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| Elaine Douglass |
I first heard of Elaine in 2008 on an audio interview with Karyn Dolan. After hearing her talk, I simply looked up her number and called her. Later, while driving through Moab Utah, where she was living, I made it a point to visit her home. On our very first meeting she asked for my help in planting a tree in her yard. I also met, and played with, her new kitten, Pip. When we went into her house, she revealed that she had made me a cake (a lemon cake). This, at a time when I was terribly distressed at what might have been my own involvement with the phenomenon.
I met with her a few more times at her home in Utah, and we spoke on the phone often. Elaine was a very strong personality, and that’s a understatement. I can see how she could rub some folks the wrong way, especially the higher ups at MUFON. I liked her enormously. I am drawn to very intense people.
I posted an audio interview with Elaine (where she calls me Honey) back in October of 2013, just a little over three months ago. There was a side of me that was a it hesitant to do that interview, because her outlook on these subjects was so dark. There is a curious pressure within this UFO sandbox to share only the love & light vibe. Elaine was in top form during that talk, and I feel very strongly that her ideas need to be a part of the overall UFO debate.
Elaine and I spent a lot of hours on the phone, late at night, wrestling with the questions and challenges that emerged from her ongoing research. She was also extremely supportive when I shared my experiences. I loved that she spoke to me straight and bluntly. I will forever cherish her passionate forthright ways. I gained something enormously vital from her friendship.
HERE is a thoughtful set of memories from fellow blogger Lucretia Heart at her AT SPIRALS' END site.
Rest In Peace, Elaine
From Ron Regher:
Elaine Douglass, formerly MUFON Director for both the District of Columbia and the State of Utah passed today, January 27, from a recurring cancer. Services will be held in California at a time and place to be determined.
_____________________________________________________
22 comments:
Rest in Peace, Elaine. My condolences to you, Mike, and to all who know Elaine.
Thank you, Mike, for sharing Elaine with us.
Mike,
I too knew Elaine and, yes, a strong personality for sure! I always respected her, and came to like her very much. Many long conversations over the phone, and she was brilliant, always worth listening to. She did not suffer fools gladly--you had to be on your game to converse with her, but she was so worth it.
Also agree that her perspective must remain a part of the discussion. It's not all sweetness and light, and students of this phenomenon need to find out just where the truth lies.
Richard Dolan
My deepest condolences to you and her family and friends. I didn't know her or knew about her job, still it s hard when those we care the most departure to another reality. I wish you all peace and strength. May she rest in peace.
So nicely written, Mike! I smiled when I read Elaine baked you a lemon cake - that personal touch.
R.I.P. Elaine.
~ Susan
Mike - Still remember listening to your interview with Elaine! A great personality whose integrity was tremendous. Started listening to your interviews a year ago and so glad you introduce me to folks like Elaine. A lot of thoughts and questions were generated from that interview. Condolences and thanks - Chris
So sorry to hear of the passing of long time friend and colleague Elaine Douglas. Above all else, she was one of the kindest people i've known. Will never forget some of those strange meals she cooked up in her D.C. apartment ~ walking in to the smoke billowing kitchen where she literally "seared" hamburgers leaving a charred husk around a raw red center and then doused in red wine.
What a poetic coincidence that she moves on in the company of Pete Seeger who departed on the same day!
It is with great respect that i mourn and celebrate your enlightened contributions.
~ Fellow Researcher, BoB Oechsler
A very nice tribute, Mike. I always had a great deal of respect for Elaine. Regardless of whether she rubbed you right or wrong, she was quite passionate about her Truth. I met her in the early 1990s when she was living in Washington, DC. When she co-founded JAR (The Journal of Abduction-Encounter Research), I was, for a short time, an associate editor and contributor. Had many conversations with Elaine. In the early days I also thought a lot of her views were quite "dark," but now I'm not so sure, just from the things I have learned and encountered over the years.
May she rest in peace, and may she find the answers to the mysteries that fueled her passion.
I've only known Elaine recently over the past year or so via email. We shared some very intense dialogues - I respected her immensely. There was nothing off limits to her.
She was very open to varied thoughts & insights but totally her own in her views! She was ready on several occasions to take whips to the bastards behind the scenes in all their shapes, forms & personas.
At times I could feel the wind from her up stretched arm ready to flick a fly from the ear of a full galloping horse to make her point. And I know she could do that without the horse breaking stride!
She was a true delight to know - at times I'd bombard her with six, eight or ten emails of unrelated material - yet she would respond with zeal to each one with some truly unique perspectives. Some emails had so much commentary on them they looked like the Carlos Allende writings!
Wish I had known her longer in this life. She will most certainly be missed.
Elaine now knows all the secrets that had been hidden & the purpose behind those secrets. I know she is at Peace but still ready to give what for to those who struck John!
Frank Chille 1-29-2014
I first met Elaine over the telephone. Three hours later we had barely scratched the surface of our discussion. She was indeed a strong personality and had an extensive knowledge of the field. Nice tribute Mike, She will be missed.
It still seems like yesterday that I met Elaine - and I can't even remember where it was, back in the late 1o980's or early 90's. I ended up doing all the signs for "Operation Right to Know" and their protests in D.C. Elaine was an amazing motivator, and a trusted ear. She was, and still is, one of the most passionate people I ever met about this subject.
I wish her every good thing in the new life. She deserves it.
Jeff Ritzmann
I'll be writing my own tribute in my blog, At Spiral's End, soon. I will so miss our hours long talks by phone and her adamant advocacy for abductees and for facing the darker facts that so many run away from. She was right on it until the last few months of her life. I truly liked her and respected her and the world feels much more lonely without her around...
Just did an interview with Elaine on Dec. 10, She was a great person always seeking the truth. She will be missed by many. Her legacy was to wake the sheeple up to what is really going on. Rest in peace, Elaine.
