Time machine

There is a memory from my teen years that I wish I could expand and enrich. My parents’ home on the outskirts of a small town in Colorado was the setting for magnificent and awe-inspiring views of the night sky. Far from the light pollution of the city, I was always overwhelmed by the vast number of stars set against the deep, dark background of space. Although there were a handful of nights spent in the chill air looking through a telescope, or trudging up the hill beside the house to get a less obstructed view, such events were too few. For a brief period surrounding a unit on astronomy, there was a flurry of increased activity as my fellow classmates joined me for star-gazing. I imagine lying face-up on the roof of our garage and allowing myself to get lost among the stars. I think about the length of time it has taken the light from those stars to reach me and I am again overwhelmed by the majesty of it all.