I’ve always liked rainbows and they’ve never failed to put a big smile on my face. It’s kind of like getting a surprise gift from Mother Nature. (But even as a child I never believed the pot of gold stories.) Well, a few months ago my husband was flying us from Northern California to Central Oregon and there were rain clouds nearby, with the sun reflecting on them.  All of a sudden we spotted something neither of us had ever seen before – a circular rainbow!

You know how rainbows look from the ground – usually a half circle – or as much of that as is visible. When you are flying in an airplane, and you have the atmospheric conditions needed for rainbows, the horizon doesn’t stop your view like it does on the ground, and you can get a full circular rainbow. After doing a bit of research, I discovered that this unique kind of rainbow is called a “glory” and I can tell you it’s an amazing sight to see!

Once I have my Switchblade Flying Car, I’ll be able to enjoy rainbows from the ground and from the air.  I think that the hope of seeing another circular rainbow will even brighten my outlook on a slightly rainy day of travel.  Who knows, maybe I’ll even become an official Rainbow Chaser and finally meet some of those Leprechauns.

–  Martha Bousfield