And so it’s Friday… But not just any Friday – it’s FRIDAY THE 13TH!
I know a lot of people believe it to be an unlucky day but, knock on wood, I’ve never been very superstitious.
I am, however, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty tired. Why? Well you may have heard on the news that last night was supposed to be the perfect night for viewing the “Persied Meteor Shower” – something that only comes around every 133 years or so. The experts said that the optimum viewing time to see this spectacular show would be between 4am and 5am. So, being the amateur astronomer that I am (okay, not really – but I did used to like the way Carl Sagan said “billions and billions”) I made the decision to get up in the middle of the night and check it out.
I set my radio alarm clock, (not the one by my bed – the one in my head that is still programmed to get up early to do the show) and woke up promptly at 3:40a.m. I put on my robe and slippers and headed out onto the driveway to watch the show. It was a perfectly clear night, so my expectations were high.
For the next half hour, I stood gazing upward - waiting to be amazed. This was quite a risk for me, because if you remember, the last time I looked upward for a half-hour I passed out at the Sistine Chapel looking at the paintings of Michelangelo.
While I stood there, I remembered that the meteorologist on TV had said that what we would see streaking across the sky wasn’t actually the meteor itself, but debris it left as it hurtled across space.
Well guess what? I SAW SOME DEBRIS! Unfortunately it wasn’t from the meteor, it was the stuff some raccoons had left behind after knocking over my neighbors garbage can.
As for the big Celestial event? I saw nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Oh well, I’ll just wait for my next chance in the year 2143.
Have a great weekend and don’t be afraid of this whole “Friday the 13th” thing. I’ve always found April 15th a lot scarier!
See you Monday,
- Dick