Saturday, December 24, 2016

The Mistletoe


When winter nights grow long,
And winds without blow cold,
We sit in a ring round the warm wood-fire,
And listen to stories old!
And we try to look grave, as maids should be,
When the men bring in boughs of the Laurel-tree.
O the Laurel, the evergreen tree!
The poets have laurels, and why not we?

How pleasant, when night falls down
And hides the wintry sun,
To see them come in to the blazing fire,
And know that their work is done;
Whilst many bring in, with a laugh or rhyme,
Green branches of Holly for Christmas time!
O the Holly, the bright green Holly,
It tells like a tongue that the times are jolly!

Sometimes in our grave house,
Observe, this happeneth not;
But, at times, the evergreen laurel boughs
And the holly are all forgot!
And then! what then? why, the men laugh low
And hang up a branch of the Mistletoe!
O brave is the Laurel! and brave is the Holly!
But the Mistletoe banisheth melancholy!
Ah, nobody knows, nor ever shall know,
What is done under the Mistletoe.

By Barry Cornwall

Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 9, 2016

Legendary American Astronaut John Glenn Dead at 95

Legendary American Astronaut John Glenn Dead at 95
John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016)

John H. Glenn Jr, the first American to orbit the Earth passed away in Columbus, Ohio on December 8, 2016 at the age 95. America has lost one of its greatest pioneers.

Glenn was an aviator, engineer at NASA, astronaut, politician, and recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. He was an officer in the US Marine Corps and a war hero who served his country as a fighter pilot in the Pacific during WWII and during the Korean War. 

In 1962 he became the first American to orbit the Earth. he flew the Friendship 7 mission and was also a backup pilot to Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom, on the Freedom 7 and Liberty Bell 7 respectively.

In 1974 he won elections for the US Senate and became a congressman representing the State of Ohio for a quarter of a century.

A legend and a true here, he will be missed by many.

Godspeed, John Glenn!