Stars

With our cold weather the stars have been eye-popping for the past few nights. When I'm in bed I can look up at the skylight and see them glimmering. A really beautiful way to fall asleep. It got me wondering if parents tell their children about the constellations anymore. When I was in the Second Grade in Oakland our parents put fluorescent stars up on the ceiling in our bedroom - an early sort of nightlight. They told us about The Big Dipper, The Little Dipper and especially Orion and his belt and dagger. We often looked for those constellations at night and there was great excitement when we found them. I still look for Orion. I suppose that now most places are so brightly lit that it's hard to see the night sky.
Once when Sputnik was orbiting we were in Vista, California visiting cousins. One night we all went out on the lawn and lay down to look for Sputnik. My grandfather - with only one good eye - was the first to spot it beeping its way across the night sky.