[meteorite-list] Reward offered, bounty hunters listen up!

From: MARSROX_at_aol.com <MARSROX_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:55:49 2004
Message-ID: <83.15a3b46f.297de726_at_aol.com>

Open letter to Ron Baalke:

We all agree it would be fascinating to find a copy of the appropriate 1911
issue of the Nile Delta, Arabic-language newspaper, "Al Ahali" with it's
farmer-saw-a-dog-get-hit-by-a-meteorite mention. What a souvenir! I'd matte
and frame it and hang it in my office. Maybe, as you suggest, there would be
additional info not found in the "Egyptian Gazette" which translated the "Al
Ahali" story. But maybe not. How do you propose "we" acquire this paper?

I sought this paper out in 1997 when I was writing the Nakhla feature for
"M". Letters I have written to the Smithsonian, Egyptian Embassy and the
Museum in Cairo regarding this paper have gone unanswered to this day. An
"Interlibrary" loan for this newspaper bracketed around certain dates came
back empty.

I am not planning on traveling to Egypt in the foreseeable future. That
leaves these possible ways to search for this paper.
- You go to Egypt and look around for the probably defunct "Al Ahali's"
publisher's office and see if they keep their old papers around or on
microfiche,
- You use your US Government credentials to gain some "priority pull" with
our Embassy in Cairo to request a search for, and copies of this paper.
Perhaps someone in our government would go on a wild-goosechase for you, a
fellow government employee, NASA/ JPL/Mars web site administrator.

I admit I haven't asked our Embassy to do this because in my International
travels I've found our American Embassy's to be useless. It's illogical to
believe that our Embassy in Cairo would assist an unknown nobody like me
("You want what newspaper?!")- especially by mail. But perhaps they'll help
you.

I don't define this as "working together," but if you want to do something
positive, there you go. Do it. If you can get the paper, I'll get a
translator. That's teamwork.

But I'll remind you that you first suggested this get-the-paper idea in 1999.
I've given up on getting this paper after five years but apparently you
haven't even made the first request since you thought of this a couple of
years ago. "Working together" doesn't mean that one comes up with an idea and
sits around waiting for someone else to do the work. I've tried and failed to
get this article. Be my hero and try yourself. I really hope you succeed. I'd
love to have a copy!

Meanwhile, what "new" idea(s) do you have to prove a dog was hit by a
meteorite one clear morning near the River Nile? You know, one that we can
work on......... together?

Alternately, anyone else still reading this (bla,bla,bla), especially anyone
that hunts up Hot Desert Meteorites in the environs of Egypt with time
between camels on their hands, I'm posting here a $200 cash reward for a copy
of this "Al Ahali" newspaper in question in legible condition. This offer
will not expire until I do.

Kevin Kichinka
Received on Mon 21 Jan 2002 04:50:30 PM PST