As I drove up the winding road to Devastated Area, I idly mused upon the morality of the human spirit as I contemplated the ominous thunderheads on the horizon. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was filled with friends eager for a night's observing. I counted at least 24 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 15. It looked a bit like a glimmer of the Big Bang. Then, for a real challenge, I hunted IC 1615. It was like a spitting cobra. Then, for a real challenge, I showed some guests NGC 5648. It somewhat resembled a spider. After that, I tried for B 404. It somewhat resembled an inflamed monkey butt. Then, for a real challenge, I found by accident B 496. It appeared at low power like an edge-on barred spiral with a sharp dust lane. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I accidentally located Abell 76. It gave the appearance of the last six objects I'd seen. With that checked off my list, I checked off IC 3740. It appeared at low power like Miss Piggy.
Finally, it was time to pack up and leave. As I drove home, I contemplated the events of the night, and realized that any night out under the sky with good friends is better than stale peeps.