Look straight south in the early evening, and you’ll see the familiar constellation Orion high in the sky. Above Orion, to the northeast, the constellation Gemini, the Twins, will be easily visible.
As my father was born, Orion was rising in the east. The stars of the constellation form a rough hunter, his shield before him, his rude club raised to slay some mighty beast.
When the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, time will be on our collective mind. Astronomers can measure these temporal milestones with incredible accuracy, of course. All you time aficionados will probably note that the ball will drop a few seconds too late or too early. It always does.
The Christmas season is upon us. Others may hear the jolly sound of Santa toting up the cash-register receipts. All I can hear is the wailing and gnashing of teeth as folks learn to use their new telescopes.