Only twenty-four human beings have ever ventured beyond Earth's atmosphere.  Of them, only twelve walked on our moon.  The first, Neil Armstrong, is dead.  So too, the last, Eugene Cernan.  Four others of their moon-walking colleagues are also dead.  That leaves only six human beings alive who walked on our moon.  That's a very exclusive club.  I remember that day in July, 1969 when The Eagle landed on the moon.  I was a caddy at the Kokomo Country Club that day and had a transistor radio at my ear.  Everyone else on the golf course was listening to the news and it was very quiet in those moments before the landing.  Then, all of a sudden, a cheer arose from every green, tee, and fairway.  You could hear it roll across the course.  Man was on the moon!  Later, that night, Armstrong took that "one small step."  Never has the world been so united.  Never has the human family held its collective breath for one human being.  Alas, I fear, we will never do it again.  Not because we won't go back to the moon, but because I cannot imagine a single human endeavor that will unite us again as one family in celebration of one feat of daring.  There is nothing that brings the human family together as did that "one small step" in July, 1969.  Not the Olympics, not Earth Day, not anything day.  I cannot even imagine what event might unite us again.  Soon enough the remaining six moon walkers will be no more.  And we will note and remember that last man's passing.  But will we ever dream again something bold enough and daring enough and magnificent enough to cause our human family to hold its breath again?

As your read this, I am in St. Louis, Missouri.  I'm attending a continuing education event at Concordia Lutheran Seminary.  The three day symposium is focused on the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.  October 31st is the day the German priest, professor, and monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany.  When I tried to check in to my hotel, I was told I did not have a reservation.  Mind you, I did not think for even a fleeting moment "there was no room at the inn."  As a matter of fact, in spite of not having a reservation, there was a room and it was made available to me, for a price, of course.  That was only my first surprise.  When I presented myself to receive my name tag, lunch reservations, and symposium materials, I was not registered.  My name did not appear on the list.  No record of my having paid the obligatory fees could be found.  I called Lori and had her rummage back through several months of my End Of Month paperwork to find my registration and it was not to be found.  As it turns out, I did not register; neither for the Symposium or the hotel.  These Lutherans, being kind and generous Christians, allowed me to sign in and have meal tickets and a participant's packet.  And they are trusting me to pay for all of it after I get back to Syracuse.  I will see to it first thing.  And I will remember the kindness extended to this forgetful United Methodist pastor.  And I will do all I can not to let this happen again.  By the way, this is a very excellent event, so far.  I'm glad I came.  

Day before yesterday was the 16th anniversary of 9/11.  I noticed a bit of news coverage concerning the event, but it wasn't the most urgent news item of the day.  Hurricane Irma monopolized the air waves as billions of dollars of destruction was drawn to our attention.  By now the remnants of the storm are being felt as far north as Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and even Kentucky.  It will continue to drop plenty of rain and flood more streets and... The main news story of the day will always put other news stories on the back burner, so to speak.  North Korea is still more than a thorn in the side of the peaceable world.  Mr. Putin hasn't softened.  Twenty trillion dollars of United States public debt isn't going away.  A horror movie about a clown and a troop of eleven year old boys tops the movie box office.  Guess what?  Next week the top news stories will crowd out whatever is making headlines today.  When has it ever been different?  The tragedy that was 9/11 will continue to haunt our nation for decades to come.  And it will not always be on our front burner.  We will remember and we will pause.  But we will go on and we will tend to the business at hand.  That has always been how we live.  Even Pearl Harbor and Little Big Horn and every presidential assassination have had their day and we live on.  And for that, we can be thankful day after day.  May today and your days to come be days of thanksgiving and peace.

Eunoia is the shortest word in the English language to use all five vowels.  It comes from the Greek meaning "beautiful thinking" or "well mind."  I have never used the word in a sentence nor in conversation.  The only time I've seen it in print was among a list of obscure words. Go figure.  Both vowels and consonants are necessary to make our words.  Without the vowels it would be almost impossible to know how to pronounce a word.  lf wld b nrly n fn t ll wtht th vwls.  (Life would be nearly no fun at all without the vowels.)  See what I mean?  I do not know where languages come from or how they are put together.  Over eons of time spelling and grammar and meaning are set in place that we might be able to communicate.  Rules are made for the use of words and before you know it, a language takes shape.  Vowels are necessary and when ordered properly the words they form with consonants are beautiful things.  They are the tools we use to communicate ideas about treasured realities.  "Come live with me and be my love and we shall all the pleasures prove."  The resonance and rhythm of this verse would be mere gibberish without the vowels.  As would "With this ring, I thee wed."  And  "I forgive you."  And "God so loved the world..."  The examples are endless but you know what I mean.  An ice cream treat for the first person to use "eunoia" in a proper sentence in my presence.