Jerome E. Hass and his wife Joan (Jo) Hass of Route 34B in
Lansing has been a longtime friend of our family, starting way back
when he and his family moved from Dryden to a short mile away from
us, which in Lansing makes them nearby neighbors. One of our first
memorable moments occurred when he roared into our driveway shouting
that he had seen Canada goose (geese?) hunters who had downed at
least two geese and didn't pick them up. By then the daylight had
turned to dusk. He asked if I would like a goose, and trying to be a
good neighbor, I told him that I would be delighted to cook the
supposedly downed goose and was grateful for his kindness.
So ol' Jerry hopped into his wee blue mini station wagon and
proceeded to drive down the recently chopped corn field across from
our home on Fenner Road, whacking each and every stubborn corn stalk
along the way and causing his mini vehicle to bump and thump,
headlights scattering brightly to the north, searching relentlessly
for the geese. He never did find any sign of the downed birds and
returned to our home, exhausted from his efforts. I am sharing this
experience to set the stage for yet another incident with you, my
faithful readers.
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On Monday morning of this
week, I was at the Hass House when Jerry told me that he had had an
amazing experience the previous night. We decided that it would be a
most worthwhile public service bulletin for the readers of The
Ithaca Journal who too may encounter such a happening. His exact
story, word for word, is as follows: “My first encounter with a
UFO occurred more than 50 years ago, while lying in the grass next
to a Minnesota lake, watching the stars come out. I spotted a white
object moving rapidly across the sky and pointed it out to my (geek)
friend who told me it was a satellite. While I have since enjoyed
spotting many satellites just as dark appears, last night was
something completely different.
“I was taking my customary (when the weather permits) nightly
walk up highway 34B when I spotted an orange light floating above
me. Heavy clouds provided a dark background that made it difficult
to judge its size or distance. It landed in a muddy field next to
the road. I quickly returned home, grabbed my new crank-powered LED
flashlight (with radio), put on my mud-boots, and told my wife I was
going to explore a UFO, to which she replied ‘Uh-huh,' with eyes and
ears glued to a new episode of ‘Desperate Housewives.' I jumped in
my pickup and headed up the road, parking as close to the faintly
glowing object as possible. Practicing my D-E-C-C-G** (in case I had
to communicate) and cranking fiercely, I slogged across the muddy
field. The glow was emanating from what appeared to be a glow-stick,
tied to a stout string, which was draped across a shallow depression
in which water was flowing. At my feet was a small container (about
6 inches tall and 4 inches square) that read, ‘This is not a
dangerous object.' My pulse began to return to normal.
“My UFO proved to be a radiosonde, released by the National
Weather Service at 6:30 p.m. (almost three hours earlier) from
Buffalo. I could not cross the running water, so I pulled on the
string and reeled in a plastic parachute and then the remains of a
rubber balloon. The container gave instructions to use the enclosed
prepaid package to return the device to NWS for reuse. Today I
followed the directions and also read the interesting details on
Wikipedia. My UFO had been attached to a 6-foot wide helium balloon
that had risen 1,000 feet a minute and traveled perhaps as high as
115,000 feet into the atmosphere to send pressure, temperature and
humidity data back to Buffalo and was tracked to provide wind speed
and direction data.
“I am ready for my next encounter. Beam me up Scotty!”
** Professor Hass is referring to “Close Encounters of the Third
Kind,” an old movie he and Jo had watched about aliens and the means
to communicate with them.
Relay for Life dinner, show
There will be a “Vive La Cage
Aux Folles” dinner and show to benefit the Cancer Society Relay for
Life on Saturday evening, Jan. 19 at the Common Ground, at 1230
Danby Road, Ithaca. Cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and social hour will
commence at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. and a cabaret show at 9
p.m., followed by dancing to the music of D.J. Rundle. Advance
tickets are $25, and reservations are requested by Saturday, Jan.
12. Choice of seat location and entree must be made at time of
purchase.
For more information, call 273-1505or visit http://www.ithacacommonground.com/.
Pancake breakfast
A reminder that the Lansing Youth
Guatemala Mission Pancake Breakfast will be from 8-10 a.m. Sunday,
Jan. 13 at Applebee's. Tickets are $5. The menu will include
pancakes, bacon, coffee, tea, milk and juice. Applebee's provides
the food while the Youth Mission Volunteers will greet, seat, serve
and clean up. Call Debby Cretney at 275-0655for more information.
Blood drive
The Lansing Community Blood drive at All Saints
Parish Center is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19.
This is open to the community. Please come and help the Red Cross
reach its goal. Call (315) 497-1271to make an appointment.
Closing comment
“Much of the vitality in a friendship lies
on the honoring of differences, not simply in the enjoyment of
similarities.”
— author James L. Fredericks
theithacajournal.com
Lansing Town Talk 
