What memories come to mind when you look at the stars at night?

[Paulie]

Shifting gears a bit, I guess, I usually think of pleasant times when I stare at the stars. My most frequent recollection in those situations is of my family's move from Powell, Wyoming to Cody, Wyoming, when I was 14. My brother and I were laying in the back of the pickup with a pile of stuff we were moving to the new house. The dog was there, too. Just the two boys, the dog, and some junk. But I remember the stars being very dense in the sky that night. I remember noticing that even in the few gaps where there appeared to be no stars, there were actually stars of lesser magnitude if you looked hard enough. It was a really pleasant ride. At the end of the ride, the dog got excited and stepped on a framed print Mom had purchased. He broke the glass, but he wasn't hurt, and the rest of us hated that picture, anyway, so it was good all around.

Good times, good times.

[Shazzer]

MollyRose and Glennajo..........I'm so sorry. I have no words. I haven't checked this thread out until today....



Molly, your hubby was a handsome guy.

[Shazzer]

When I look at the stars, I'm always reminded of the astronomy lab I took in college. I took it during winter quarter (back when the U of MN had quarters vs. semesters) and my "job" that quarter was to measure and track the constellation Orion. Anyhow, it ended up being a really fun but extremely difficult class. We had to mathematically measure the light etc. from prisms and calculate great distances between stars etc. It was really tough math, but I felt great because I ended up "getting" it and just felt really good about the class when it was finished. Because it was so hard, I felt like I really "did" something when it was over. And what was great was that the group I worked with was a really, really, hilarious group of people, with one person in particular who reminded me a lot of Will Farrell. And we got to spend a lot of time on top of the physics building, where there is a huge telescope, laughing and laughing and often times in shared confusion, which made everything even more hilarious. I don't think I've ever cried so hard from laughing before. Anyhow, when I look at the stars now, I'm always watching Orion come and go and disappear for awhile, and thinking of that tough but rewarding class.

[glennajo]

I'm very sorry for your loss, Molly. *big hug*

[Stargazer]

There was a meteor shower about 10 years ago that I watched with my Dad. We sat out on the deck in lounge chairs, just watching one after another race across the sky. He died in a car accident about a year and a half ago (wear a seatbelt everyone!!!), so now I imagine him looking down at me and my daughter (his first grandchild) from the stars. I don't mean to sound sad, because its not a sad feeling I get when I look at them. Its a warm feeling because I know he's still watching over me.

[eldee]

.......my family's move from Powell, Wyoming to Cody, Wyoming, when I was 14. My brother and I were laying in the back of the pickup with a pile of stuff we were moving to the new house. The dog was there, too. Just the two boys, the dog, and some junk. But I remember the stars being very dense in the sky that night. I remember noticing that even in the few gaps where there appeared to be no stars, there were actually stars of lesser magnitude if you looked hard enough. It was a really pleasant ride. At the end of the ride, the dog got excited and stepped on a framed print Mom had purchased. He broke the glass, but he wasn't hurt, and the rest of us hated that picture, anyway, so it was good all around.

Good times, good times.

Paulie, that sounds like a scene from a movie! Are you incorporating that into a story?

[Paulie]

Hadn't thought of that. Who'd want to read about my life, right? Thanks, though. That was nice.

[sher]

for molly and glennajo sorry for your losses.

when i look at the stars, which is rare since i live in dallas where the stars are nonexistent, the only thing that ever comes to mind is "star light star bright first star i see tonight...."

[Ilikai]

I think of the time I was freezing my butt off working out on the Ross Ice shelf hooking up runway lights and you could see WWWAAAAAYYYYY too many stars... damn southern sky is too crowded. You would get dizzy looking at them and then the Auroras would come undulating by and you would swear they were alive and coming to eat you until you realised it was just bad maonaise on the sandwiches again.

[MollyRose]

Thanks for the support everyone. Sorry I dumped that heavy load of self pity on you all, but it does help a little to share with someone once in a while.

I have a better night sky story. When I was in the fourth grade my teacher noticed that I was interested in astronomy. Since my dad had died the year before, she knew that I needed a little ego boost and took me under her wing. She asked if she could come over one night to star-gaze with me, and ended up coming over weekly for dinner with my mom and I, then we would spend a couple hours in the backyard picking out constellations. She was everyone's favorite teacher and I felt very special having her all to myself once a week. What an awesome teacher she was.