"When you wish upon a star..."

Last night was the Perseid Meteor Shower.  The peak was Wednesday, but I didn't hear about it on TV until yesterday.  Thus at about 11:00 I walked out to the lake and looked up into a wonderfully starry sky, with the Milky Way flowing like a river overhead.  In the space of about a half hour I saw nine "shooting stars."  Most were just fleeting streaks of light seen out of the corner of my eye, but one left a trail which endured for about three seconds, and three came as a cluster over about 15 seconds.  These steaks of light are bits of dust and debris left over from the passing of Comet Swift-Tuttle around the sun.  When this debris hits Earth's atmosphere, it burns up — and becomes the occasion for wishes.  I have nine wishes! •••