Under the Full Moon

[Editor's note: Catholicgauze emails from Iraq...]

The moon is closer than it has been in the last fifteen years due to its elliptical orbit. Combining this with the fact that it is full and the sands of Iraq here are white makes tonight a very bright one. I have done a bit of walking in between briefings and it is the first night here that I have not needed a flashlight. Usually the dead of night is pitch black, truly black. However, now I have a long range of sight and can even make out a few colors that are usually lost to night's overriding hue. Many stars are also blocked out in the moon's light pollution. Orion is still visible as he crosses the night sky and so are a few meteorites. It is very still out here. Almost no sounds what so ever. Just me and the wind in the leaves of the tropical trees.