Why I chose my name for this place..

[TheBlackPanther]

Hello, All!

This is my first post at this wonderful website, thus I thought I'd take a moment to share an experience with you that happened when I was around 6 years old.

At the time I was living with my dysfunctional family between Owosso and Ovid, Michigan, circa '61. Our "house" was a basement with an overhang that connected to a garage. Dad worked as a welder for one of the car companies at the time and we didn't have much money.

Then one day reports began coming in over a blaring radio that my dad's live-in girlfriend had placed on one of the inside window sills to listen to music; it was an older man's voice saying something like, "We interrupt this program ... a black panther escaped from a carnival in Ovid, and authorities are searching for it and want you to be on the lookout." ... "Experts say that black panthers will scream like a woman at night and cry like a baby during the day (or visa versa?). The authorities are still looking for it. We'll keep you posted." ... .

Needless to say, being a little kid of whom very little adult quality conversation ever was given to, it didn't take long for me to wonder about what was going on with some strange and dangerous animal lurking in the area. I was fascinated.

It was shortly after the animal got loose that someone took me and my brother Gale (who was nearly two-years older than me) to church. It was very rare for any of us to attend church, but there we were, sitting in a pew listening to a pastor speak.

I was so small that even though we were only a few feet from the good man, I wasn't able to look over the pew in front of where we sat to see him, only hear his voice. And what he said that day so long ago that caught my interest was this: "If you ask God to do something, and it's in His plan, He'll do it. But you have to have faith, you have to believe."

Because I wasn't keeping a journal, I can't say with 100% certainty that it was the same day, that Sunday, or if it was the next day, only that it was around the same time I heard the preacher's sermon that what I'm about tell you occurred. ...

I was running across the back yard after dinner, when the sun was going down, towards a tree that had a wooden platform in it that my two oldest brothers had nailed together, when I called out to God with some excitement, "God, show me the black panther!"

Having shouted that, I stopped in my tracks and looked in front of me and didn't see the cat. I then looked to my right, towards the sun, and didn't see it. I then thought -- while turning my head to the left -- "Maybe I don't have enough belief." But there it was -- a big, black cat to my left and at maybe a distance of 30-yards standing motionless and with its body positioned at an angle so as to give me a view of its full length!

Its eyes reflected the sunlight as it just stood there looking at me.

I didn't hang around! I got a little scared and ran straight to the tree and went up it and stayed on the platform for what wasn't even a minute. I went down and walked back to the basement and sat on some cement steps, somehow knowing that what had just happened was something that was unusual. My brother Gale came out and I told him that I'd seen the black panther and he just said "Oh really?" and went on to doing something else.

(I felt a bit ashamed for not telling my brother that the way it happened was that I'd called out to God. We were just not an articulate bunch ... .)

The next day, I believe it was, I had another vision (as I regard seeing the panther as a "vision," not the actual cat that was on the loose). ...

I'll let this be enough for now and get to my goulash concoction that my stomach is dying to get to. With this you'll at least know why I took the moniker that I took.:veryhappy Thanks for taking the time to read this!:veryhappy

[VOguy]

I remember that news story. They had reports of that cat down as far as Adrian MI

[Alpha]

Thank you for sharing your story with us TheBlackPanther and WELCOME to Imaginative Words!!

We're delighted to have you join us. Very much looking forward to getting to know you and to hearing more! :)

[Judee]

Hey Panther, that was quite a story! Thanks for sharing it! And a big welcome to IW!! :veryhappy Hope that goulash was good!

[blackeyes]

Very nice to meet you TBP. :q3aHappyOrbb: Welcome to IW. :reporter:

[Project]

Very interesting post TBP, welcome on board!

[Biker]

Great story, Panther. Howdy!

Biker

[TheBlackPanther]

Thanks Everyone for the friendly replies!!

VOguy -- I'm amazed that someone else recalls the story, wow! I've talked to a few people about it but no one remembered. Would you say that 1961 was about the time that it took place? I'd love to know if the cat in question had a name, and if it did, I wonder what it was? I would love to get my hands on any newspaper articles regarding the incident if any exist.

And yes, the goulash (actually rice and hamburger) was good!:laughing:

Here's the account of my second vision at around that time, '61. ...

I had just finished having supper and had gone outdoors, at around the same time of the day when I had the panther vision the day before (I'm guessing), and noticed my brother Gale on the tractor that was parked outside near the side of the garage. He was breathing gas fumes from the tractor's tank from an entrance on top.

I'd never seen him do this before and was curious about it. I noticed that near the front of the tractor was another place where gas goes in (though I have no idea why a tractor would have two places to put gas). So I went to the front, got on the wheel, removed the cap and began breathing.

I liked the odor. I placed my nose in the entrance while resting my forehead on my arms. Soon things were black and I heard a noise that began to grow louder and louder, and the sound was very similar to the crescendo that's heard in the Beatle's song, "A Day in the Life" (but minus the pianos).

The noise grew rapidly and became VERY loud, and then, just like that, it and the blackness were no more! But what was there was a scene covering my entire field of vision -- and with the cars talking that were going down the old hi-way not so many yards away -- a scene of MILLIONS of human beings wearing pointed helmets and in colorful goth attire, ALL standing shoulder to shoulder screaming and fighting one-another with swords!! (Listening to the Led Zeppelin song, "Battle Forevermore" reminds me of this vision/hallucination, as the words and even the music itself seem to relate well to it.)

It was an astonishing vision that lasted for only a couple of seconds. And then, instantly, I found myself back in my usual world, only now I was standing in the middle of the backyard, no longer on the front tire of the tractor.

