Doozy of a Day

Mars and the Full Harvest Moon – Photo: L. Weikel

I’ll bet none of us expected today to unfold the way it did. Which is not to say any of us who’ve been paying even half attention to the way the Coronavirus is being handled by the Administration are surprised. While that may be true, even by the standards of this chaotic presidency, today was a doozy of a day.

I discovered that the President and Melania had tested positive just after I published my post last night. Which makes the rapidity with which events seemed to degrade today all the more stunning. And the casualties keep mounting as I sat here this evening. Yet another Senator tested positive this evening (Sen. Thom Tillis) and then – just after 10:00 p.m. – Kellyanne Conway.

Knocked Out

And I will admit it: I fell asleep. Literally. In the midst of all of this, I just conked out. And I just woke up, almost by chance, with but a few minutes left to crank out a post.

I did manage to take a wild photo earlier this evening of the full moon, which is still essentially full as it casts a brilliant light in the night sky, and Mars burning brightly beside it.

Celestial Display

It surprised me that the moon seemed not to be minimizing Mars’s dazzling light in the least, which of course was because Mars is a planet – quite close by – as opposed to a star millions of miles away. A full moon often detracts from our enjoyment of meteor showers and the like because she drowns everything else out. Not Mars. Not tonight, anyway.

Mars may be small compared to stars, but it’s feisty. And it doesn’t seem to want to play second fiddle to anybody – least of all a mere satellite to the Earth.

I hesitate to guess what the third day of October will bring to us. It almost feels like October is a bizarre form of Advent Calendar – with a surprise behind every door.

Stay safe out there. Wear your masks and wash your hands. But mostly, try to stay home. It’s not worth it.