Most of us have heard of a Blue Moon, and the phrase "once in a Blue Moon," meaning rarely, but have you ever heard of a Black Moon?

A Blue Moon is the second full moon in one month. It usually happens every couple of years or so.

A Black Moon, on the other hand, is the second new moon in a month. A new moon, for those of us who don't look up, is when there is no moon - the old moon has waned and the next moon has not begun to wax.

They are equally as rare, but we just was one. Yesterday.

Black Moons, like Blue Moons, are considered lucky. Here's what an astrologer friend of mine, Dikki-Jo, wrote in an e-mail from Florida:

"The Black Moon opens a portal to other dimensions. It's a time to connect with ghosts, the world of faeries and the planes of ascended masters. Deep meditation under this cycle can bring guidance and answers on many levels. The intent is to help us all to cope with and understand the current planetary, political, cosmic and economic changes."

Well, we surely have a lot to meditate on, especially with the political party sappers cleaning their sights and loading up with ammunition for what threatens to be a very dirty campaign.

The influence of yesterday's Black Moon stays with us until the next new moon on Sept. 29, says Dikki-Jo, so I think we can look forward to a very interesting month.

Back to school

School starts this week - and I have a high schooler, a middle schooler and a pre-schooler hitting the books this year - so drive safely, of course, and stay off the cellphone.

And while everyone's hanging around waiting for the bus, here's some back-to-school trivia for you:

The first pencils were used in 1560, the first school textbook in 1760 and the first blackboard in 1809.

Portable school desks were invented around 1930, plastic binders in 1933, the ballpoint pen in 1938, the Xerox copier in 1939, the pocket calculator in 1968 and the dry erase marker in 1975.

Quote of the week "We are the freest nation in the world, except when we're afraid." - John Seigenthaler, founder of the First Amendment Center.

Thanks for the papers

"Recently returned from an 11-day bus tour of England and Scotland, and returned with these two papers, The Independent from London and The Guardian from Glasgow," writes Ken Ramsay of Attleboro. "Enjoyed everything in both countries, and even had good weather most of the time, contrary to what many people have endured."

Thanks for a copy of The Washington Post Debbie Zamil of North Attleboro and her son Greg brought back from a recent trip.

Attleboro sisters Deborah Barnake and Nancy Mulcahey spent a week in Florida at The Beautiful Villages. "Even though the unwelcomed and uninvited guest Tropical Storm Fay was also there," they report, "we had a terrific time. Watching the palm trees blow in the wind from our loverly veranda was breathtaking."

Thanks to John Sheppard of South Attlebopro for papers from Prince Edward Island.

Thanks for the cuddlers

Thanks to Martha Conti of Attleboro for four teddy bears.

And to whoever dropped off seven bears anonymously.

The bears, new please, go to Bears On Board, a program of the Attleboro Area Council for Children. They are given to local police officers, firefighters and ambulance crews to give to children in crises.

Our teddy bear total to date is 5,294.

See you next week.

ORESTE P. D'ARCONTE is publisher of The Sun Chronicle. Reach him at 508.236.0394 or at darconte@thesunchronicle.com.

Quote of the week

"My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of pessimists." - Jean Rostand, Frenc biologist and philosopher.

"Still, we shall die. The climate will change. The seas will rise. The glaciers will be back. Life will evolve in unimagined forms. And, finally, the Earth will fall into the sun. But for the time being, there's what I call The Meanwhile Factor. Meanwile, I remain astonoshed at the gfood and lovely that exists. And most of it is free and readily available if I'll look for it." - John Fulghum, in his book, "What On Earth Have I done?"