"The Earth is just too small and fragile a basket for the human race to keep all its eggs in."
— Robert Heinlein
AUBURN — Call us a couple of nerdy stargazers who enjoy scanning the universe for things that go bump in the dark skies above the Pine Tree State.
Actually, don't use the word nerdy when addressing me or you and I will have a big problem! It could get ugly.
For the past two nights, Anthony and I bundled up and stood outside our home, patiently waiting and watching for the International Space Station to pass over New England.
We learned online that it would streak across Maine at the usual 17,500 miles per hour to remain in orbit or plummet to earth.
We kept a vigil despite the chill in the air, waiting for that fast-moving dot in the sky to race across the darkness and thrill a father and son who never miss an opportunity to check out a man-made object traversing the heavens.
Some people say studying the stars is a straight waste of mankind's time. I say bully for NASA, which put a bunch of brave guys on the moon and brought humanity closer to understanding the universe's randomness.
We as a species have always been adventurous and have taken bold risks to see what is over the next ridge during our evolution as human beings.
Space, like the ocean, is a new frontier that must be explored or man's quest for knowledge will become stagnant. There is enlightenment in the stars and all of us should keep looking up at the vast darkness known as the universe.
My son and I stood outside with our cameras and watched in awe as the space station passed above us from a height of approximately 255 miles.
I was hoping for a shout-out from the astronauts as they raced through the night. Sure enough, the station passed over us at 7:54 Eastern Standard Time and didn't disappoint two fans on two chilly, April evenings on a quiet street in central Maine.
Giving terrorism a run for its money
No matter how hard terrorists try, they can't repress a nation that raised the bar for all of humanity when our founding fathers wrote this one sentence in the Declaration of Independence: "All men are created equal."
That one phrase is why the Boston Marathon will be held on another Patriots' Day under the watchful eyes of 3,500 law enforcement officers.
All those pathetic and misguided brothers did was make a nation stronger. What I will never understand is how two young men could target an athletic event that defines peace. Runners from every walk of life and religion come to the Bay State to compete in an event that brings people together.
There is no question America also has a past littered with dark moments in its history, but it is a nation that tries hard and still stands as the cradle of liberty.
When the starter's gun goes off in Hopkinton on Monday morning, we will be cheering for the runners as well as for a nation and a city that hasn't missed a step in spite of an ugly act of terrorism.
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