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Moonlight savings time
Published 6:51 am Thursday, February 17, 2022
Just when you decide your mind and body have adjusted to accommodate the realities of “daylight savings time” or “standard time” and you have accepted all the arguments for and against “time” changes twice a year, another issue is raised which could really mess with your mind.
The whole use of time changing is arguably an outmoded, possibly unnecessary, practice in the modern world anyway. Refer to my previous discussion of said topic. But it is what it is and, at least for the time being, we are living with it.
So, imagine my curiosity when what to my wandering ears do I hear, but a song on the car radio extolling the virtues of “moonlight savings time.”
I am a big proponent of artistic license, likely there is nothing to worry about here. No one seriously ever considered such a cause, but stranger things have happened for really inexplicable reasons. Refer to my previous comments about time change along train routes.
I subscribe to a radio app which provides me multiple choices for my listening pleasure regardless of where my travels take me. I can preset my selections to go straight to my favorites from among the hundreds available. My husband and I have varying tastes in music. I have generously allowed him numbers one through six for his presets, whether he needs them or not. Do not touch seven, eight, or nine.
Among my preferred channels is one which plays mostly 1940’s numbers. Yes, it plays and rewinds on a loop. But I don’t mind as I rarely hear the same piece replayed within a short period of time.
Until today.
And, there it was again. The “moonlight savings time” song. Truthfully, as I am rarely in the car alone for any extended period of time these days, I hadn’t yet heard the ditty all the way through. I barely heard more than the single phrase either time. What I did know was the song was by Guy Lombardo, thanks to the little digital screen on my dashboard.
What is this all about? One could guess Guy Lombardo is not interested in any scientific need for a change in the pattern or duration of moonlight.
Any moon glow becomes visible at night if the weather is cooperative. If the sky is fairly clear, you can see the moon if you are looking for it. And this is true every night of the year on a predictable pattern no matter where you are. No amount of messing with the arrangement daylight time hours will change the pattern of the faithful and constant moon in your jurisdiction.
Here I must qualify my use of terms. I am not speaking as a scientist. Any scientist will immediately point out the various holes in my argument.
The moon does not glow. If you care to know all about it, you can check it all out in a textbook if you are old school, or the internet which is handier.
If you are worried about it, you probably won’t care about Guy Lombardo anyway.
Guy Lombardo is among the millions in history who really don’t care about the science of moon phases. Maybe Guy wants more moon time for a purely selfish reason. It’s the middle of February, surely you get where I am going with this.
A full moon is a thing of beauty and, on a clear night, softly lights up the sky. Perfect for strolls in the night air with a loved one. Around this time in February everyone is thinking all things romantic and a full moon would certainly add to the atmosphere. It would be just about perfect if it wasn’t so darn cold outside.
Curious about Guy Lombardo’s perspective, I pulled up a recording of Moonlight Savings Time. Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians recorded the song in 1931, but you can find anything on the internet now. No surprises. Guy and the guys just wanted to keep the “girl of mine until the birdies wake and chime ‘Good Morning’.”
So, what Guy wants has nothing to do with the artificial manipulation of moon time by humans for some perceived benefit in a particular region of the country at different times of the year. He wants more time to spend with the one he loves. The nighttime hours being those most unencumbered by other humans and obligations. Being an artist, he expresses the sentiment in the way he is most familiar. And that’s the story.
There will be no bill introduced in a legislative body by some politician on behalf of his/her constituents to change the arrangement of moon time to appease some element of the electorate.
The moon is the moon. The pattern is what it is and Guy Lombardo knows that. So does every other reasonable person on earth. All most people want is more time to spend with those they love. Who needs a full moon, which by the way, is only one day out of a complete four-week cycle of the moon? And that, my friends, is a scientific fact.