It is another full moon tonight! When I lived in Minnesota, I loved full moons in the winter months. The moon would be so huge, it always seemed bigger in the winter months for some reason. Maybe because the air was so clear the moon just sort of take s over the sky. Of course there would be snow on the ground. After ten o’clock or so I could go outside and it would be light enough it seemed like a strange day time, instead of night.
We used to do a lot of playing outside on full moon nights. In the winter it would be bright enough to sled, or ski, if what we did could be called skiing. In the summer full moon nights were good nights to play hide go seek as it was dark, but it was still light enough you were able to see so you didn’t hurt yourself running into anything.
When I was in the Air Force, I spent some years as a Security Policeman. Security Police are the Army of the Air Force. It was our job to protect aircraft and other important resources. At the base I was stationed at we had a munitions storage area we were charged with protecting. It was a lot of semi-earthed over buildings with something in them. There would be one man assigned to that area at night. He would be called every so often by radio to ensure all was well.
There were about forty men on my flight and most of us would take turns guarding the munitions area. Except the guys that were scared of the Viking Ghost. They were never sent in there at night because they were too scared to walk around in the darkness and ensure everything was at it should be. I was told he was very big, a little over six feet and he carried a sword and shield and wore a helmut with horns on it.
I never saw the Viking Ghost when I was assigned there, but about six of the forty guys had, or claimed to have seen the ghost and would not work there. I always found the idea kind of funny though. Here is a highly trained man with an M16 rifle, over one hundred rounds of ammunition, flak jacket, helmut, and who knows what else, and they were scared of a ghost! I could understand their fear if they were unarmed, without any communication, and all alone, but help was on a few seconds away if it were ever needed.
One night a man named Fox and myself were assigned together in an area. I had found a book in the library about demonic possession. After I read it and scared the heck out of myself, I told Fox about it. Fox was also a reader, so I hoped he would read it. So there we were on a full moon night talking about this book, and watching our area. As we discussed the book I could tell we were both getting a little nervous as we stared out the truck windshield into the night.
About twenty minutes into the conversation I looked at Fox, and he looked at me. The way the moon was lighting his face made him look surreal. He thought the same thing, because in an instant we were both out of the truck an standing on the ground staring at each other. After we reassured each other we weren’t possessed, and were normal, we got back into the truck and found something else to talk about. That conversation held in the daytime would have amounted to nothing.
When I did not live in rattlesnake country, I used to enjoy walking in the woods during full moons on well known paths. It was always peaceful, and sometimes I would get to see animals I do not normally see like Raccoons and Skunks. The Skunks at least always look real friendly, but the idea of them carrying rabies was enough for me to keep my distance. In all those decades of walking at night, I have never come across anything that was not made of flesh and blood. On most nights, walking on a full moon away from a city is very peaceful and relaxing. Cities are a little different of course….
