The morning came too soon, although ‘sleeping in’ like I’d loved to do when not at one of my jobs in college, had gone the way of the dinosaurs, lost somewhere down at the bottom of the A Shau Valley. That the valley’s name was known by no one, so never brought up by me anywhere at any time except with Gularte, was beside the point. My eyes popped open at six or a bit earlier every day, rain or shine, dark or light but that was only if I’d slept at all during the night. Amazingly, the Christmas presents from the Western White House had played so wildly, through my mental process as I’d lain with my wife on the night before, that I’d escaped the necessity to check the flank security I didn’t have but had to usually get up and check anyway.
Galloways called me from a block away, not on the phone but through the ether between us. Lorraine made better coffee than either Mary or I, even though we had purchased a coffee maker at some considerable expense for us. Three days to Christmas but only two to the Eve. The tree was up and I was still hard put to get gifts that had real meaning for my wife and daughter. I’d found a Winnie the Pooh doll at Coronets, although it was twenty dollars which seemed way out of the ball part but would have to do. My wife was getting high heels, lingerie, and a swimsuit I’d picked out for her in Laguna Beach. When I’d told Gularte about the gifts, he’d laughed for quite some time.
James, Very few suggestions from me this time. I wish I could learn the backstory on how Mitchell acquired the artifact; but that may still be ‘closely held’ information.
Some minor editing suggestions follow:
it was twenty dollars which seemed way out of the ball part
“park” instead of “part”
it was twenty dollars which seemed way out of the ball park
she saw me and walked out to stand behind the county
“counter” instead of “country”
she saw me and walked out to stand behind the counter
paranoia was of a different kind than mine
“different from” is preferable to “different than”
paranoia was of a different kind from mine
The box wasn’t made of iron or even steel.
Earlier Mardian said the box was made of aluminum
“The aluminum container is specially built”
/so the entire bit about the chisel doesn’t fit if the outside of the box is aluminum. Else change the earlier aluminum reference./
without a golf ball’s little holes all over
“dimples” instead of “little holes”
without a golf ball’s dimples all over
Blessings & Be Well
Thanks a great deal, for the edit and for your wonderful return. You were definitely missed bu all of us, particularly me.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
Hey Lt! Awesome writing as always. I am not a golfer but I think those “holes” on the surface of the ball are referred to as “dimples” LOL! Carry on!
Damn…I kind of revealed that I’ve only ever been a miniature golfer, but still should have remembered what the indentations were and remain called.
Thanks for the compliment and putting it up on here.
Semper fi,
Jim
As far as being an alien object goes, why not? I believe in UFOs. Something I wouldn’t have admitted until about 30 years ago. My wife and I were sitting drinking coffee next to an outside fire when she asked me what were the three lights she was looking at moving across the sky. Since we lived near a Military Practice Area, I thought probably a jet formation. Then in less than a blink they went from a triangle formation to on line, stopped in mid-air, then a fading flash as they disappeared upward.
I know, long explanation. But if aliens are real, why not their objects. Hope to see more about yours, coming up soon. Thanks for the story.
Thanks Rick! This is a very sensitive area, since so many people bought the psyops program the government fielded to make
sure that anyone who even discussed the UFO phenomenon were ostracized from social contact. That’s not totally true anymore
but its still partially true. Nobody will confront someone with experiences in this area but they sure as hell may avoid them
and that’s a price that’s charged. Thanks for the great comment and support.
Semper fi,
Jim
Wow, I have always looked with great skepticism on any discussion of aliens & alien related conspiracies. This golf ball has turned that upside down & there is still a tape to go.
Phil, my own skepticism persisted, mostly because I always thought, and still partially think, that although the artifact proves and has proven to be of alien construct, it has been impossible to date it (so far as I know, but a lot o years have gone by of advancing technology) and therefore be able to say for certain that alien intellect and technology are with us today in the surrounding area of our solar system. I have never met an alien and have nobody in my life who could truly attest to any such contact. All I know for certain, at the bottom of my rather leaky credibility well, is that stuff from other civilizations exists on the planet, not that currently existing beings do. As you read more of my work, such as Book One of Down in the Valley, you will run across other stuff. Thanks for the great compliment and your expressing yourself on here. There’s risk in that too!
Semper fi,
Jim
‘Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive’
Scott got it right !
I am intriqued with the revelations abounding in the last two chapters !
How the depth of Gularte’s character escaped you while you were distracted with current events. How his evaluation of your relationship with God was so on point and creating a need for self examination. How Mary has the ability to watch and analyse your actions without comment or criticism and knows just when to provide an analysis. How Mitchell took a completely alternate track after his NASA mission from the world of physical science. And how JOE knew intuitively what you were getting connected with the moment you mentioned it… Tangled webs indeed!
