Old Sol has been spewing some of its angry energy towards Earth again with the result being yet another Northern Light show here in parts south of the normal viewing areas. While not spectacular in Indiana, we did get a glimpse last night and the heavenly performance didn’t disappoint. Of course, the HF bands are suffering from the after shocks and 40 meters was in poor enough condition this morning I decided to make this a radio “free” day.

Here in the 21st century we better understand the cause of the aurora borealis and can even predict its appearance in advance of the actual event. I remember watching this same kind of sky show as a ten year-old with my grandmother who was born in 1895. When I asked her what caused the lights she explained to me, matter of factly, that the colored lights in the sky were the result of sunlight reflecting off ice at the north pole.

Silly, sure, but this explanation probably seemed reasonable to those born in a world where knowledge wasn’t available via a mouse-click. Given that information was scarce, and more than half the population couldn’t read anyway, it’s understandable how this sort of thing might be handed down from one generation to the next to become a simple explanation for this sort of natural event.

What’s more difficult to explain is how in the 21st century there is a woman in Georgia, a member of Congress, no less, who claims the government can control the weather and is creating powerful storms and hurricanes and directing them towards Conservative districts. Laugh at my Grandma if you like, I’m laughing at the ignorant voters in Georgia who keep re-electing this damaged specimen.