October 12, 2026 - Good Morning. It’s Monday, October 12. Happy Columbus Day!
In elementary school we learned that Christopher Columbus had three ships on his maiden voyage - the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. The fastest of these was the Pinta, and so it isn’t surprising that, in 1492, it was a sailor on the Pinta who looked out on the horizon and excitedly announced, “Tierra! Tierra!” (Land! Land!). He was the first to see America - well, it was actually the Bahamas - but close enough. Now, as far as discovering the New World is concerned, I’m pretty sure that the 60 million natives living here at that time might take exception to that. And that’s why some states (including Texas) call today Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Almost exactly four centuries later, in 1882, Katherine Bates also looked out on America. She wasn’t on the deck of a sailing ship, but on the top of Pike’s Peak. And her words weren’t “Land! Land!”, but these -
O beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain
Now we’re over five centuries from the sailor on that ship, and almost a century and a half from the schoolteacher on that mountain. What do we see today when we look out on America? Do we see an imperfect place, a work in progress? Or do we see the greatest nation on earth? I believe that America is all of those things. And on this day, this Columbus Day, we’re proud to say . . . that she is ours. And we echo the words of that famous song.
America! America! God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
