Notes From an Environmentalist
The Northern Lights of Yom Kippur
The Lights of Yom Kippur
In 2024 the world was on tenterhooks waiting to see what the October Surprise would be. Would it be a stock market crash, a reversal in the war in Gaza or Ukraine, or another devastating storm like Helene or Milton?
To almost everyone’s amazement the October Surprise came from on high, clad in the shimmering red and green curtains of the Northern Lights. They straddled the earth from the North Pole reaching as far south as Alabama.
They undulated over the wreckage and debris of North Carolina and Florida that had just escaped the worst of Hurricane Milton.
This time the roads were filled with awestruck passengers rather than poor souls trying to out run floods, fires, hurricanes and tornadoes.
In Ipswich, my neighbors were flocking to darkened beaches to take photographs or simply stand in awe of the undulating pillars of red and green sight.
I like to think of it as a personal message and Nature’s way of reminding us that our time on this beautiful planet is fleetingly short. We must use it to settle our differences, put down our arms and use our minds and our souls to protect our planet before it is too late.
