I like to think that once in a while I write something that someone else may enjoy reading; that it may even give the impression of intelligence behind these tired blue eyes. Experience has taught me that that really depends on who reads what I write. Earlier, I was thinking about the time I first saw the stars in the sky. No, really saw the stars in all their glory. I was in summer camp in the mountains of north Georgia, away from city lights and any lights at all. Camped out in the woods, the evening was spent around the campfire listening to the camp counselors tales of woe and doom for those who would stray from the light of the campfire. Tales of men whose ghosts still haunted the woods looking for revenge they had yet to find. We were at once horrified and thrilled. And I can’t recall those words in that combination too many times since in my life. As the fire slowly consumed the the logs and burned to a dim glow under the blanket of ash it had created, I tired of sitting and lay back to continue listening to the macabre tales of lore in a more comfortable position. The stars. I had never seen the stars before. Oh, I had seen the night sky with the brightest stars pitted against the night sky. But I had never seen the stars like they were tonight. There were no gaps between the stars. No dark areas in the sky. The constellations I had seen from my back yard had suddenly been flooded with more stars than I thought could have existed. And all so clear. Even the faint galaxies could be seen painted against the dark canvas of the night sky. I don’t remember the stories told that night, or how cold it was even a few feet from the fire. But I do remember the fire of seeing all the stars in a night sky I had never seen before.

So, how do you describe the stars in the night sky to someone who has never seen them? I for one don’t know enough words to accomplish that task. My dictionary and thesaurus certainly are of no help in describing the at once complex and yet simple beauty of a night sky full of stars. It is something like love…you have to experience it to know it and even then, you can’t describe it.