1809 Was A Very Good Year

Cranmer is essential reading every morning.

This morning, he commemorates the 200th anniversary of Alfred Lord Tennyson's birth.

1809 was a very good year, and there is a bit of hope in the recalling of it.

The French Revolution had come and gone, spilling oceans of blood. In its wake arose Napoleon Bonaparte, who spilled even more, and in 1809, dominated the world stage.

It was not a good time, by many measures.

But, in a cabin in Kentucky, in a prosperous family of Leipzig, and in a vicar's family in Lincolnshire--three boys were born: Abraham Lincoln, Felix Mendelssohn, and Alfred Tennyson.

Their lives headed off in dramatically different directions, but what a contribution each made!

So, mom and dad--that little rug-burner tossing his Cheerios off the high chair holds infinite promise for us all. Nurture that kid--who knows what might happen?

So in honor of Tennyson, his elegaic Crossing The Bar:

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.