cytotec As a footnote to the last post, here are a couple of enigmatic pieces of mail from John’s files. The first was postmarked January 24, 1968, the second the 25th. They seem to come from the same person. Is it relevant that John never went to college? And what was the meaning of all this?
ADDENDUM: Well, imagine that. I took another look at that cipher and figured it out. If you read the third letter of each group (as the underlined “3” suggests), it reads: Friday Feb 2 at St Patricks 9 PM J. Huh!
I’d assume that’s a code of some sort. Perhaps the key is in the clipping? Or the clipping is it’s own separate message of quasi-mystical value. The deliberate misspelling of his name looks like one of those signatures of the contactee entities.
Comment by VA — February 17, 2014 @ 4:54 am
It could also be a fake code, sent as a prank. In either case, it’s a strange use of time and postage.
Comment by Doug — February 17, 2014 @ 11:49 am
I did a brief analysis and it appears fake. Every letter is represented in a short (138 letter) message, which is unlikely. The commonest letters used (TIOA) are all high frequency letters in English. E is used 7 times. The recurrence of three letter groups like ooo eee sss is unlikely unless we’re dealing with a tranposition cipher, which the spread of letters tells against.
I call it fake.
Paul Thompson
Comment by Paul Thompson — February 19, 2014 @ 1:36 pm
Thanks, Paul! Some of the letters could be nulls, of course. Still, I think it’s more likely a fake.
Comment by Doug — February 19, 2014 @ 5:30 pm
Intersting, a steganographic cipher rather than a substitution or transposition . . . any indication Keel solved it and kept the meeting?
Paul
Comment by Paul Thompson — February 20, 2014 @ 9:50 am
I don’t know. From his markings on the card, he apparently tried to read every third letter, rather than the third in each group. But he might have figured it out after that.
Comment by Doug — February 20, 2014 @ 10:25 am
Is it possible that the grid area of the clipping might be related/a clue to the coded message? Esp because the grid is repeated at the bottom of the note. The reference to three blind mice might also be being hinted as the code source, Or it could be an editorial statement. Also interesting is the triangular object that appears both on the envelope and the note, with a diagonal and downward directional arrow. This was before the reports of triangular ufos, wasn’t it? I wonder if the misspelling “Keal” was deliberate and has some meaning to the code. Then of course its always possible its just nonsensical. I used to collect notes like this… for some reason i went thru a phase where street people used to approach me and hand me notes (?!) and this has the same creepy quality of disorganized thinking…the way it’s cut and taped, the large writing that fills up the entire envelope points to a sort of inflated attitude, and the printing on the envelope which looks like it was printed deliberately and is consciously controlled. The way the Y’s are constructed makes me wonder if the writer was right handed but used his left hand? It’s really odd to have that break in the Y’s.
i’m a hobby graphologist)… you know, it might be a good idea to ask a graphologist to look at this.
Comment by patty gallagher — March 1, 2014 @ 11:44 pm
have you ever seen that triangle in any of the other papers in the archive?
Comment by patty gallagher — March 1, 2014 @ 11:54 pm
just saw you posted the solution! sorry i missed that before posting. is this merely an invitation to the pub?
Comment by patty gallagher — March 1, 2014 @ 11:56 pm
or Mass?
Comment by patty gallagher — March 1, 2014 @ 11:58 pm
I was surprised that I stumbled on a solution; I had assumed it was a hoax, since there were so many of them around then. The proposed meeting could have been a hoax too, of course. I haven’t seen that triangle on any other correspondence, but triangles do show up among the symbols reported by UFO witnesses; John kept a file on that too.
The misspelling and odd handwriting could also be an attempt at disguise from someone John knew.
Comment by Doug — March 2, 2014 @ 9:33 am
Hi Doug,
Hope you’re well. I think that the code you cracked is from a “JR” since “lkjytr” seems to be the signature not part of the word code per se.
So if it’s “JR” now we have a Dallas connection!
Comment by Ratso — March 20, 2014 @ 11:58 pm
Hi Ratso; nice to hear from you. A JAK-JR meeting! The mind boggles!
Comment by Doug — March 21, 2014 @ 11:39 am
“330 East 33rd”
Yikes.
33rd. The number 33 is a conspiracy theory unto itself. The “east” part also plays into the eastern star/Venus theories.
Was John a Mason? Did he intentionally choose this address?
Cans of worms can open all over the place. As Indrid Cold was said to have said ” it depends on who’s looking”….
Note 7 line pattern is also on address side with arrow pointing between e & a in Keal.
The seven lines also match the postage canceling wave pattern the post uses. 7 lines in that wave.
Comment by Patrick — December 17, 2014 @ 10:30 am
No, John wasn’t a Mason, and I doubt he chose that address. Here in NYC you have to take what’s available. Coincidences are funny things.
Comment by Doug — December 18, 2014 @ 7:50 am
Here’s a shot in the dark for you, mostly just speculation. The clipping about college made me think of Jacques Vallee’s book the Hidden College. It is about scientists secretively grouping together to study the UFO phenomenon. John knew Vallee and was familiar with his work, and the two shared many ideas about what might be going on. Maybe the misspelling of John’s name was a deliberate attempt to make it seem like a stranger, and the “J” at the end is for “Jacques.” I don’t know when the Hidden College was published (I’d look it up…but my work day is up and I’m outta this cubicle) but if it was before this letter to John or if they knew each other before this letter, then maybe the “College” letter is a message about a meeting to happen between John and Jacques, and maybe Jacques wanted to report to John about the work of the “hidden college” and their conclusions. And maybe I don’t even have the right city, let alone the right exit…
Comment by Mondie — December 11, 2015 @ 8:18 pm
Curiously, John and Vallee didn’t correspond. In a letter to Jerry Clark in 1967, John said he’d like to trade info with Vallee, but it doesn’t seem to have happened. They did meet each other at a couple of conferences, but I guess they didn’t get along.
Comment by Doug — December 13, 2015 @ 8:23 am