Teddy Bears

Two nights ago there was a rocket launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, just south of us on Point Conception, carrying some do-hickey for the Air Force. I believe it carried a pod of stuffed bears in a capsule, or something.

The launch was to take place at 9:24 PM, and I was hoping to make it to that hour despite having played in a golf tournament for the past two days, and having played the day earlier as well. I was pooped, but lay in bed reading anyway, just trying to make it to the appointed time. Well, the book was boring, the hour too late and when the time for the launch came and went and nothing happened I just gave up. I did not wait long past 9:24.

( I did not get to see this)

During the first fits of sleep I was kicking myself for being such a wimp and nodding off because I had seen a daytime launch when we were here in January and I thought a night observation would be pretty cool – much better than daylight hours. The bedroom windows were wide open and I strained to hear the rumble of the launch, but I am getting older by the minute and am told that my hearing is not what it used to be, so I got out of bed and peered out the window for maybe 15 minutes. No launch. The sky was crystal clear and there was zero air traffic, as you would expect. Back to bed.

A short while later I heard a low, deep sound, enough to wake me from my semi-sleep, and I was certain that it had to be the teddy bear missile, so up again. So all that I see is an oldish arching contrail headed out over the Pacific and a jet at high altitude moving due west from us making its own new contrail. I had missed the launch and had been awakened by the jet plane that was flying into cleared air space.
No report on the teddy bears.