There's a Bad Moon on the Rise

The "super moon" through the romantic
Harbor City smog.

The moonrise tonight was the largest and brightest of the year. It is a "super moon," a relatively rare coincidence of the full moon with the lunar perigee - the point in the moon's orbit where it is closest to the Earth. While full moons have a long and rich history in folklore and superstition, being blamed for the awakening of demons, the agitation of animals, and the derangement of "lunatics," the super moon has come into its own in recent years, drumming up arguably more than its fair share of blame for myriad cosmic mishaps. Earthquakes, floods, and inclement weather have all been cited as likely side effects to having the moon, sun and Earth all lined up just so. Others consider such attributions lunacy.

Personally I was originally a dyed-in-the-wool skeptic, unwilling to give credence to any such silliness. Until, however, I strolled outside this evening to witness the celestial display. I found, to my shock and horror, that the backyard that had been so clean and orderly just an hour or two before, was strewn with every toy and in our possession. The kid's paints had been dragged out, along with several pieces of spare wood from my woodbox, and several planks had been drenched in a quart or two of primary colored poster paint. The paint that didn't make it on the scrap wood was slowly sinking its way into the patio concrete. The imps and pixies had definitely been hard at work in my yard this evening; I could only wonder what the coming hours of the night had in store. And there above it all was an obese, orange, glowering moon, looking on and laughing a cruel mocking laugh.