Your adventures create moments of reflection for all of us. We wait wondering if we would have had the ability to act given the same situations. I really have been encouraged watching your spiritual relationship to mature for you, as it is the most personal relationship you can ever have. I know my dad would not enter a church after his WWII experiences,”how could a just God let things like that happen” . Then my mothers quiet relationship with her spirituality that never left her. In my dads later years he found peace with his spirituality and sent alot of donations to many organizations, I guess in pennance for his younger anger. He finally came to realize men have free will and it is rarely good! Mine is a work in progress, your writing helps tremendously!
There are apparantly many lives changed by this “artifact”. Have ours?
Our governments routinely lie to us and that is to be expected. I know much more is forthcoming but the ramifications go so much deeper, not unlike a certain laptop forgotten at a repair shop that has showcased both the deception and now probable criminal financial undertakings.
Seems the character of men rarely changes, a few are duty driven and strive toward the common good and there are those that act only in self interest. The bulk are blissfully unaware and flounder along in obscurity.
I surely hold you firmly in the duty driven catagory based on your personal motivations being for the common good, Mathew 5:9 comes to mind.
Wishing you the very best in this New Year!
Matthew 5-9 is all about trust. Trust in the Lord to risk not just being a peacemaker as we might define the word but a worker in making peace happen. That risk is inherent..and it is always risky truly serving what one might come to believe is the real meaning of that New Testament. The New Testament is a hard thing to truly comprehend and then follow.Thanks for your comments about extraterrestrial life. Thanks for your Dad’s data, in that I have never forgotten the Catholic Priest in Hawaii who stopped mid-way through my confession to tell me that he could no longer hear it, that I’d have to go directly to God. I eventually did. That young priest, who mightily pissed me off at the time, was right, as are so many things and people when time has allowed us the experience and that time for reflection. You write these comments like a master yourself and I am always amazed and sometimes stunned by the truth of what you write. Thanks for all the guys and gals that don’t write to say anything but they are there, reading you and me both, and hopefully gaining from the experience. God bless you, and I don’t use that phrase lightly, ever.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
In the back of my mind is a picture from way back on the Ed Sullvan, show with a performer on stage with long sticks and spinning plates atop them, never to drop one while making it look impossible. Sure seems like you have even more spinning plates than ever before now with the artifact in hand. And one more tape to listen too which may help make some sense of things, or not !
Glad your tests went well James, keep on keeping on, can’t wait !!
Semper Fi
Thanks for the great compliment and that Ed Sullivan anecdotal story. I hope all this makes sense,
at least one day in the future if not in the very next chapter.
Semper fi,
Jim
New people stranger than the others. Extreme secrecy is involved by all. Looks like things are getting out of had. Listen to that last tape quickly LT
Thanks for the compliment of wanting more faster Don. I am hard at it.
Semper fi,
Jim
Possibly your most complex chapter…trying to put some order into the transition! Crazy time! I think Marine Corps, SoCal, Western Whitehouse, PTSD, young family, Insurance Nixon, CIA, Artifact etc, etc
Interesting response from you Colonel, as usual. Yes, there was a helluva lot of stuff going on back then,
and my current life is a bit filled with some of that today! Thanks for the comment and compliment of your writing it on this site.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
twenty dollars which seemed way out of the ball part but would have to do.
*ball park
It looked like a metallic golf ball, only a bit larger and without a golf ball’s little holes all over. It
*little holes, little dimples
Enjoy the New Year.
Thanks a lot for the help here, Don.
Semper fi,
Jim
Very happy your cardiac tests went well! Seems as we age all these appointments and tests lead to more appointments and tests! The story has more and more tentacles as we go deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole! Im amazed that you keep all these balls in the air as we weave our way through this fantastic story! Great stuff my friend! Thanks again for sharing your story and Semper Fi James!
Jack, definitely agree with you about the health stuff. In spite of all we hear when we are younger about the health problems brought on by aging, we don’t really seem to ‘get it’ until we are older and having those problems we barely grasped when younger. Thanks for the compliment and the writing on here, of course.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
You know exactly how to keep us in suspense. My mind is in a jumble lining all this info up to an understandable sense. You had to be shaking in your boots that day with the flurry of events that had occurred in such a short time span, Whew!!! Keep it coming Lt, Semper fi sir
Bob, I had the A Shau behind me and my reflections and reactions to fear were different when I came home.
I was not braver but I was much more inured to the paralyzing effects of terror.
Stay busy, confront the enemy, retreat when possible…but never ever forget as you always forgive.