BobbyK
Wow - my condolences to all Elaine's family and friends. I was not aware she had been sick until I heard the news today (1/31/14). My heart goes out to her and all who knew her.
I've known Elaine intermittently through MUFON and UFO abduction work for quite a few years. She has been a delight, a hard worker and a hard-nosed advocate.
We often disagreed on many aspects of UFOlogy, MUFON politics, etc. Yet in all of that, I always had total respect and admiration for who she was and what she did.
I remember her saying to me once, "Craig I really like you. You won't do a &$%# thing I want, but I really like you..."
It was quips like that that made her so delightfully endearing.
So long Elaine. You will be dearly missed.
Sincerely,
Craig R. Lang
I just learned that a friend of mine and many, Elaine Douglas, passed away on January 27th. I am also one who enjoyed a mostly long-distance friendship with Elaine through long, intense late night telephone conversations about the UFO and ET abduction phenomenon. For a time, I was also on the Board of JAR (Journal of Abduction Research) where we exchanged important articles and information; JAR was a huge passion for her. Elaine was incredibly intelligent, knowledgeable in the field, dedicated and aggressive about position on disclosure of the reality of UFOs and ET abduction of humans. She is a powerful voice that will be missed. RIP Elaine. -Nadine Lalich
I knew Elaine from her days way back in Washington DC when she was protesting in front of the White House for CAUS (Citizen's Against UFO Secrecy). At that time she became a burr in the saddle of the Fund for UFO Research, as the Executive Committee was divided as to whether she added to the meetings or just disrupted them. At Dr. Bruce Maccabee's annual May UFO events, Elaine would be the only one with the guts to stand up on a chair and shout to end Bruce's "free speech" after 2+ hrs. She would beg for mercy for Bruce to please yield the floor ... we gasped, but we were glad Bruce then wrapped it up. She was always very direct. She would smoke when hotel personnel would beg her not to. She would drive tacks into hotel meeting room walls when they asked her not to. I was at her DC condo good-bye party when she was preparing to head off to Moab Utah with Ron Regehr. Years later, she asked me to help edit the first issues of JAR (Journal of Abduction Research). I brainstormed with an artist friend to come up with the logo and art for the mag, and a project was born. My relationship with Elaine went south quickly, though. We had different ideas about how to proceed. I really wanted to edit and fact-check; Elaine, not so much. She just wanted to get it out there! She was very complex, nuanced and driven, but our conflicts were just as intense. Later Elaine continued her burr-under-the-saddle routine as self-appointed ombudsman for MUFON. Still, no one was more passionate that abductees needed to be heard if we are to understand anything about the phenomenon. For that, and for many memorable exchanges, I salute you Elaine. RIP.
Susan Swiatek wrote: " At Dr. Bruce Maccabee's annual May UFO events, Elaine would be the only one with the guts to stand up on a chair and shout to end Bruce's "free speech" after 2+ hrs. She would beg for mercy for Bruce to please yield the floor ... we gasped, but we were glad Bruce then wrapped it up. She was always very direct." - - -
OMG! I never would have pegged Bruce Maccabee for being so, well, rude! What would possess someone to yak away for over 2 hours straight and think people are enjoying it?!....Good for Elaine for getting him off the podium, but someone else (maybe a male) should have taken him aside and told him to step down.
~ Susan
I am saddened to hear of Elaine's passing because we have lost another remarkable being. She was a passionate, articulate, no-nonsense and active pursuant of truth; much more interested in people's experiences than opinions. She once asked me to write for the magazine she edited, 'JAR' but unfortunately I never did. I'll treasure her emails, her encouragement, and her inspiration.
Travel well Elaine.
I knew Elaine too. She was a nutjob who believe in aliens running amok.
I had not heard of Elaine until I found the podcast of your interview with her , Mike.
I listened to it today and came back to your site for more info only to find that the lady had passed not long ago. I wish her the greatest peace in her journey.
No doubt a smart woman; her kindliness occluded though by what others have called her 'strong personality' which didn't suffer fools gladly.
I found myself really wanting to know what had caused her pain. As I listened to her, I wondered if she'd had a horrid childhood or an abusive marriage - or was it her serious illness? I'm not expecting answers. But just observing that , for me, her anger and pain stood in the way of most of the opinions she was invited to give.
Elaine's position seems to have been that ET is very deceptively manipulative and rather evil. She had long experience as a MUFON researcher and in other areas. Unfortunately, I didn't hear very much in the way of details or facts, so I was not able to draw any conclusions on whether or not ET really is so heinously evil.
Personally, I have my own 'experiences' about which I have maintained my skepticism throughout life. Two things occur to me: one is that my experiences have been wholly benign and, secondly, to date my experience has sadly shown me that the human species is by far the most savage, cruel, deceitful and manipulative that I've encountered so far in 5+ decades on the planet - despite my lifelong project to want to see only the best in them.
It makes me wonder how much we project our own angst onto the 'ET phenomenon'.
Whatever, I truly hope Elaine has encountered only good, wherever she is now.
Sam.
Hi there, I am a friendly reader, I have followed Elaine for a long long time, I hope and I am sure she is in a better place, having shared only the good that was in her heart, I hop that her spiritual importation left on this planet, will be shared in the hereafter as well, God Bless you Elaine, I hope to see you in the hereafter......Randy Mason
Elaine really was a good person and helped people in ways no one will ever know. Her generosity and understanding exceeds what most will ever know. But having received it I do. This kindness now speaks Park. 20 years later, she as someone who had witnessed something unknown and was willing to selflessly help others who had as well. She did help many persons with her time and insight. Thank you Elaine I wish I could give you a big hug, honestly. - From the pizzeria at Woodley park.
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