Moment: October 3, 2017, 8:00 p.m.

Above Omaha

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On Tuesday evening I was flying back home from a meeting in Omaha. Given the option, I will always take the window seat on a plane. I enjoy the different perspective afforded by being 40,000 feet in the air. I especially love to fly on cloudy days. Even when things seem gloomy from the ground, it's always clear and sunny above the clouds.

This particular flight took off shortly after sunset. There was a full moon, but it was hard to tell from the ground. As we nosed up through the first layer of clouds, I caught occasional glimpses of its orangish glow. Somewhere in the midst of the cloud, we hit just the right angle, with the moon seeming to be only a little higher than the plane. Streaks of gold-tinged moonlight streamed through gaps in the clouds, just like sunbeams sometimes shine in bright lines around the edges of a cloud. I had never seen actual moonbeams before.

Once we were above the clouds, they spread out below us. Now the moon dominated the clear sky, casting milky light across the wooly surface of the clouds. Farther off, a wall of thunderclouds rose above the silvery sea. Every so often, lightning flashed orange bursts through the wall.

As so often happens, I ended up with a stiff neck and a full heart from craning to look through the tiny and awkwardly placed window at the wonders unfolding outside.