Contemplating the Stars

Nothing I’ve read in the L.A. Times hits home as hard as Jose Cardenas’ piece (“Once Again, He Has Stars in His Eyes, Dec. 26) on sky watching. When I first came to Los Angeles, I thought the “Star Maps” advertised on Sunset Boulevard were constellation guides. I felt terribly thwarted in my attempts to continue my customary nightly constitutionals. Although I could walk (sort of; it had to be in circles, like a gerbil in a wheel) I’d rarely see the stars. There was the constant blaze of neighborhood lights that never turned off, plus the haze of smog and the proximity of buildings. Even on clear nights, the only way I could see Orion was to stand in the middle of the street and look up, not exactly an intelligent thing to do (but I did it). The rare times in my life that I have seen a spectacular night sky are emblazoned in my memory: the Milky Way as seen from the woods near Medina Lake, Texas; the Southern Cross during a pitch-black, scary walk from the bus station to the hotel near Trelew, Argentina; an unexpected meteor shower followed by a close encounter with a skunk, in San Diego’s north county (the sublime and the ridiculous.) Wherever I am, I thought, I can count on the stars. They are my old friends. As I write this, tears come to my eyes when I realize that my Los Angelized children have yet to meet them.

BELLA SILVERSTEIN

Bel-Air