Hey there, Kerm. You're back.
I gave you a shout out in Vader as I drove past last night on the way back from Portland. Gawd Almighty the fog was bad. I got so turned around in Vancouver leaving the V-23 pub that I asked for directions at a red light and the driver said he didn't know where he was either because of the fog. Made it home safe and sound, though.
The Victor-23 pub was ideal for the conference. We met there on Friday - Mark, Eric, Tom Kaye and me at first, meeting Dirk and Dave the video crew from Principia who were waiting for us. Vern Jones and his wife Irene joined us in the course of events. A Pilsner called "Skyjacker blonde" was great. The wall mural of a 727 is a "200" series I am told, as it has an aft fuselage door on the starboard side. Pix of everyone posing in front will be forthcoming as soon as I can figure out sizing here. Ug.
Numerous podcasters and locals came by and shared a beer and networked with us and the roomful of Cooperites. Darren Schaefer was there, along with his editor "Ben," and a ton of his buds from Woodland, WA. "Vince" from Olympia hung with us through the night and videoed just about everyone it seems for later podcasts. Since he and I are local, he'll be stopping by Eatonville in the near future - right after he reads my book! BTW: I sold 200 bucks worth of them, and I sold $80 worth of Marty's book, too.
After the conference, we all gravitated back to V-23, some faster than others. I was in the first wave, arriving with Ron Bertrand, who runs the NW Escape Experience and features the DB Cooper Escape Room, where someone there last summer broke in to rob the place and couldn't get out so he called 911 to be arrested and "freed," so to speak.
Rob is a major DB Cooper energy source in Portland. Very passionate and informed. Generous, too - picked up the tab at our table.
Clyde Lewis, the host of Ground Zero Radio, came to the conference at the end of the afternoon and followed us to V-23. There he regaled us with his numerous encounters with Wolfgang Gossett. Those two were Quantum Entangled in the extreme. Utah, Oregon, talk radio, healings - so many personal connections. He even lived two block away from Wolfie's last wife! Clyde's gotta write a book about his personal relationship with Wolf - and about Wolfie - regardless of the DB Cooper angle. Wolfie, and Clyde, are just two extraordinary, weird, fascinating guys.
Clyde also told us many stories from Ground Zero, especially his tales of research on the fringe. MKULTRA and beyond. Area 51, Dugway Proving Grounds, Hangar 18 at Wright-Paterson. I loved it. Many other Cooperites did, too, but not all.
Another conferee who sat at our table was Dan Wyatt, who runs the Kiggins Theatre in Portland and produced a DB Cooper radio show there on Wednesday evening, which folks at the table said was fantastic.
One of the dimensions of the conference - and the pub - was that half the folks were Millenials. LOTS of people 30 and younger. I was impressed. They asked lots of questions, too. One, a woman named Katie, asked questions all day, and all evening, too. Think a "young Jo Weber," but in a good way. Tenacious. Took notes, too. First time I ever saw a marbleized notebook in a tavern....
Everyone I talked with thought the conference was a success and now want an annual gathering. We also talked PARTY. Everyone wants an "Ariel tavern-style" party to accompany the informational conference. Bryan Woodruff was in attendance with us at V-23, and although he voiced support for these ideas he doesn't seem to have the capacities to pull it all together any time soon.
One of the hallmarks of the conference was the bonhomie and lack of animosity. It was the total opposite of the DZ or the current bickering on the Forum. Some folks came in cautious - I even met Kristy Cooper and her husband Russ Cooper, who are the guys who started the LaConner dig for Tom Colbert - and when Kristy introduced herself to me, I said, "Ah, I have been tracking you two for a long time!"
"Yes, I know," Kristy replied, with a slight smile. Nevertheless, we talked about working cooperatively in the future, and that might be a possibility, but Tom Colbert needs to give the okay for Kristy and Russ to feel comfortable with that arrangement. But she bought my book, so....
