Grüss Gott. Twilight...it's often thought of as that hour between sunset and dusk; neither daytime nor night; neither light nor dark. The French have a pretty phrase for it: l'heure bleue, or "the blue hour." During twilight, Sister Moon sometimes shines pale from the heavens, unable or unwilling to give us her full light for fear she may insult the sun. It is a time often thought of as magical, when faeries and lightening bugs emerge from the bliss of sleep and romp about with frivolous abandon until they fall exhausted into the grass...waiting for the next blue hour. My life has often seemed like a moment waiting to happen, the actor waiting in the wings, the diver standing on the platform, a child waiting for the mailman to deliver that anticipated sent-for item, a loved one waiting for the doctor to emerge from the operating room. You know that feeling: poised for a moment that will change everything...or nothing at all. Once the moment comes, things are never the same...sometimes. Yes, my life has often seemed like it was comprised of nothing but these moments--as if I were on the precipice of some very anticipated event. And so I pay homage to the faeries dancing in the dew during that very special moment, l'heure bleue. It is from this viewpoint that I am often blindsided by even more spectacular events than the blue hour--the moment of the Black Swan. For centuries, Europeans thought that swans came in only one color: white. However, during an 18th century expedition of Western Australia, it was discovered that swans do come in another color: black. Inexplicable! Impossible! And yet here it was, right before their very eyes: a black swan. This original Black Swan Event has been used to describe the theory that the impossible may not always be unattainable. Black Swan Events must meet three criteria: 1) It must be a surprise; 2) It must have major impact (either positive or negative...or even both); and 3) It becomes rationalized after the event, as if it had been expected. Examples of Black Swan Events include the emergence of the Internet in the 1980s, and the terrible tragedy that took place in New York City on September 11, 2004. In memory, we often are unable to separate the events in our own lives from the events occurring around us at any particular point in time, especially if the events are Black Swans. Because of this, you might hear someone say, "I got married in 1985, the weekend after the Space Shuttle Challenger accident," or "They visited in 1993, right around the time of the Great Flood." It seems to be part of the human experience to relate to time this way. This blog will contain a monologue of my own experiences woven with those of our nation and the world around us.I look forward to sharing l'heure bleue with you. I hope you find something here to take away, and I invite your comments, questions, and feedback as we embark together on this journey.