The Green Flash — © Copy­right 2012 by William Beem

The Green Flash

Some folks think the Green Flash is a leg­end or myth. Oth­ers think it’s a restau­rant. Well, it is a restau­rant. There’s a place called “The Green Flash” within walk­ing dis­tance of this spot, but I can’t rec­om­mend it. My mother likes the place, but I wasn’t impressed.

The Green Flash is a rare opti­cal phe­nom­e­non that hap­pens just after sun­set. How­ever, I pre­fer the descrip­tion that comes from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

“Ever gazed upon the green flash, Mas­ter Gibbs?“
“I reckon I seen my fair share. Hap­pens on rare occa­sion. The last glimpse of sun­set, a green flash shoots up into the sky. Some go their whole lives with­out ever see­ing it. Some claim to have seen it who ain’t. And some say — “
“It sig­nals when a soul comes back to this world from the dead.”

That’s why I smiled a bit at the green line cradling the bot­tom of the sun in this photo. No, it’s not the real thing. It’s just an opti­cal imper­fec­tion — a bit of flare caused by the light enter­ing my lens and danc­ing around a bit. The log­i­cal per­son inside me knows better.

The pirate inside me would rather believe in the myth, even if only for a moment. Some believe it’s an illu­sory cor­re­la­tion. We make con­nec­tions with events in the world that line up with our beliefs about the world. I sup­pose that’s just another way of say­ing that we cling to that which com­forts us because the truth is unknown. Some still believe in myths even after they know the truth. For instance, know­ing the sci­en­tific rea­son for the Green Flash doesn’t stop the belief of rein­car­na­tion for some. I tend to believe it’s because the truth is so damn bor­ing. We need our myths to add a dash of color to life. That’s why it’s a Green flash.