When the Moon Hits Your Eye first appeared in Parhelion Literary Review’s Halloween issue as one of three of my stories included in that issue.

The story was inspired by a photo of Lon Chaney Jr. in costume for The Wolfman, sitting patiently while a stylist fixed his hair.

The reading is at Walker’s Bluff, a winery in the area. I walked across the grounds to an outdoor area that is rarely used now that they’ve moved into the second and pending third phase of development. It’s a beautiful area near a manmade lake, dotted with clusters of live edge tables and chairs that put me in mind of sitting amidst mushrooms. There’s a small building there that housed the wine bar that I think may be empty now.

I used to live near the area, on Hill Road, at Broken Branch, when my son was small. I had Merlin then, and a Curly Peruvian Paso for Dylan named Crocodile. Odin the German Shepherd rounded out our household, along with the occasional volunteer cat. The house was nothing to speak of, but we had 15 fenced acres surrounding it. I could hear the horses grazing outside my bedroom window at night. We were brokity-broke-broke, but those were good times.

A teenaged girl used to ride her Haflinger horse past the house. If I was home and available, I or Dylan and I would ride with her. I showed her the trails along the Big Muddy River and the field roads I had permission to ride, and she showed me a beautiful field with rolling hills. One day she said to me: “This is the last time we’ll be able to ride here. My aunt is going to turn this into a winery.”

We have an official wine region here, the Shawnee Hills AVA. So I knew it was possible. But I had no idea the scope or the vision! Walker’s Bluff is now a winery with a tasting room and outdoor patio area. And a wine cave. And an upscale restaurant. And, coming soon, a casino-resort. My favorite area, though, is still that first outdoor area.

Other B-roll in the reading is from a trip a year ago to Albuquerque, New Mexico to spend Christmas with my stepson, stationed at a nearby U.S. Air Force base. We took a day trip to Santa Fe, where we strolled around the art district and checked out the Meow Wolf exhibit (which, by the way, I highly recommend).