now i can smile at the cut out moon

now i can spell it out in passion...

when i was 19 i took an overnight roadtrip from detroit to new york with some friends. that night i worked at my restaurant and got off around midnight to be greeted by sam, kelly and lesley holding a set of keys to a grey ford focus with no plans for the weekend. impulse and spontinaity were two skills i learned in my mid to late teenage years and i'm glad they happened when they did; they got me into some great things in the years to come and continue to amaze me to this day.

we drove into the night and although i forget how many hours it took i do know that it was well into daylight when we arrived. i was delerious from exhaustion for most of the weekend however i do remember something beautiful that came over me when it was my turn to drive. i was the last shift in the farthest northeastern stretches of pennsylvania, deep in the shallow mountains and trees. i remember the moon slightly to my left. she was the only one awake with me that night and in the lonliness and beauty of that night i had a deep and personal conversation with her that has made me smile every time she visually visits this beautiful planet ever since. i asked her to keep an eye on me and to be the last one there for me should my faith in all others fall. even at my darkest moments i wanted her to rely on and to be that gentle reminder that there is something so beautiful and untouchable in this existence silently showing us that we are fools to think we can conquer all.

she humbles me. and it was in a connection to that night that she would humble me again many years later. few people can understand this story like my mysterious visitor from Tonga back in the days when i lived in the south pacific. in fact i maintain that this story is to be kept only between the two of us with an exception only for our lunar friend in the sky. the ocean almost claimed us that day and against all odds we made it back to land in time to see the moon wink (or smile) at us. a circle was completed that day and i thought back to the moment i firsted asked her to watch over me.

when one engages in any activity associated with the waters of earth it is impossible not to become involved with the movements of the moon. as a surfer, sailor or now, diver one must understand the changes of the tides. she lights up the night sky and turns the bodies of skinny-dippers to silver. she waits silently and only watches like the eyes of an owl and she blinks slowly, sometimes waiting with her eyes closed.. only for us to hear her breath as water crashes against the rocks.


have you ever seen the moon from underwater?