Bliss.

For the moment, I am in a state of bliss.

Indeed, I even feel a bit like Francis Scott Key, who saw that “the rocket’s red glare…gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.”

So it seems quite appropriate that today’s #stampoftheday, which really was issued on November 7, 1948, not only honors the 100th anniversary of Fort Bliss but also does so with an image that features both a 19th century Spanish-style mission (to commemorate its role as a key defense for the region) and a rocket launch (signifying the fort’s history in the development of the American rocket program).

There’s much more I could write about Fort Bliss. It covers 1,700 square miles in Texas and New Mexico, which makes it the army’s second largest installation. (Only the adjacent White Sands Missile Range is bigger). It was home to the famed “Buffalo soldiers,” an all-Black cavalry regiment. It was one of the first American military bases to test rockets and train people in their use. And in 1946, it housed many of the German rocket scientists taken out of post-war Germany by American forces.

But it’s an unusually warm late fall day in New England and I want to celebrate (and do some yard work). As I do, I’ll try to also remember that difficult times are ahead. To tweak the lyrics of Bob Marley’s posthumous ode to the Buffalo soldiers, some people have been fighting since their arrival, and all of us, right now, are “fighting for survival.”

But for the moment, let’s enjoy the rocket-like highs and defend our current state of bliss.

Be well, stay safe, keep fighting for justice (and survival) and work for peace.