Maybe Vampires That Sparkle Are Okay

The other morning, my brother and I were driving out to Brookfield. It was nice and sunny for the thirty minute drive. The sunshine was a welcome break from the previous few days of grey skies.

Looking out the window, I saw a remarkable sight. As we moved along the road, the snow caught the sunlight and sparkled. That's nothing new. The light bounces of the variously angled crystals and creates a sparkle effect. What was amazing was that it just kept on going and going.

Signpost by signpost, the sparkling kept up. And it wasn't just right along the side of the road. When we passed open fields, I could see sparkles far out into the distance - forty, fifty, sixty yards. Incredible.

Somewhere along the line, it reminded me of something. What you ask? Well, it looked almost exactly like the cheesy sparkling skin effect for the vampires in the Twilight movies. The idea from the books being that vampires avoid sunlight not because they burst into flames, but because their skin sparkles in a crystalline and clearly otherworldly way. In other words they avoid sunlight so as not to call attention to themselves.

The sparkle effect wasn't a deal breaker for me, but I do have to admit a couple of things. First, not only did I indeed read all the books and enjoy them, but I've also seen the movies and liked them too. Second, I hated the sparkling bits.

Driving along watching the snow sparkle in some bizarre, beautiful way, I suddenly didn't mind the Twilight special effects so much anymore. Even when a live Cheap Trick came on the radio and the sparkles took on the look of thousands of flashes going off during a Super Bowl kickoff, the feeling stuck with me. Maybe, just maybe, sparkling vampires are okay.