Thanks for the depth of your comment and the frequency with which you do.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim, I’m sorry that it seems to have taken your time in the A Shau to make you “much more inured to the paralyzing effects of terror.” I think most folks could use some level of this skill – a skill I can see some benefits to individuals & society as a whole. I can see where you have used this skill thru the current time line, as if it is becoming more of an added ‘innate’ part of you. Additionally, I get the feeling that this skill kept you in good stead throughout your future positions, up to the current day. But the price –. Pros & Cons I think. Regards, Doug
Pretty soon I will have to title you “THE DOUG DANKO,” if you keep on writing on here with this kind of frequency.
I found an old picture of Butch that I thought I’d send, taken some time back in the eighties I think. Just a part of the story. Wish he was still around to comment on what I’ve had to say about him, because he would never have anything to do with me or anyone else complimenting him. Just the way he was. Reminds me of someone. Thanks for what your write and the frequency of it. Not everyone does, especially as we ease into more controversial subjects nobody much talks about. NYTimes just ran a story yesterday about the latest government meeting on the subject. Secret, of course, with the secrecy secret too. If it wasn’t a real thing they don’t realize then there would be no need for secrecy…but they aren’t that bright, for the most part.
Semper fi, and thanks so much.
Jim
Jim, If you do “title” me, don’t use all Caps – It wastes ink. Reference the picture of Butch – SEND IT! Oh, I mean ‘Send it!’. Later, Doug
Doug, Here it the picture of Butch
![Butch](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
![Butch](https://jamesstrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/0-1-e1705431500514.jpeg)
Here’s the promised photo, finally. Chuck had to manipulate and send it.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim, Good picture of Butch. Thanks, Doug
Thanks for that great comment, as I am getting used to writing back to you. I get quite a few comments, although not nearly as
many as I used to get when 30 Days was an ongoing serial work, which is okay. Hundreds of comments a week can be right at the edge
of not being able to reply to simply because of time. I write extremely fast but still, life comes at me too and my time for
creative writing gets jammed into a corner now and then. Extensively deep and intellectual, as well as personally revealing more derives your work here than ‘tome.’ Just for the record. Thank you!!!!
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks for that great comment, as I am getting used to writing back to you. I get quite a few comments, although not nearly as
many as I used to get when 30 Days was an ongoing serial work, which is okay. Hundreds of comments a week can be right at the edge
of not being able to reply to simply because of time. I write extremely fast but still, life comes at me too and my time for
creative writing gets jammed into a corner now and then. Extensively deep and intellectual, as well as personally revealing more derives your work here than ‘tome.’ Just for the record. Thank you!!!!
Semper fi,
Jim
P.S. I copied and pasted this comment to put it with the correct comment you made instead of the wrong one!
Jim, I think “controversial subjects” have been around since, well, forever & I think will be around for, well, forever. History repeats itself. “Oh, we’ll never do that again. Thousands, millions of people got sick/died/etc. Never again!”. That works for a while. Then ‘those people’ get old & die off. We forget. (Hell, sometimes/often we don’t even wait for them to get ‘old & die off’ before ‘we forget’.) And we do it again. History proves this out. Not sure humans can stop this cycle. But as long as we continue to try – That is good.
Some, more likely at lot of folks, in their hearts/soul, are well aware of “controversial subjects”, but do their best to put them aside – “They’re too big. I can’t save the world! What can I do? If I try, I & my family will be targeted.” Some, more likely at lot of folks, do small things, they do their best – That is good. (Off track here.) I think most folks who read just want to escape, be entertained for a while, etc. Even if just “eased into more controversial subjects nobody much talks about.”, their reaction is one of “No thanks. Not what I came for.”. Can be risky for an author/writer. Don’t stop. Just sayin’. Ref UFOs +,“If it wasn’t a real thing they don’t realize then there would be no need for secrecy …” — I don’t think govts believe they have any other choice. I mean, what if the US came out with “UFOs are real. Aliens from outside our solar system, galaxy, from a really deep cave beneath Cleveland, etc are real & have visited/are visiting the earth. Here’s the proof.” Effects?
Well, first off, 3 main religions (Christians, Muslims & Jews => About 55% of the world’s population.) would go nuts – “God created the earth & the heavens, all creatures, mankind! The Bible, Torah, and Quran – They don’t say n’uff about any Little Green Men. You want me to believe that God repeated Genesis in other solar systems? Galaxies? The universe? No f___’in way! We’re it baby. No matter what Star Trek says!” Any other effects would pale to the first one.
