dual personalities

Today is the 444th anniversary of the completion of Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the Earth in Plymouth, England on September 26, 1580.

This was the first English circumnavigation, and second circumnavigation overall. Drake’s exploits made him a hero to the English, but his privateering led the Spanish to brand him a pirate, known to them as El Draque (“The Dragon”). “While Spain regarded him as a pirate even then, he was really a privateer, since he carried the royal warrant and the Crown participated by furnishing money and armed ships. That is hardly piracy as we understand it.” (This is an interesting article about Drake.)

I have shared this prayer by Drake before, but it bears repeating:

“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, 

when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, 

when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore. 


Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess,
we have lost our thirst for the waters of life, having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, 
and in our efforts to build a new earth, 
we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim. 


Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, 
where storms will show your mastery, 
where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. 
We ask you to push back the horizon of our hopes, 
and to push us into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love. 
This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ. ”

Wonderful.

We also remember Paul Newman, who died on this day in 2008.

Kind of like Sir Francis Drake, Paul Newman is in a league of own. Nominated eight times for Best Actor (and once for Supporting Actor), he only won one Oscar for The Color of Money (1987) and that seemed like a consolation prize at the time. Newman wasn’t even there to pick up his award. C’est la vie. He was great and everybody loved him. Anyway, a toast to the great Paul Newman!

And speaking of cool, how about that new statue at the U.S. Capitol? Johnny Cash, representing Arkansas, became the first professional musician to be honored with a statue in the Capitol.

Cash’s daughter, Rosanne Cash, said her father would have viewed the statue “as the ultimate honor” in his life. She said her father’s hard upbringing instilled in him a strong work ethic and that he loved the idea of America as a place of dreams and refuge. “This man was a living redemption story,” Rosanne Cash said. “He encountered darkness and met it with love.” Amen, brother.

Now there’s three aces! Sir Francis Drake, Paul Newman and Johnny Cash. Woohoo! Have a good day!