It's Free For All Friday - yea! -and tomorrow, the 28th, at 8:30 PM (your time - wherever you might be) we're all being asked to turn out  the lights.  It's a Black Out!

So cool - of course, the notion behind the black out is showing your concern for climate change, global warming - a very good cause.  But  for me, I'll be doing it for another, much more nostalgic, reason.

Where I grew up, you could see the night sky.  That's right: you could actually see the stars - billions and billions of them  (thank you, Carl Sagon.)  And it was glorious!

These days too many places are affected by sky glow - that yellowish cast that spreads out in the sky for miles and miles, making star gazing virtually impossible.

One of the places I've found in my travels that doesn't suffer from sky glow - Marrakech, Morocco.  Just one of the many reasons to visit the beautiful city!

But I digress - back to growing up.   One of my favorite memories from childhood is staying out late on a warm summer night, lounging around, just staring into the Milky Way.  Spectacular. 

And as anyone knows who's done the same thing: the mind plays tricks on the eyes - and in no time at all, you get the sensation of falling into the stars.  If I'm going to fall - that's the only way I want to do it!

Sometimes here in the city, I have a hard time remembering what a starry sky really looks like.   But here's a very short video - a time lapse - that brings it all back: