Well, the secret is finally out. There was indeed an alien spaceship crash at Roswell in 1947. I knew they couldn’t cover it up forever; somebody was bound to crack eventually. It turned out to be Walter Haut, who finally revealed the truth on his deathbed.

Just in time for the 60th Anniversary festival of the incident. Click the pic for more:

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As an end-note to this post, I think I’m going to pass on doing a more substantial post tonight. I’m saddened by the loss suffered by the Mixon-Gould family. Also, I find myself obsessing a bit too much about US politics this week, and it’s turned me inward and pessimistic.

I think we’re headed toward something truly ugly and horrifying before the end of the year. The edifice of our government seems to be disintegrating right now, as the result of the last few decades of monstrous behavior. I think it’s coming to a head Real Soon Now, and I’m not sure who the survivors will be. It’s scary, and I don’t feel much energy to rant about it tonight. I’ll try to let it all go and be more entertaining next Sunday.

Hugs to us all.

Earl Mixon.

Beloved husband, brother, father, father-in-law, grandfather, great-grandfather.

He was playing tennis on wednesday and he died yesterday. He was 78.

As M. Ward sang in the previous post in Requiem, “He was a good man and now he’s gone.”

Update: Earl’s obituary is below.

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Earl Mixon (1928-2007) was born in Tucson, Arizona and grew up in Fort Stockton, Texas. His family moved to Roswell when he was in high school. He served in the US Army Rangers in Korea, and after his discharge he met and wooed Elizabeth Underwood. They were married in December of 1953. In 1960, they moved to Albuquerque, where Earl worked as a sales representative for Kraft Foods for over 30 years.

He loved the out-of-doors, and took the family on frequent hiking trips in the forests of New Mexico. He and Elizabeth also enjoyed ballooning, and participated in several Balloon Fiesta events. After retirement, Earl and Elizabeth bought property near Durango, and spent nearly two decades in a beautiful home near Lake Vallecito. The grandkids cherish memories of “paradise;” every year, Gramma and Granddad had them up for week-long “summer camps” in the Colorado mountains. But their Albuquerque ties remained strong. In July of 2003 Earl and Elizabeth returned, and have lived here since.

Earl was an avid reader, amateur photographer, and tennis player. At age 67, he discovered computers and made the jump from film to digital photography. He was always generous with his time and resources to family, friends, and church. For a time he volunteered for Meals on Wheels. A beloved husband, brother, father, father-in-law, grandfather, and great-grandfather, he was also a caring friend to everyone he met. He enjoyed good health for most of his life, and played tennis just three days before his death in the early hours of Saturday, June 30.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin Hugh Mixon and Mazie Knight Mixon, and is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Mixon; his sister, Iris Major; his children, Kay, Laura, and Jim Mixon; his grandchildren, Stephanie Maez, Benjamin Mixon-Baca, and Emma and Carita Gould; and his great-grandson, Donovan Maez.

We miss him very much.

Those who would like to make a donation are asked to contact the New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation.

I don’t know shit about this guy, except what’s on the Wiki, and this article in my favorite music magazine, Paste.

But I’m falling in love with his music.

His big hit is ‘Chinese Translation’:

but I like ‘Requiem’, too:

If you go to his web site and click on Audio, you’ll get some songs. And there are lots of vids at this stalker site. I like the live version of ‘Right in the Head’, though the sound isn’t maxxed, so you’ll have to turn the volume knob to the right.

And there’s an album worth of music on his page at his label, Merge Records.

He does that indie-troubador intelligent melancholia thing as well as I’ve ever heard it done.

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