April 2020 Blues Vol 36 No 4

WORDS & PHOTOS BY W.D. FORD,
RETIRED TROOPER, NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE
highway. For the
next few hours there
must have been over
a hundred trucks,
Jeeps, flatbed trucks
and helicopters
head up the ranch
road. Bill and I didn’t
quite know what to
say. We just sat and
watched all them
men come and go for
hours.
I walked into the
Highway Patrol office
the next morning and
the place was crawling
with reporters
and news people.
The Sgt. grabbed me
by the arm as soon
as I walked through
the door and dragged
me into his office.
“Have you seen the
paper?” he asked. “They say a
weather balloon crashed out in
the dessert. Did you see that?”
“I can tell you that wasn’t no
weather balloon, it was a damn
space craft.” “What the hell you
talkin about Buddy, what the
hell went on here last night?
I got the damn governor calling
me wanting an explanation.
News people are crawling all
up my ass with people saying
a damn flying saucer thing
crashed out in the desert and
there are dead aliens from Mars
or some such shit dead up there.
What the hell happened?”
So, I told him what Bill and I
saw.
“What did he say when you
told him Grandpa?”
Hell, he asked me if I was
drunk on duty?
But once he talked to Bill and
he told the same story, he made
My grandson showed me a copy the Fosters. I said, “Bill, did them that time Bill and I realized what
of this magazine on his fancy notepad
Air Force fly boys crash another was going on. We had come upon
thingy. He said “grandpa you plane out yonder on ya’lls ranch?” a something or someone that sure-
should write about the time you He said, ‘” saw that too, but I ly wasn’t from Earth. Now I know
found that crashed spaceship out in don’t know what it was.” So, Bill you’re thinking ‘Grandpa were you
New Mexico.”
jumped on in the cruiser and we and Bill drinking that night?” Naw
“Ah sonny ain’t nobody gonna headed up that ole dusty road sir. We were as sober as your Aunt
care about what happened 73 years about 5 miles or so from the Betty in church on Sunday.
ago out in the desert. Besides I ain’t highway, and there up on the hill But anyway, as we were trying
no good as writin nothin noways.” we seen something a burning. The to see what we could do for that
Tell me the story Grandpa, I’ll closer we got to it we noticed it man, or whatever it was, I looked
us wait until someone from the things happen in my life both
write it down.
wasn’t the kinda fire you regularly up and there was a dozen of them
governor’s office came to talk good and bad. But I’m almost 93,
Well sonny alright. It was my first see from a plane crash – it was Army base trucks and Jeeps coming
to us. A couple of hours later a and to this day I’ve never seen
night on highway duties by myself. all blue and green kinda flame.
up the ranch road. As soon as
bunch of government men all or heard anything about aliens
It was June nineteen and a forty-seven.
There really wasn’t that much they pulled up, there were soldiers
dressed in suits and ties come coming back here. But I tell you
I remember cause I was a fire, but a lot of debris scatted all all over the place carrying rifles
walking in and sat us down in one thing. If they do come back
drivin’ a spakin’ new ’47 Ford, and it over the place. But when we got to and shotguns yelling for us to get
the office. The one man who and them g’men don’t cover it
was hotter in hell in that thing. the what was left of the plane, Bill away. Now I might have been a
seemed to be in charge, ask me up, heaven help you and your
Anyhow, I was driving out on said, “What is God’s name is that? rookie law man, but I was smart
if I had written a report on what sister. Cause from what I’m
Route 8, about 30 miles northwest
I’ve never seen anything like that.” enough to know when a man is
I’d seen and I said, “Yes sir, I got seeing on the TV set with this
of Roswell when I saw what I Having been raised in this part outgunned, and we were out-
it right here.” I handed it to him, here beer virus or whatever it
thought was some kind of airplane of New Mexico you see a lot of gunned for sure. So, we got up and
and he went right ahead and is. If people gonna grab all the
flying low across the sky, and it planes being tested for the Army backed away and watched them
ripped it to pieces.”
food and toilet paper up over
looked like it was on fire. Now back and some are kinda strange, but I guys grab that feller and load him
He looked at me and Bill and something they can’t even see….
then the military was always flying had never seen a round one before.
up in the back of a truck.
said, “Gentlemen what you saw what in God’s name are they
experimental this or that and them
The Soldier doing all the talking
last night was a crashed weath-
gonna do if a damn outer space
crashing was a regular thing. But Bill and I got out and ran up to and shouting commands, walked
er balloon. There weren’t no guy shows up on main street.
some reason I paid more attention the what we assumed was the up to Bill and I and said, “Officer
green men, no aliens or Martians.
Or maybe they already here and
to this plane cause it was flying all front of the plane and found a we got this from here. Take this
Just a dummy we loaded just ain’t no body saying for just
crazy around the sky before I seen huge gaping hole in the side of man and go back up to the highway
up into that weather balloon. that reason. People are crazy
it go out of sight near the old Foster
that whatever the hell it was. And
and make sure nobody comes
So, forget everything you hear. son, they crazzzzyyy. Now get
ranch.
just outside that hole was some-
down this road. Now get on down
Forget everything you saw. Do on up outta here it’s time for my
I headed that way and no sooner thing and it was hurt bad. The there…. this is our mess and we
you understand?” Bill and I got nap.
than I turned on to the old ranch closer we got…we’ll let’s just say got to clean it up.”
up out of there and never talked If your grampa has a story
road, I met up with my old friend neither one of us could tell what So, with that we got back in the
about that day again.
about aliens or earthlings, send
Bill Brazel, who was a foreman for it was. I guess it was right about cruiser and headed back up to the
Sonny there’s been a lot of it to: bluespdmag@gmail.com.
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