic ends.
RR
By
RRRGroup, at Thursday, July 27, 2017
I thought an albatross was '3 under par' for a hole at golf. A rarity indeed, like Roswell!
By
cda, at Friday, July 28, 2017
Hahaha CDA.
You're too droll lately. Brexit getting to you?
RR
By
RRRGroup, at Friday, July 28, 2017
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