Fiery re-entry

Trails in the sky
Delray Beach, FL, December 2009

About this photo: We're sharing photos from vacations - recent, childhood, far away and close to home, whatever - all week long. To jump into the latest Thematic Photographic, just click here.

I've often written about my habit of staring at the sky (see here, here and here for earlier examples.) I come by it honestly thanks to a childhood spent largely lying face-up on my front or back lawn, peering endlessly into the ever changing sky. Adulthood hasn't cured me.

Being a kid in the era of film, however, my parents understandably weren't about to entrust me with their camera. So these hours went largely unrecorded, existing only as dusty memories from way back.

Thankfully adulthood has given me more options to remember. On this late afternoon in Florida (please see here to share your own vacation-time vision), the kids had just finished up another arduous day of swimming in the pool. As they wrapped themselves in their cushy towels and tried to stay out of the ever-lengthening shadows, I noticed these streaky clouds overhead. I immediately thought of meteor showers, Hollywood-esque comet trails and, sadly, STS-107, and thought this was a moment I wasn't willing to remember strictly in my head.

Your turn: What does this remind you of?