Chapter 66: Hot Town, Summer in the City

Use this section for any discussion specifically related to the chapters posted online of the unfolding biography, "Defying Gravity: The Parallel Universe of T. Townsend Brown
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Paul S.
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Chapter 66: Hot Town, Summer in the City

Post by Paul S. »

Paul Schatzkin
aka "The Perfesser"
"At some point we have to deal with the facts, not what we want to believe is true." -- Jack Bauer
flowperson
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Post by flowperson »

Hi Paul...You are spinning 24 carat gold.
And yes...Martin Decker was a real dick !

flow.... :wink:
Dancing is better than marching
Mark Culpepper
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master of the quiet twist

Post by Mark Culpepper »

Yes Sir. You are turning into the master of the quiet twist.

This is a chapter so full of personalities you almost forget that there is something secret going on behind all of Lindas hard work and enthusiasm for the " loudspeaker". But things don't always need to be said to KNOW that they are happening.

Just like that empty townhouse rented ahead of time. I don't need an outline to figure that those two lovers did not stay by that Rittenhouse Lion all that long! And is it just me or is anyone seeing Dr. Browns quiet hand here?

The same situation goes for the Cutlass in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. You don't need proof in this situation to know that something is connecting in the shadows!

A great chapter. And a wondrous ending. Three ships huh? and the " Argonaut" being one of them? Coincidence raises its head again!

Lisa especially liked the correlation between Dr. Brown and that old horse. She said it reminds her of the two of us! Thats alright with me. I can understand Dr. Brown wanting Linda close. Sounds like he was working to his absolute max and you need all the strength you can muster in times like that.

Your research is impeccable Paul. Bravo to you and Elizabeth! MarkC
Victoria Steele
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magic

Post by Victoria Steele »

I agree with you Mark. I have this hunch that Dr. Brown knew exactly what the timing of this meeting was going to be.( speaking of Morgan getting that "pass" and being able to meet Linda.) How convenient that he got that Townhouse ahead of time and that Linda would be able to have that key in her pocket during that evening. She KNEW exactly what she was doing. Good going girl! Reminds me more and more of her father all the time!

And if you look at the arrival time of the Cutlass it looks like it dovetailed nicely with the testing of the fan/loudspeaker. So, actually Dr. Brown had completed one situation before the ship showed up .... and if she stayed until the fall I wonder then what the excuse for the big " push" would have been?

Definitely two plates being spun at the same time and I sort of feel for Linda now because she only was allowed view of that one spinning plate. I enjoy her enthusiasm and loyalty. I'll bet she would have worked all summer long if her Dad had needed it. Strangely though it seems that they were working hard during the day and then he was working twice as hard by going in again at night,. Amazing stamina and drive. Victoria
Martin Calloway
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miscellaneous service from the pier

Post by Martin Calloway »

In the context of what you have written here that phrase becomes one of the most interesting leads ever. "Miscellaneous service from the pier" Just what the heck then was being carried on board? Not popsicles for the crew, I'll wager.

But the Cutlass is being specially outfitted, thats obvious.

How did you ever find these deck logs Paul? Wonderful!

SUNDAY July 1 she was on keel blocks ... receiving miscellaneous service from the pier .... and where might Dr. Brown have been on a Sunday on the ist of July. I would wager that he was " at the lab", or thats what his family thought.

And suddenly, oddly, I am reminded of that old movie about the Philadelphia Experiment. Remember? some scientist hand carried a " black box", rememember that old story ? aboard. And in the movie this particular man ( who was the scientist in charge of the program) played with his glasses too in one scene. Just an odd memory of a film I haven't seen in years. And we all know Hollywood. But it just strikes me as odd that suddenly we are talking about "pierside services" and Dr. Brown with his rumored connections to that wild Philadelphia Experiment stories is just a few miles away. And obviously there are more connections here or Paul would not have mentioned it in the first place.

Someday we may all have to cast another glance at " The Philadelphia Experiment" just to see how the whole thing was crafted because it seems to me that we are finally getting closer and closer to the mystery of that Experiment.

Anybody remember that old movie? And of course that brings us back around to talking about the book too which I know has been a long time coming. Paul avoided getting caught up in the discussions because I can see now that he realized that most of it was a smokescreen to start with and trying to "prove it out" would have been an excercise in futility.

This is fascinating stuff Paul.

And I got hung up on something that Dr. Brown must have said to his daughter and she dutifully recorded it in her journal. I think that it was a tiny glimpse into what else might have been going on there at the lab. She asked him I think what would happen if they had much more power than they were using for the loudspeaker. What was he thinking about I wonder when he responded to her " Not for this unit, Sweetie, not for this unit"

I just get the strange feeling that he was talking about something else just then. Martin
ladygrady
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taking moments

Post by ladygrady »

I was struck with the attitude that Linda had developed. Morgan goes away .... she is not counting the days for him to come back so when he does come back into her life it comes as a surprise to her. She is willing and half expects him to be gone for good. Notice that he makes a big point of telling her that he loves her but does not say ..."I'll see you soon, or when I get back, or anything" She seems resigned to the fact that she may in fact never see him again. Thats an odd sort of reaction for a young girl that is so very much in love.

