What Would Jimmy Do?

We updated our “weather station” recently and it got a new icon showing the phases of the moon. 
Well, that got me to thinking about the moon — we have a pretty good view of the sky where we live and there’s not too much ambient light around, so we often comment on the moon’s brightness, etc.

The phases of the moon are determined by the amount of direct sunlight that shines on the moon’s surface at any given point in time. The location of the moon, relative to the sun and earth, determines the different moon phases. The first quarter moon and last quarter moon occur when both the moon and the Earth are the same distance away from the sun, illuminating half of the moon. These moon phases are referred to as “quarter” moons because when the moon is in this position, it has either completed one quarter of its orbit, or has one quarter of its orbit left to be completed. A full moon appears when the moon is the farthest away from the sun, exposing the fully illuminated surface of the moon to people on Earth. The new moon phase occurs when the moon’s orbit takes it closest to the sun. At this point, the sun is illuminating the “far” side of the moon, leaving the dark or un-illuminated side facing the Earth.

It seems like full Moons are referred to by their “names” more lately, or maybe I’m just noticing it more. The full Moon names that we normally use date back to Native Americans who live in what is now the northeastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon. When the European settlers arrived, they adopted the customs (and also created some of their own names.)

I thought it might be interesting to do some extensive research on the names we’ll be seeing for the full Moons this year. The first full moon of 2021 will occur on January 28th and be called the Wolf Moon. Here’s some possible reasons the Moons got their names…
January (Wolf Moon) — During the cold and snow of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages, so the name Wolf Moon stuck. Sometimes the January Moon was also referred to as the Old Moon or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes used that name for the February Moon.
February (Snow Moon) — Since the heaviest snow usually fell during February, native tribes of the north and east most often called the full Moon the Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.
March (Worm Moon) — As the temperature began to warm and the ground began to thaw, earthworms appeared. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter… it was also called the Full Crust Moon because the snow cover became crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. Another name sometimes used was the Full Sap Moon because that time of year signaled the tapping of maple trees. To the settlers, it was known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.
April (Pink Moon) — This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for the April Moon included the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon and, among the coastal tribes, the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.
May (Flower Moon) — In most areas, flowers were abundant everywhere in May, giving rise to name Flower Moon. Other names included the Full Corn Planting Moon, or the Milk Moon.
June (Strawberry Moon) — Named because the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June. In Europe the June Moon is often called the Rose Moon.
July (Buck Moon) — July was normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer pushed out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. This Moon was also called the Full Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms were most frequent during this time. Another name was the Full Hay Moon.
August (Sturgeon Moon) — This Moon was named by the fishing tribes. Sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other bodies of water, were most readily caught during August. Some tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appeared reddish through the haze. Other names were Green Corn Moon and Grain Moon.
September (Harvest Moon) — Also called the Corn Moon by the Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested. (Most often, the September full Moon is actually the Harvest Moon — the name given to the full Moon that occurs closest to the fall equinox. In two years out three, the Harvest Moon is September, but in some years it occurs in October.)
October (Hunter’s Moon) — The October Moon is often referred to as the hunter’s Moon, Blood Moon, or Sanguine Moon. The name for this moon is pretty obvious… the leaves were falling from trees, the deer were fattened, and it was time to begin storing meat for the long winter ahead. The fields were traditionally reaped in September or early October so hunters could easily see fox and other animals that came out to collect food from the fallen grains. The Hunter’s Moon was generally treated with special honor, historically serving as an important feast day in both Western Europe and among many Native American tribes —probably because of the coming winter.
November (Beaver Moon) — This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of winter furs. Some suggest that the name Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers were actively preparing for winter. It’s also sometimes referred to as the Frosty Moon.
December (Cold Moon) — During this month the winter cold tightened its grip, and nights were at their longest and darkest. This Moon is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule as well as Long Night’s Moon — an appropriate name because the midwinter night is long and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. 

Besides naming the Moon, we’ve worked the word into our language in various ways — people often say that something is over the moon, or that something happens only once in a blue moon and sometimes we describe long-ago events as many moons ago, some people ask for, or promise, the moon. And of course people go on honeymoons and here in West Virginia we often partake of moonshine.
But it doesn’t matter if you’re on a first name basis with the Moon or not… just remember that we’re all under the same sky, looking at the same Moon.
— 30 —

“The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole.

Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile.

