COLLECTOR OF DATA

Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with merely numerically adding to my stores. Other times I have joys, when unexpectedly coming upon an outrageous story that may not be altogether a lie, or upon a macabre little thing that may make some reviewer of my more or less good works mad. But always there is present a feeling of unexplained relations of events that I note, and it is this far-away, haunting, or often taunt ing, awareness, or suspicion, that keeps me piling on. ~ (Charles Fort, Wild Talents)

I’ve always been fond of this quote. It resonates with why, and what, I’m doing around here. (Or, what I think I’m doing.) I think a lot of UFO writers, bloggers, etc. can relate to this quote.

It’s a nice bit of synchronicity, finding this quote. Trying to tune out Mr. Bush’s speech on MSNBC, yet perversely unable to turn it off; I was idly doing a search for UFO and Fortean quotes. (on my new laptop! yeah for me,) and came across the above quote.

Aside from ignoring/not ignoring Mr. Bush (notice the blue tie he was wearing? It’s all just to lull us more and more into the apathetic acceptance of continued slaughter. . . ) I was wondering what to do with an article I’ve been working on. It’s not an article yet, it’s just a nudging idea right now.

Years ago, I started to collect items about animals. I don’t know why; I just know I found the strange behavior of animals, from the family pet to animals in the urban wild and elsewhere, fascinating. This included odd and unexpected actions of known, mundane animals to OOP (Out of Place) animals. I had no idea what to do with these news clippings and articles, but I kept a huge file. In college, studying folklore, I thought I could do something with this, but never came up with anything substantial. (There was one thing actually, which was going to be my thesis/final project, but “dueling professors’ got to me, and that was that. Two years of grad school and nothing to show for it. Except I really dig folklore. Now it’s working its way to a book.)

I put those aside awhile ago, not sure if I still have those. But like most of us Fortean sloggers, I can’t help myself, and notice these kinds of items all the time.

The past few days, it seems to be calling me again. Maybe this time I’ll do something with it, once I get inspired.