The moon is missing, the moon is missing!

       

The internet tells me there was supposed to have been a full moon on Wednesday night, but it was too cloudy in West Michigan to see it. The same was true last night and tonight. I thought I saw it fairly low on the southern horizon once, but the clouds quickly covered up any hint of light.
         I was disappointed because this was to have been the last full moon before THE MOON. Next month, June 13, the full moon coincides with Friday the 13th. It's a pretty rare occurrence. It won't happen again until 2049, and I don't expect I'll live to 101 to see that.
         So, I'm wondering, if you can't see the full moon, does it still cause people to do crazy things? The moon's affect on behavior is the topic of my next book, Full Moon Friday (to be released June 13) Cops and nurses and journalists often blame the full moon when people act up, even though the more scientific-minded dispute whether there is any real evidence of the connection between the full moon and bad behavior.
      Earlier this week I discussed the topic with David DeBruyn, who was curator of the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium at the Public Museum for many years and continues to write a column about West Michigan Skies for the Grand Rapids Press. He shared with me a couple of articles he has written over the years citing some research into the phenomenon,
     He credits selective memory. "We as human beings tend to remember the extraordinary things that we become involved with while relegting to the recesses of our memory the more mundane daily events," he wrote in one article.
     On June 8, Dave plans to write a column about the full moon coinciding with Friday the 13th. I'll be interested to see what he has to say, especially since he plans to mention my book in which all manner of madness is blamed on the moon.