To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.”
— Theodore Roosevelt
— 30 —

Even though the “major” holidays have passed, it’s still the holiday season. Back in December, we talked about the 12 Days of Christmas. We’re coming up on the 12th Day, and 12th Night of Christmas. But when is the “Twelfth Night?” Like just about everything these days, something as simple as this generates controversy, or at least disagreement.

Almost everyone agrees that the Twelfth Night is often/usually marked with feasting and entertainment. But is the Twelfth Night the 5th or 6th of January? If you’re anticipating that my extensive research uncovered the correct answer — sorry, there’s still two schools of thought. 

The Epiphany — the Christian feast to mark the visit of the Three Kings (or Magi) to the baby Jesus is 6 January. If you count from Christmas Day, the 12th night is 5 January — the eve of the Epiphany. But some people say you should count the 12 days after Christmas, which takes you to the 6th of January. People treat either the 5th or 6th as the day to celebrate, and there are claims on both sides as to which is the Twelfth Night.

I checked the Oxford Dictionary and even that reference supports both sides. If you look in the Oxford Dictionary for “Twelfth Night,” here’s what you’ll find:
“1. 6 January, the Feast of the Epiphany.
1.1 Strictly, the evening of 5 January, the eve of the Epiphany and formerly the twelfth and last day of Christmas festivities.”

So I suppose you can celebrate either the 5th or the 6th — or both, if you’re really in to it. And this year, the 6th is also the day congress votes to accept the electoral college’s vote. Here we are barely into the new year and we’ve got plenty of controversy already……
— 30 —

It may be just a superstition, but I didn’t take any chances — I opened the door at midnight so 2020 could leave. 
We’re off and running in the new year and it’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I didn’t become a better person. I know I treat New Year Resolutions kind of like a joke every year, but it’s as good a time as any to start something new, or to change, or at least think about things and get them in the proper perspective. 

Not to put a damper on resolutions but I heard someone say the other day —  my wish for you is, may you become smart enough to realize that resolutions don’t come true and wise enough to know that the difference between a new year and an old year is 1-minute past 12 AM.

Most resolutions sound good, but they’re only words unless we take action. I think we should all have the resolution this year that we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity.
Once again, Happy New Year — let’s all hope for the best in 2021.
— 30 —

This year is finally drawing to a close and most people are happy to see it go. A few people that I’ve talked with refer to 2020 at the “lost year.” Of course the year wasn’t really “lost,” but when the people who lived through it look back at the timelines of their personal lives, many of them will find a gap where 2020 should be. 

So when you look back at 2020, what do you think you’ll remember most about it? The pandemic has lowered our expectations in many ways, making us more appreciative of things we used to take for granted. It doesn’t take much to make a day feel like a special one…. even running an errand can feel like an exciting expedition. For us it’s like, “we went to Costco and got curbside pickup from the Mexican restaurant” — it was awesome.

A lot of us are thinking, hey, when are we going to get back to normal? I think the answer to that is maybe never — maybe we should just not think about going back, but go forward and define a new normal.

In the early 70s I spent some time in China and it was a kind of depressing place. Chairman Mao was still in charge and everything was just kind of dull — about the only bight colors you saw were red signs spouting one of Chairman Mao’s sayings. Even the clothing everyone wore was grey or brown… occasionally you saw a small child dressed in a bright color, but not often. When I left mainland China and crossed the border into Hong Kong, everything was vibrant and colorful. It was like stepping out of a black and white movie into one in technicolor. It reminded me of the Wizard of Oz, when the tornado swept Dorothy out of black and white Kansas into the colorful world of Oz.

So even though this past year has been “black and white,” maybe after this gray year, we might see the times to come in technicolor. Goodbye 2020 — Happy 2021.
— 30 —

It’s that time again — New Year Resolution time!  I don’t mean to keep harping on it, but 2020 really has been a crappy year. I just read an article that a survey was taken that indicated that seven in ten Americans are tossing out their materialistic New Year Resolutions for 2021. The survey found that 71 percent of those surveyed will be focusing on learning life skills or practical goals. This is another “sign of the times.”

I will, however, continue down the same path I do every year….I probably shouldn’t reveal this, but my real plan, as usual, is to swear off every kind of virtue, so I’ll be successful even when I fail.

Long time readers know that for many years my list of resolutions was very long every year, and many of them were not achievable. The last few years, I’ve shortened my list and also made each resolution more realistic. I plan on continuing that trend for 2021.

New years are like restart or reset buttons — you think you can push the button and start things all over again, but a new year doesn’t come around to change your life. I think it comes around to remind you that one more year has passed and you’re still the same person who thinks he can make his resolutions stick. 

