Every human being on earth has his very own special relationship with the moon.

My father sang me to sleep with a ballad about the moon. Its heavenly mild light appears on the horizon at the end of the day. It changes its shape to a crescent, becomes a full moon and then is totally invisible until the new moon returns. You can’t wait to see the shadows that you will detect as the "Man in the Moon". Other cultures refer to the moon as the goddess Luna who is a beautiful feminine creation.

The scientists and President John F. Kennedy’s support made it possible for us to witness the moment when man placed his foot on the moon for the first time. What an exciting time that was. Sad though, because President Kennedy had been assassinated and could not enjoy this important moment in mankind’s history.

When my husband reached his ninety-second birthday, he wanted a wish of his childhood realized, that was to possess a telescope, so he could watch the moon to his heart’s content. We bought this very expensive birthday present and there it was, standing in our bedroom, untouched. Nobody knew how to make it work.
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We belong to the Society for Ethical Culture and one of our friends, John Benfatti, was familiar with the skies. He owned a telescope. One evening at full moon time we received a phone call. How would you like to look at the moon tonight? We were excited and of course ready. He came, put our telescope in working order and we spent the most wonderful hours visiting the moon from our bedroom window. My husband was “In Seventh Heaven!”
My nephew has it now in his country home and enjoys watching the skies.

I watch for the moon from my window over the Hudson, when I wake up during the night, his mild light brings me peace.


Gerta Freeman - February 17, 2010