The "Green Flash" Story

It was an ordinary day. The sun had just gone down. No “Green Flash” tonight. No what? You know......the “Green Flash.” The Green Flash is a phenomena seen sometimes at sunrise, but more than likely at sunset, when some part of the sun suddenly changes color. The work “Flash” refers to the sudden appearance and brief duration of color, which usually lasts only a second or two. Just as the sun disappears completely from view, a last glimmer appears a startlingly neon green. Legend says that pirates believed that when they saw it that a soul was returning to the world of the living. Jules Verne wrote that if one were to peer into the light of the green flash they would gain the power to read the very souls of other people they met. Now that would be neat. Egyptians believed, after seeing the green flash, that the sun was green at night and the god of the dead, Osiris, was always painted green. Strange stuff! Wonder if people 200 years from now will think we had strange customs? Like the ground hog seeing his shadow or a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Have you ever seen the Green Flash? Carol and I have been aware of this phenomena for years now and look for it often. Best place to see it is at the beach with a flat horizon. Clear air, no clouds. It usually occurs when the water temperature is warmer than the air temperature. Don’t stare directly into the sun at any time. Look only at it when it is directly on the horizon, just before the sun disappears. We finally saw our first “Green Flash” when we were in St. Martin. We had traveled to the little town of Grand Case to eat at a lolo. These are small stands that serve local food that is prepared on grills right in front of you. Tonight we chose Cheryl’s Rib Shack. Ordered ribs, fried fish, macaroni and cheese, beans and rice and coleslaw. Also had a couple of rum punches, the strong ones. We were talking and watching the children play on a nearby pier. The sun was just setting and was beautiful. We watched as the sun disappeared into the horizon. Then we looked at each other in disbelief. “Did you see that?” Carol asked. “The “Green Flash”, I said. WOW!!!!! We waited a lifetime to see it and all of a sudden it was over. BUT WE SAW IT! and it was beautiful. A split second of neon green light as the sun disappeared. Never saw it again, but if you saw a green flash every time you looked for one, the allure would be lost. I guess we need a few more of those strong rum punches! It was an extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - The photo and inset were not taken by me. I only wish I could see it again and get a photo!