Keith Barlow: Spanning the Generations: A Comet and a Blanket

The traditions and heirlooms that connect us to our ancestors are as varied and unique as we are. Keith Barlow brings us this Perspective.

Very early one morning back in 1986, my dad dragged us out to the back porch to become acquainted with Halley’s Comet. Halley was in the pre-dawn sky as we gazed over the Pleasanton hills – my dad, my mom, my wife, who was pregnant at the time, and me. And though yet unborn, I know my daughter witnessed our new friend Halley with us.

My dad was an amateur astronomer and he built his own telescopes at the Chabot Observatory workshop in the 1970s, so getting up early for comet-spotting was natural to him.

To commemorate this event, my mom stitched our new comet friend into the baby blanket she was already quilting for her soon-to-be granddaughter. All the grandchildren got handmade personalized blankets. These blankets were my mom’s gift to the ages.

It’s now 2024 and Halley’s Comet recently reached its furthest distance from the Sun. Our celestial buddy from 38 years ago is now headed back on its return trip and I’m reflecting on what’s changed since 1986. My parents are gone, that back porch belongs to someone else, and my wife and I are now the grandparents. But our daughter still has her blanket adorned with Halley’s comet.

And in about 37 more years, our old friend Halley will close the orbital loop here in the solar neighborhood and shine for us once again, as comets are wont to do. Halley’s appearance was a spectacle in 1986 and it’ll be even bigger and brighter in 2061. My wife and I will probably be gone by then, but I expect that my daughter, her husband, their children, and their children’s children will welcome Halley back as a returning friend.

75 years after that back porch viewing, the arc of my parent’s foresight will close a generational loop when Halley’s Comet in the heavens meets up again with Halley’s Comet on the blanket. Some people pass on their legacy with pyramids, and some pass on their legacy with blankets.

With a Perspective, I’m Keith Barlow.

Keith Barlow is an Information Technology professional and a wanna-be amateur astronomer.