I didn't catch this year's (2007) Perseids meteor shower. I didn't really want to get up in the wee hours of the morning. Plus, I knew it would be no match for the shower I saw back in 1966 from Wichita Falls, Texas.

I had seen a few "shooting stars" in my short 14 years on the planet, but I had never heard of a meteor shower, so I was not prepared for what I saw on the morning of November 17, 1966. My father was leaving town on a business trip. My mother was to drive him to the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport, and me and my brothers were going to go along for the ride. We were up early, about 4:30, dressed and decided to step outside and wait for the grown folks.

I had barely hit the ground when I realized the sky was falling! There were meteors coming from what seemed like every direction. Large and small, dim trails and bright. Most were silent but some were close enough to hear a faint "sizzling" sound. There was not a moment when there were not multiple meteors zipping across the sky.

We lived in the East Lynwood area of Wichita Falls, on a corner at the expressway service road, and neither the street light nor the expressway lights were a match for this shower.

Sometime during the show, and without warning, there was a loud "kaboom"! One had exploded over the area of Loop 11 and U.S. 287, (about a half mile away) leaving a large green cloud. I know it was that close because the "flash to bang" time was just a second or two.

73,

WF5TX