Alien Encounters - What Kind?

Aliens are a mainstay of science fiction - from the early stories such as "War of the Worlds" to more recent movies such as the most recently produced movie "Star Trek". It's fun to imagine beings from other worlds--with their different languages, cultures, civilizations, foods, and behaviors. Some might be sort of cute (like the Ewoks of Star Wars or the little guy from E.T.) ... others might be creepy and downright scary (such as the Alien in the movie "Alien" or the aliens in the movie "Independence Day" or "Predator").

I've always been a fan of science fiction--both the books and the movies. And some of the first movies I saw (on TV, of course) were "Star Trek" and "Lost in Space" (we had only a Black & White TV, so I couldn't get the whole "color effect"). Then, of course, were "My Favorite Martian", "Battlestar Gallactica", and others...

And then, more and more, my life started to resemble a science fiction story...

My family and I watched many of NASA's first missions when we lived in New Mexico--from the Mercury Space Capsule program, through the Gemini and Apollo Programs--we were in a friend's living room in Alamogordo, New Mexico watching the July 21, 1969 Apollo 11 landing on the moon. What an adventurous time! We moved to the island of Guam a week after that landing.. and while on Guam, we were able to meet the Apollo astronauts as they made their world-tour after their historic landing. Guam had a NASA-Tracking Station just down the road from where we lived on the island--so that was a definite inspiration.

Later, I worked in New Mexico on the runway where the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-3) landed; then later worked at places where they created, developed, and worked with super-powerful lasers; and then, I worked at a place where we worked on the International Space Station Project (Gravitational Biology Facility). I had a mock-up of some Space Station modules just few doors down from my office in which I was able to give my kids a walk-through tour when they came to visit.

So, what's next with science fiction and aliens? Well, I married an alien. But she was a "resident alien" and had a green card and has since been naturalized (kidding, folks!).

In any case, this Squidoo lens will present a view of various Aliens you might encounter at the theater or in your library or bookstore (or, at a Trekkie Convention!).