The Visitation

When visiting south Florida, at the end of December, something wondrous appears out over the water. There, on clear nights, which is most of them, around midnight, due south, over the water, gleams a jewel. Something new and out of the ordinary. Something special. It must be a visitation of some sort, hovering low over the water, reflecting - look - it's right down there, past the reef. But no. It's not new, no matter how much of an exciting relief that would be. No, it's just Alpha Centauri, suddenly revealed over the bulk of the earth, buried deep in the southern hemisphere. There it lies, a constant companion for those south of the equator, but to this northerner, it's a glimmering spaceship on fire coming in for a landing on a distant island. Soon, alien visitors will come ashore and hopefully they are friendly, and have viewed us from afar, from their home and from orbit and from right over there. And they will bring enlightenment.

Nope - just a bright star, visible during that time of the year, only. But you can still dream, if for just half a second.