La luna pasa, sabe, canta, avanza y avanza sin descanso.

-- Vicente Aleixandre, "No existe el hombre" in World Alone: Mundo a Solas

15th Sunday after Pentecost. Madeleine L'Engle has entered the Church Triumphant. as they say in RI.

My brother's company had a lovely celebration Friday, the dedication of a Japanese garden in front of the building in Cranston in his memory. Over 100 employees came, as well as family members from the area. Many people spoke of David, of his warmth and quiet friendliness. One woman is reported to have said that she took a walk with him every day at noon in the parking lot. Another said every day at two he would walk around the two-story building, and say hello to people in the company. He was well liked and is clearly missed by everybody there.

His burial site in a quiet cemetery tucked away in Barrington, is now marked with

a granite stone, that says

LUTHER

David S.

with dates

My mother (David's mother) wishes it said

David Simmons Luther

The old slate stones are the best. You can see them at St. Mary's Churchyard on the East Main Road in Portsmouth, where most of my family is buried.

Time to ride my bike down to the boatyard. See you later.

So I'm putting up this picture of my vade mecums, and here comes Nanci Griffith on my iTunes, singing "Just Once In A Very Blue Moon." The whole week's been minor coincidences, most not recorded, and so it goes. The almanacs are basic to me and go way back. One here is the Golden Books edition I grew up with and imprinted on (I lost the original and found a copy dedicated to Mary Patricia G...., from Blanche and Fred, in 1948). The blue one, Eric Utne's Cosmo Dogood's Urban Almanac, was a terrific annual for a few annums, and while it's published no more I still refer to it. The third is the basic OFA (No.CCXV) wherein you can find the tides, sunrise and sunset times, visible planets, moon phases, and saints' days. Great stuff for daily life.

Oh -- the coincidence mentioned above -- it's the Blue Moon. My Old Farmer's Almanac shows (but doesn't tell) me that May is a month with a Blue Moon. It will be on the 31st. Watch for more. Since we couldn't see the first F.M. of the month, it would be good to see the second.