Smiling Moon

Rumors are flying about the airport closures. While we were in the South last week, having flown to Trang on what turned out to be one of the last flights out of Bangkok, we each phoned people we knew in the capital. We were hoping to hear that things were back to normal and we could catch a return flight home from our island trip.

Of course there were as many stories as there were phone calls: “My mom says they’re going to allow domestic travel only”… “international carriers can start landing at military bases next week”… “I hear that from noon to 5 Saturday afternoon, stranded airplanes will take off empty for their home bases and anybody holding tickets on a Thai airline can fly in”….

Naturally, we ended up taking the bus back.

In itself, our change in plans was a minor annoyance. But multiply our uncertainty by 70 million Thais, and you get some idea of how stressed out the country is feeling.

Which is why it was so cool to walk in the door from work last night and find Jip’s caregiver jumping up and down on the balcony, urging me to come look at the sky. A few minutes later, my phone starting ringing off the hook. What was the fuss? Venus, Jupiter, and the moon were lined up in the shape of a smiley face.

In itself, this happy configuration is a minor event. But in the context of recent events, people here can’t help thinking that the country’s path to self destruction is about to turn around. One of the people who called me about the moon even said I would personally receive good luck if I called five more people with the news. And today I read that only in Asia did the moon form a smile. Other places around the planet saw the same grouping as a frown.