We took a stroll in downtown Mystic, Connecticut, on Tuesday night. It was a beautifully temperate night. And the smell of the Mystic River was warm, fresh, and alluring. We watched the docked boats gently bounce as the waves from an overfull dinghy passed and disrupted their peaceful slumber. We saw teenagers sitting on benches chatting about their lives and enjoying their ice cream sundaes. And we also saw the most beautiful rose-colored moon.

Information Age

We walked up and down along the Mystic River staring at the beauty of this rose-colored moon. It was impossible to miss. It wasn’t quite full, but it’s only three days until it’ll be full again. It commanded the indigo sky and reflected its marvelous color off the dark water below. But I couldn’t stop wondering why it was so colorful. So, I did what most Millennials would do, I typed my inquiry into Google in hopes I’d find out. I had to weed through some articles about how the Pink Moon is not really pink, but I soon was able to string together the right words to uncover the truth.

Beautiful, Yet Notorious

What did I uncover? The rose-colored moon I was gawking at was a product of enormous wildfires burning across several Western states. That’s right. The haze and smoke coming from the massive fires burning over 2,000 miles away was coloring the moon in my night sky. The beautiful moon that captivated me was the product of something more catastrophic than I ever imagined. And now that I know the reality, I intend to stare at that moon again but this time with more empathy and reflective silence.

I preferred looking at the rose-colored moon with rose-colored glasses. But now that I know the truth, I’m hoping the silver and grey moon that typically hangs in my sky comes back soon. And when it does, it’ll hold a sense of peace.