Wednesday, April 19, 2006

HAPPENSTANCE

Happenstance
Definitions:

chance occurrence: a chance occurrence or event

[Late 19th century. Blend of happening + circumstance]

I wonder sometimes why things happen the WHEN they do. Timing is of the essence, so someone said. My DD is just one example and I like to use the term happenstance, instead of accident . . .

I am a stargazing freak. No, really, I am. We live in the country and this is one of the exceptional enjoyments that we have out here, away from the city lights. I look up the constellations online and print them off and take them outside (with a flashlight, which is hard to do, look at a print-out with a light and then shut your eyes for ten seconds to readjust and then try to find what the one for which you were looking) and find the ones beyond the Big Dipper and Orion, Little Dipper and Lyra, which are easily spotted.

I have star maps that I print out and the ones that are harder to find, I pick a nearby constellation that I know well, and then find the more obscure ones by kind of playing "connect the stars". LOL

So, I disgress. As part of my regimen, I am supposed to walk a lot. It does help my back, so, if I start hurting, I stroll around. Well, last night, I strolled out to the front of the house, looked at the stars and as Parkersburg is on that side of the house and the lights do dim the view, I decided to go out to the back, to see some more stars, facing the darkness of the south. Just as I hit the sidewalk and looked up, I saw the most magnificent shooting star . . . green and it went from one end of the sky clear to, well, the roofline of the garage. I think my exact words were, "Whoa, WoW, Jeez" so loudly that my mom came to see what was going on. HAPPENSTANCE.

As I do a lot of stargazing, I do see many falling stars, but rating brilliance, this is at least in my top 3. One was a bright green one that almost looked like a firework spark, that you see in a firework display and the other, shot through the light of the moon and I just can't describe.

posted by Unknown @ 4/19/2006 01:20:00 PM

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