So excited for the meteor showers over the weekend! I write on my calendar, I make a note on the whiteboard stuck to the fridge, and I plan my day and evening so I am home and watching the sky until the wee hours of the morning. I am prepped and ready to drive further into the dark boonies if necessary to get a glimpse at the meteor shower that is being touted as "the brightest in human history!"
I start checking the sky around 9:00 p.m., then again around 10:00, then 11:00, then more frequently. I have all of the lights out. The house out front has all of its lights out (probably because no one is home). I know I live a little close to the urban side of suburbia, but I can still see stars and the moon on a clear night, even with all of the lights on -- my lights, neighbors' lights, industrial lights, street lights. Tonight, though, the sky is merely gray and star-less.
I check the weather radar. Rain is to the west with a few thunderstorms further behind. My area, though, is in the clear. I should be able to see to Infinity and beyond. Tonight, though, Infinity is no closer than it is every night; there are no streaking stars in the sky tonight.
I stay up until 2:00 a.m., waiting and searching and hoping to see what the scientists claim we will all see. Instead, it's all just a huge pile of bullshit. Tonight's sky is no different than any other night sky, and, quite honestly, I am bored out of my mind and probably look like a flaming idiot peering outside every few minutes.
Give it up, kid. Jiminey Cricket isn't singing to you tonight.
