When The Moon Caught Up.

Many were the nights I would watch the moon over the Shenandoah

Shenandoah

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The Indian name Shenandoah means "Daughter of the stars."

Mountains on the stretch of road between Baltimore and North Carolina. As a young boy we would travel Interstate 64, traveling from our house to grandma’s, for a summer visit or a Christmas surprise. My Father used to say that I would be asleep before we hit the highway ramp. I have to admit the hum and blip-blip of the tires on the pavement was like a lullabye sung by Morpheus

Morpheus

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Morpheus was the god of dreams in Greek mythology.

himself. Sleep came swiftly for a young boy riding at night. I remember though, waking up in the Mountains on a clear starry night and seeing the moon follow our car. To me it was following me, racing above the trees and darting in and out of the ridges. There was no physics to why the moon was following me

why the moon was following me

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The Moon appears to follow you while driving in a car because it is almost a quarter of a million miles away.

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But she just was.

There was a calming effect about her as she loomed larger than the mountains. It was as if she were ready to catch us if we came to close to the edge of some of the sheer drop-offs in those ranges. And she was always beautifully there, as we rounded the curve with only her moonbeams

moonbeams

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reaching out like these.

between the guardrail and the hamlet, 2000 feet below.

On one of those long trips she finally caught up. I cannot say it was not a whispering from the sleep god but I know that as we drove through a gap in the ridge one night she broke away and sprang past us with a wink. As I lay in the backseat contemplating the implications of the beautiful flirty racing moon, my father said, “Joey! We’re here.” And it was day.

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