And of course Paul cuts to black at their meeting at the Rittenhouse Lion and does not mention what might have happened afterward. She has that townhouse key in her pocket and it sort of reminds me of the flip side of the experience they had in Zanesville, when he got the key for the room. I think that she had said to him something and his response was " I just get what I want" and in this case .... I think it was her turn.

But able to let all that go? afterward? What? did she go back to work at the lab? must have, obviously. So what happens next? Stay tuned . grrrrr.....

A great turn of events so nicely told. With a tab on everything and that Argonaut mention at the end is ....... strange .........

And, by the way . I have been reading about the Cutlass. I think we have talked about this already but I am reminding you all ( since we have mentioned the " Philadelphia Experiment" again that she was involved in a project called " Rainbow". Now isn't that odd and a half? grady
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Post by Bulwark »

Very good chapter you have there Paul. Having visited Philadelphia while staying with a relative in New Jersey, we visited Philadelphia and saw the sights you mentioned along with a few others such as the Franklin Institute. That in and of itself was probably what sparked the fascination of science. You have created your own virtual time machine and it was a good ride, for me.

However, I do find it a little ........... distressing, unnerving, confusing (pick one or add one)...... in that we stopped with Dr. Brown at the Pearl demonstration and now we see him in a lab at Decker's.

I understand that there are two story lines in one and I thought, perhaps wrongly, that the two would eventually meet. We now see Dr. Brown working with his daughter Linda and actively in the second storyline. What happenned after Pearl? Meadville? Winterhaven? Bahnson? His first tour of duty at Decker?

Are we going to jump in your time machine for a flashback? Are the two storylines going to continue seperately? Will they ever merge? Same time, same channel....


Bulwark
Paul S.
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Re: miscellaneous service from the pier

Post by Paul S. »

Well now, Martin, you certainly seem to have picked up on all the cues... <g>
Martin Calloway wrote:How did you ever find these deck logs Paul? Wonderful!
That was actually one of my more successful forays into the National Archives in College Park, MD. Was actually the same visit where I learned that all the FBI files had been destroyed.

But, as you have noticed, the Deck Logs are just the most cursory of records. They tell you where the ship was, and in some case what she was doing, but so far as that dry dock was concerned, "miscellaneous service from the pier" is about all it says. Day after day of "miscellaneous service from the pier..."
SUNDAY July 1 she was on keel blocks ... receiving miscellaneous service from the pier .... and where might Dr. Brown have been on a Sunday on the ist of July. I would wager that he was " at the lab", or thats what his family thought.
Well, let's see... we could check his personal notebooks, but, then, remember... "No notes were made" from 1959 to 1967. We're right in the middle of of that period.
And suddenly, oddly, I am reminded of that old movie about the Philadelphia Experiment. Remember? some scientist hand carried a " black box", rememember that old story ? aboard. And in the movie this particular man ( who was the scientist in charge of the program) played with his glasses too in one scene.
I noticed that too, and when I saw it turned to Ann and said "that must be the 'Dr. Brown' character..."

Someday we may all have to cast another glance at " The Philadelphia Experiment" just to see how the whole thing was crafted because it seems to me that we are finally getting closer and closer to the mystery of that Experiment.
I wouldn't bet the farm that we will ever uncover the whole truth regarding all of those mysteries, but in due course I'll offer what (little?) I've got on the subject. I think I included some of it in the Las Vegas presentation.

While I'm at it, I must give credit where it is due: including that little 'coda' at the end of the chapter with the "Cutlass" references was Elizabeth's idea. I gave her a preview of the chapter to read yesterday and SHE suggested throwing something in about the Cutlass arriving at PNY during the period we were writing about. That's when I went and opened up the deck logs that I'd retrieved a year ago.

Sometimes the key to success is having good ideas yourself. Most of the time though, it is recognizing good ideas when they go by...
And I got hung up on something that Dr. Brown must have said to his daughter and she dutifully recorded it in her journal. I think that it was a tiny glimpse into what else might have been going on there at the lab. She asked him I think what would happen if they had much more power than they were using for the loudspeaker. What was he thinking about I wonder when he responded to her " Not for this unit, Sweetie, not for this unit"

I just get the strange feeling that he was talking about something else just then.
I think you are right about that. I am going to have to go back and cull through the out-takes from this chapter, because there was not only that reference to "more power," but also a brief note in Linda's journals where she wonders why they aren't also working on the "microphone" side of the electro-kinetic speaker equation. And that brings us back to Morgan's initial observation the first time he saw the speaker in Dr. Brown's den at Ashlawn: "so, nobody would be able to hear it, huh?"

