Comets and Constellations

The sun drops below the hills across the valley bringing the day to a close. A thin layer of dark grey and purple broken clouds streach across the sky partially concealing the last colors of day. Lights begin to flicker on and grow brighter in the distance silhouetting trees and buildings in the dusk.

A wave of cool air ushers its way from the ocean, over the hills and across the valley floor pushing out the warmth that the sun left in its wake. This could have been any one of four evenings in the middle of march that Apollo and I spent together looking for the Panstarrs comet. The moist air and thin clouds prevented us from seeing the comet with our naked eyes, however, we were able to capture it on my camera with long exposures.

Ultimately, it was the quality one-on-one time that I was able to spend with Apollo. We talked about the comet, the stars, sun, moon, planets, and rockets. We talked about Orion, and yiayia and papa (who were visiting at the time) and numerous other things. I enjoy these moments immensely. I learn so much from him during these times and can really appreciate who he is becoming. On our second evening outing, a car pulled up on the all but now deserted stretch of road in front of the regional park by our house. Out hopped a mother and father and their 8-year-old son, whom rushed over to say "hi" to Apollo and I, and introduce himself. The boys mother made small talk for a moment and was happy to learn that we were out looking for the comet as well.  Upon looking up in the sky, the mother pointed to some stars.
 "See those three stars in a row? Thats Orion's belt!" she said enthusiastically.
"It's part of the constellation Orion," replied Apollo, "and my baby brother is named Orion."
"Wow! That's impressive! How did you know that?" said the mother.
"My dad told me." Apollo answered.
"And you have a brother named Ryan?" the mother asked.
"No! His name is O-rion, like the constellation!"Apollo snapped back.
"Mommy, whats a con-sell...a-shun?" whispered the confused 8-year-old.
At this point I could no longer contain my laughter, albeit bad timing.
"Well, with a brother named Orion, what is your name?" came the mothers voice, while ignoring my laughter and her sons question.
"Apollo." he replied.
"Apollo? What a cool name! So you were named after the stars too!" she said excitedly.
"Actually, I was named after the sun, because Apollo is the sun god," came Apollo's reply.
At this point I started laughing again and then apologized to the mother. I explained that I was laughing because I was surprised that Apollo was talking to her because he is usually painfully shy to strangers. I also explained that I was both proud of him listening to what I and been telling him and at the same time embarrassed that he sounded like a know it all.
  Not sounding convinced, the boys mother turned to her son then pointing to the the brightest star in the sky. "See that star? Its actually a planet and I bet it's Venus."
"Actually, thats Jupiter," Apollo clarified.

Our new friends left shortly after this
  We invited them to join us the next night as it promised to better night to see the comet, however, they were a "no show"... Can you blame them?