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How Many Once In A Lifetime's Do You Get?

Did you see the Northern Lights?

A spectacular once in a lifetime event for many parts of the US.

It happened over the weekend.

The night skies turned different colors depending on where you were.

North of the Mason Dixon line.

Pink skies with shades of blue.

Greener skies the further north you went.

Or clouds.

The weather folks on Friday night said our chances to see them were low.

So I went to bed.

And woke up to pictures and stories of an amazing once in a lifetime sight.

Which shows to prove that you should never “trust” the experts.

Or take what they say with a grain of salt.

Even that tiny piece of expert advice should be questioned.

Saturday they said it might be back.

A second shot at a once in a lifetime event.

Which had me wondering how many once’s they were offering.

But we’d have clouds.

I walked out to check.

And they were right.

There were clouds.

I watched to see if they would clear, watched to see if I could see something through them, around them or under them.

But all I saw were streetlights reflected off the cloud cover.

Too much light pollution.

The experts said that would affect the viewing too.

Sunday morning dawned at 5:12 for me.

So did dozens of pictures of “the most amazing thing you’ll see in your life.”

From as close as five miles from my house.

Better in North Arkansas, but as far south as halfway to the bottom of the state.

The clouds were as selective as the weathermen, or waited until the Sandman claimed my attention and moved out once I went down.

Then last night, one more shot at a once in a lifetime event, proving the old adage that these things do come in threes.

One more shot of clouds too as we prepared for a week of wet weather.

At least in the first half.

Three chances to see something awesome, three misses chalked up to circumstance.

I’m not too worried though.

There are plans to go see them for real “real” in a Scandinavian country a decade from now, after travel ball and high school are done.

And who knows how geo magnetic storms are produced in that swirling ball of fire we call the sun.

It shoots them out all of the time, and some of those times, we happen to be in the path of particles that skip across the surface of our atmosphere to make the light show.

Maybe they will visit the natural state again too.

The night sky changing color was once considered an ill omen.

A beautiful sight portending bad things.

Growing up, I saw a movie called NIGHT OF THE COMET, where a rogue interstellar visitor brought beauty on a night visit and left a plague of mutants in it’s wake.

I haven’t been out and about today to see what the Northern Lights southern tour left behind.

Other than the litter of pictures that dot the Facebook/Instagram landscape.

But if it’s zombie mutants, well, if you read BATTLEFIELD Z, you know I’m prepared.

And if it’s just some great memories and stories about “You shoulda seen this,” well, I’m ready to listen to those too.

It will be like a legacy.

A once in a lifetime legacy.

Thrice.

We added EVERGLADES ZOMBIE to the store today, so if you were waiting on it, your copy is ready.

We also have updated TEMPORARY MERC – a sci fi adventure on Youtube, so go click play and let it roll.

Have you see the awesome trolley in downtown North Little Rock? I think it makes the Argenta District one of the best places to visit, and it’s free to ride. 

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