My family came back from a vacation today. We don't take a lot of vacations, what with the cost of everything and work and school schedules. But we're fortunate because we live in Utah, and Utah is amazingly beautiful. So we packed up the kids and drove down to a little Airbnb in Panguitch, a hub that allowed us to visit Bryce Canyon National Park one day and Zion National Park the next. And let me tell you: it was fantastic…

I've gotta tell you: I have been sitting here all afternoon, not wanting to write this newsletter.

It's not because I am reluctant to tell a great truth, or anything so profound. It's just that I simply didn't feel like it, and I have a headache, and work was busy today. (You may notice that this newsletter is coming out Tuesday evening instead of Tuesday morning because I was dealing with similar things last night.)

Let me tell you a story…

When I was young, I had an intense wanderlust. There wasn't anything in particular that I wanted to do--I wasn't obsessing about going to Spain or hiking the Appalachia Trail or working on a crab boat in the Bering Sea--but I had a real need to get out and do something. I remember vividly a conversation I had with my wife where I quoted to her some lyrics from one of our favorite songs, "What A Good Boy" by the Barenaked Ladies:

I wake up scared, I wake up strange

I wake up wondering if anything in my life is ever gonna change

This will be a bit of a different newsletter. Normally, there's some thoughts up front, and then there's some interesting science facts, and then there's some distractions and diversions. But this week it's gonna be all jumbled up.

How This Story Starts…

I know you've heard that line before--that hope is a thing with feathers. It's possibly Emily Dickinson's most famous poem. But I didn't understand what it meant for most of my life. (Why does hope have feathers? What's hopeful about feathers?)

Let's look at the full poem. (Don't worry! It's short!)

"Hope" is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,