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Interview with Mr. Kim A. Shaffer MUFON Tennessee State Director and Field Investigator by Brent Raynes
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Mr. Shaffer is a serious, dedicated investigator of the UFO phenomenon. Read here of his personal thoughts on the subject and of his own very interesting experiences in the field. Mr. Shaffer and his associates maintain a website at: www.mufontennessee.org/ His email address is: shaffer56@earthlink.net. Phone: 423-878-2095. Cell: 423-366-2467. His mailing address: 423 Henson Lane, Bristol, TN 37620. Editor: Please share with us a little about yourself and how you became interested in the controversial subject of UFOs? Kim Shaffer: I am a married 48 year old male, ex-military with a wonderful wife and son. We live in an old, reconstructed log house, originally built in 1799. I reassembled the entire house, log by log, by myself. I am a stone carver and create art from catlinite, have done extensive archaeological research in the upper East Tennessee Valley as a hobby. I first became interested in ufology as a child when we had several sightings over a number of years. Editor: What were your childhood UFO sightings like? Kim Shaffer: The first sighting I can remember was one where my whole family (dad, mom, my brother and myself) watched a large very slow round object cross the sky as it sparked and smoked without sound. The next day, the news said it was swamp gas witnessed by hundreds of people. Funny, a swamp in the sky, straight up and moving slowly? Our next sighting, I was 16 and lived in Maryville, Tenn. Four of us, young boys, were camping out and awoke sometime in the middle of the night seeing a large bright object hovering nearby in the woods. For some reason, we all went back to sleep and didn’t speak of the event till years later. Editor: Also I believe I’ve read where you’ve seen something in the last year or so? Kim Shaffer: Yes, my wife, son and myself witnessed a disc-shaped craft and videotaped it last August (2003). It was just after this, I joined MUFON and quickly rose to the top position (not that I asked for it). I have seen other things as well, but only because I aggressively seek them. Editor: How many years now have you been actively investigating and researching UFOs? Kim Shaffer: I have been researching (studying) UFOs for about 14 years or thereabouts. I have been the MUFON Tenn. (Eastern) state director for 5 months now. Editor: Years ago mainstream ufology gave UFO repeaters the proverbial kiss of death. Even the late Dr. J. Allen Hynek did this. The perception back then was that obviously people with several sightings were probably mistaking planes and planets for UFOs. But researchers like Budd Hopkins turned that situation around. Perhaps being a so-called repeater yourself, you might perhaps like to comment on this aspect? Kim Shaffer: Like I said, I aggressively “watch” for these things. I have attempted to rationalize this by the fact that when a person actually comes to realize that these things exist, he/she becomes more aware and keeps his/her eyes open for them. I am outside daily at twilight till sometimes 10:00-11:00 o’clock with my cameras and binoculars. I watch the sky, eliminate satellites and other man-man objects and natural phenomena, and sometimes what is left is unexplainable. I would like to add [that] a majority of reportees who have reported UFOs to me do have sightings more than once and also report these. It has come to the point for me that I now advise reportees to carry a camera, just in case. Editor: From your own studies and research have you arrived at any conclusions that you most favor regarding this enigma? Kim Shaffer: From my research, I have concluded that some craft, especially “triangulars,” have a really good chance of being back engineered “black projects.” Editor: When you say there’s a good chance in your mind of triangular-shaped UFOs being back engineered black projects, you are obviously thinking they’re based on retrieved alien technology. Is there any particular evidence or information that would tend to lead you in that direction? Kim Shaffer: Just a “gut” feeling plus logic. Think about it, how long have triangles been reported? Think about the dynamic differences between them and the classic disc. Why are they always spotted low and slow? So many uncharacteristic differences from classic UFOs. I also have received several reports from various sources which almost verify our government’s part in these craft. Funny thing, lately we posted our first triangle sighting on our web site. I am the webmaster and can see the “domains” of visitors to the web site. This sighting brought us visitors from Boeing, Lockheed Martin and us.mil.gov domains. Never before have any such visitors been there. Why, when a triangle was reported? See the reasoning behind the assumption? Logically, this sighting should have generated no more interest than any other but for some reason, black project contract holders became very interested. Editor: What do you think the future may hold for humankind with regards to the UFO mystery? Kim Shaffer: I sincerely hope that contact or exposure of contact will happen within our lifetime. The benefits to mankind would be unimaginable. Editor: You certainly sound like a man of many talents. With your stone carving and catlinite art do you sell any of these to the public? Considering these talents and your archaeological work, I wonder if you’re part Native American, and that perhaps that influences your interests? Kim Shaffer: Yes, as a matter of fact, I am 1/4 Cherokee. I used to sell to the public but not so much anymore. Back in the day, we put on Pow Wows for schools and such. I had to sell to the public then to make ends meet. Now, I have contracts with museums and tourist attractions all over the U.S. I also make “display” reproductions for museums, repair artifacts and do authentications. Editor: How very interesting. Well Kim, I want to sincerely thank you for sharing with me and the readers of Alternate Perceptions these personal glimpses into your intriguing work and life.
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