Friday, July 07, 2006

In the Eye of a Buffalo: Mission in the Moonlight



Earlier in the day: U.S. astronaut Jeff Williams (left) and the Russian commander of the International Space Station celebrate the docking of the shuttle Explorer with the space station. This happened yesterday before the herd saw the the two spacecraft as a far-away streaking speck of light.

So, I’m sitting in the parking lot of the Buffalo Trace Trail at Mahomet last night with fellow buffaloes Scarface, Devil Dawg, the Cable Guy, and Cousin Don. We’re being our usual silly selves after a trail run as we suck in the suds of various breweries when all of a sudden, “Look, up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s . . . what the hell is that?” Darting toward the three-quarters full moon in a cloudless sky is a small lighted object. Too fast for an airplane. “Its gonna hit the moon!” barks one overexcited bison. “The moon’s gonna explode!” Uh huh. Calmer minds prevailed. “It’s the space station.” Oooo. The light of the International Space Station and the shuttle Discovery streaked through the heavens and disappeared. Quite a sight.

Or maybe it was just a lightning bug. Just another adventurous night in the life of a buffalo.

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