Before I get to my list, I hope that 2021 gives us the opportunity to have real fun with real people, not just virtual ones… and now, here’s my list.
•  Since it got screwed up by the coronavirus this year, I again resolve to drive by the Shepherd Wellness Center once a month, or at least occasionally.  
•  I will sign up for a marathon that I fully intend to not actually run
•  I resolve to burn all leftover 2020 calendars that i see.
•  I resolve to go outside — among people
•  I resolve to share my New Year’s Eve champagne
•  I promise when I hear a funny joke, I will not reply LOL
•   I will be more imaginative
•   I will become the GOAT at procrastination (or maybe I’ll save this one for next year.)
So that’s my list — check back here for periodic updates to see how I’m doing.

 
For all of us, I hope that 2021 turns out to be the best 525,600 minutes of our lives.
Happy New Year!
— 30 —

As we count down to the end of the year, I’ve seen a couple of TV programs and read a few news articles reviewing the events of the past year. Obviously 2020 has been unlike any other year that most of us have ever lived through or remember.
Most of the stories I’ve seen recalled the antics/actions of various world leaders, police killings, race riots, just social unrest in general and of course all the wildfires.

But as I pondered what I remember about the year, I thought of a few things that the news media seems to have forgotten, or it wasn’t important enough to review….

The Pentagon released actual footage of a UFO. I’m not sure what the UFO enthusiasts thought about it — the news of this kind of thing kind of got lost in the noise in 2020.

Seems like for at least a few weeks, I kept reading and hearing that the North Korea dictator, Kim Jong-un had died. Speculation about his death lingered for quite a while in the news and probably a lot longer on “social media.” The popular notion was that his sister, Kim Yo-jong was, or would be, his replacement.

There’s been a lot in the news the last few days about the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter with many believing the event to be the Star of Bethlehem. The event hadn’t occurred in about 800 years. But another star also made the news. Stars don’t usually just vanish without a trace, but that’s what happened to a star that was 2.5 million times brighter than the Sun. The blue star, also known as a “Luminous blue variables” was in the Kinman Dwarf galaxy, 75 million light-years away from Earth. It was observed by astronomers between 2001 and 2011, but now it’s not there. Researchers said it would be highly unusual for such a massive star to disappear without producing a bright supernova explosion, but this one just seemed to disappear. 

There was also a story that Miley Cyrus claimed to have had an ‘experience’ with an alien in front of a taco shop. According to an interview, she said, “I’m pretty sure about what I saw but I’d also brought weed wax from a guy in a van in front of a taco shop so it could have been the weed wax. It looked at me and we made eye contact and I think that’s what really shook me, looking into the eyes of something that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around. I was shaken for like five days. It f***ed me up. I couldn’t really look at the sky the same, I thought they might come back.”

This seems like a good place to stop — Miley’s story doesn’t sound much crazier than anything else this year….
— 30 —

Merry Christmas everyone.

I think I mentioned yesterday that Emily had done/was doing a FaceTime call with Santa. I found out that wasn’t technically true. A day or so ago, she had a Zoom session with Santa Claus. I’m not sure how it all came about, but there was Emily sitting in front of her computer having a conversation with old Saint Nick.

We were able to see a video of the session (that her mom recorded) and it looked like they were having a perfectly fine conversation — you’d think she was talking to one of her friends. 

We found out later that she told her mom that she thought that she was probably talking to the real Santa. The one thing that seemed to bother her a little bit was that at the top of the Zoom window, it didn’t say “Santa,” it said “Cathy.”

Kelly told her that maybe it was one of Santa’s elves that help Santa with all the modern technology. Emily seemed to think that might be possible, but she said it would have to have been an old elf, because the elf’s parents would have to be really old to choose a name like Cathy. 

So after all these years, I’ve learned that elves apparently have names —I’d always just heard them referred to as “elves.” Next thing you know, I’ll probably find out that Mrs. Claus has a first name….
— 30 —

Well here it is time for my almost annual Christmas Blog. Christmas will be a little quite around our house this year, but I think it’ll still be nice. Christmas activities, like everything, have changed… probably not so much for us, but certainly for our kids and grandkids. I think all the grandkids make an annual visit to Santa to tell him how good they’ve been during the year, but this year Santa is a little harder to find — he doesn’t seem to be hanging around the malls as much. But I know that Emily has written Santa several letters — actual letters, not e-mail! And I think she did a FaceTime call with him. I’m pretty sure Locke, Rory and Ellie have also been in touch.

