Let's not forget our little green friends from Planet X

Let's leave Gliese 581C for a moment, although that is the world which I take very seriously because it is the closest of the habitable worlds and should be treated with great respect. However, with a hundred billion other stars in this galaxy out of which maybe one in a hundred has life, we mustn't forget those little green men from Planet X, who have also had occasion to visit us in their own melodramatic way. Sometimes I wonder if we should really be bothering with them. They must be either from very far away or from a planet around a completely different star because they appear so alien beside us. One thing is for certain, they certainly seem to be having their problems getting to know us properly, unlike the Gilesians who no doubt were the benevolent masters who brought us tomatoes and lima beans and who hung around at least long enough to teach us how to grow and breed them. Our little green friends do not yet appear to have mastered even the art of guiding their little space craft down to an elegant landing. They are forever either crashing or getting shot down, and that doesn't make for a very good introduction at all. Testing the U.S. Air Force by playing "chase me" and then scooting off is not exactly the most diplomatic way to introduce yourself.

There is no doubt that something happened at Roswell. Sure, we know that a lot of curiosity seekers went out and started picking up pieces of weather balloons, which crashed very frequently in those parts then, and displayed it as UFO material. That just gave the MIB's the fodder they needed to declare it all a big hoax. In truth, the air force was actually conducting high altitude tests with Mylar balloons in the area and not just for weather monitoring, but everybody knew that. In fact, balloons held the high altitude record for a very long time, until after the X15 rocket planes came on the scene. No, something peculiar did crash there and it wasn't anything that Uncle Sam was expecting, that was clear.


                    

The news changed quite a few lives and sleepy Roswell with the little known air base became a tourist mecca overnight. The town of Roswell hosts an annual UFO festival and the International UFO Museum and Research Center is located there. The official municipal seal is stylized around the incident. The theme can be found everywhere, right down to the odd "Kitzy" UFO paraphernalia and souvenir shop.


                    

America wasn't the only place which had witnessed UFO events. The Russians created their own top-secret UFO investigative commission after an event similar to Roswell's 1947 crash resulted in them having their own site swarming with servicemen and MIG's (Men In Gray). The Earth was being visited by extraterrestrials! Some aliens even survived exposure to our atmosphere for a short time to extend their warmest wishes for a happy Universe.


                    

Other aliens weren't so lucky. They either died crashing into the Earth or were shot down. Some were captured and interrogated. This story provides details about the second image below.


                    

A note to the little green men from Planet X: Naturally I don't mean to be rude or anything, but you little guys really have to get your act together. I mean, you built this fantastic flying saucer that comes from, for all I know clear across the galaxy, and you don't even think to put it down gently on the White House lawn or something to formally announce your presence. This is very "Mars Attacks!" of you, you know. Was it just a quick joy ride or something or maybe some kind of compulsive Spring Break episode? Aren't you the least bit concerned that somebody will miss you on your home world? And Frankly, I'm liking our Gilesian friends better every time I chomp into a nice Beefsteeak Tomato or raise a spoonful of spicy chili to my lips. Heck, you don't even have lips! Stay home.