Vol. 68, October 3rd, 2023 Published a day early online
For an audio version, click below, or visit the podcast.
The Harvest Moon
Big Talks in Waning Moonlight
“A nuclear scientist, a baker, a biologist, seven graduate students and the Rwandan delegation walk into an observatory...” Well, kind of. Anytime I drag a telescope out to the park, something magical happens.
The space isn’t great for skywatching. Streetlights bathe the concrete in a sodium orange. But there’s people there, and people matter.
Curious, they stop see the rings of Saturn or the lunar craters, and end up talking “big things.” Maybe it’s the beauty of the cosmos, or the invitation to look up.
Suddenly the park becomes a living room, a place where we can stumble through ideas together, looking up with both our eyes and our minds.
People are hungry for real conversations, for wondering, for talk about aliens and God and how long it would take to drive to Neptune and why nuclear reactors glow and how we got here in the first place and what can we do about being better people.
This weekend, the Harvest Moon shone on, adding a silvery light to the park as people from around the world pondered together.
It’s good to remember the sky, and who we might become.
Sidewalk Astronomy
Visiting Rwandan students line up to view Saturn through a telescope as Josh hosts.
Song of the Week
“Shine on Harvest Moon” An early 1900’s Tin Pan Alley hit, it’s been recorded by Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Leon Redbone, and others.
What’s your favorite version?
Elvis Makes His Debut–1945
10-year-old Presley sings “Old Shep” at a state fair, winning fifth place ($5 in tickets).
Quote of the Week
“Sometimes the first duty of the intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious.”
–George Orwell
Down the Rabbit Hole
How wild was the Wild West? Where’d those legends come from? For this week’s menu of fascination, take a trip back in time to the American frontier in the late 1800s.
Write to Us!
The Nighthawk is a new old-fashioned way to connect, published weekly. You’re invited to write back, or just enjoy reading. Let’s have some fun! It’s a social paper! Send stories, etc to: PO Box 783, Rustburg, VA 24588 or JoshUrban@protonmail.com
Letters from Josh
REDACTED THIS WEEK STOP
COOKING SUPRISE FOR SPECIAL READER STOP
DETAILS NEXT WEEK STOP