Years ago, when I bought my house in the country, the nights were so dark that star-gazing was an ongoing adventure. Now the city lights are creeping in, and it seems that there is perpetual dawn on the horizon. This cuts down on the beauty of the night sky considerably.

But this was the week of the Perseids.  (BTW, I had to look up the pronunciation – everybody says it differently. Just so you know, the dictionaries all say it is purr-SEE-uds. I was one of the ones that had it wrong.)

So, a friend and I decided to get up at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday (the 13^th) which was purported to be the best night for viewing, and drive to a point we had scouted before. With no trees or other obstructions and very little ‘light pollution’, it seemed a good place to catch the action.

It was a beautiful, clear night, but the moon was just past being full so the sky was very bright. Bummer. We unfolded our chairs and arranged them with our backs to the glowing moon, and began searching the darker horizon for streaks of light. I was promised sightings, and by golly, I was gonna get them.

There! No… an airplane. Oh, was that one? (I didn’t see it – he did).

AH!  I SAW ONE!!!!

Stare at sky. Turn to friend to say something, only to miss one he saw over my shoulder. Darn!.

Shhhh….something’s in the grass. Possibly a ‘possum or armadillo. Bark back at the dogs we heard in the distance, just for fun. Oh…there’s another streak!…..Watch some more….

At the end of an hour, he had spotted three that I hadn’t; I saw one that he didn’t; and we had seen four others at the same time.

Let’s go to I-Hop to get breakfast.

He and I and the waitress (the only three in the place at 4 a.m. besides the cook) discussed Mom and Pop restaurants that no longer existed.

You know, I really enjoyed the outing.  Go figure.