One night, feeling restless, I went for a walk. Along a quiet stretch of road I found a bench where I sat for a while, head bowed with thoughts. Finally, I looked up into the night sky and that is where I beheld something I’d never seen before — the full moon surrounded by a rainbow.
Soft rich reds and blues framed a large golden orb. My spirit lifted at such an unexpected sight. I wanted to share the experience so I whipped out my very first cell phone and called a new friend in my life, Steve. It was late. I certainly woke him up but he was polite and simply said, “Hello. Is something wrong?”
I replied, “No, not at all. There’s a rainbow around the moon.” I described the cool lunar light, the rich colors saturating the clouds, the magical picture painted against the sky. “How wonderful is that?”
I expected him to be as awed as I, and perhaps he was, but Steve as I was still learning at the time is a scientist who studies light. There was no exclamation of awe. He made a thoughtful “hmmmm” sound and then proceeded to explain the mechanics behind the rainbow’s appearance using clear, straightforward textbook language about angles and wavelengths and light distribution. Finally, as he grew aware of the sounds I was making, he asked, “Why are you laughing?”
“Well,” I said, “All I was trying to convey to you was the beauty of a rare sight.” With perplexity quite clear in his tone, he replied, “But so was I.”
Words + Images 