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| Sailing HideAway original art by Matt Maloy |
“Kinda reminds me of Kansas - Up on that hill, overlooking
an open field… A late summer night”--- Remember?”
“But the moon was full, the air was warm, we had a blanket,
and the stars were brighter - It was wonderful”
“Just wait for THIS show to start”
“When?”
“About one AM”
“Ha!”
“They’ll be faster than speeding bullets, more powerful than
loaded trains and able to leap small sailboats in a single bound” I fervently
hoped.
“Ha!”
Let The Show Begin!
Four billion years ago a mass of primordial material two
miles long had ambitions of becoming a planet. It is still wandering the universe collecting
things from which stars are made and, unlike most of us, shedding the unneeded
stuff.
First discovered in 902 AD, the comet was often found and lost
much like a tourist from a tundra state.
Found again in 1366 and 1699, named Tempel-Tuttle in 1865-66, found
again in 1965, and finally 1997.
As the comet comes closer to the earth, tiny bits of space
dust are blown off like parts from my old pickup. These we know as meteors, shooting stars, or
a left front turn signal cover.
In 1833, as now, you could occasionally see a shooting star
and make a wish, but nothing could prepare you for events to come that
night. In a time when light was made
only by the sun, moon or fire, this night the sky blazed with streaks of light
so bright they woke you from a deep sleep.
Standing on your porch, you realize there is a point when an event
changes from being interesting to becoming a potential disaster over which you
have no control. Are the meteors just flying by or does the
world end tonight? No one knew, and even
if they did the telephone, television or radio had not been invented yet to assure
you everything is going to be alright as thousands upon thousands of meteors rocketed
across the night sky.
Nice show – OK, Turn
It Off…. Now… OK?....
One hundred and eight seven years later they started coming
a few at a time, building suddenly to hundreds, then hundreds upon hundreds,
with no let up for hours. Huddled in
HideAways companion way, we watched in wonder as the meteors came east of north
- bow to stern a mere 87 miles above the earth and flying 160,000 mph. Without a horizon the larger meteors seemed on
course to collide with the Gulf of Mexico, or perhaps, us.
I was beginning to realize my importance in the universe was
smaller than a grain of sand blown off the tail of a lost comet. After some time, and this will read a bit
strange; I could sense a meteor coming.
Not quite a sound, more than a feeling, I could point out the larger ones
before they arrived. A conundrum; if light is faster than sound, how could I “hear”
a meteor before it could be seen?
When you are anchored some distance from reality, far from
rescue or comfort or real understanding of what is happening, the thought that
we aren’t invincible gnaws on the edge of confidence. I remained silent as a Leonid meteor all
these years.
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| Space Alien Dancers? Sailing HideAway |
The Party Appeared
Meanwhile, on distant Shell Key beach, by Pass A Grille channel,
a huge bonfire raged. Silhouetted dancers, who looked like cave
drawings of semi-alien space beings come to life, silently twisting and leaping
and twirling with moves that seemed not of this earth.
Our world had been condensed to thousands of flying space
ships and a group of interstellar cave aliens wildly gyrating around a huge
fire on a sand bar in Florida.
We were caught up in a late night space horror movie – Not
unlike today’s Covid situation.
The Morning After
Sleepy from waiting for oblivion and thankful the sky did
not fall, the partially awake HideAways ran aground next to a beach covered
with party remains and left over space cadets. Of the pile of exhausted dancers, one bone
thin survivor rose, cursing the dumb sailors as he waded with unprotected feet,
shirtless, into the chest deep November water. Smoke from his cigarette burning his eyes, he winced
as he gave our stern a hearty push.
“Are you the dancers we saw last night?”
“Whaaa??” He groaned
“Weren’t no dancers ‘cause we don’t dance”
“By the fire?”
“No fire mon”
I tried to offer
thanks, but he had turned towards the beach, flicking his cigarette away as he
walked, still laughing at the dumb sailors, he retreated to the warmth of the herd. We caught a fast tide from Pass a Grille
channel doing 5kn under bare poles, a befuddled Captain at the tiller, bound
for the next opening of Structure C.
This Just In
Recently, scientists discovered meteors release Very Low
Frequency radiation (VLF). Radio waves that may have been heard, or in my case,
felt, by hundreds of “Earwitnesses” over the centuries. Studies have shown that aluminum foil, plant
foliage, pine needles, thin wires, dry frizzy hair and especially, wire rimmed
glasses can become an antenna. I have a
vision of a frizzy haired space scientist laying in the grass at night on a
hill in Kansas. He has taken off his hat and laid it beside the foil wrapped
remains of supper that he had dropped on pine needles imported from Colorado
for my vision. After cleaning and
reinstalling his wire rim glasses he hears a strange sound. He spies a light in
the night sky. He has discovered Electrophonics. This is important because I was wearing wire
rimmed glasses the night of the space alien cave dancers. That is why I could feel/hear the meteors before
they passed over. (I hope) Further
studies proved meteors and comets have all the building blocks of life on
earth. Proving what my generation
already knew. We are Star Dust.
Leonid meteor shower 2020
dates SE United States
November 16-17 - 77 degrees at 25 degrees altitude - 15 per hour predicted - excellent viewing expected - no moon. Next major 2031. Bring your own frizzy hair.
SMALL BOATS ROCK!
