Catch A Falling Star

Tomorrow is the actual anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination. The media has been all Kennedy all the time. I have watched every one of the retrospectives. If you follow this blog you know I have written about the assassination several times over the last week. There is one more JFK essay to go, it will appear in this blog tomorrow and be the last Kennedy article for a while. 

Everyone old enough remembers exactly where they were when they heard about the assassination. I've written about that.  No more conspiracy theories just the memories of a new kid at Belt Line Junior High.

But--

It's time for a Kennedy break. Time to write of other things again.

It gets dark so early now I am not sure what time this happened last evening. As I open the door to let my dog Boo go outside, I notice it is overcast and misting. I stay outside to encourage her to be quick. I am not sure how wet she will get from this very light percipitation. The mist is too fine to even call it rain, tiny particles make the yard sparkle. I look up to see the driveway light reflecting off the small drops resting on the tree leaves. They look like stars on a overcast night. Then...

Movement in the sky distracts my attention.  At first just a shadow I can't identify.  There is no sound of a plane or helicopter only silence. As I focus in on the object it flashes red for a moment. Not like the light on an aircraft more like a glow sweeping over the object.  I can see it as a shadow against the grey sky, it is oval shaped. It's altitude is hard to judge but it is between me and the high clouds.  It appears to be moving or rather hovering just above the large ash tree. I don't think to reach for my camera but consider the possibility the unidentified floating object is an actual UFO, an alien craft attempting to land on my driveway.

The closer it gets the more detail I can see. It is not frightening so I walk to the driveway directly beneath it.  It gets almost close enough for me to touch it. There is no writing on it, nothing to identify it.  I am very excited as it gets closer, I know what this means.  The UFO becomes an IFO, identified is a star-shaped red helium filled Mylar balloon gently losing altitude and floating right into my hands. Just like Roswell, my flying saucer turns out to be a balloon.

I have no idea how far it traveled, nor what occasion it celebrated. No written greeting printed on it, just a red party balloon. It had plenty of helium and should have continued to soar higher and higher except for the weather. The weight of the mist sticking to the Mylar had eventually weighed it down to my level.  Inside I dried it off and the red star quickly floated to the top of my ceiling. Finally I remembered my camera and took a picture.

I see it as a good omen.  The native Americans believe if you could catch an Eagle feather before it hit the ground it would bring you magic.

Then there's the old Perry Como song that goes:  "Catch a falling start and put it in your pocket - save it for a rainy day."  I thought the event ripe with positive metaphor and symbolism. It was a good thing.   The mist delivered me a gift.  I caught a falling star.

As you were,

Jay