light show

I enjoyed all the non political posts today especially. Sometimes the political ones get hairy. It's like psychological id is released and goes flying around unrestrained all over the place. Tonight I was kind to a person using a youthful Twitter avatar and who mentioned age-related things a few times indicating possible fraud, he or she could have been quite old for all that I know. Still, I was patient as if talking with a child and it worked. I think. That's a change right there. The impulse is to meet meanness with meanness more harsh.

Yesterday the microwave lit up on its own and that could be dangerous and spooky. I realized the sun dropped allowing light to stream through as a beam illuminating the glass front a brilliant gold. Cool. The whole room was gold. I turned and looked outside through the terrace door, stopped my activity walked up to the door and watched the sun go down. Just me and God. I snapped a series of photos but they are all ordinary.

Then tonight the same thing. The room lights up, I look out, pick up my camera and snap a series of shots. A woman and her two daughters were drawn to their terrace too for the same reason I was. I waved, got their attention, and told them I had been doing this all summer long. I'm continually amazed with the cloud and light show that comes as a daily gift. The woman said her daughter took a photography class, the assignment was get a shot of a sunset, in the time given none of the sunsets were anything like this. she never did get a good shot. The daughter was right there now and without a camera so I don't know how enthusiastic she was for her lessons. It's worth recording without a class involvement.

I should set up a tripod and do this again so it's steady. That takes a moment's planning and I don't got time to bleed I'm not that fast. I loved it when it went all streaky. See, there's a gap in the cloud layer at mountain top distance so the sun slips beneath the layer and projects upon the bottoms of the cloud layer  like a movie projector with clouds and mountain tops interrupting resulting in light streaks that change. It was neat seeing the other people coming out to view and knowing it's not just me freaking out about something ordinary and regular as sunset. It gets me every time.

Sunrise on Maui's Haleakala is a thing. Busses take people to the top and the people are bundled in tour company blankets and weather protection. The sight and the setting are truly spectacular. A few busses at top, rented cars, tourists mostly and the occasional native Hawaiian, surprisingly good natured and generally easily given to laughter. While waiting I mentioned the Lifesavers candy commercial with the dad and boy watching a sunset. The dad whispers: "going ... going ... gone." Boy silhouette turns, amazed, whispers: "Do it again, Daddy."  I was talking to my brother who was unaffected but a few non-touristy types overhearing roared laughing.