Breaking tradition, I’m posting Friday’s blog on Sunday, on purpose.
Did you see last night’s Supermoon? The big, white luminous ball looked to be more than 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons, which are never half bad. Here in SoCal, Mr. Moon didn’t disappoint at approximately 8:34 p.m. PDT, hitting the eye like a big pizza pie, if you remember Dino’s vocal tribute to same.
Speaking of moon-songology, I’ll bet you like some of these favorite moon tunes of all time:
- Moondance : Van Morrison
- Harvest Moon: Neil Young
- Yellow Moon: The Neville Brothers
- There’s A Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon): The B-52’s
- Moon River: Louis Armstrong and Andy Williams
- Bark At The Moon: Ozzy Osbourne
- Blue Moon: The Marcels
Moon book, where are you?
For perhaps a couple of years, I’ve occasionally thought about the book my mother and my Aunt Lib used to read me at home in Spruce Pine, N. C. Those memories became increasingly nagging because of the fact that both are dead now, but I can still hear their voices easing me to sleep as a tot.
I couldn’t recall the book’s name until last year. It is, of course, “Goodnight Moon,” by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd, first published in 1947. I wanted to get a copy, and low and behold, two months ago as I stood in the checkout line at T. J. Maxx, I turned around see the book on sale right behind me, for $5.00. It says: “Recommended for ages 0 – 3.”
Goodnight stars, goodnight air
In my mind’s eye, as I put it into my shopping bag, I could see the markedly vivid colors of green and orange, and I remember a rabbit, a mouse, a pair of kittens, a red balloon, socks, a telephone, a fireplace, a bowl of mush, a comb and brush—if you know the book, you know the drill. Oh, and don’t forget the little toy house, a pair of mittens, clocks, and outside the bright blue sky heavy with stars, and that moon with the cow jumping over it.
Did you notice the room lighting grows progressively darker and the moon rises in the left-hand window? Wikipedia has a wonderful list of “subtle changes” as you progress through this multi-million-selling classic.
One thing that isn’t subtle: The last line, as the room is hauntingly dark.
“Goodnight noises everywhere.”
In closing, here’s another favorite childhood rhyme:
I see the moon and the moon sees me. God bless the moon. And God bless me (and you!).