"Every beam brings a dream, dear, of you"

The few brave boats still hangin' in there at York Harbor Marina bask in the magic of moonlight while a feisty street light, right, takes credit -- in the manner of "Why the Chimes Rang " -- for all things bright and beautiful. Who's to say?

Can you say "totally awesome" too often. We say it early and often. So much natural beauty out there, so little time. How can you not say totally awesome when the Full Beaver Moon -- AKA the Full Frosty Moon -- sets early morning in the western sky over the heavenly haven of York Harbor, Maine?

"When the moon comes over the mountain," sang Kate Smith famously. With her bosomy, middle-aged physique, she was a figure of fun for us kids in the Fifties. Now being there ourselves agewise and unwanted bulgewise, we are in total awe of her accomplishments.

Perhaps it puts Christopher Hitchens's puerile atheistic rantings in perspective. We happened to catch the old boy early morning in one of his endless all-about-me interviews, this time on C-Span Book TV. Sure. We're atheistic, too, until proven otherwise, but to deny that our species is wired for belief is the height -- depth? -- of silliness. Hitchens's own passionate atheism is all the proof you need regarding wired for belief. It is therefore, in our view, the qualities of the belief system that count. That is why atheism per se has no inherent value, while Christianity and Judaism, the fonts of our City Upon a Hill, are an endless source of inspiration and intellectual inquiry. We've never cared for the misogynous elements of any religion ever was, of course, but that's human nature, and nobody's perfect. As for Islam, we've never once heard so much as a word that tempted us to pursue Sharia. Any takers?

As with just about every deep thinker who has a "big idea," Christopher Hitchens's musings on religion will go places he never dreamed of. Unforeseen consequences rule. It's the little one that passed unnoticed that will be writ large. From his C-Span interview:

I think the essential thing to being a good writer is being a good reader.

That's exactly what our totally awesome -- those words again -- high school English teacher, Miss Wood always said. Not to mention E.B. White & Company.

Are there any better readers of our intentions than our puddies? Baby (above) always knows what we are thinking.

Comments

[goomp]

Wired for belief, and passionately so. That is the nature of the Human animal. Devout Catholics, born again Christians, secular environmentalists, take you pick, they are dedicated to their beliefs and wish neither to hear nor consider alternate views. The Muslims who believe in the duty to spread the word and restrictions of Islam by force are only following the Human compulsion to spread their passionate beliefs. Thos who fail to understand this passion are in grave danger of being unable to resist being overwhelmed.

[Webutante]

Seems Hitchens, like Ann Coulter, knows how to say outrageous things that get lots of publicity/attention. He's a bore as far as I'm concerned. Islam holds no appeal. To go from Judeo/Christian culture to Islam, one would have to devolve big time into a more primitive/tribal group think. That would be impossible for most of us here, all else being equal.

Beautiful photos too.

[Gayle Miller]

As always, goomp is making perfect sense. The very existence of the sublime Baby (and Tiny) is PROOF to me of a divine hand in our world.

The estimable Sam had a delightful weekend. Four days of Mom being home almost all the time. And then there was yesterday's hilarity.

The leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner consisted of roughly 1-1/2 LARGE lobsters. So I decided to make lobster salad to have to supper each night. Except - I forgot to bring the shell cracker home from my sister's house (along with the leftovers). That is my explanation for why my hammer is now in the dishwasher! Despite the racket I made, Sam was thrilled because he got a little crumb (ONLY a crumb) of lobster each day and thus his days were MADE.