On 21 Dec 2003 23:23:24 -0800, (No Such User)
wrote:

This message is going to make me sound like an absolute loon, but here
goes anyway.

I live in upstate NY about 60 miles west of Albany and about 1 mile
south of US Route 20. This afternoon (12-21-2003), I happened to look
out my kitchen window which faces roughly West North-West and saw a
contrail rising from over the horizon at what appeared to be a very
sharp angle into the sky. My eye followed the contrail up and about
"halway up" the sky I saw what looked like sun glinting of an
aircraft.

You probably saw a transaltantic flight that originated in Chicago or
there abouts that had hitched a ride on the jet stream and was passing
directly overhead, giving it the iillusion that it was going "up"
instead of "at" from your point of view.