It had started out as a warmer than usual, but routine mid-summer evening in 1980. We had completed loading of our 3,000-gallon tankers with 10 percent hydrochloric acid by midnight. Scheduled to deliver the nasty smelling liquid by 4:00 a.m. to an oil field location west of Eunice, New Mexico, we were not in a hurry. Even though we still had four hours the trip would be slow due to the nature of our load, the narrow blacktop roads, and the open range we had to cross with cattle that would seem to suddenly appear out of nowhere on the roadway.
My friend George W. drove the lead truck and I followed him since he had already made several trips to the remote location in the semi-arid desert. After an hour of driving on a relatively good highway, we finally turned due west and headed out into the near pitch-black night. The moon had already set, and the clear night sky was brilliant with stars.
We had driven west for only a half hour at the modest speed of 30 miles an hour when I saw the brake lights brighten on George’s truck. He stopped quickly in the middle of the lane and I had to bear down a bit harder on the brakes than I wanted to, causing the volatile liquid in the tank behind me to slosh and rocking the truck gently back and forth. I thought George had stopped to avoid hitting a cow, but figured he had probably hit one when I saw him come running back toward my truck. His face, lit by my headlights, was expressing excitement and he was pointing rapidly to the rear of my truck. I thought then that I might have a smoking brake or even possibly a fire. I quickly jumped out of my cab and ran with George to the rear of my truck.
At first I was relieved when George pointed to the sky and said, “Look at that! I saw it in my mirror as I was checking on you. What the hell is that thing?” When I looked where he was pointing I saw a bright, pea-green orb hovering motionless about 30 feet above a power line pole 100 feet or so away. The object was about even with the top of the pole. The light from the ball was so intense the entire area was reflecting a vivid green hue. You could have easily read a newspaper by the light it was giving off.
I looked again at George’s face which was grotesque with the green glow and his wide eyes. I looked back at the orb, studying it for several seconds. It was not moving at all and was, in appearance, about twice the size of the moon’s disc when it is overhead. I stepped slowly to the right and left to get a perspective on the object in relationship to the power pole. This gave me an idea of the size and distance of the object. I had a clear concept the thing was between 15 and 20 feet in diameter. It made no sound, nor did it seem to create any sort of wind.
After a minute or so, George said he thought it was moving toward us. Though I did not see any movement, this gave us both the creeps and we suddenly became afraid of the thing. Simultaneously, we ran for our cabs, jumped in, and locked the doors. Up ahead, I saw dust swirl from the roadway as George released his air brakes and started to move. I was not about to be left alone out there with the strange green orb and did the same.
Even though we upped our speed to 40 miles an hour, I noticed we were not leaving the green aura behind. I kept checking my mirrors to see if the thing was behind, but all I could make out was the increasing brightness of the surrounding green, glowing desert. It was pretty clear the thing was following us and getting closer.
Up ahead, I saw George’s truck pulling away as he foolishly began increasing his speed even more. He was pretty frightened. So was I, and I sure did not want to be left behind. But I resisted the temptation to speed with that load.
Suddenly, I noticed the shadows inside my cab begin to get more intense and the green light was very bright around me, making the orange paint of my truck appear a grim, brownish-green color. I was startled when the green ball shot past my window at a speed of about 70 miles per hour. Although I had rolled up my windows, I still heard no sound. The object rapidly overtook George’s truck, dropping down to an altitude of only ten feet above the roadway. It slowed a bit near his truck, seeming to pace him for a few seconds, then suddenly climbed at an amazing rate of speed, getting rapidly smaller in size until it was completely out of sight in only a few seconds.
The dark of the desert seemed even more intense, making it seem to us as if we were totally alone in the world. Our headlights, so bright and reassuring before, now seemed woefully inadequate to light our way. When we finally arrived at our destination, we circled the trucks and got out, both of us scanning the sky for any sign that the green orb would be returning.
George and I were both silent for a time, not wanting to talk about it. The whole event seemed unreal and I guess neither of us really believed it had happened. We hooked up our hoses and began pumping off our loads into the storage tanks on the location, keeping a constant watch on the sky. All we saw until first light of dawn was a magnificent collection of bright, twinkling stars and the faint white froth of the Milky Way.
We told no one about the incident, for fear we would be accused of making up tales. After all, both of us could hardly believe it happened, either. But ever since then, I have been a strong believer that UFOs are real and are controlled by some sort of intelligent entity.—James Bass, North Las Vegas, Nev.
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