memory 33.mem.002 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

From my earliest memory I knew beyond a doubt that my life was different than other children's lives. I feared the visitors that would come to my bedroom unseen by my parents in the night. At the time that I was a child in the late 1940s there were no movies about ET, Close Encounters, or Independence Day. I knew, however, that I was fearful of "space aliens" who came to visit when I was alone and defenseless.

Their preferred method of entry to my room was through a window and my parents were perplexed at my inordinate fear of sleeping near one. They would also lure me outdoors where they would be waiting. I struggled against these liaisons but in the end their will prevailed. I would hide in a secret refuge in a walk-through closet that led to my parent's room. I would see bright lights emanating from my room that no one else was awake to see.