There is a
full moon in the sky tonight and crazy fuckers are wandering the streets. I
rode my bike down to Starbucks and had a coffee. A double shot vanilla latte.
Short and sweet. I needed a caffeine jolt. I drank my coffee at an outside
table and watched the world go by and I listened to music on my iPod. I had The
Cat Empire blasting in my ears. They are my favorite Australian band. The Cat
Empire are a blues and brass combination. They have South American influences -
Cuban I think. Their music is sweet.
It can get any
party started.
There are a
lot of tourists wandering around this evening. Many of them are clutching maps
and most are sweating prolifically. It has been a very hot day today and it is
a steamy evening.
On the ride
back home my way was blocked by a large and staggering European guy. He was
reeling - all across the footpath. Americans call these sidewalks. I am not
sure what the Singaporeans refer to them as. I have never asked but I don't
really care either. They are footpaths to me.
I suspect that
this European was Germanic. He was wearing a silly German looking hat. I think
he was drunk but perhaps he was just mad. I rang the bell on my bike to warn
him of my approach but instead of moving to one side he turned around and faced
me and he held his arms out wide. He was intentionally blocking my way. He said
something to me with a snarl on his face but I couldn't hear him as The Cat
Empire was playing through my headphones. The song that I was listening to at
the time was 'Sly".
I was playing
it loud.
I had to pull
up my bike and I came to a stop. I did not dismount but I was facing off the
big boy. I had one foot on a pedal and one on the ground. My position was
stable. I pulled the headphones from my ears and I asked him what was up. He
growled something unintelligible that was definitely not in English. It might
have been German but it could easily have been Slavic or Scandinavian. I am not
good with foreign languages.
It was a bit
of a stand-off situation. He looked quite aggressive and agitated.
I was a little
alarmed.
Fortunately I
had my umbrella with me. I carry it on a sling over my back pretty much
everywhere I go in this town. It can rain suddenly and heavily and I don't like
getting wet. Unless I swim of course or if I take a shower. When the German
dude took a step toward me I unslung my umbrella and gave him a whack across
his head. I don't think I hurt him but it caught him off guard and I was able
to zip past him on my bike. I hurtled away to the safety of my home.
I didn't look
back.
I think the
full moon affects the sanity of some people. The moon exerts a powerful force.
It pulls
tides.
The word
lunatic is derived from the Latin 'luna' which means the moon. In ancient times
it referred to people who supposedly went mad with different phases of the
moon. They were at their maddest when the moon was full. Being considered a
lunatic was generally associated with an old English belief that if the moon
shone on you while you were asleep it could send you insane - you could become
a lunatic.
Supposedly the
main reason that the thatched roofs on those old quaint English cottages hang
so far down over the windows is that they were constructed that way to prevent
the moon from shining on people while they were asleep. It was to stop them
from becoming lunatics.
I really do
learn something new every day and sometimes in the strangest of ways.