Dear Readers, I’d finished performing in a sold-out show in Porto, but it was too late to catch a train back to Aveiro, which required me to stay overnight in Portugal’s former capital. A local Canadian comic offered to let me crash on his couch, though he wasn't available to host until after attending a charity auction. Needing to fill time, I casually walked along the cobblestone sidewalks with no predetermined destination, chatting on the phone with my comedy booker friend as we debriefed my show and discussed the philosophies and intricacies of comedy shows and audience experiences.
All of a sudden, just before midnight, amidst the yammering cascade of my opinions, silence gripped my tongue as I was stunned by a giant blue shooting star streaking across the night sky, lighting up the entire block as though the sun had risen. My neck whipped quickly to follow its rapid trajectory, and my mouth remained open until the illumination disappeared into the dark horizon. Immediately, I shouted, “OMG! I’ve never seen anything like what just happened! Dude! That was the biggest shooting star I’ve ever seen in my life!”
Even writing about this now brings an elation and excitement through my chest, much like recalling the thrill of riding Greased Lightning at AstroWorld over and over again. This sighting was the neatest! I continued walking and chatting until I was compelled by the cool swank of an old leather, brass, and cherrywood historic bar.
Kelly S tone Educator, Comedian, Shooting Star
I hung up and went inside to savor an aguardente until I heard from my comedian couch host. As I sat alone, swirling my mammoth ice cube in a tiny cyclone of strong drink to coat the shape of my fancy glass, I received a text from my ayurvedic practitioner in Texas. “Did you see the meteorite?” It tickled me immensely to have someone on the other side of the world checking in to see if I was lucky enough to witness this celestial event. “I effing did!” I responded and bragged about how it lit up the sky. She commented that it was a wild thing to see, and I relished the uniqueness even more.
When I reached my friend at yet another way-cool venue, I asked if anyone there had seen it too. No one. Not one person. I thought I might have imagined it all. I showed the rapid spread of internet links and chatter that were emerging about it, but no one but me knew what I was talking about. (Like, what kind of gases are in a meteorite because this type of gaslighting felt out of this world!)
Now, I didn't get to experience the total eclipse this year because it wasn't visible here, and I'm missing out on the Perseid Meteor Shower. Last year, in Lockhart, Texas, it offered me the biggest shooting star I'd ever seen — until this one. I guess things really are about being at the right place at the right time, and I feel honored and wildly lucky to have seen the meteorite that surprised Portugal. It reminds me of a saying that has carried me through most of my life: “Reach for the stars. You may not get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.”
I find comfort in knowing we are all collectively under the same moon and that we cycle through the newness and fullness together. Although we are catching different stars, asteroids, meteors, and eclipses based on our geography, I know that we are all cosmically connected. Keep looking up, y'all. Enjoy this year's shower, and don't forget to make wishes on all those shooting stars.
Xoxo,
Kelly Stone is an educator, comedian, mother, and author who loves the heck outta the river. She welcomes e-letters at kellystone.org or kellystonecomedy@gmail. com and adores handwritten notes and postcards via good ol’ snail mail.
