At my last high-school reunion, one of my dearest classmates hugged me and, without hint of irony, whispered, “You’ve had an interesting life, Gary.” Ah, the power of hugs! But did you notice her use of past tense? Such a small thing, but yeah, I noticed, because our stories are hardly over. Life was then, …
Author: Gary Parkerson
The Pedaling Astronomer
As If It’s Your Last
It was a perfect day, encompassing a lifetime, full and complete, in but a single cycle of our sun. We talked throughout it, between her short naps. She dozed as little as she dared, lest she miss some precious moment, including her final in this realm. That afternoon, she asked again for my stepdad, and …
Silly Scientist
Long ago, a friend asked that I arrange “a romantic night under the stars” for her Las Vegas-based supervisor and his betrothed. When I reported the plans I was making for a dark desert site, including a large telescope operated by an experienced astronomer, my friend asked, “What about a bonfire and champagne?” I explained …
Who Are We?
After I finally finished school for the first time, most new encounters eventually got around to: “What do you do?” Come to think of it, when I went back to school 20 years ago, I was old enough that people still asked that, so I guess it has more to do with being “working age” …
Out and Away
I was just 1500 miles into the initial 48-state portion of this continuing journey, when I stopped for a meal at a patio bistro on Missouri’s Katy Trial. The Big’s distinctive profile gets noticed, even where other bicycles abound, and a young lady at the next table asked about the bike. I explained the mobile-observatory …
Cat People
I was never a cat person. I still have a scar on my left index finger, the gift of the irate Siamese who bit me when I was four. And I was allergic to cats when young. I was allergic to many irritants, actually, but cats were among the worst. My eyes would itch, then …
Welcome!
The Pedaling Astronomer Project began as an outreach/education effort focused solely on the August 2017 Great American Eclipse. When I set out in May of 2016, I did not intend to pedal beyond that event. But the project’s impact exceeded my expectations, plus it was ridiculously fun, so I continued with the simplest of strategies: …
Pollywogs
The whole point of taking pictures is so that you don’t have to explain things with words – Elliot Erwitt. An able photographer would convey that the tadpoles’ shallow pool was but a small sample of roadways flooded by early-summer storms that inundated the U.S. heartlands that season, leaving destruction and yet, yes, life, in …
A Good Story
When he realized the load I was pedaling versus the journey ahead, a new friend chastised that I had planned poorly. Conceding I had indeed scant strategy, I continued, “But which story is more compelling? One: I anticipated and prepared for every eventuality. There were no surprises. Or two: I had no idea what I’d …
Needs in the Time of COVID-19
“Life’s too short,” says Jill, explaining why she was quitting an acting gig in a commercial. “You gotta do what makes you happy.” “Yeah,” Jack, the advertising executive, responds. “The thing is, people don’t know what makes them happy. They think they know, because we tell them. Real happiness is bad for sales.” (Jack and …
The Pedaling Astronomer Project 