More on Greenwell
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 5th, 2005
Richard Greenwell, who just passed away, reportedly had planned to write a book on cryptozoology, but never did. Few knew that he had co-edited two books. His first was Nutrition, Food, and Man: An Interdisciplinary Perspective by Paul B. Pearson and J. Richard Greenwell (ed), Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1980.
The second reflected his interest in ufology, which came before his cryptozoology involvement. It was Sightings: UFOs and the Limits of Science by Ronald Story and J. Richard Greenwell (ed.), NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1981, and London: New English Library. A paperbound version was published as well, New York: Quill, 1982. Greenwell’s name, therefore, is often found in early ufological works because of his analyses in that field.
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One of the first “professional” interviews I ever did was with Richard when I was 17 and writing a column called “File O’ The Damned” for an LA music magazine. He was witty and inspiring. I tried to play devil’s advocate, saying that it was very unlikely that any significant new animal species would be discovered on the planet, and he pointed out that there are still places on this planet where modern man has never stepped foot, and that oceans not only cover three quarters of the earth, but are three dimensional–more space for strange beasts to hide in! It may sound simple, but it was something I hadn’t considered…
Two years later, I was living in San Francisco, because the city college offered a course in zoology. On one of his Bigfoot expeditions, he stayed at my cramped apartment in the Mission district, and entertained me with stories of motorcycling through South America. I thought he was enchanting, even though he was short! I remember we tried to figure out how to get an expedition to search for the Mongolian Death Worm financed.
Richard, no matter where he was, always seemed to be dressed as though he were about to go on safari. Even his clothing had an air of adventure to it.
I had been out of touch with him for some time when I found myself in Phoenix unexpectedly a few months ago, and tried to convince my travelling companions that it would be worth the two hour drive to Tuscon to visit him… we didn’t make it, and a while later I recieved an upbeat phone message from him. He didn’t mention cancer, or being sick, just that he’d love to talk to me… I didn’t return his call, darn it. Richard was a huge inspiration to this young Fortean and I will miss him dearly.
Is this the Skylaire I met with Greg Bishop in La Jolla circa 2001?