Well Joe---I'll give this a try. I'm not as eloquent as you, or Jeff, or Art, but here goes.
I've always been interested in the unexplained, or mysterious. My dad always told me that there had to be a reason for everything. So, things like the Lost City of Atlantis, Bimini Road, the Bermuda Triangle, UFO's, always got my curiousity. Then, sometime in the mid 1960's, he bought the book, the Search for Amelia Earhart, by Fred Goerner. Having been around aircraft most of my life, I was intriqued by the fact that she and Fred were 'missing', and had not been found. Well, that started a long journey in my mind as to what happened.
A few times through the years, I've thought about it, but never came up with anything that was conclusive. Well, several years ago, a guy named Ric Gillespie, was giving a news conference about Amelia Earhart, and having been on an Island in the Phoenix group, looking for clues. The mystery was reopened for me. I casually kept up with the search, seeing more and more professionals getting involved, and making contributions. Several years ago, I stumbled on the Tighar website, can began to read about the expeditions, the artifacts, and the amount of information gathered.
For me, Tighar seemed to be the only organization actively looking into the mystery, and making a gallant effort to solve it. I was fortunate to meet Jeff Neville through Tighar. Jeff, as it turns out lives 'close' to me. I found a friend that was a passionate about the search as I was. He didnt think I was crazy (well maybe a little), unlike most people I talked to about AE. Through Jeff and Tighar, I met alot of other very professional people, the seemed very grounded and sane to me. They all had different ideas about what happened, but in general, they all were interested in finding the answers. Several months ago, we all came together as a group to 'discuss' the project. Again, ALOT of professionals, and some people like me, fans of the mystery, gathered, talked, ate, exchanged differing ideas, but we all were there for AE.
So, after all of this, for me 46 years, are we any closer to solving the mystery? Gee----I dont know. AE and her story will always be a part of my life. Whether Tighar is able to solve this, remains to be seen.
Tom