Chew on that (as Morgan himself might say).

--PS
Last edited by Paul S. on Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Paul Schatzkin
aka "The Perfesser"
"At some point we have to deal with the facts, not what we want to believe is true." -- Jack Bauer
ladygrady
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excellent question

Post by ladygrady »

Excellent question Bulwark. When do we see the nexus here? I have a feeling that its coming. Paul is a careful craftsman of his work so I am sure there is a plan and in fact sometimes I think that this jumping back and forth in the storyline is in fact a plan to keep us all " off center"

But yes, sometimes it is distressing. You just get all comfortable with one situation and WHAM you are back somewhere else and have to adjust your mental settings. I have wondered where the meeting point of these story lines will be myself. Where are we going next I have wondered? Back to the lab in 1966 or somewhere maybe in Washington DC in the fifties. ( note here that there is just ten years difference, when it used to be twenty .... so the gap between the story lines is closing) Interesting thought and question. What happens when they meet?

The Cutlass in Norfolk ... nested up with a ship called the Argonaut. Thats just .... odd. grady
ladygrady
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messages in the aether

Post by ladygrady »

Our messages are crossing in the aether. So while you are in the mood for telling us just a little more . Can you tell me for sure ( you MUST know?) Did the couple rendezvous at the townhouse later? Was there something Xrated left out of your commentary? <g> You didn't say but I have the feeling thats what happened and I would really like to know for sure that I am right.
Somehow I expect thats what happened and would really be disappointed if it didn't. This is a supercharged couple here, getting cheated out of alot of experiences together. Nice to know that they were REALLY together when they had the chance. Can you say. I know that Victoria too must be interested! grady
Paul S.
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Additional Text Added

Post by Paul S. »

After reading Martin Calloway's comments above about the "more power" reference in this chapter, I have combed the out-takes and added this additional text to the chapter:

[quote] Along with all the other skills she acquired in the course of assembling the giant loudspeaker, Linda also notes in her journal that she was developing some unexpected expertise in the audio quality produced by different recording studios. “The fan is so accurate in ‘reporting’ what has been recorded,â€
Last edited by Paul S. on Thu Sep 13, 2007 4:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Paul Schatzkin
aka "The Perfesser"
"At some point we have to deal with the facts, not what we want to believe is true." -- Jack Bauer
Paul S.
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Just wait...

Post by Paul S. »

Ah, Bulwark, nice of you to join us... <g>
Bulwark wrote: Are the two storylines going to continue seperately? Will they ever merge? Same time, same channel....
The intent is that they will merge, though you might need 3D glasses to see how it all fits together...

--PS
Paul Schatzkin
aka "The Perfesser"
"At some point we have to deal with the facts, not what we want to believe is true." -- Jack Bauer
Victoria Steele
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if I had that key

Post by Victoria Steele »

Are you kidding? A beautiful EMPTY townhouse! I'd like to know, like grady, that they did in fact go to there for some really private time. They deserve it, that time together, don't you think? So anything you can say for these voyeurs out here would be greatly appreciated!!!!!! Victoria
grinder
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microphone?

Post by grinder »

what, what, what, what?

Thats like a BOMB of information just calmly dropped in there.

A microphone! Of course! Listening device. The opposite of what they were doing at Deckers would have been something that the Navy would have been ALL OVER. And like you said ODDLY for some reason or another while the fan ended up in almost every living room as the Ionic Breeze the loudspeaker has never been developed and the microphone has never even been mentioned! AMAZING DISCOVERY THERE PAUL.

And me too. I want to know about Linda and Morgan. grinder
twigsnapper
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many spinning plates

Post by twigsnapper »

Congratulations Paul on an excellent chapter.

And especially on your latest look at the microphone end of things. You know what my lifelong interest and expertise has been and you also know my activities that summer. So you have just uncovered one of the "spinning plates" that Dr. Brown had going that summer.

A mistake in dealing with his activities would be to limit things to " either/or situations when in many cases it was " as well as".

You know already how brilliant he was. Imagine now being placed in a situation where a man like that is taxed to his near limit. A microphone for the Navy and a ship up on "blocks". A loudspeaker for the public and perhaps EVEN MORE for the Caroline Group while a certain ship was up on the ways getting outfitted. Remember that one hand does not necessarily know what the other hand is doing, except for Dr. Brown of course.

And as for the young couple? They were smart enough to live life to the fullest. But they both were somehow aware enough of what was happening around them to know what they were doing was vital and worthy of sacrifice. I still would expect bubbles.

Exceptional chapter Paul. Well done. twigsnapper
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