On this July 27th, in 1890, Vincent van Gogh – who suffered from mental illness for much of his life – shot himself in the chest. He survived, but would die two days later from a consequent infection. For our musical offering this week, we offer this elegiac, poignant 1971 ballad by Don McLean, Starry, Starry Night (who also wrote and performed the more famous American Pie). There’s a verse that seems to justify van Gogh’s tragic act – the world was never made for one as beautiful as you. Of course, there is a far more beautiful world for which we were all made, and we know not why some cannot see that. Van Gogh’s last words were ‘the sadness will last forever ‘, and we can only hope that in the midst of the darkness that surrounded the artist, some light of grace shone through,
