What others have said about Townsend Brown

[Elizabeth Helen Drake]

Everybody,

First of all I want to mention that today (Saturday March 18th, 2006 is the 101st date of Townsend Browns birth.) There are many of us who have been thinking of him today.

One of those good folks made the comment today that there have been so many who have written about this particular man but yet not many seemed to have known him at all. So I thought it might be interesting to share with you some of the things that have been said about him through the years... from friends, from foes, and many in between. I have always firgured that the truth will somehow always find its way into the light. You are welcomed to add to this list ...

First of all of course, what Josephine said of him ..... on the occasion of their first date , as recounted in chapters 15 and 16 of Pauls book.

" I kept watching him and noticing how wonderful and blue his eyes were. He was very handsome and so tanned and when he smiled at me I just lit up inside ..... My previous impressions of him just melted away that day. He was nothing like that other fellow I had seen him with. He was quiet and sweet and kind of shy. He talked of things that were so far away from Zanesville ............ For me , to be totally truthful, I pushed away from that dock believing that I was in the company of a spoiled cad. By the time we sailed back to the dock, I was thoroughly convinced that he was a rare force of nature and already the love of my life."

Happy Birthday Doctor Brown Elizabeth

[Victoria Steele]

Elizabeth,

Actually I was all poised to use these notes in a barrage against Mr. Moore, but I want to just write what I am sure you already know Beau Kitselman wrote about Townsend Brown in his "Hello Stupid"booklette written in 1962. (Note those dates and I will get back to my original agenda later) . Right now I join with you in adding my best wishes to Dr. Browns family and thought this would be a nice addition to "the list"

(Beau Kitselman referred to Townsend Brown as "Commander B" as a concession to his privacy, but there was no doubt that he was referring to his friend.)

"I found Commander B to be a quiet, modest, retiring man, exactly the sort one expects to find in important research installations. He was a brilliant solver of engineering problems, and I soon found out that he was more familiar with fundamental physical forces than anyone I had met."

Victoria

[George Leach]

Paul,

I thought I would post this as an invitation to those good folks on Catalina, Those who remember Dr. Brown as I do, to join the discussion here and share their memories with you.

I was fortuneate enough to have known Dr. Brown then. I did not want his 101st to go by without a comment.

The first word that comes into my mind about Dr. Brown was that he was a gentleman. Not the puffed up kind that thinks material things prove who they are ... but the kind who was born one, raised one and continued always to be one.

He loved his family and was always delighted when his son Joseph Brown came to visit for the summer with his wife Jane and his two grandsons Jason and Jeffrey. I can vouch for the fact that he, as most Grandfathers do) thought that his grandchildren were amazing! He thought his grand daughter galloping her pony across the interior of the island was an amazing sight. I believe that having his family together on those rare summer visits was extremely important to him. I believe that he considered that island his true home.

He picked his burial site there on Catalina next to a bench, for the comfort of those who might choose to visit him. He chose the simplest casket available, one that he said reminded him of the Navy ,because of the color.

I don't believe I ever heard him speak a harsh word to anyone.

So , those are my thoughts. Hello Catalina! George

[Victoria Steele]

Thanks George for joining the discussion group. And you see, you have helped me prove my point here about disinformation spreading through people who claim some expertise. I knew that he liked warm weather from the other things that I read about him, so initially I bought into what Vassilastos has written. Later when I discovered how off the mark he was, I just got mad and thats one of the things that started me on this trail with all of you folks. So Here folks is a classic example of how fouled up you can get, if you believe everything you read about him.

Vassilatos wrote (with shat seems to be real sincerity)

"Dr. Thomas Townsend Brown loved warm and sunny climates, spending the remainder of his life in Umatillo, Florida" duh .... what?

So now we have George on one side, who seems to know .... and Vassilatos ... who hasn't presented himself one way or the other. Ummmm
who to believe. Thanks George. Victoria

[Elizabeth Helen Drake]

We have just had a REALLY WONDERFUL POSTs come in regarding Dr. Brown on Catalina by Patrick Q and his wife Neenie ... aa couple who knew the Browns on the Island for about three years. Their commentaries offer a touching look at their friendship with "Doc" and "Mama" As they called them. I encourage you to check that post pool out ..... (Meeting Doctor Brown).

Its splendid having this kind of input from folks that are kind enough to share their experiences with the Browns!

I personally want to thank everyone who has brought their memories out to be shared with us! I am sure that Paul joins me in this! Elizabeth

[Mark Culpepper]

Wonderful glimpses.

But I am stuck on one thing. He seems to still be moving! Or is it my imagination? Pat mentions the years between 72 and 75 being on Catalina, but then there is mention of Coronado Island. And then there is Jim Lee (the further developerof the fan/loudspeaker that Pat mentioned seeing (turned into the Ionic Breeze) ... (I just reread that part about its hisory and Dr. Browns development with that ...) and that was in Concord California ... which I am assuming is about that time. and thats Northern California. So I am getting the feeling though he seemed to love the island ... he certainly didn't come there to "retire" in 72 . Though I am still puzzled.

Settling into making a simple "no fog mirror" .... and then giving up on the UL applictions and letting the thing languish? Was that just part of his personality as maybe a poor businessman? Or did he not care about that whole thing to start with? Strikes me suddenly, if I moved into as small a town as Avalon ... and I didn't want to answer constant questions I would be prepared with a "front" . Otherwise the gossip mill would be all over you. Maybe a no fog mirror project was just that? Mark

[Victoria Steele]

Hi everybody,

I just thought I would restate what Paul had written months ago about the Ionic Breeze. Pat mentioned seeing a demonstration of that unit in 1972 or so and I don't know when Mr. Lee was speaking of Dr. Brown but this is what he said of him to Paul this last year.

Jim Lee about Townsend Brown " He was a wonderful old guy. One of the sweetest old men you'd ever want to meet, very humble, for all that he did and all that he knew, you know, he shared everything .... thats what got him into trouble more than anything ...."

And then Paul asks "Did you ever notice that there was a finger missing on his left hand? Did you ever ask him how that happened?"

JL "Yeah ... He said he didn't want to talk about it ... when you got around to the Philadelphia Experiment stuff, the Manhattan Project, you know, you just didn't talk to him about it."

I just thought I would reprint that little exchange because it seems that Paul is still following Dr. Browns lead .... we are still not really talking about the missing finger or the Philadelphia Experiment. Why do I get the lingering feeling that there is much more story out there? And Paul, Morgan .... what about Morgan? Victoria

[Mark Culpepper]

Paul,

Joining Victoria here in asking about your character Morgan. Seems that he weaves in and out of this story already and we know nothing about him other than he was a good student, interested in being a younger James Bond, but what does he have to do with your story?

Thats what I asked myself at first and then it became obvious that you are getting your material from far more than just one source and Morgan must be one of those sources, some forty years later. Where, otherwise, would the direct quotes come from earlier? So now I see why telling the story of Linda and Morgan was important for you to do. OK. Now I understand. So , I join with Victoria. What about Morgan? And what else has HE said about Dr. Brown? Mark

[Victoria Steele]

hey everybody.

I just noticed that MARK BEAN has registered on with the forum so I wanted to be sure to welcome him to this important flow of information. I think I have already told others here that I got interested in the work of Townsend Brown when I happened to see one of Marks demonstrations of Dr. Browns "tethered saucers".(Laughlin, I don't even remember what year

I was amazed, of course, but what really struck home with me was Marks stating his belief that Dr. Browns discoveries would eventually prove to be as important as Teslas work was to our present world. Well, that made an impact. So welcome Mark! How nice it will be to get your take on some of this material! Victoria