"The moon belongs to everyone, the best things in life are free."

Tonight there is a new moon; large and full it illuminates the darkened sky. It provides additional brightness for those living in the rural areas where streetlights are limited almost exclusively to major intersections. It provides that extra margin of safety to those traveling to their destinations at night. During wartime it would have been called a bomber's moon because of the light it shed on the landscape below, highlighting targets of opportunity. It would acted as a double edged sword for World War I dirigible crews as the light provided also made them visible to fighter aircraft who were defending their vulnerable land. It that case those lighter than air craft quickly headed for the safety of the clouds.


There have been blue moons when we have had more that one full moon in a month's time. The last one was on June 30th of this year; the next one won't be until May 2008 and then after that November 2010. There have been black moons when there was no full moon for the month of February. The next occurrence will be in February 2018. The importance of the moon on tides has been known since antiquity. It has aided sailors in easing their overloaded ships out of shallow harbors. Hence the expression "We sail on the high tide."

Motion picture films have been made about the moon; the earliest was a Jules Verne styled silent movie where the spaceship strikes the eye of the Man in the Moon. The most recent called Moon Struck discussed the effect of the moon on love and relationships. Hospitals know that a full moon will result in an influx of patents admitted to the emergency room.

Enjoy the beauty of the moon as it shines on you and lights your way outdoors. For it brings safety, assurance, and a promise for a brighter day tomorrow.

K.