COLUMN: Visions of the night

There are certain times in life when you feel that everything is connected.

The past, the present and the future.

Over the past several weeks, during nighttime drives home, I have had visions of time now, and of time gone by.

The night before a storm system is scheduled to arrive, the full moon illuminates a cloud deck resembling a layer of snow. My mind takes me back to a cold, crisp, still night in Nebraska, the atmosphere totally silent. Several inches of snow crunch beneath the too-warm boots I’m wearing on my feet, and I pull back the hat that has slunk down over one eye. Overhead, the moon casts a blanket of brightness over the snow, the light causing individual specks of snow to glisten, as if they’re calling out to another world.

Another night. A noticeably warmer night, as I pull into my driveway and park the car. I look up.

How does the saying go?

“My goodness, it’s full of stars!”

(The real quote is a bit different ... credit to Arthur C. Clarke.)

At that moment, I can hardly remember a time when the night sky was so much more clear. Orion, the four stars forming the signature hourglass shape, along with the belt, highlighted with the famous Orion Nebula. Sirius, as bright as can be. Even the Pleiades, being guarded by Taurus the bull, seemed to sparkle well more than I had seen in a while.

Clear, wonderful visions of both the past and present.

It’s hard to have a “vision” of the future when you don’t know what the future holds.

So, no visions. The future will come, and I hope it will be one full of wonder, one of love and one of peace.