BONUS MYSTERIOUS AMERICA

So, we have seen what one man can do with, well, junk in Austin but Vince Hannemann is not the only sh in this very small pool. At a tiny crossroads in the small town of Bowman, South Carolina they have a guy named Jody Pendarvis and his own junk creation – the UFO Welcome Center. When I heard of this Welcome Center my interest was piqued and knowing Rathjen and Kamil were down in that region – well, more or less – I set them on a task. It is hard to miss this place and Rathjen told me when they were riding into town Shira was tracking their route on her phone. The Durango had come to a stop and Shira told Rathjen that she was pretty sure the UFO Welcome Center was down this block and around the corner. Rathjen pointed out the windscreen and said – “No, I am pretty sure we’re here – unless the town has two.” It is hard to miss this “creation.” Built from scrap and junk it dominates Homestead Street off of Route 178. According to our friends at Roadside America… “The saucer-shaped UFO Welcome Center stands in Jody’s yard. He began building it in 1994, intending it to be a place where aliens could be comfortable meeting people from Earth (it’s 46 feet across, the same diameter as most UFOs, according to Jody – really?). He later added a second, smaller saucer on top so that the aliens can take Jody with them when they leave.” From their report Rathjen was all gung-ho and, with no one in sight, he started inside to explore… perhaps meet a wayward junk loving alien.

Looking back, he said Shira was standing there, her head swinging left and right. “No, that’s okay Indiana – you go ahead. I’ll wait here.”

Smart gal, as this place, being created out of junk, might be a tad unstable and does not seem, God forbid, up to South Carolina building code. Inside, the rst oors had real stairs, after that any up meant climbing some aluminum ladders, that kinda leaned against the opening to the next level. Rathjen did eventually come back down, only to head back in – evidentially he felt a well-positioned Backroads sticker, which might give him some brownie points with the aliens when they show up… and they will show up. He thought the funniest thing he saw was a wooden plank that said… “If this shit takes off, we are in for a wild ride!” That’s the truth. When the aliens do come back to Earth they might think twice about Bowman, South Carolina’s Welcome Center – First impressions count. ~ O’Life Out!