šø UFO Night
[ca. 1980]
As a kid, I really enjoyed campingāindeed, I still do. But back then I'd camp out in the backyard quite frequently. This was just a regular urban house, mind you, with a 7400 sq ft (690 mĀ²) lot and a fenced backyard (at 909 Jewell Avenue, Yuba City, to be precise).
But camping out was always an adventure. Once the whole family had to do it when we got our house gassed for some kind of pest. But that was a different day.
One night, I was camping out with Dad. We'd lie awake looking for satellites, which were relatively rare back then. Not like now, where you can't turn your head without getting a Starlink in the eye. And you'd always wonder for a moment if you saw one or if it was a distant plane. You'd stare in concentration looking for any sign of blinking lights, and then watch the trackādid it speed up overhead as it got near, or did it keep the same unrelenting pace as it silently crossed the sky, 200 miles above?
I don't recall if we saw any satellites that night.
But we did see a plane. That wasn't uncommon, since we were very near the pattern for Sutter County Airport (O52). But this one was a jet, flying somewhat low. Out here, that was never a passenger jetāit was military.
Well east of us lay Beale Air Force Base, home to many well-known Cold War-era military aircraft, including the KC-135, the U-2, and the SR-71. But they had ample T-38s and other planes, as well.
(Beale was certainly a Soviet primary target. We knew which corner of the crawlspace to go for maximum protection in case of a nuclear blast. 0/5 stars; would not recommend.)
The jet cruised by, lights blinking, engines seemingly at a high idle, its low rumble rolling through the starry sky.
So... not a satellite. Back to the search!
About 20 seconds later, the jet (or another object with similar lights) went by at the same altitude in nearly the opposite direction at double the clip, and it made no sound. The absence of sound was, in fact, downright spooky. The unidentified object rapidly vanished behind our loquat tree.
Aliens? Stealth aircraft? A trick of the atmosphere? I guess until that gets unclassified, I'll never know.