The Wedge of the San Rafael

The Wedge of the San Rafael
Someone has to live here, in the middle of desert beauty. Might as well be the Kellys.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Grapefruit Moon, One Star Shining

Author Anne Gracie gets full credit for this column. She's a Facebook friend (and a writer I admire), and she posted the Tom Waites song with the lovely photo of our current huge worldwide moon. She'd noticed it while coming home from dinner in the city. Anne lives in Australia. The comments that popped up were from all over the world, of course, as we all admired the same moon.

I've been admiring that grapefruit moon from my hemisphere. I was coming home from a booksigning on Saturday. It was still light out, but right after I passed Soldier Summit (at 7,000+ feet the highest point on the trip), I noticed the moon peeking coyly between two mountains. It was pale then and not in charge yet, because the sun as still up, but there it was, ready for an entrance. Made me smile.

I woke up early this morning, because the cat must've pushed open the door, and decided I needed a visit. The cat and I got up because that grapefruit moon was so bright and irresistible - in charge now and hugely visible.

And all over the world, we're watching. Last night, our bookclub commented on "A Christmas Carol," our reading for the month. We also had our Christmas potluck. We do a good one. It's not one of those you-bring-this-and-I'll-bring-that kinds of potlucks, but a true take-your-chance potluck. The carnivores ruled, with several kinds of meat. I made cheese grits and hot sauce - total comfort food - and an angel food, raspberry, powdered sugar, Coolwhip, sour cream thingee.

Then we watched the Gorge C. Scott version of "A Christmas Carol," my personal favorite.

I was thinking about Jacob Marley this morning. When I read Anne Gracie's comment about the full moon, and saw the posts from literally everywhere, I couldn't helping thinking about Marley's "Mankind is my business." With Marley, is a lament, because he never thought about anything except making money. After his death, he learned, to his horror, that mankind should have been his business. Mankind is most emphatically our business; we ignore that to our peril.

There we are, all admiring the same grapefruit moon. We're all involved in this world. Do something nice for someone today, ok?