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(meteorobs) re: Watching For Fun
At 10:06 AM 7/22/99 -0500, Gregg wrote:
>Count me in, Bob, where watching for fun is concerned.
Nice post, Gregg. I, too, enjoy just sitting out under the night sky once
in a while, sans recorder, light, charts, and all other paraphernalia, just
to enjoy the spectacle. I used to do it a little more often, in the
pre-marriage, pre-children, pre-responsible job, pre-night school days. As
far as your Perseid record goes, I say more power to you. Life is not a
string of numbers, real life is (or should be) a string of oohs and aahs at
the wonder of it all. When we lose sight of the wonder, lose our oohing
and aahing, that's the time to quit visual meteor observing.
In the end, true meaninglessness is defined as strings of numbers that wind
up in obscure papers in dusty journals stacked in the back of some library.
I find true meaning in my taking my older daughter out to watch Perseids,
and sharing her excitement. Years from now, those will be important
memories. When I think back on more than 20 years of meteor observing, I
remember a few spectacular meteors, yes -- but mostly I remember a whole
bunch of great folks that I've observed with over the years. Oh, I play
the science game, but once in a while I am reminded, as this discussion has
done, of what is really important. What Gregg is doing, he does for his
personal satisfaction - and if he's happy, who are any of us to call what
he does worthless? If some abrasive, semi-literate buffoon wants to attack
him, let him have at it. I have once again activated the filter feature of
Eudora, and posts from anyone who acts less than sentient on the list are
once again directed to the trash without passing before my eyes. I highly
recommend it... makes for a much better meteorobs experience.
JB
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