The Moon of Choice

Recently, my friend Butterfly (not her real name) said to me, "Do you know what I would really like to do?" I retorted to her question with "What's that?! Oh do tell!" I was expecting a story. And then she simply said "I would like to take a walk along the Columbia River." Then I thought to myself "Hey, we have a Columbia River really close to here." And so I said "I can make it happen!" After all, walks along rivers called The Columbia are quite attainable when one lives with by a river with that very exact name. Now, had Butterfly mentioned that she would like to stroll along a river with the name of Euphrates or Ganges, I don't think I could make that happen...

So, we drove out by the airport and made a point to stop at Ikea where we gorged on meatballs for $2.49. After that we drove around, for longer than we had planned, looking for a place to park the car. Really, it's a very enjoyable walk. You're right by the airport and these giant metal tubes with wings come sailing toward you only to land at the airport and deposit pasty looking travelers who haven't eaten in five hours and have been breathing recycled air. Well, that wasn't us, we were breathing air that smelled like the river and we were enjoying watching the gaiety of people frolicking about in the water.

What struck me most about the outing is quite possibly something that has also struck you in the past week, if you happen to live in the same corner of the world as I do. The marvelous moon.

As it was rising it looked like a big giant moon who had eaten too many pancakes and might come crashing down on the hills in the distance. I wondered to myself if the moon had gone and had some extra asteroids or comets for a midnight snack too. But I didn't mind that the moon had eaten too many pancakes or comets and was a bit of an obese moon; it was magnificent! After it rose a bit, it made a point of casting showers of diamonds onto the water that lingered and shimmered in true jazzy uptown style.

This got me to thinking, which as many of you know, is something I recommend doing with utmost caution. We've a great moon when compared to all the other moons. I never much liked Jupiter's Ganymede or Callisto. But our moon, well it's quite a moon and I think I've figured out why.

Why our Moon is quite a Moon and why it's better than other moons.

1. Our moon makes very friendly company whilst you're eating the last bit of papaya you've got left in the refrigerator.

2. It provides great light if you're in the mood for a moon dance.

3. Humans have walked on it (Can Jupiter's moon say that? NO! Well, I mean, Jupiter's moons don't talk...)

4. Provides moon beams which inspired Frank Sinatra to write about carrying moon beams home in a jar.

5. It really is more than a paper moon floating over a cardboard sea.

6. Our moon was the inspiration for the idiom (that I just love) "You just want the moon on a stick!"

So, there ya have it. Many reasons about why our moon is better than other moons. Go ahead, tell your friends. And next time there is a full moon, well I just hope you remember that our moon is quite a moon.