Certainly one bit of good news is that Santa doesn’t have to worry about getting COVID-19, or spreading the infection. This was especially good news to me, because I’m pretty sure Santa falls into the overweight category and I think he’s even older than me — placing him squarely in the high-risk group. I do think Santa has been taking coronavirus precautions though — he’s been making fewer appearances and he appears to be socially distancing. The pictures I’ve seen of him in stores and malls looks like he’s almost always behind plexiglass of some sort.

And I feel even better after Dr. Fauci said that Santa is exempt from the virus because of all his good qualities — he has developed a lot of good inane immunity. I’m sure Dr. Fauci is right. After all, if Santa can fly around the world in one night, deliver millions of toys and eat all those cookies, he certainly can develop an immunity to coronavirus. 

So I’m feeling pretty good about Santa — seems like he’s pretty much got his bases covered. But — in my experience, no matter how well you’re prepared and have thought things through, you always need a contingency plan. I’ve been fortunate enough to have made a lot of contacts in strategic places over the years, and several of my contacts have assured me that if the impossible should happen and Santa does contract COVID, the North Pole has laid out contingency plans so as to not disrupt the toy delivery. Mrs. Claus could go if Santa gets sick and can’t go.

You can all rest easy tonight — Santa will come and he won’t be bringing COVID.
It may be different, but it’ll be just as special — Merry Christmas to all!!!
— 30 —

I read an article the other day that proposed that Christmas should always be on a Wednesday. It listed a number of reasons why that would be a good day to celebrate Christmas every year, such as it wouldn’t be too close to weekend Masses, it would enable people to get good deals on weekend travel discounts, etc. 

Well, that got me to thinking….
Pretty much everyone agrees no one really knows the real birthday of Jesus. But most historians and scholars agree that He was not born on December 25. Something I’ve always wondered about, is why is Christmas always on December 25 and the date for Easter different every year? Christmas is the day of Jesus’  birth and Easter is a celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Both events are described in the Bible — why is one fixed and the other variable? 

Well, I’m not sure my extensive research clears it up much, but here goes….
In all likelihood, Jesus wasn’t born on December 25 — that date was chosen because it corresponded to pagan events that took place at the same time, like the Day of The Birth of the Unconquered Sun. This was a festival of the sun god Mithras that saw the winter solstice as the rebirth of the sun as it began to win the battle over darkness. Also, Saturnalia, a Roman festival in honor of the god Saturn that involved feasts, giving gifts and a carnival atmosphere, took place around the same time. 

By putting a Christian festival on the same date as a pagan festival, the Church made it easy for people to covert to Christianity and give up their old beliefs. That’s at least one explanation for picking December 25 for Christmas. 

It’s fairly easy to pick a day for a birth, but apparently picking a day for Resurrection is a bit more complicated….
The Gospels, the accounts of the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus included in the Bible, place the date of the Crucifixion as Friday, April 3. So, if we know Jesus died on April 3, why is the date of Easter different every year?

The reason, according to scholars — is that the date varies because the last week in the life of Jesus, a period known as the Passion, includes a series of connected events that must fall in the right place on the calendar.

The events include the Last Supper (on what’s now known as Maundy Thursday) and the Crucifixion (on what we call Good Friday.) That was followed two days later by the Resurrection, when Jesus rose from the dead — on Easter Sunday.
The Last Supper was at or around the time of Passover, the Jewish holiday celebrating the Israelites being freed from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins at the full moon. If Easter was on a fixed date, then Good Friday might not fall on a Friday and the other related dates would be in the wrong place too. So there needed to be a system to work out where the events should be every year.

“Originally” there was no consensus on the date of Easter, but during the First Council of Nicea, in 325 AD, a group of bishops laid down the rules on how it should be worked out. They decided that Easter must always be a Sunday. It had to be the first Sunday following the full moon at Passover, the time of the Last Supper. But because the full moon can fall on different days in different time zones, it was decided that the date would always be taken as the 14th day of the lunar month, and it must always be the next full moon after the Spring Equinox. This is now called the Paschal Full Moon, and it can vary by as much as two days from the actual full moon. Once that date is known, the the Easter holidays can be given their place on the calendar.

Logically, this doesn’t completely make sense to me, but religion, in general, doesn’t really lend itself to logic. That’s where faith comes in… you don’t logically try to figure religion out — you either have faith, or you don’t.
—30—