Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Moonshadow



"Jesus. This light is killing my eyes."

"I know."

"Is that normal? I mean, holy crap, look at this." Sid pointed to a blazing dot crawling on his jeans. "It's like a laser beam shooting out of there."

"The moon is full, what do you want me to do about it? I used to have a lunar filter to make it dimmer, but it's gone. I have no idea what happened to it. I haven't pulled this thing out in like five years."

Sid bent down to the telescope, and the brilliant little moon slid up his face and onto his eyeball. "That's so wild."

"What?"

"You can see, like, everything. It looks three dimensional hanging up there. Like a ball. I can almost touch it."

"It is three dimensional, you idiot."

"Yeah, no shit! But you can see it. Really see it!"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down, man. Don't wake up my parents."

Sid crumpled a beer can and chucked it into the yard.

"Come on!" Mike said. "Go pick that shit up."

Sid fished in the ice and cracked the lid of another can. "Hey, speaking of your parents, remember that party back in high school? Man, we really trashed your house."

"My mother cried when she got home."

"Yeah.... The good old days."

"I'm sorry to break this to you, Sid, but you're all grown up now. College graduation is the magic line."

Sid ripped out a juicy belch. "Screw that."

Mike pushed Sid out of the way. He took the controls and dialed the telescope back toward the moon.

"That's a pain in the ass," Sid said. "Why is it always moving? How are you supposed to see anything?"

"The Earth is rotating, jackass. Think, man. Think."

Mike chased the glow until the white landscape sprang into view.

God, it was a clear night. He could almost reach out and poke his fingertips into the craters.

What was it about that dusty light? It shined straight through you. The moonshadows of trees bent on the lawn like negatives, the x-ray of something much older.

Mike pulled back from the lens and turned to look behind him. As usual, his shadow didn't feel like his. It seemed to be staring into the night.

Sid was watching.

"You always were weird, Mike. You know that? Sometimes you scare me."

Mike closed his eyes and pulled in some of the dark air. Each breath was different, filled with hidden things.

He let it out. Sid was still staring.

Mike smiled. "You want another beer?"

[Picture: another example of me messing around with my old telescope. This was taken January 3, 2007, the night of an amazing moon.]

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! Gorgeous picture! Possibly one of my favorites that you have posted so far. Great story as well. Loved the dialogue, which as usual you do so well.

BD

anne said...

Awesome picture, great writing.
As bloody usual. ;)
Happy new year, Jason!

Anonymous said...

I loved both the read & picture.
The conversation was tidy & crisp.
Your speciality, Jason.
Great to have your stories & creative works back online.

Anonymous said...

Go on, admit it: You howl at the moon, dont you?!

Scott said...

I feel like I've met both of these guys before.

Anonymous said...

What a great shot Jason - and a fun glimpse into the pair in this dialogue. I'm sorry I missed out on the writing contest, but I'm glad I dropped by today for this lunar shot! New moon tomorrow--enjoy!

Jaye Wells said...

Very nice, Jason. I really enjoyed the mood you evoked here.

BTW, word verification: UOFXY

anne frasier said...

kate: lol!

jason, love the image and the writing. nice, nice.

Shesawriter said...

Hey Jason,

Just dropping by to yell at you. I tried to leave a message earlier but blogger was having PMS.

Tanya

Anonymous said...

BD, thanks! If I had all the time in the world, I'd love to invest in serious equipment and take pictures of deep, deep space. Galaxies, nebulae, etc.

Anne, so great to see you! I was a bit worried about you, you know. Happy New Year. =)

Susan, it feels good to be back. Thanks, my friend.

Terri, I feel it. I definitely feel it.

Scott, lol! I won't ask you which one you liked more.

Kate, ha! I resemble that comment. Maybe I should provide a link back to the log cabin just in case. ;)

JLB, I really love digital cameras. I can play and experiment and see right away if I'm on the right track. No more throwing out 34 pictures from a 36 roll.

Jaye, thanks. :) I've lived that moments. Many of them, actually. Probably not too hard to figure out which one is me.

Anne, hmmm. A guy with a telescope. Paging Dr. Freud.... Seriously, though, glad you enjoyed the picture and vignette. =)

Tanya, dang that Blogger! I wish it ONLY happened once a month. ;)

Bernita said...

Excellent description.

s.w. vaughn said...

I'm with Scott... I think I went to high school with these guys. :-)

Nice piece! The photo is great, too.

Anonymous said...

Great picture. I like the piece too, it's always hard to be different.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I was looking at the moon through a telescope just a few days before your photo, in California! And had the same odd experience of really seeing the 3D-ness of it all...

...and we had beer! Hey! *grin*

I remember that the moon was setting behind a mountain peak, and it was a crescent moon, so that as it set, for just a few moments it appeared like two bright horns on the top of the mountain, very strange-looking.

Excellent story.

Shesawriter said...

Jason,

It's happening every day now. The Google server keeps crashing. I don't know what they're doing, but I wish they'd stop it. This is gretting pretty darned annoying.

Tanya

Bailey Stewart said...

I'll second that Tanya, blogger has sucked lately.

Jason, the picture is beautiful, but I want to know when you met my brothers? *g*

Anonymous said...

Bernita, much appreciated.

S.W., that's too funny. You didn't go to my high school, did you?

Apprentice, truer words were never spoken.

Bekbek, 3D-ness is such a perfect way to describe it! I would've loved to have seen the horns of the moon over the mountain. :)

Tanya, weird. It hasn't affected me so much. I haven't switched to the new blogger yet. Actually, they haven't let me. So far, my blog isn't compatible with the new system. I hope some day I don't wake up and find it all gone.

Bailey, ha! I'd like to meet them. ;)

Anonymous said...

wow, a cool picture and a cool story- i AM impressed!

Anonymous said...

Inspiring photo! The moon holds so much quiet mystery. I could look at it for hours.

Your story made me chuckle a few times. Its contrast to the moon photo was interesting to consider as I read the post.

Joni said...

That is one of the coolest photos I've ever seen!!

Anonymous said...

Super shot. Just one more beer.

Anonymous said...

Angel, thanks. :) It was a gorgeous night.

KG, yes, I was going for a little contrast between the story and the photo, yet bring it back in the end.

Joni, thanks! I should clean that telescope thoroughly to get a clearer picture. The thing has been sitting around a long time.

Steve, one more coming up!

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this story and the photo. I loved the dialogue and that sense of having moved beyond where you came from.

Anonymous said...

coolio! great picture and the story was wonderful as well.
I found it not a little creepy