by the moon and the stars in the sky

When you make a promise that you can NEVER break

Man 1: hey bro can I tell you something?
Man 2: sure!
Man 1: ok but don’t tell anyone.
Man 2: I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky I will tell not a soul

I love you more than stars in the sky.

I love you more than stars in the sky. — A common way old Southen Black people end telephone calls. If you had a mother or a grandmother who kept a rotary phone well into the touch tone phone age; and who finally got a touchstone phone when people were shedding landlines; and she was from the South; then, you have heard this phone ending long distance kiss.
.
Even if she was mad at you.

Or you were mad at her.

Racial politics in America being what that have been since reconstruction, life could be uncertain. So old Black people always say I love you a lot at the end of phone conversations — especially long distance phone calls — because they don’t want the last thing that they say to people to be words of anger — especially because at any moment in America, a Black life may not matter.

The saying they used a lot was: Don’t let the sun set on your wrath.

And I’m thinking of you here George Floyd!

Now in the age of emojis the children and grandchildren of these people text ❤️❤️❤️🌟⭐️✨🔥🔥🔥 to each other meaning: Love you more than stars in the sky; and love like fire can always grow the more you feed it.

Happy New Year 2024 and ❤️❤️❤️🌟⭐️✨🔥🔥🔥.

1st friend: Whenever I spoke to Ma or my Grandlady long distance by phone, they both always ended the call by saying: I love you more than stars in the sky.
2nd friend: MINE TOO!!!! Are your people from the South?
1st friend: Yep!!!! Alabama and the Carolinas. Now we text ❤️❤️❤️🌟⭐️✨🔥🔥🔥 to each other meaning almost the same thing but we added our flava to it with the fire. The fire mean: Love like fire grows the more you feed it.
2nd friend: Oh word? That joint is tight!!!!!!!