Lunar Eclipse of the Heart

Ram's Head, day time.

Most of you probably know that on Wednesday of last week, we had both a full moon and a lunar eclipse at the same time. Full moon parties are really celebrated here on the island, but with an eclipse to boot, it was a true soiree!

You have a few full-moon choices. Choice one is going to the sugar mill ruins at Catherineberg to take part in the drum circles that echo really loudly through the central island. I would generally choose drum circle (hello citron training!), but in order to make it echo so awesome, you go down underneath the ruins, thus missing the sky-action.

I went with choice 2, which was a moonlight hike up to Ram's Head, the southern-most tip of the island and the same ridge we hiked in the daytime last weekend. It's spectacular during the day, but at night its a totally different ball game. The rules were: no headlamps, no flashlights, just the light of the moon guiding your path.

My girl Meaghan and I started around 10:00 pm from Salt pond with some of the folks she worked with, the owners of the Tap Room and brothers and girlfriends (random connection for DC folks: you know Thievery Corporation? I did this hike with the bassist, "Hash" (sub-parathentic comment: Hash's brother's name is Cheech. I couldn't make that up). Our crew followed in single file, passing the bottles of wine up and down the line as we made it up the ridge. Once at the top, all of the clouds miraculously blew over and everything was silver and shimmering. We laid down on our backpacks and settled in to watch watch the sun eclipse the moon. It was really surreal and one of the neatest things I've ever done! Some smartass brought an ipod with the Dark Side of the Moon (it sounds like it would be cool, but was a tad cliched).

We hiked back down around midnight just as the rain set in. I was dragging the next morning, but was so glad that I did this, it was one of the neatest things. I wish that I could show you photos, but nighttime photos don't really work on this camera, so here is a daytime shot of the hike up to Ram's head, and Meaghan and I squinting into the bright camera flash from our eclipse-viewing positions.

I have forgotten to dedicate songs lately, so sorry about that but I shall resume here:



This dedication is a revelation of the fact that life is all about perspective and that aside from really serious things like termnal illness or depression, the power to make it as beautiful or as ugly as you want rests in your own hands. And while traveling, isolation, etc. brings out much stronger emotional manifestations of your experience, you realize that we're all the same no matter where we are. I hope that everyone got a chance to peek at the moon, because (at least in this hemisphere) we all had the opportunity to see the same eclipse.



So, "Same as it Ever Was" by the Talking Heads goes out to Uncle Brack. I remember that being the opening song on the Talking Heads DVD Jesse bought for you maybe 6 years ago and you dancing around the kitchen to it, and that song always sticks in my head. Plus, its just a freaking awesome song.

On the more lighthearted side, i forgot to dedicate a song with the peanut better blog. So, to my brother Mikey, and to Scotty E, i had meant so send the song from Family Guy, sung by Brian, "It's Peanut-Butter Jelly Time, Peanut-Butter Jelly Time, where ya at? (x4) there ya go (x4)". Love to Mikey and Scotty E.



So many kisses and hugs to all. My family is now visiting and Joy arrives thursday and its just a huge par-tay. Plus, there are real beds, hot showers and amazing food. Arriba arriba!!!