No Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

Last week, the Orange County online news service - www.ocregister.com - posted an image of the end of a rainbow. This rarely-seen sight was captured by one Jason Erdkamp, a resident of Lake Forest, as he was driving in northeast Orange County in Southern California. Unfortunately for Mr Erdkamp, there was no pot of gold lying on the highway.

There was a flurry of activity on the website following the post, with many questioning the validity of the image. Photoshop was discussed, prompting science writer/editor Gary Robbins to gather some professional opinions. He consulted with noted photographers, a graphic designer and meteorologists who all agreed the photograph had not been manipulated.

One witty reader on the website made the comment that the lack of a pot of shiny gold meant that the photograph actually depicted the beginning of the rainbow. This, of course, is a convenient excuse for those treacherous leprechauns.


by Max Drake
(Freelance writer and artist for GritFX.)

(Source: http://www.ocregister.com)

Aurora, Texas (1897)

On April 17th, 1897, in the town of Aurora, Texas, a cigar-shaped craft was supposedly seen in the sky. Shortly thereafter, the object crashed to earth, destroying the windmill on the farm of the local judge. A small humanoid occupant was reportedly ejected, and was buried that same day in the town cemetery.

Newspaper reports at the time described the incident with candour and sincerity. One local newspaper made mention of the peculiar metal that the craft seemed to be constructed from as well as maps and writings found which were a strange type of hieroglyphic. Indeed, reports at the time from all over the country appeared in various publications all describing similar craft seen in the sky prior to and after the Aurora crash.

In the 1970’s, the mystery of the crash gained some recognition in certain circles. Many began to investigate the incident, including author Jim Marrs and aviation writer Bill Case, the latter having followed the incident for many years. But details of the crash and the truth of the matter remained elusive. Local townspeople that were interviewed, who had been alive at the time of the crash, were divided on whether the story was factual or an elaborate hoax. Others knew the story, and many had made judgements on its authenticity based on hearsay of family members.

Yet there were some aspects of the mystery that defied conventional reasoning. Brawley and Etta Oates bought the judges’ farm in 1945, and Etta confessed to the fact that nothing grew for years in the spot were the craft allegedly crashed. They also suffered cysts and goiters – the cause of which, they were told, was from drinking the radioactive water out of the well near where the craft had struck the earth.

The grave where the ‘alien’ was said to have been buried did in fact exist. The grave was smaller than a normal man, and bore a strange headstone. Inscribed on the stone was a “V” lying on it’s side with three circles etched inside it, like portholes. Case, Marrs and others moved to have the body exhumed, but were stopped by the local council. A few days later, the headstone was stolen. Case told Marrs that he had scanned the grave with a metal detector some time before the exhumation request. He found three positions within the grave that showed metal to be present. After the request and the subsequent headstone theft, the metal was gone and Case showed Marrs three small holes in the earth where the metal had obviously been extracted. When Marrs asked Case who he thought had taken the metal, Case replied “The government.”

By Max Drake

(Read: “Alien Agenda” by Jim Marrs; and visit http://www.abovetopsecret.com