A Young Astronomer Visits Seagrave

When Weston Ambrose and his mother joined us at "Observe the Moon Night" in October, little did they realize what they were getting into. While it was partly cloudy, the evening was a great success with speakers Kim Arcand and Conrad Cardano as well as glimpses of the first quarter moon. This was the Ambrose' first visit to Seagrave.

Weston and his family live in nearby Massachusetts and he attends 8th grade in Franklin, getting excited about attending high school next year. They visited Seagrave because Weston has an intense interest in astronomy and space, which became obvious as he conversed with us all. It was such a pleasure to have such a mature and interested 14 year old in our midst, who soaked up everything he heard. We convinced the family to attend our November meeting and meet many more amateur astronomers.

During the summer, Steve and I had been contacted by a woman who lives in Wickford. She wanted to donate a small telescope that belonged to her husband. Upon visiting Jane, who wishes to remain anonymous, we learned that she and her husband had lived around the world before settling in Wickford for retirement. He had many interests and at one point had acquired a 4" telescope. He had not been able to use it since developing advanced Alzheimer's and was currently in a nursing home. During his life, this man had made significant impact on our daily lives, having invented the original pop-top can! Jane wanted to pass on the telescope to someone who would use it. She also gave us a small coupon that said "Share for Shannon". She did not want a tax deduction, but wanted us to "pay it forward" to someone. The "Share for Shannon" foundation was established in memory of a fearless and memorable young woman from Rhode Island who had lost her life in an accident. To honor her spirit and good works, we were asked to extend "a gesture of kindness and pay it forward to someone else".

When we met Weston that night, we knew just what to do with this gift. The telescope was presented to Weston at the November meeting and it was a complete surprise to him and his family. The coupon was also part of the package: to pay a kindness forward to someone else in some way. Also, part of the surprise were 2 astronomy books and a not so small assignment to come back to give a presentation in the future. You see, Weston with his keen interest in science wants to study astronomy and become the first "little person" to be admitted to the Air Force Academy. Perhaps he might become as astronaut one day!

So we hope that we helped with Weston's journey into a marvelous future. We do know that he could not stop smiling. As his mom said: "Dream big, my son, dream big". I know that Skyscrapers will forever be part of Weston's fan club!