1974-07-01 - Hobart, IN - Circle

3 colored lights rotating silently seen in northwest indiana.

about 6pm. (just shortly after dark)in the summer (june-sept) between 1973-1975. i was about 12-14 years old. my mother asked me to go outside to burn our paper garbage, we lived on the end of a dead end street beside a swampy area and regularly separated and burned paper refuse at the edge of a large mowed area we maintained,and the start of the wooded/swampy area about 20 yards from our house.

i was watching "the "A" team" on TV at the time(may help time frame) and not wanting to be interrupted, i ran out our backdoor fast dropped the paper sack full of paper trash, flicked several lit matches into it and ran back inside. when i approached the back door my mother was still standing on the porch holding open the screen door with her back and looking off in the distance.i ran past her into the kitchen and heard her call me and say "what is that?" i turned around and went back beside her and she was looking off in the sky to the southeast. i saw what appeared to be lights flashing and started to dismiss it as a plane so i could return to my TV show.

the lights appeared to move in an odd way and looked too low to be a plane, my response was cut short to "it's just a...." and i knew it was not a plane or helicopter.

there were 3 lights in the form of a triangle and looked to be spinning and shifting back and forth as the object "wobbled" towards us slowly. it appeared to be a green,red and blue light but a white light was visible in the mix, however not located on the object in a solid fashion like the other 3 lights.

i became enchanted with staring at it and my mother seemed to be in a daze, my mouth was open to say some sort of explanation, however my mind ran thru a list of goodyear blimp(too fast) helicopter(no sound)airplane(too slow). i felt euphoria and a sense of calm overtake me but i could not speak.i slowly stepped towards it and down off the porch to stand on our driveway and could not take my eyes away from it.

it was coming directly towards us and moved like a hoola-hoop and each rotation of the "hoola-hoop" was like a slide forward. i remember thinking of a rotary engine at the time and mazda had commercials about rotary engines on tv. it got closer and was silent and large and the triangle shape made by the 3 lights seemed to be mounted around a central circle or sphere and rotated or "hoola-hooped" around the central mass.

i was now positive it fit no logical explanation or known physics as it would fall from the sky moving so slow but a blimp could never move in that fashion and that was the only explanation i had as to its silence.

it hoola-hooped or "slid" toward us and the only thing i could compare it to was 2 magnets opposing each other seemed similar to what held this thing aloft.

it was almost overhead near the mowed area beside our house and i felt in a trance somewhat and began to think "land!..we are friendly, please come meet us, and felt a sort of love and warmth inside as it continued to approach me, then i started to realize i could hit it with a rock it was so low and my mind went to shift to proof and police and shooting it down and calling the media and getting famous.

we always kept a loaded 22 rifle behind our back door,my mother shot squirrels with it. i broke my mind away from the object and ran to get the gun, it was not there. i ran back out and it was now hoola-hooping away from us east northeast as if it read my thoughts and changed its mind, i felt guilty for thinking things that made it go away.

it continued slowly east toward willow street and 39th ave just east of I-65 until it was out of sight.i called state police and they said nobody has reported anything.i felt sure some others had to see it, i looked in the newspapers the next week and saw no mention of it.

it was first seen at the intersection of the nickle-plate railroad tracks and interstate 65, low enough all the cars on the interstate surely would have seen it.

it traveled to the south end of 41st and swift street gradually getting lower then east toward 39th and willow street gradually getting higher.

my mother seemed in a trance most of the time and afterwards refused to talk about it in any detail. i felt it may have spotted me throwing the lit matches into the trash and the flashes attracted in in the dark, i felt it was reading my mind the entire time and would have landed (if it would fit) beside our house if i did not start thinking bad things.

i am left thinking why if it was from outer space etc would it have ANY lights on it, it would not need to obey any flight regulations or such of earth people. It was not any known technology then or now, that i am aware of.