The moment I came out of that world, I heard my brother Gale calling me. He was many yards behind me, and so I turned and ran, and we both went and sat in a dirty, empty chicken coop and he said some things that I don't recall, while I remained quiet about having just seen blades of grass as humans fighting and screaming at one-another. It shook me to the core.

Some years ago I read what a film critic had said about the "Wizard of Oz" when it came out in the '30s. Not impressed with it, he described it as being a "watered down fruitcake." When I read that, I thought, "Hmm that's kinda the way my life has been with all these strange mystical experiences I've been having; a watered down fruitcake."

In 1980 two things arrived on my radar. One was a book, and one was a movie. I can tell you about the book, but not the movie, as it's too dark to speak about. But they both tie into a lot of things regarding my life, the world, and each other.

The book, titled, "Michelle Remembers," (Pocket Books) really got my attention as it had so many things mentioned in it that related to weird things that had happened to me, or that I'd been witness to, thus to this day I think about it often. If ever you care to read a book that'll creep you out, then you might want to see if you can find yourself a copy. It was a bone of controversy when it came out, as it was credited/blamed for being the first book to delve into Repressed Memories Syndrome. (Actually, I doubt that's the correct psychological phrase, but it's something close to it.)

In the book, the little girl, Michelle, goes back to her early childhood via regression therapy and learns that her mother, along with many other "upstanding" people in the community, were involved in devil worship. As the mystery of her past unfolds, many things are discovered about how those on the dark side operate.

For myself, when I was around 4 (like Michelle), I recall an event in which I was somewhere, maybe for a couple of days, and then returned home. I very clearly recall thinking, "I was somewhere that I don't remember. It had something to do with witches. And it wasn't good."

A lot of people are critical of the book, and some of their reasons justify it. (One bishop in Vancouver, where much of the story takes place, said he tried to get info from the authors, Lawrence Pazder and Michelle Smith, but said he wanted nothing more to do with them because they would not cooperate for him to look into their allegations.) But, again, for me there are too many things that jump off the pages ... so as far as I'm concerned there's something to the book, including where Satan is alleged to have said something like, "Have you come of your own accord, to give up your soul and take up a sword?" ... "Their knees will not bend, it'll be a fight until the end." (It may sound stupid the way I write about it, but it's a compelling book nevertheless.)

Some time in the not-too-distant future I'd like to share the UFO experience I had back around '81. I was "beamed" out of my bed one night straight onto a craft and was given a message by a man's "voice."

Well, folks, there you have it; some more bizarreness from my bizarre life. Thanks Much for allowing me the fun of sharing some of this stuff with you, you're good sports!:veryhappy

P.S. It strikes me as a significant fact that I seemed to have been led to the middle of the backyard ... as one would think that one would fall flat on their back if one was standing on top of a tractor tire while seeing nothing but blackness and then getting off said tire in that condition and walking to the middle of the yard, right?

[VOguy]

VOguy -- I'm amazed that someone else recalls the story, wow! I've talked to a few people about it but no one remembered. Would you say that 1961 was about the time that it took place?

I'm trying to put it in context with the Kennedy assassination to remember it was. I think it was pre-1962 because even in N.W. Ohio, there were mothers, (like mine) that would not let us play late in to the night.

But there were reports, never verified, of the big cat around Adrian, Milan, and Saline.

The more I think, I think it was in the early 60s. In the mid 60s is when all the UFO activity was going on in Hillsdale county.

[MuseNoir]

Hi TheBlackPanther! Lots of really interesting stories - thank you for sharing them. Lots of good personal experieces are shared here.

[TheBlackPanther]

I'm trying to put it in context with the Kennedy assassination to remember it was. I think it was pre-1962 because even in N.W. Ohio, there were mothers, (like mine) that would not let us play late in to the night.

But there were reports, never verified, of the big cat around Adrian, Milan, and Saline.

The more I think, I think it was in the early 60s. In the mid 60s is when all the UFO activity was going on in Hillsdale county.

Thanks.

I place it around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was October of 1962. But weather or not this escaped panther incident happened before or after that, I'll never know for sure unless someone comes up with some old newspaper articles.

Interesting about there being UFOs back then in the Hillsdale county area. I'll have to Google it.:veryhappy

[Divinorumus]

Maybe it was published in an old newspaper report. NewspaperArchive.com (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/)

[TheBlackPanther]

Maybe it was published in an old newspaper report. NewspaperArchive.com (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/)

Thanks for the link! I'll check it out later and likely sign-up and see if I can find articles about the subject in question.

Can you tell me if you've used the service? And if so, is/was it worth it?

[Divinorumus]

Thanks for the link! I'll check it out later and likely sign-up and see if I can find articles about the subject in question.

Can you tell me if you've used the service? And if so, is/was it worth it?

I subscribed for one month and found a bunch of stuff I was looking for at the time. Would only do so again if I was doing another wide search.

[TheBlackPanther]

I subscribed for one month and found a bunch of stuff I was looking for at the time. Would only do so again if I was doing another wide search.

Okay; that makes sense.:thanks:

[TheBlackPanther]

Since I wrote this post, I noticed that there's a long thread in which someone asked people to explain the reasons for the name they took for this place. Sooo if the Mod wishes, s/he certainly has my permission to pick this thread up and place it in the other.

Sorry for my error.:thanks:

[TheBlackPanther]

Hi TheBlackPanther! Lots of really interesting stories - thank you for sharing them. Lots of good personal experieces are shared here.

You're welcome!!:smily012:

Very sorry for skipping over you earlier, I guess I'm getting older than the hills and losing my manners or something.:happysad: