Blue streak at Letha House

Two questions.

Do you believe in the possibility of extraterrestrial life?

Have you ever been to the Letha House?

Letha House Park, out on Richman Road in Chatham Township, has a permanent observatory run by the Cuyahoga Astronomical Association in partnership with the Medina County Park District. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary farm building. Nothing flashy. But on public nights, the roof rolls back and the whole thing opens to the sky.

Families gather. Strangers stand shoulder to shoulder in the dark. Everyone looking up at the stars.

Which brings me to a night, a couple years ago, when my wife Cori and I drove out there to see some Aurora Borealis action.

Weatherman Mark Johnson had said something about it, and my wife cannot get enough of Mark Johnson’s live weather updates when the weather gets weird. And you know the strange celebrity and power weatherpeople hold over us Northeast Ohio folk.

Anyway, we pulled into the parking lot. One person there with a telescope. Otherwise, nobody.

We got out of the car.

Next thing we know, we look up.

“What the heck was that?”

A massive blue light streaked over our heads. It felt close – three houses above us close. It sounded like an airplane descending.

The random telescope guy in the van? The only other person at the park? He packed up and left. Missed everything.

And then, my ’90s brain kicked in.

“The X-Files.” Roswell. Area 51. Art Bell at 1 a.m.

We ruled out fireworks. So what was left? UFO? UAP? Can someone explain the difference?

You know, Earth is a pale blue dot. Thank God for the great Carl Sagan. But it’s a blue dot in a universe with billions of stars.

Statistically, something else could exist.

But contact? That’s a different equation, isn’t it?

On the drive home, Cori and I barely spoke.

Before bed, she showed me an article.

What we saw? A meteor. Relief! Likely part of something called the Draconid shower. Hundreds falling that week.

That made sense. But the relief quickly faded for me. I couldn’t help but wonder – just because it wasn’t “them” this time, does that mean it’s not “them” any time?

Reverend Joss, played by Matthew McConaughey in the film Contact, said it best. Science and faith. Our goal is the same – the pursuit of truth.

But as I closed my eyes that night and tried to fall asleep, I heard “The X-Files” theme in my head and wondered:

If you were an alien, wouldn’t you just disguise your ship as a meteor if you were going to pay us a secret visit?