It was on a night, not unlike this, with a brilliant full moon blazing down from above...

Back in the Village, the full moon was a matter of serious concern and discussion. Not to be taken lightly.

Because the good people of the Village will not soon forget, nor forgo discussion and debate about the time...that one time. When the moon, the full moon, that full moon tried to swing by for a visit. And it was on a night just like this.

As fate would have it, the Village Cobbler; a Mr. Peach, would find himself in a most precarious position though no fault of his own.

Regarding Mr. P...

Mr. peach, lived an unexceptional life. His duty was to make and repair the footwear for the good people of the Village.

This is what he had been taught, this is what he knew, this is what he did. And at the end of every day, he went home.

He opened the door, took off his coat, hung it up in the appropriate spot, and tapped the pot

twice for good luck.

Mr. Peach believed that luck resided within that old pot; and it would not be wise to ignore it

after all.

As luck would have it...

It never fails, on a night such as this, just like this; the topic of conversation eventually turns to the usual debate about how and why Mr. Peach thinks that pot of his is so lucky. Mr. Peach won't tell.

But it's rumored that it has something to do with that moon up there. Seems Mr. Peach loves to go for a stroll at night; out by the sea while the moon peaks and winks from over there. Many of the townspeople believe that is where he found the pot; washed ashore along the coastline somewhere.

There is no good explanation for the fact that it seems to be lucky; and no go reason, that anybody knows, for Mr. Peach to give it two taps for good luck. Mr. Peach has to summon the forces of the spirit each day to drive those nails and stitching into that thick leather. It takes a mighty force to puncture that sole.

Mr. Peach's secret...

Checkers is a far more complex experience than one might imagine. First of all, you have to develop the skill set to play and talk at the same time; not that easy when you come right down to it. And down at the Village General Store, they come down to it on a regular basis.

The discussions run the garment, local gossip to matters of philosophy and criticism. And of course, along the way you always encounter the "CTs"; the Conspiracy Theorists.  You name it, they can report or create a manifesto of cynicism and skepticism. Pick a topic. Let's un-do it, unravel the secret, hidden truths, lost clues, found.

Of course there are the tried and true standard favorites..."The Grassy Knoll",  "Helter Skelter", "Area 51",  "The Flat Earth Society", and of course, and always there is; of course..."The Moon".

The CTs are convinced that the astronauts never really went to the moon; never really walked on the moon, back in 1969. It was all the creation of corrupt government officials who merely faked the moon landings with television and film coverage in some huge Hollywood backlot set to create the illusion of the moonscape. A huge conspiracy to fool the world into believing that our astronauts had in fact traveled to the moon; landed there, and returned.

While most folks in the village dismiss this theory as utter lunacy, Mr. Peach knows otherwise. The CTs are right, but for the wrong reason.