I imagine that folks in all the other religions would be like “Lucy, you’ve got some ‘splaining to do!” (Though, apparently Ricky never said that exact line in the show. Who knew?) Ummm – Sorry for another tome. Regards, Doug
No need to apologize, my friend, as I read all of your writing with great interest. Sometimes you make me
feel like I’m doing the writing work of Cicero or maybe the Bible, where you can simply open the book and then
conduct your day according to what vignette you might find on a page. Mentally ill people used to do that with
rock and roll lyrics played on the radio as they rode along in their cars, until understandable music lyrics disappeared
from the musical scene. Amazingly enough, and supposedly, that didn’t work to bad for them! Thanks for going into
the work as deeply as you do and then thinking and writing about it. No greater compliment to a writer, at least to
one of those popular but truly ‘unknown’ authors like me. The good news is that by not being famous I have the time
to be able to evaluate in depth the communications I get about my work and then comment in some detail myself. As I am
doing right now. Thanks does not really describe what I feel…but there it is…
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
Jim, After re-reading your reply to Bob, something else grabbed my attention – “never ever forget as you always forgive.” No tome, but – It reminded me of a certain prayer calling for the last half – “always forgive”. Led me to reread a section of a religious paperback from 1975 I got from my Mom. The reading led me to think about some other things/needed actions – Having nothing to do with your comment – Thanks for another of those ‘unintended consequences’ of your ‘writings’. Then again, maybe not so ‘unintended’. I’ve read other authors/writers who’ve included .. ‘things’ (No – I don’t remember who they were, but they too were good e’nuff for me to want to continue reading. And Yes – I’m sure there is a better word than ‘things’, but it escapes me right now. It will come to me later, like Thurs or Fri. Maybe not.) … who’ve included ‘things’, intentionally or not, that folks will read, their brain Hamster Wheel will stop, the Hamster will turn, crook his little head to one side, look them in the eye & say “Read it again dumbarse.”. They will & realize they should think on it a bit. Just sayin’. Though still wondering where your above “always forgive” came from. (Hmm – guess so much for my “No tome”. Regards, Doug
I would swear that I responded to this comment before but what the hell. I much enjoy the fact that you take the time, considerable thought and trouble to both read and comment on the writing.
Thank you.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim,
Getting one step closer to the long anticipated, the big ‘holy crap’ reveal. Will we read what it was in the NEXT chapter? Once we do, can we really comprehend?
Why must life have so many twists and turns that get in the way and keep us from our intended agenda and time schedule?
Will the Christmas presents you will give to your wife soothe her anger and compensate for your sins of omission regarding her?
With all that was going on back then in your life, I do not understand why you were not totally paranoid and constantly looking over your shoulder.
Thanks so much for having this chapter up.
I always look in anticipation for the birth of a new chapter, and the new adventure it may take me on.
For what it’s worth, in my efforts to (poorly) try to fill Dan C’s volunteer editing job, I do not recall seeing any misspellings or typos.
Wishing you and your wife a wonderful 2024.
THE WALTER DUKE. Note that nobody else gets those capitals, even though we’ve never met, nor are likely to. You always thank me for
my posts on here and I always find that surprising…and it also puts you in rare company. Redemption is required of me, just as Paul
so long ago determined in giving me a way to stay on the planet for everyone, including me and not just for my wife, daughter, cat and Mrs. Beasley.
It’s alway a pleasure to watch how you mind flows and eddies its way through a comment. You are your very own, but not really. You are all of ours
on here and its a pleasure to have you as more than a distant electronic friend.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
This chapter made me focus on that object in the box. Could it be real? What we know about the government lying to the public makes me want to believe it is real. Again I am looking forward to the next chapter. Keep up the great work!
Oh, it was real all right Daniel…at the risk of losing all credibility.
But there it was, not a comfortable object to discuss or especially to possess.
Thanks for the compliment and writing about stuff on here.
Semper fi,
Jim
Interstellar golf ball?!
Fascinating-can’t wait for the next chapter.
Interstellar golf ball…I love that!
Thanks for the compliment and the originality.
Semper fi,
Jim
Just when I think the plot can’t get any more bizarre, or convoluted, you throw a left-hand spanner into the clock works! (And how’s that for mixed metaphors?)
Alien elements nestled in straw, Lorraine about to be re-po’d, Julie kind of ticked off, you wondering about the CIA job, life as an insurance agent, ad infinitum.
I do know through deduction, that all works out in the end. After all, you are still with us.
Came through the neck surgery last week in fair shape. Have to wear this cervical collar for 6 weeks, can hardly talk, and now will make airport scanners beep. But – alive and will recover.
Semper Fi, favorite author!
I, and others, have been waiting to hear. I am celebrating your continued existence on the planet, and I see from your writing that you apparently have not lost your ‘pluck.’ That’s great news. I am so happy that my writing has something to do with your recovery in the tiniest way. There’s a lot of reality in my work, although I’m not sure of how much many people find interesting. Thanks for the usual plethora of compliments and letting me know that you have made it through the toughest part of your ‘adventure.’ Thanks be to God.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim