From: Mike Strong, Austin, TX (mstrong [at] vignette.com)
Date:   Mon Nov 16 13:52:27 1998
Subject: Little Boy With Dropped Jaw...

I was ten years old... sound asleep in my bedroom back in Northeast Texas
(Carthage) when something woke me, I belive around 2:30 AM.  I don't
remember what it was.  I looked out my window and thought I saw something
odd.  I slipped out of bed and walked out our back door.  I just stood in
awe, slowly turning around and around to take in the whole dome of the
heavens above me.  The sky was a massive shower of meteors in every
direction.  I stayed spell bound for what must have been an hour.  Finally,
my neck began to hurt too much, and my kid attention span began to wear
thin.

I remember describing enthusiastically to my family that there were
"thousands of non-stop cat scratches covering the entire sky."  As most kids
do, I received the classic, "That's nice, dear" response.  I think that they
thought I just dreamed it.  Later I wondered if anyone in the world would
believe that I saw what I saw.  It gave me great pleasure to finally find
out the facts about it and hear that it was on the way back!  To bad it will
be day time in our part of the world during the peak shower time.

Well, I'm very blessed that I at least accidentally witnessed once that
truly rare moment that only occurs for two hours every thirty three years
and is one of the great wonders of our world.