Moonshine Missteps

October 11, 2010. Evening. I was running a few minutes late, briskly walking down the sidewalk to a nearby building where my beautiful wife was waiting for me so we could carpool home.

While striding down the street, I caught a glimpse of a guy hopping out of the brushes and onto the sidewalk. He then stared off into the distance at what I thought was a car. Then he pointed, with a big grin, and said, “Did you see the eclipse? It’s awesome!”

I blinked, turned, noticed the moon, and said, “No it isn’t.” Richard, you killjoy.

“Are you sure? I’ve never seen the moon like this.”

Really?! Was he serious?!

The moon—a waxing sliver tinged with beautiful orange—was a pretty sight to behold. Unfortunately, I HAD to break this guy’s bubble. I had seen the same sight the night before when I took out the garbage.

Why was I still standing here? I had to go meet my wife.

“It can’t be an eclipse. The sun just set, and the moon is too close to the horizon. The only way to have an eclipse is if the moon is over there: the moon has to be on the opposite side of the earth from the sun.”

Hopefully that was thorough enough.

“But I’ve never seen a moon like this before!” The grin was gone.

“This phenomenon happens all the time.” Bubble bursting… “When a lot of dust is in the air and the moon is low, it appears orange and large. In addition, a special effect called the ‘harvest moon’ happens during the fall: there is so much dust in the air that the moon can turn a deep red.”  Rupture complete.

“Oh…I guess I better call my wife back.” Dejected.

So I wasn’t the first to be told about this…Wanting to cheer him up, I returned, “It does look good!” as I crossed the street.

Sometimes I end up embarrassing other people. Unfortunately. Of course, I can feel embarrassed for them, too. However, in many cases, it is better for them to know the truth than to allow them to continue to embarrass themselves. Or so I like to think.