I hadn’t realized until my wife and I moved back out to the country just how many shooting stars fall in a given night. Nearly every time I am outside, in the dark, to feed the horses, whether it be early morning or after sunset, I usually see at least one or two. ((My wife is slightly bitter – she has yet to see a single one.)) I don’t remember ever seeing so many as a kid, but then again I grew up in the mountains, so maybe it was a factor of having less sky to work with. And living in the city was never conducive to star-gazing.

Seeing shooting stars has a way of sparking the creative juices. It makes one think of what might be out there in the black. One recent night in particular had a particularly high showing of shooting stars – as I stood watching, listening to horses quietly munch their hay, I saw at least half a dozen streaks of light. ((BTW – think about how fast an airplane appears to move across the sky and then think about how fast shooting stars move and you begin to get a sense for just how fast those little meteorites are moving!)) Then the image came to mind of a little girl and her father lying in the grass just outside their home watching a meteor shower, and a new story was born. Of course, given the way my mind likes to twist things, the story’s ending is a little bit disturbing.

But that’s a story for another day.

_Keep your eyes open; ideas can come from anywhere._