by JoAnne Windsinger

Created on: July 27, 2007

The moon hangs in the sky on every clear night and invites people to think about it and weave legends around it. A man lives in the moon. We see his eyes, nose, mouth. The moon is made of green cheese. The cow jumped over it.

The moon has more sinister myths. Do you hear that howling under the full moon? prowling nearby.

As a child I lived in Luna County, New Mexico. The moon looked at me and once I am sure it once chased me. It was in broad daylight and I think it laughed as I fled tripping over mesquite trees and sand dunes. It may be because I had a fever. The word "lunatic" comes from the influence of the moon. Also it is where the word "influenza" derives from. People got sick from the influence of the moon, therefore "influenza."

The full moon means romance as love-struck couples walk enchanted in its light.

During the full moon bedlam rules. The sounds of sirens disturb the peace. Hospitals fill up with women in labor. The ER overflows with victims of crime and civil disorder.
Of course, other theories abound. The boats and airplanes missing from the Bermuda Triangle are on the moon if anyone would just look. The lost Flying Dutchman is up there also. A large geographical formation depicting the face of Elvis dominates the landscape. Scientists miss seeing the pyramids and great underground cities but many know they exist.

I listen to late night talk radio. It tells me that the moon is hollow and when struck rings like a bell. Some mysterious personages towed the moon to its position at some unknown time in pre-history.

Who knows whether any of these are true. As an old nursery rhyme says, "I love the moon and the moon loves me." That is all I need to know.

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