45 minutes? Or was it only 6 ?

[Frank]

John Burroughs: “Yes I have said I did not see Jim spend 45 min around the craft taking notes and pictures when I was asked. I said that because I didn’t and I can understand why that may be hard for people to understand!”

When you think about it, 45 minutes is a very long time…
Look at his notebook .. 45 minutes just for these 7 pages of notes scribbled in a hurry and possibly some photo’s snapped one after the other ..? Not even being able to determine if a landing gear was present or not? Not likely.


In the Omni interview Jim says: “I also memorized what was in front of me for what seemed like hours, but was in fact only minutes.”

Well, if you take his detailed account in the Omni interview and time it, it appears that 6-7 minutes is enough for the whole investigation he describes.


Jim’s story from Omni magazine, with timed parts of his investigation:

--- Approaching the craft together with John, John left some distance behind ---

"We entered the tree line and moved in about 20 more meters. There was an object sitting in a clearing. It was emitting mostly white light at that point, very bright. Both Burroughs and I had to squint when we looked at it. I found it very strange that there was no sound coming from the object, but the animals around us were in a frenzy. We had wildlife running by us, and lots of birds. Outside that noise, however, there was no other. That was when I decided to have Burroughs stay there as a radio link. He did not seem calm. He didn't acknowledge what I was saying, but I thought he understood. I was more concerned at that moment with what was going on in front of me.”

John Burroughs:
“Jim was the closest to whatever it was”
“I never saw Jim examining the craft so I have no idea how close I was”

-------- Start of investigation --------

Part I: Jim walks up to the craft, taking notes: 15 seconds per page x 5 pages, plus 45 seconds walking up to the craft = 120 seconds :

"As I continued on into the woods, I started seeing the outline of the object itself. The lights that had just been a blur from 300 meters away were now definite, distinct colors -- light blue, yellow, and red -- and they were pulsating. Looking at the silhouette of the object, I realized it was not a conventional aircraft, meaning that it was not one that was already published in Jane's All the World's Aircraft. It was no aircraft I had ever seen, and it wasn't one that I knew any prototype of. I had my notebook and camera while I was out there, so I began taking notes. (…) As I was taking notes, I also memorized what was in front of me for what seemed like hours, but was in fact only minutes.”

Part II: Taking photo’s: 4 seconds per photo x 36 photo’s (max) = 150 seconds :

“Finally, I unleashed my camera-case cover and brought the camera up to focus. The air was electric. It made my hair and skin feel as if I were surrounded by static electricity or some type of energy. I began snapping photo after photo. It was still eerily quiet.”

Part III: Moving closer and walking around it = 60 seconds :

"I got to within 10 feet of the craft and the clearing where it sat. I estimated it to be about three meters tall and about three meters wide at the base. No landing gear was apparent, but it seemed like she was on fixed legs. I moved a little closer. I had already taken all 36 pictures on my roll of film. I walked around the craft, and finally, I walked right up to the craft. I noticed the fabric of the shell was more like a smooth, opaque, black glass. The bluish lights went from black to gray to blue. I was pretty much confused at that point. I kept trying to put this in some kind of frame of reference, trying to find some logical explanation as to what this was and what was going on. It was dead silent. No animals were even making noise anymore.”

Part IV: Recording 6 symbols x 9 seconds per symbol, touching symbols (6 s) = 60 seconds :

"On the smooth exterior shell there was writing of some kind, but I couldn't quite distinguish it, so I moved up to it. It was three-inch lettering, rather symbols that stretched for the length of two feet, maybe a little more. I touched the symbols, and I could feel the shapes as if they were inscribed or etched or engraved, like a diamond cut on glass.”

-------- End of investigation, total time: 390 seconds = 6 minutes and 30 seconds --------

"At that point, I backed away from the craft, because the light was starting to get brighter. Still, there was no sound. There was no physical contact with any kind of life form, but there did seem to be a life presence. It was mechanical, this ship, and it seemed to be under intelligent control.
The next thing I knew, I was standing about 20 feet away from the craft with Burroughs, who I thought I had left back near the tree line. The craft moved up off the ground, about three feet, still with absolutely no sound. It started to move slowly, weaving back through the trees at a very slow pace, maybe a half a foot per second. It took about a couple of minutes for it to maneuver itself back to a distance of about 100 to 150 feet, then it rose up just over the trees, about 200 feet high. There was a momentary pause -- and then literally with the blink of an eye it was gone. All with no sound. That still boggles my mind.”


To give an impression of 6 minutes and 30 seconds:




If it was just 6-7 minutes, where do the 45 minutes come from?
We can only guess, of course..
- Jim’s hypnotic regression which made the encounter appear much longer?
- Jim’s watch being 45 minutes behind after the encounter – interpreted as 45 minutes of ‘missing time’?
- Top secret military information that simple souls like us have no access to?
- An exaggeration to draw attention from the USAF, other witnesses, the press?
- Did Jim mean 45 minutes from the moment Steffens saw it land?

But no matter where it came from, what remains from his investigation (his notebook and possibly some photo’s) can be produced in only 6-7 minutes while a 45 minute investigation would yield much more detailed information (for instance about the landing gear, or a more accurate recording if the symbols).


If it really was 6-7 minutes, was John with him all this time ..?

John Burroughs:
“Jim was the closest to whatever it was”
“I never saw Jim examining the craft so I have no idea how close I was”
“I would have no idea how long it took for Jim to examine the craft”

Jim Penniston:
” He did not seem calm. He didn't acknowledge what I was saying, but I thought he understood.”

Hmm.. yes, that seems possible ..

[IanR]

For what it's worth, Silvertop posted a link to a video containing John's original hypnosis session describing the 'encounter' sequence, which he previously wouldn't tell us the details of:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=848#p7952

Despite ST's offer to have a civil debate about hypnosis, there has been no discussion of this at all on the site. Is everyone just too embarrassed?

Ian

[Frank]

Yes, I've seen John's hypnotic regression, but the accuracy of these kind of 'memories' is a bit controversial so it will probably lead to endless discussion.

That is why I took the notebook as a more accurate "memory" of what happened, and if you look at the amount of pages and the quality of the information in there it leads to two conclusions:
1. Jim did inspect a weird craft with strange markings and a lift-off that was "impossible" - the craft that is also mentioned in Halt's memo.
2. His inspection was much shorter than 45 minutes, 6-7 minutes is more than enough time to produce the notebook and some photo's (if the photo's were taken at all - maybe that only came out under regression hypnosis). A 45 minute inspection would have produced much more, and more detailed information.

So again, the notebook is the crucial element in the case ..