Walter,

I thank you so much for your good will. I have been rejected at every turn and to have a few positive words from anyone makes a lot of difference. You see, science, like religion, from time to time becomes so caught up in following the "rules" of the time, that they many times can't see the forest for the trees. I have looked at my rock with an open mind (and of course the experience of finding it), but most of those in science that I have contacted think every meteorite that ever falls will look like the ones they have already seen. The problem with my rock is that the high silicon content and delicate internal structure give it a fusion crust that is different than rocks of other materials and structures. Imagine that. So the scientist say my rock doesn't show the proper fusion crust for a meteorite, but none of them will look through a microscope to see it. Everyone who has looked at the rock through a microscope can see the melting and even the geologist report says the rock has natural melting. So my claim is only that the rock shows the proper results from moving through the atmosphere.

In all my experience as a scientist and a philosopher, the rock tells me a tremendous story of heat and how well the material can handle heat. Well now there is more proof. I had to take another sample the other day since I have found a lab that will give me a K-Ar test for only $400 of my hard earned money. There was quite a bit of sand and dust that came out of the many vesicles involved in the sample. This sample was taken from what I believe would be the bottom underside if you picture the space shuttle and imagine my rock in its place. I broke off a little "bridge" of material that spanned two larger vesicles. As I examined the debris, guess what I found? A little piece of glass. It seems that at least one vesicle was mostly filled with SiO^2 and melted into a little glass ingot that is the shape of the vesicle it was in. Melted in the middle of the glass, are particles like those around it. The top is melted flat while the bottom shows all the intricacies of the volcanic "crucible" it was contained in.

This tells me two things. First is that this vesicle was hotter than the melting point of SiO^2 and still retained its shape, so the melting point of the volcanic portion of the rock is probably very high. Second it tells me that the rock did have a specific orientation as it flew through the air. I think all of the melting would occur during the flight of the rock and it was probably cool by the time it reached the ground. Thus, since the glass is flat on top, the material must have been heated, melted, and then cooled while the rock was in the air. The most likely way this could have happened is only if the rock remained stable in a single orientation. When I look at the rock in its entirety, it is easy to see where the air currents, and thus the heating, were the strongest.

I have just heard from Hap and he gave me a name at the Smithsonian to contact. I will be doing that shortly.

Your friend,

micromike