Shooting Stars

I stood on the deck for a long time last night looking for meteors, but the moon was as bright as a lantern in the night sky. 

Every now and then I'd see something on the edge of my peripheral vision, but I couldn't turn my head quickly enough to actually see a shooting star. I was a little disappointed because we're far enough in the country that city lights are not a factor when looking at the sky. But the moon was another story.

Several years ago when our nephews were in their early teens, we set lawn chairs out in the garden facing north. Jilda popped up a bucket of popcorn, and packed a cooler full of ice and soft drinks.

When the sun went down and all traces of red, orange, and purple faded from the horizon, the night sky turned the color of ink.

Just after 8 p.m. the light show started. When we'd see a meteor streaking across the sky, we'd ooooo and aaaahhhhh like we were watching fireworks. The kids had a great time and so did Jilda and I.  It was an experience that stands out in the noise of time.

That was memorable, but the best meteor shower I ever saw was in Panama in 1973. Panama is situated just a few degrees above the equator and in those days, most of the population was located in a few large cities.

I was in the Army and stationed at Fort Sherman. Sherman was an installation situated on a tiny tongue of land separating the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Colon.

In the jungle adjacent to Fort Sherman was an ancient fort built by the Spanish in the late 1500's. 

The walls of Fort San Lorenzo were still standing in 1973. If you weren't afraid of heights, you could lean over the eastern-most edge of the wall and see the Atlantic crashing on shore a few hundred feet below. Had it not been for the curvature of the earth, I think we could have seen Havana, Cuba.

I don't recall knowing in advance that it was a good night for meteors, but it was. 

It was a Saturday night and we all felt like were were million miles from home. We'd had a few beers and so we laid down on the wall near the precipice. 

Below you could hear the whisper of the surf, and the stars in the sky were as bright as penlights. 

All of a sudden I heard someone gasp. I wasn't sure if a snake had crawled up their pants leg or what, but then we all saw a meteor with a tail that streaked across the sky in slow motion.

I lost count of how many stars we saw that night, but some streaked from horizon to horizon. 

I was awed and humbled in those few hours.  I don't know that I've ever felt so small. 

So tonight, I'm going to set the clock and try once again to see some shooting stars, in the moonlight. I can tell you it will be tough to top that hot August night in Panama.