Another day, another affirmation. Yes, I am a hopeless romantic.
In the news today, you might have noticed the astronomical event known as Perseids. Don’t ask me how to pronounce it. Ever since I was a wee lad I’ve always been fond of the stars. My grandmother gave me my first telescope, and I loved finding an excuse to use the thing. I remember staying up outside and watching an eclipse, looking at the moon, wondering what the planets would look like when they were aligned; Whenever asked why I loved astronomy so much as I was growing up, I would simply reply “because it’s endless.”
No matter how much camera equipment I could ever have at my disposal, there’s simply nothing that could quite capture just how beautiful and humbling the view of the night sky is here in Iraq. So tonight I decided I’d go outside and sit a spell, watching crumbs of a comet spout into flame as they enter the atmosphere. The contrast is breathtaking. You have meteorites burning up less than a mile above you, highlighted by the creamy divide we know as the milky way, all enveloped by a sea of stars, each represented by a tiny waivering speck of light, all light-years away…
And then I go sit down in front of my computer and type this up.
Upon every star I wished, I wished for you.