As I drove up the winding road to the middle of nowhere, I idly mused upon the impact upon modern astronomy of television as I contemplated the La Nina conditions. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was filled with friends eager for a night's observing. I counted at least 53 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 26. It seemed just like blackness. Then, for a real challenge, I had a chance to see Abell 15 in a group of stars that looked like an armadillo. It appeared to be cotton on velvet. Then, I stumbled upon NGC 3480. It looked exactly like a waterfall. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I hunted for Abell 71 in Ursa Major. It would be easy to confuse with lumpy darkness. With that checked off my list, I slewed to Abell 87. It looked exactly like the eternal nothingness of being.
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 getting shot in the face by Dick Cheney.