Moonlight memories

"Moonlight Becomes You" was the title of a popular song when I was young. In fact, it was sung to me in a derisive tone after a group of us went swimming at the Ellis rock quarry. My hair was plastered against my head and I was pulling some sort of pond scum off of my shoulders. But it was a bright moonlight night and we could almost see as clearly as daytime. That was a fact that didn't help my appearance a bit. This was the time when we girls all had our hair fixed just right or we were mortified. My singer was not a special boyfriend, but just one of the gang that met on a hot August night to swim.

It was probably a very dangerous place to swim, but many of us were not interested in really swimming. We just waded in the waist high water to cool off. The only reason my hair got wet was that I stepped on a slippery slab of rock and lost my footing. We knew where the water got deep and avoided that area unless we wanted to really swim.

I have enjoyed moonlight nights in cold weather, but my best memories are from summer months. I can remember July 4ths when the moon was so bright it almost dimmed the fireworks we were shooting off. But the same light helped us after the fireworks as we played lawn games. The shadows made by moonlight make wonderful hiding places.

One summer night we even played a pencil and paper game outside. The moon was so bright we could actually read the words. But that was a waste of the better potentials of the lunar experience.

Before I became so allergic to chiggers, we would enjoy lying on our backs and watching the clouds pass by the moon. A frequent statement was that there was a cloud that looked just like a (for instance) dog with its tongue hanging out.

When Lester and I lived in neighboring houses in Columbia when we were in college, we remember one moonlight night when some of the girls in my house couldn't stay inside any longer, so we yelled across the driveway to see if some of the boys wanted to go for a walk. Even though it was exam time, several joined us on a windy moonlight night. Our romantic walk took us by the university's sheep barn. That didn't matter. Most of the boys were ag students. We still enjoy sitting outside any warm nights, but the moonlight ones are the best.

When we have grandchildren, or great-grandchildren with us, we can relive some of our own childhood memories as we watch them catching lightning bugs, or playing their own versions of lawn games. Unfortunately, some of them prefer to stay inside with their electronic devices.

One of my favorite places is the dock over our Bronze Pond where we can see the sky reflected in the water. The trees that outline the pond are also reflected in a magical way that doesn't show the limbs that need trimming or the undergrowth that should be mowed.

The best night light in our bedroom comes from the moon. After we have turned off "Law and Order," and heard the weather forecast, the light from above is a comforting presence making everything visible, but not spotlighted like sister sun does in the daytime to spur us to housecleaning.

Like the old song says, moonlight becomes you. It doesn't show your flaws, the dust on the vanity, or the weeds that need to be mowed. It just smoothes everything it touches and adds beauty even to dirty socks on the floor.