Flying saucers

[billydkid]

Several years ago I spent some time in the hospital for spinal surgery. In the bed next to me was an elderly gentleman who had had a moderately serious stroke - slurred speech and partial paralysis on one side, nothing he wouldn't recover to a large extent from. It was very irritating because the guy did nothing but complain and whine all day. I can appreciate his frustration, but good god, enough is enough and I was in agony myself.

At any rate, one afternoon his granddaughter came in to visit him and he did his usual routine about his life being over and he is useless now and so on. Turns out the guy was formerly a NY State Trooper and he began to tell his granddaughter state trooper stories. He was a trooper in rural upstate NY and his beat was the boondocks. Then he told his granddaughter about driving out to where the highlines ran at night and he said that several times he had seen alien spacecraft come and and hover above the highlines sucking up energy and then leave. My impression was that he was sharing this experience with someone for the first time and he wanted someone to know in case he kicked the bucket.

Now, I don't really know what to make of this. Certainly I don't believe that aliens were sucking energy out of the highlines, but I also don't think the guy was just making up stories. I suppose he could have halucinated having been a trooper again and driving out to the highlines and seeing aliens ships. Or maybe it was something he invented in his mind over the years and it eventually became a memory. If I remember correctly he sort of suggested that the police and the government are privy to information that is not shared with the general public - that all the troopers knew there were aliens visiting us. I guess he was just a whacky old guy, but it was a curious experience and something that stuck with me.

 

[Batman Jr.]

This sounds exactly like ball lightning. One of their characteristics is a tendency to ride along power lines. I'd have to say I'm almost 100% positive on this case.

 

[FFed]

I don't see why they would need to suck up energy. What would they be sucking up? Swamp gas?

 

[Sloe_Bohemian]

*snip* I suppose he could have halucinated having been a trooper again and driving out to the highlines and seeing aliens ships. Or maybe it was something he invented in his mind over the years and it eventually became a memory. If I remember correctly he sort of suggested that the police and the government are privy to information that is not shared with the general public - that all the troopers knew there were aliens visiting us. I guess he was just a whacky old guy, but it was a curious experience and something that stuck with me.

I think you're on to the right answers.

A lot of evenings spent driving in the woods may have included a lot of boredom. And if he thought about aliens and other 'worldly' topics on a regular basis... over many years his memories of being out in the woods with his highbeams on and thinking of aliens could become a vivid memory itself. He wouldn't even need to have experienced anything unusual to create this memory... memory is highly malleable.

But if that sounds like I'm making him sound crazier than necessary... Batman Jr. had a dead-on phenomenon that sounds very plausible.

 

[Soapy Sam]

Corona discharge round damaged insulators?

If the energy drain was large - and it would have to exceed at least, the energy required to keep the saucer hovering- (you wonder why they didn't land and do it from the ground)-
I would expect even the dumbest power company engineer to notice the energy drain and investigate.

 

[joesixpack]

I would expect even the dumbest power company engineer to notice the energy drain and investigate.

Well that just proves that the power companies are part of the conspiracy.