FULL MOON

What a wonderful full moon!
   Looking at that gracious full moon transferred my thoughts way back to 1977. That's when astronaut James B. Irwin visited my father in Helsinki. He came to speak at our church where my father was a pastor. I had the privilege of serving as colonel Irwin's chauffeur during some of his stay. We took him around Helsinki to see our beautiful city. James Irwin had just written a book "To the moon and beyond", and the book was published in Finnish by the time of his visit.
   "Jim" Irwin impressed me with his interesting life story: graduating from Naval Academy at the age of 21 and becoming an Air Force test pilot at the age of 31, how he had later crashed a fighter jet and the doctor had told him that he would never fly again. Ten years later he was on his way to the moon as the lunar module pilot of Apollo 15. Incredible!
   But this was not the thing that set him apart from other great aviators. Indeed, it was his faith in God that gave this man a special character and also made his journey to the moon so impressing and full of meaning.

   When Jim Irwin was launched into space with the Apollo mission, he took a poem with him and eventually carried it to the moon with him. The poem was written by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. and it's called "High Flight". This beautiful poem reflects something of colonel Irwin's faith, too.   
   Eventually the name of this poem became the name of the organization that James Irwin founded after he retired from NASA. High Flight Foundation exists to this day and serves as "Global Goodwill Ambassadors facilitating aid and delivering a message of hope and peace to the nations."

So, next time you look at the moon, write another poem. Good luck to you all!