AncienTrails

Spring Moon of the Southern Cross

42 degrees 47 minutes S 56 degrees 8 minutes W 10:30 pm course 006

At last! A clear night. I went upstairs, first to the sky deck, the highest deck on the ship, trying to see the southern sky but the ship’s stacks were in the way. After some shielding with my arm, I could make out a few stars in the south, but only well above the horizon.

I did see Eriadnus, new to me, and Orion. It took me a bit of looking at Orion to notice that it was my old friend, but upside down. Yes, his sword pointed toward the celestial dome rather than the celestial equator. A strange and somewhat disorienting view of him, but also appropriate to the southern hemisphere.

I wandered toward the back of the ship, crossing the empty basketball court and pushing through netting at its rear. There was an area of the ship I had not explored on the next deck below, deck 11. It was an area called the Retreat where outdoor movies get shown on Thursday nights.

It’s big advantage in this instance was a rail at the stern beyond the light pollution of the ship and below and behind the stacks that were in the way up above on the sky deck.

Sure enough, right where my star map said it would be was the southern cross, hung upside down, looking more like a kite than a cross, but clearly there. It thrilled me to see it. This is one of those physical experiences you can have only in the Southern Hemisphere. I’ve read about the Southern Cross all my life and now I’ve seen it.

That was not the only unusual event tonight. Kate’s Uncle Ollie liked the occasional trip to the casino, so she gave me a $20 bill and told me to gamble it in Uncle Ollie’s memory. My thought was to go put it on red on the roulette wheel, one bet, then the ritual is over. But the roulette wheel had not yet started up, so I headed for a game I knew. Blackjack.

In the long ago far away I used to play blackjack every night, five nights a week while waiting to pick up my papers and deliver them on my route. This went on for 8 years. I’ve played a lot of blackjack.

Turns out the casino version is a little different, but not much. I sat down, passed the dealer my $20 and took four five dollar chips from him.

Uncle Ollie rode on my shoulder this evening. I long ago learned the basic rules of blackjack. First rule is, be the dealer. Well, the house has that covered and it’s a big advantage.

Second rule, 17 or more stay. 16 or less, take a hit.

Third rule. Follow rule 2.

If you’re a real whiz with memory and can count cards, you can always beat the house. I’m not a memory whiz, so I stuck to the basics.

About ten minutes into the play I had the guy next to me rubbing my shoulder for a little luck. Twenty minutes later I cashed, went to the pay window and collected $100. We’ll put the money toward some memorial for Uncle Ollie.

Winning at blackjack and seeing the southern cross, a good night.