The summer has gone by so quickly and already I am imagining you in your office, preparing for the fall semester.  The first week of autumn term was always my favorite at college.  Those mornings so crisp with the expectation of cooler weather; the days so fresh and full of promise.  The weather is unchanging here, and I miss the anticipation of new beginnings that the change of seasons brings.

I am busy.  We have taken a few trips to familiarize ourselves with the area and also to entertain visiting friends.  Last week we visited The Grand Canyon.  I stood alone on the edge of the precipice and watched the sun set over the canyon rim and transform into a scarlet ribbon that circled the gorge.  It seemed then that the canyon closed in on itself and the sky opened up, revealing a star-filled sky, ready to disclose her astronomical secrets.

Much of the rest of my time I spend looking beyond the hurdles, gazing out at that PhD. at the rainbow's end.  That manufactured rainbow that springs out of the irrigated ground in my front lawn half a world away from your little patch of clover.

 Millions of years ago the earth was cleft and The Grand Canyon was created.  It is wide--too wide--for me to catch a glimpse of you on the other side.