26NNW

Last night my father and I sat at the bottom of our driveway in Northern California looking south, waiting for the orbiting US space station and space shuttle to appear like comets in the 9:19 PM sky. My dad had gotten out his telescope that is as old as I am. We once tracked the orbit of the four visible moons of Jupiter with it one summer.

Last night we were staring at Jupiter again, in the summer sky, wondering if suddenly it would split into to two orbiting masses and not be Jupiter at all, but rather a station and a shuttle orbiting the earth. It showed no signs of movement. Our watches read 9:19 PM. We were beginning to wonder if we had gotten gipped.

Last night my mom came out of the house, said "Oh, you're both out here." She said, "The NASA website says it is 9:21 PM for our location. 26 something. NNW." North North West. 26 degress off the horizon line? We bolted off our concrete seats to our feet, made for the center of the deserted street (no longer staring into the street lamp in the South East) and Mom asked if that was the Big Dipper; it's so big, so close to the Earth.

Last night the space station and shuttle appeared above our front yard's aging plum tree as if birthed from the bright star it left behind in its orbital path around the Earth . The first was duller than the latter, but still we weren't sure we believed it was the shuttle, the station: so bright, so fast, so close. We waited to see if the latter, bright object orbiting the Earth followed the same trajectory we made note of as the first made its path across the stars.

Last night Dad said "Look, the second one is going over the same star." That must be them. Those must be them. Mom said "The website said we would only be able to see them for a minute. Other nights they will be visible for longer." Then the first one started to fade, as if going behind clouds said Dad, as if being beamed across the sky, Scotty, I thought.

Last night the latter object orbiting the Earth (The station? The shuttle?) faded just as the first had done, just at the same spot in the North North Western sky at 9:22 PM. All those employees of the US Government floating by, orbiting. Me, on the Earth, wondering how it is they don't get motion sick.