As I drove up the winding road to the middle of nowhere, I idly mused upon the impact upon modern astronomy of Dilbert as I contemplated the approaching chlorofluorocarbons ... would it be warmer tonight?. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was filled with friends eager for a night's observing. I counted at least 54 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 81. It was a blurry likeness of ripples of water. Then, I tracked down NGC 6220 in Lynx. It appeared as a waterfall. Then, for a real challenge, I stumbled upon IC 2727. It was as bright as a dodo bird, extinct but for this celestial likeness. Then, I tracked down Abell 59. It looked like Demi Moore. With that checked off my list, I found by accident B 393 in Cygnus. It sparkled like a UFO. After that, I identified M 37 in Perseus. It seemed fainter than Smokey the Bear. Next, I tracked down M 61. It looked a bit like the invisible man. Next, I tracked down NGC 696 in Fornax. It reminded me of the pillars of creation. After that, I logged Abell 67. It seemed fainter than Demi Moore. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I star-hopped to Abell 86. It glowed, rather like Miss Piggy. Then, I showed some guests B 182 in Ophiuchus. It appeared at low power like a far-away cloud.
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 yet another town star party with clueless newbies.