Six weeks after shoulder surgery put my dominant arm in a sling, my surgeon “freed” me yesterday. So today, I’ve got two hands on the keyboard. I’m not sure how long I’ll last – but here goes. Welcome back to “Our America”.
Pre-Dawn
The alarm went off at 430am, the “klaxon” alarm of “red alert” on Star Trek. I worked my way out of bed, the first time in bed after six weeks sleeping in a recliner. It was supposed to be a restful night, but I think I wrestled all night to find a place where my re-designed shoulder could relax.
But 4:30am it was – the pre-dawn hours of the “Blood Moon”. It’s Election Day in the United States, the next in the “critical” decisions as America flirts with something other than democracy. We made the “right” choice two years ago; who knows what direction our Nation will take today. But there still is the “Blood Moon”.
A total lunar eclipse, when the planet earth directly aligns between the sun and the moon. I sat in the dark on the back deck with the dogs, hot coffee cup carefully clutched in my “good” hand. The moon went from full and bright, to half, to sliver, to gone. But there still was a dim orb to see. I used to think that dim “blood moon” was a reflection of the earth, but of course, that’s not true. The side of the earth facing the moon is in darkness, no light to reflect. But the sun, directly in line on the daylight side of the planet, shines through the atmosphere around the edges. And it is that refracted light that reflects from the moon, supposedly in the red range.
Brother ‘O’
The “blood moon” wasn’t very “bloody”. Maybe it was the light haze of cloud cover that dimmed the reflection. But it didn’t dim the stars. My old early morning running companion was out, the constellation Orion, and grew brighter as the moon was covered. Orion, as always, was proud of his place in the pre-dawn sky. It was good to see “brother ‘O’” again.
The dogs got restless – it’s not often that I stand in the dark on the deck staring into the distance for an hour. They wanted to play, or eat breakfast, or go back to the warmth of the fireplace. But, since I was up, it was time for us to start the day…even in the darkness. I waited for the “blood” moon, but all I saw was a grayed-out moon, barely visible.
Precedence
It’s Election Day. I’ve been silently railing at the polls and predictions for the past month. Polls are based on history, and I believe we are in an “a-historic” time. The precedents of the past: Presidential approval ratings, uncounted Republican voters, “the party in power always loses”, may not apply to our world today. I take solace in the voting turnout, over forty million Americans have already voted. Jenn and I are among them, as are more women that have ever voted before. It’s hard to imagine all of them are coming out just to vote against inflation, when control of their own bodies is at stake.
So we will see, tonight, and probably on into the rest of the week. I believe the “red wave” of September will be like the “blood moon”– not all it’s cracked up to be. I take solace in what Lincoln said: you can’t fool all of the people, all of the time. And I hope George W Bush’s agglomeration of that expression remains true today: we won’t get fooled again. I remain hopeful in the basic sense of the American electorate.
I’ve been wrong before – so I have to hedge this bet just a bit. And, just like getting up for the “Blood Moon” this morning, I’ll be watching the results as they tell us the direction of America’s future in the next few days.
And, I’ll be able to write about it.
