Mazes and Hedges

Hampton Court Palace on the outskirts of London is a marvel.  On one end it is a testament to Cardinal Wolsey and the Tudor kings, all turrets and chimneys of random and mismatched sizes.  On its other end, it reflects the stateliness of the Georgian monarchs, with its symmetrical windows and clean, right-angled lines.  Inside, the palace is a kind of maze, but outside it has an actual maze, the most famous hedge maze anywhere in the world.

Hampton Court’s hedge maze is the first one I ever experienced.  When I visited it while a college student studying in London, I rushed into the maze and zigzagged down its paths.   At each twist and turn, I paused briefly before more or less randomly choosing a direction to take.  Before long, each section of maze looked like all the others.  I walked in circles.  I retraced my steps.  I became thoroughly lost.

Star Trek, Groundhog Day, and Eucharistic Prayer C

Do you like outer space?  I do.  I have always especially loved movies about space, from the operatic “2001: A Space Odyssey” to Ridley Scott’s thrilling “Alien.”  I haven’t yet seen the Sandra Bullock movie “Gravity,” but I’ve heard it’s great.  Let’s try this: I’ll offer a famous line about outer space, and you tell me what it’s from.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.  That’s easy, right?  “Star Wars.”

How about this one:  Space: The Final Frontier.  These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.  Its five-year mission, to explore strange new worlds…to boldly go where no man has gone before.  That’s from “Star Trek,” of course.