The following message was found scrawled in fiery hot red sauce on the underside of a scraped-clean leftovers container outside a barbecue joint in Memphis, Tennessee. The partly-melted Styrofoam was sent to Minneapolis for analysis in the FBI’s Mississippi Watershed Crime Lab, but when it got switched up with a lunch container brought to work by an agent from Eagan and was subsequently dropped (erroneously) into a recycling bin, it got separated out with other materials that were contaminated by food waste and came to the attention of the agency’s Midwest Director of Suspicious Debris, who immediately forwarded it to the Department of Homeland Security, who gave it to the CIA, who handed it over to the Secret Service, where they set it out on the North Portico of the White House because it smelled too funky to bring inside. A gust of wind caught it and the Styrofoam wound up landing at my doorstep. I probably shouldn’t have read it, but I did. And now I share it with you.
Ahoy, Landlubbers,
I has it on good authority that there’s gonna be a Red Moon on th’ mornin’ of October 8, 2014.
Lots of guesswork is goin’ on as t’ th’ possible meaning, an’ none of it ’tis good since red is th’ color of emergency an’ danger an’ blood.
Several of me boys has become quite excited about this, thinkin’ that perhaps th’ advent of a prominent Red Moon might mean some kinda change in their otherwise miserable an’ monotonous lives. Fer them what sees it, th’ shade of th’ lunar orb is supposed t’ be a tad dramatic though any actual lasting effect is highly unlikely.
Here’s a lovely chart about th’ event, made by a sober individual wi’ a scientific mind.
Me boys is a bit too fanciful t’ put much stock in a scientific document like th’ one above. They’s much more influenced by folktales and sayins, ‘specially them what is easy t’ remember.
An’ rumor has it that there is plenty of popular sayins regardin’ sky color an what sailors is likely t’ expect as a result. So of course I Googled ’em an found some on th’ nautical website gCaptain.com.
Red sky at night, sailor’s delight,
Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.
Evening red and morning gray, help the traveler on his way
Evening gray and morning red bring down a rain upon his head
Orange or yellow, can hurt a fellow.
I ain’t never heard none of these sayins, so I surveyed th’ crew an’ sure enough, several of me boys swears by ’em, especially that one about sailors an’ delight. An then they tells me there’s some extra sayins what is especially about a Red Moon as it relates t’ its position regardin’ the vessel.
Red Moon rising before, pirates should all be sent ashore.
Red Moon falling behind, pirates should not be confined.
Red Moon beside, extra helpings of grog should be tried.
I allowed as how I’d never heard none of this, but rather I had a different set of sayins in mind.
When the Moon rises Red, I’ll swat yer head.
When the Moon rises Scarlet, no fun fer the bar lot.
When the Moon rises Ruby, just do yer duty.
When the Moon rises Crimson, yer at my whim, son.
Th’ boys was not impressed wi’ them sayins, an’ Gimpy claimed I made ’em up. But what if I did? All sayins has t’ be made up by someone at some point – so why not me, an’ why not now?
Make up a new saying about the meaning of a Red Moon
Good morning.
When a red moon appears, set aside your fears.
A moon that is red, should not fill you with dread.
Celebrate the red moon, like a happy baboon.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Red moon rising mid-week – too little sleep for curious baboons.
LikeLike
The timing is good for this curious baboon, as I sleep so little. Last night I got out of bed at 1:30, for example. I’ll enjoy the moon as it sweeps past my big window.
The natural counterpart to the Credence song, “Bad Moon Rising,” is the theme song for “the Sopranos.” The recurring line in “Woke Up This Morning” is “You were born under a bad sign, with a blue moon in your eyes.”
LikeLike
LikeLiked by 3 people
Red moon rising, is that surprising?
Should you go out tonight, in that red moon light?
Will turn into a loon, under that big red moon?
LikeLike
Red moon in Texas; don’t spend in excess. ( I am at a conference with Saks, Neiman-Marcus, and Nordstroms just a Texas two-step down the block.)
LikeLiked by 2 people
red moon in minnesota
i dont care one eyota
LikeLike
Love Texas and excess. 🙂
LikeLike
lunar eclipe calls for a couple of nips
its early in the morning so the sun gods are just warning
its good it wast the sun or there’d be trepidation all day hun
red moon wakes some of us early
anna bliss has red hair thats curley
i wondered what happened to mary hurley
jump on the bar stool and spin around whirlly
me and the boys are here with the girlies
i like to do poems tha come out quite squirrely
i am a lumberjack and feeling quite burley
st peter will be watching buy those gates that are pearly
i am not jesting and dont call me shirley
watching out of the moving train the eclipse goes by quite blurrily
LikeLiked by 2 people
I highly recommend the Red Moon Café in Eden Prairie. And you don’t even have to wait for an eclipse.
LikeLike
never heard of it
LikeLike
Poems not coming, therefore:
Red Moon – sailors’ weather predictions
Yellow Moon – great Neville Brothers cd…
Blue Moon – you left me standing alone!
Silvery Moon – the light by which you spoon
Green – color of cheese the moon is made of
Purple Moon – among other things, a brand of Merlot
Orange Moon – one of the flavors of Moon Pies
LikeLike
Pink Moon – song by Nick Drake
LikeLike
When the moon is in the seventh house…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Red moon? – good heavens –
A rear view of Blevins.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Snort!
LikeLike
red moon in the sky –
best time for laundry to dry.
( i didn’t get around to hanging up my laundry to dry in the sunshine today, so i’m going to let it dry by moonlight.)
LikeLike