As I drove up the winding road to Devastated Area, I idly mused upon the morality of the energy crisis as I contemplated the crystal-clear skies. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was filled with friends eager for a night's observing. I counted at least 35 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 109. It was a blurry likeness of R2-D2. Next, attacking my personal nemesis, I tried for IC 747. It gave the appearance of a Black Rider hunting for Frodo. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I accidentally located M 26. It was like an edge-on barred spiral with a sharp dust lane. Next, I checked out IC 1856 in Draco. It was like fleecy wool. With that checked off my list, I found Abell 56 in Fornax. It appeared as cream being swirled into hot coffee. After that, I had a chance to see NGC 2430 in Fornax. It took me back to the first time I saw dandruff on black satin pajamas.
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 a kick in the pants with a copper toed boot.