The meteor shower last night. (And once upon a time in some Greek island)

 Google reminded me of the Perseids meteor shower last night.


(Perseids 2007)

I tried to see the meteor shower yesterday but nada. I think I am asking too much this year. First of all the area I live in is very very bright. Plus the sky was covered with thick clouds. But around 11:00 they cleared out and you could see stars even in the city; so  If I was at my sister’s house, were there aren’t many city lights I could possibly maybe see something. But this year there is one more factor against us. As NASA reports, “Unfortunately, the waning gibbous moon is up between midnight and dawn – the best hours for meteor-watching. Although the Perseids tend to put out the greatest number of meteors during the wee morning hours, the moonlit glare will wash out many if not most Perseid meteors in 2009”

So in a desperate attempt, around 01:30 or so, I turned all the lights off, I Lied on my back on my “treasure chest”, that’s up against the wall under my window, I put a pillow on the window ledge and rest my head on it. There I stayed for a while staring at the sky. Mhm. Nothing. The sky was too washed out by the city lights and too bright by the moon. Ah well, next year.

I used to watch it every summer since at this time of the year I was always in some island and the country side is always friendly to celestial phenomena. Last time I watched it was in 1993 in the island of Ios in a field of rocks. When everybody was going to the dreadful clubs and pubs, I would climb the rocky dark areas with a walkman (yes there were no mp3s back then) listening to Morrissey, Christian Death, Mecano, Simon and Garfunkel ( yes you know which song) until I could see no more, until it was too dark to continue and the only thing lighting my way was the meteor shower, not even moon just the “stars”. 

So this is also the last beautiful memory I have from the Greek islands. The Perseids meteor shower in 1993. It is nice this way, away from people.

And the only time I shared my “rock” with another person and we watched the meteor shower together was again in the island of Ios in 1992 with my Italian friend Elias.
And it is such a coincidence remembering him now, since this name is very significant in the book I am reading (and actually finishing today, I have 10 pages left). And I remember he was the first one who told me that in Italy this phenomenon is a holyday called San Lorenzo day (or The tears of Saint Lawrence, or the Jewels of Saint Lawrence)

- Poor Christians they always have to make up stories -

I wonder what is my friend doing right now. If he is happy. If last night he was somewhere out there watching the sky too.