It is astonishing to me that a third of the year is over. It seems that just a few days ago it was last year, if you see what I mean. Why, the 20th century passed and we hardly noticed. And soon enough the world will await in wonder the coming of the 22nd century and then yet another millennium. And it will not be long before the sun consumes the earth. And not long after that, a few trillion years they say, the universe, which started as a bubble-speck, will stretch into utter and never-ending silence.
But my theme today is not of how time passes quickly and is lost forever – it is instead the more pleasant one of writing about one way that many people, ordinary as well as famous, seek to capture the present and preserve some of its passing beauty and amazements for at least a few
