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1966 Leonids: Ed Cunnius
Ed Cunnius was six-years old in 1966 and living on his parent's ranch in north Texas. He related the following account to me in October 1998--
My mom woke me up that morning and told me to put on a coat and come outside. I don't know the exact time. We normally had to get up at six o'clock, and it was well before then--probably around five. I couldn't imagine what was going on, but it had to be something pretty exciting if I could wear my pajamas outside. As I ran out of the house, I remember my dad standing in the yard, quietly staring at the sky. I could see the reason even before I was completely out the doorÑthe sky was covered with meteors, all seeming to rain straight down. My dad explained that this was a "meteor shower" and that my grandfather had called to wake us up so we could see it. Facing east, I looked up and into the "center" of the storm where the meteors were so fast and constant it looked as if the earth were rushing through the stars. As it began to get lighter and the sky turned from black to dark blue; a gigantic fireball fell in the west leaving a visible smoke trail. It was bright enough to overpower the predawn sky-glow, turning the whole sky a pale blue-green. We watched until the sun came up. I don't remember the rates tapering off much, just that the very faint meteors became harder and harder to see. All morning faint, short-tailed meteors had provided a kind of scratchy background to the brighter rain of material. From that night on, anytime the weatherman announced a meteor shower was on the way, I would fully expect another spectacle like the Leonids. I was jaded at the age of six by the storm of the century.
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