There’s a bad moon on the rise…

A 2 am photo of the moon ….

Since this photo was taken, the lyrics of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s famous song have been lurking in my head. Does that ever happen to you? Something seen or heard triggers a musical memory that becomes nearly impossible to shake? In all my years, I’d never seen a moon with a red halo and a weird, angry scowl like this one. It was huge and eerie. It definitely looked like a “bad” moon, a bad omen.

I was wide awake on June 23 and had just taken this photo, which had me feeling uneasy when my phone rang. A 2:09 am phone call is seldom good news. This one was my sister-in-law, telling me my brother had just passed away after a two decade battle with Parkinson’s. We will lay him to rest today.

I am wide awake again early this morning, hoping for a lovely sunrise to dispell some of the moon’s effect, but it’s foggy and there’s a storm and rain in the forecast. Right now it’s exceptionally still. No bird song greeting the new day, not a hint of breeze to rustle the leaves. I’m searching for a new song in an attempt to replace CCR, but my mind just seems stuck…”I see the bad moon a-rising. I see trouble on the way. I see hurricanes and lightning. I see bad times today.” “Don’t go around tonight. It’s bound to take your life. There’s a bad moon on the rise.”