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June 27, 2009

On the moon in June — and beyond

By GORDIE LITTLE, Small Talk

Soon it will be too late this year to enjoy the "moon in June" that has been part and parcel of music, prose and poetry since the beginning of written language.

That is not to say we won't be able to enjoy the lunar glow from our vantage point in July. But for Kaye and me, the June full moon this year ranks among the best ever.

For many years, I used the adjective "incredible" to describe everything in my life from ice cream to sunsets. I uttered it aloud so many times that I took grief from Kaye and many "friends" for dulling its meaning through overuse. So if you offer me a savory slice of carrot cake or a delightful book that I can devour with equal relish (or both at the same time), I will continue to struggle for other descriptive words or phrases. Perhaps simply smacking my lips will suffice where language falls short.



MAN IN
THE MOON

The full moon is listed on our calendar on the 7th for both June and July. If you missed the last one, make plans to enjoy the next.

Kaye and I were heading over Lyon Mountain and Dannemora Mountain toward our Morrisonville home June 7 when we topped a ridge and spotted it together. We gasped and exclaimed in unison about the tremendous power and splendor of the huge globe that leaped into our field of vision as it rose in front of us. We both offered a silent prayer of thanks to whatever force had made it ours for that special moment.

As kids, we believed variously that there was a man in the moon or that the whole thing was made of green cheese. We imagined ourselves in a spaceship traveling there long before an American president named Kennedy predicted that our country would place a man on its surface.

Somehow — mostly subliminally — we've always sensed that the moon has special powers that are not completely understood.

My personal photograph collection includes many shots of it in phases from "new" to "full" and when it is in eclipse.

Jackie Gleason's most famous line in the "Honeymooners" sent his wife, Alice, there on more than one occasion. The scrumptious "MoonPie" was a product of the Chattanooga Bakery starting in 1917, and if you haven't enjoyed "an RC Cola and a MoonPie," you haven't spent much time in the South.

MOON TUNES
If I were to name every reference to the word "moon" jammed into my "Little" brain since childhood, the list would be voluminous, and some terms would not be mentionable in polite company.

So, let it suffice to mention some "moon" songs. I asked Kaye for her favorite, and she hummed a few dulcet bars. The tune was painfully familiar, but the title escaped both of us, and we "la-la-lahed" in unison and laughed until we cried. If you run into her in the store, ask her for a reprise and perhaps you can come up with the name.

I love Perry Como's hit song with the lyric, "Don't let the stars get in your eyes. Don't let the moon break your heart." I also favor "It's Only a Paper Moon." Van Morrison's "Moondance" is great as is "Carolina Moon" and "Moonlight and Roses." Every time I think of "Moonlight Bay," I can hear a duet by Bing Crosby and his son Bob. They sing, "You have stolen my heart" and Bing chimes in with, "And you've stolen many of my neckties, too."

There's Henry Mancini's "Moon River" sung by Andy Williams; Sinatra doing "Blue Moon" and "Old Devil Moon"; Credence Clearwater Revival and "Bad Moon Rising"; Cat Stevens doing "Moonshadow"; and Dean Martin crooning "Chapel in the Moonlight." I hum all of them and dozens more in my addled brain while shaving (far less frequently than I used to).

There's something else I don't do so often any more: bark at the moon.

Have a great day. Enjoy nature every day, and please, drive carefully.

Gordie Little was for many years a well-known radio personality in the North Country and now hosts the "Our Little Corner" television program for Home Town Cable. Anyone with comments for him may send them to the newspaper or e-mail him at gordandk@aol.com.

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Terry Mattingly: On Religion

Steve Ouellette: You Had To Ask

Colin Read: Everybody's Business

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