Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth . . . And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand and touched the face of God.—High Flight, by John Gillespie Magee From the time man stood upright and began to contemplate his existence, space has fascinated him. The vastness of the skies have spiritually uplifted him and challenged him to seek the furthest reaches of his universe. When Christopher Columbus set sail on his 1492 voy age, his three ships each bore the inscription: “Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.“ This could well be the mantra of the entire American experience.

The January snowstorm of 2010 will be a topic of conversation for a long time. As far as snowfalls go, this one was a doozy. Kids from many Virginia school systems enjoyed an extra three-day vacation that was mainly attributed to road conditions. While the counties in South Central Virginia generally received high praise for their efforts at snow removal, no one was impressed with the City of Richmond’s efforts at clearing its streets. To their credit, city officials have met that issue head-on and are quickly taking steps to prevent a reoccurrence. While they’re at it, they should also take steps to educate and inform Richmond’s private property owners of their civic responsibility following a snowstorm: that of shoveling their sidewalks.

The new year is one month old. How are those resolutions coming along? According to Mark Twain, “New Year’s Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.“ Resolutions are difficult to keep—in fact, most people don’t. A far better plan is to make resolutions for your loved ones that you think they could use. Offer to help them keep to the goals. The results will be about the same.

With Navy’s December victory at the storied Army-Navy game in Philadelphia, the Commander-in-Chief’s Cup remains for the seventh consecutive year exactly where every one knows it best belongs: the U.S. Naval Academy. The record numbers of civilians who watched the game were treated to a display of the mostly funny, occasionally petty, and infrequently serious interservice rivalry that exists among the four branches of the U.S. military: the Army, the Navy, the Marines, and the Air Force. (The Coast Guard, belonging to the Department of Homeland Security, usually manages to rise above the fray.)

I don’t know why we were so shocked when we found out what he had done. He’s 18, a Marine, and (supposedly) of sound mind. But still, he’s our youngest male child and (no parental bragging here, just the facts as I see them) he was already exceptionally handsome and fit when he left for the Marine Corps. Thirteen weeks at Parris Island further physically sculpted his young body into near-perfection. Why would anyone in his right mind dream of permanently drawing on such a God-given work of art—not once, but twice?

Once, many years ago, a young student was working on a biology project in the science lab of a small Catholic high school. And because she was chatting with friends and inattentive to the work at hand, she dropped a beaker of solution that shattered on the countertop. Not surprisingly, but most inexcusably, a four-letter word that belonged in a barnyard flew out of this 16-year-old’s mouth.

As 2009 draws to a close, much of the world is suffering from economic hard times. The U.S. is fighting a war on two fronts. And bad guys still lurk out there, hoping to do us harm. But for one night, our troubles will pale in importance. This night we will remember a baby born more than 2,000 years ago. This night we will celebrate the ultimate gifts of love and the promise of a better world to come.

It’s all so very glamorous and exciting! Not only celebrities, politicians, journalists, and the occasional scientist are attending the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, the royals are involved, too. The crown princely couple, Frederik and Mary of Denmark, are participating in a whirlwind of conference-related activity, and they are presiding over several events at the royal palace. The queen will be holding a state dinner at Christiansborg on Dec. 17. Attending the festivities (and some of the conference as well) will be Britain’s Crown Prince Charles, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway.

Sixty-eight years ago on a quiet Sunday, American lives were forever changed as news of the bombings at Pearl Harbor was announced over the radio. Late into that Dec. 7 evening, Ameri cans sat by their radios and listened as reports came across the wire. President Franklin Roosevelt’s schedule was supposed to be a light one that day. He met with the Chinese ambassador at 12:30 p.m. and then had planned a leisurely lunch with his trusted adviser, Harry Hopkins. But during that meal, it became apparent that light days were going to be a thing of the past for a very long time. Navy Secretary Frank Knox called the president at 1:40 p.m. to inform him of the Japanese attack that had begun 45 minutes earlier.

No Americans old enough to remember will soon forget where they were and what they were doing when four airplanes were used on a late summer day in 2001 to murder nearly 3,000 of our fellow citizens. Americans demanded swift retribution be visited upon those who had planned the massacre. The determination to end the ongoing terror attacks that had been perpetrated against the U.S. since the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Lebanon was sincere and strong.

Got no check books, got no banks. Still I’d like to express my thanks—I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night.—Irving Berlin The economy is sputtering. Congress is spending us into a black hole—make that a red hole—from which we may never crawl out. Americans continue to worry over the mounting job losses despite the Obama administration’s assurances that we are no longer losing them quite as fast.

Nov. 11 is Veterans Day—one day out of our busy lives that Americans stop to salute the men and women who have served, or are currently serving, in our armed forces. Americans are proud of their veterans. They are quick to thank and support them. When news of substandard living quarters at Walter Reed Medical Center broke, Americans were outraged that our troops could be treated so callously. Through programs such as the Wounded Warrior Project, families, friends, and concerned citizens give generously of time, talent, and money to help our returning veterans.

Early November is a busy time. Last-minute hype from candidates begging for votes fills airways and television screens. Politics reach a frenetic crescendo as Americans exercise their right to vote. It is fitting that on Nov. 11, we will stop for a day to honor our veterans who have fought to protect that precious right. This Veterans Day, President Barack Obama will be headed to Singapore for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. But he did recently speak to about 3,500 sailors, Marines, and other service members at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla. He eloquently expressed his appreciation to these military members for their service and their sacrifices.

On Monday, North Korea test-fired five short-range missiles off its coastline. The odd behavior had even Moscow scratching its head. “It was not the most suitable time to do this now, when all efforts are made to restart six-way talks on Korea’s nuclear option,“ a Foreign Ministry official remarked to the Itar-Tass News Agency. North Korea would prefer to forgo the six-party talks and is pushing for the prestige of bilateral discussions with the United States.

In October 1775, the 13 American Colonies were in outright rebellion against the crown—a rebellion that would change the course of world history. Throughout the Revolutionary War, the ROBIN
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tiny Colonial Army was plagued by shortages of gunpowder. Desperate to obtain supplies of the coveted substance, the Continental Congress authorized the “procurement, fitting out, manning, and dispatch of two armed vessels to cruise the waterways in search of munitions ships supplying the British Army.“ That brief mission statement was the birth certificate of the United States Navy.