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Sometimes when the furor of current events and life anxieties becomes too much, it is helpful to look up at the night sky. (It’s also helpful if you are on boat in the middle of a lake in New Hampshire, say, rather than in Lowell.) Armed with a 99 cent star chart and a member of our party who knew more than the basic two constellations (the Big Dipper and Orion), we explored the summer stars. The Big Dipper was easily spotted, low on the horizon to the northwest. From the outside two stars of the “ladle” we could point straight up to Polaris, the North Star, and thus find the Little Dipper. From the inside two stars of the ladle, we could point to a bright star in the middle of the Milky Way, almost directly overhead. This is Deneb, the lead star of an elongated “cross” that is Cygnus, the Swan. To the Northeast of Cygnus, the “W” of Cassiopeia can be seen, also in the Milky Way. Next to her is the “house shape” of Cepheus, the King on his throne. Apparently, Deneb is one of three bright stars whose constellations form the “summer triangle.” We were happy to discover Cygnus and didn’t get any further on this trip. But the stars are always there, waiting for us to look up and discover some peace in their timeless beauty.