Sons and Shooting Stars

1 December, 2008 -- Duluth, MN

Eldest Son was home for Turkey Day this past weekend. That was something to be thankful for. He and I got an unexpected gift along the long dark stretch of Hwy 210 somewhere between McGreggor (where his ride left him at the DQ) and Aitkin. The brightest shooting star I've ever seen went streaking across the sky in front of us, leaving a neon rainbow tail as it flamed through the atmosphere. It was ten times brighter than any shooting star I've ever seen before. Youngest Son, sitting in the back seat saw the sky light up but didn't see the color show unfortunately.

Here is a "Did you know?": The rock falling through the sky is called a meteoroid. The trail of light is a meteor. If a piece of the rock survives to reach the earth, that is a meteorite.

We picked up Youngest Son's ski gear from Continental Ski Shop last week. He should now be all ready for hitting the slopes. Skiing is not exactly a low entry cost sport, but we split the cost of the skis, bindings, boots, and helmet so it wasn't quite as bad a financial jolt as it otherwise would have been. I hope he enjoys it for quite some time. Now, where is all that snow?