(meteorobs) Geminids - Not, but...

[Aaron Clevenson]

I enjoy hearing all of the wonderful sightings that many of you have 
reported.  Sadly our observing was almost a total loss.  In fact the 
only positive thing was this poem I would like to share with the list...

What if we threw a (star) party
      and nobody came?

It was the night of the Geminids,
In the year two thousand and nine.
The announcements and emails were sent,
According to the grand design.

I am at the Observatory,
Ready for the crowds to arrive,
Without a moon, with an open sky,
This year the meteors should thrive.

Sunset is here, but the clouds won=92t part.
And to top it all off, heavy fog.
What if nobody decides to come?
That will not look good in the log.

With fingers crossed and my hopes not lost,
I anxiously sit without fear.
For although it looks quite foreboding,
The Canadians said it would clear!

Yet here I sit, lest someone should come,
Without even one star to see.
For hours and hours, with roof closed;
The lonely astronomer me.

Even the other astronomers,
Who stayed warm, at home, without blame,
On the night we threw a star party,
And the night that nobody came!

      by Aaron Clevenson