I also marveled at the contrast between the cozy inside and the ferocious outside that night. The storm was battering the small observatory building and the combination of warming temperature and increasing wind was causing pieces of ice to break off the radio transmitter tower just a few yards away and slam into the observatory. I didn’t think I was in danger, because the walls of the observatory had withstood every previous storm and the thick plate glass windows were protected by heavy steel grating, but it was an unusual situation for me.

There was also an unusual effect inside the building. The observatory’s plumbing vents opened to the southeast, which was the direction least likely to bring high winds that would blow back up the pipe. That made sense. Now, however, the wind was coming from the southeast, and this argued for caution when using the toilet.

The wind was also blowing up the drain for the kitchen sink. Willy Harris knew an opportunity when he saw one, so the next time there was a lull in the wind he poured a whole bottle of soap bubble mix down the drain and turned the hot water on full. The next gust produced an upward-bound torrent of bubbles that would have brought joy to the heart of the most jaded child who ever lived.

There was more serious work at hand. Ice was forming too fast for the de-icers that were protecting a set of instruments at the top of the observatory’s  tower. Bill went up the inside of the tower to knock off the worst of the ice. He’d take a full swing with a crowbar, but sometimes he would miss the ice. The wind was that strong even in the lulls.

I went up with him, wearing an experimental facemask that the observatory was testing. It was like a military gas mask except there was a round opening in front that was held by a latch and could be opened for eating or spitting. The makers had not anticipated weather like this. When I opened the latch and faced the wind it seemed as if the air rushing in would inflate me; when I turned around, the wind seemed to be pulling away so fast I wasn’t sure I could draw a breath from it. I seemed to be drowning in an ocean of air.

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