"And drawn by my yearning desire I went to see the great cup of the various and strange forms made by natural artifice, descending beneath shadowy rocks. I reached the entrance to a great cavern in front of which I remained somewhat amazed and ignorant of such a thing. I bent my back and put my tired hand on my knee, and with my right hand I brought darkness to my lowered and closed eyes; and often bent here and there to see if anything was to be discerned within; but this was banned by the great obscurity which was there. And after I stayed awhile, there arose in me two things, fear and desire-fear because of the menacing dark cave, and desire to see whether there were any miraculous things within."
(Leonardo Da Vinci, unofficial English translation from Scritti Letterati)

On Saturday, January 16, 2016, at 4:00 pm, at the Manhattan Center Auditorium, Tom Jones, former astronaut will speak at the New York Encounter. "I felt so ... privileged to be part of a scene so obviously set by God. Emotions welled up inside: gratitude for the chance to experience this vista, wonder that our minds can appreciate God's glories, humility at my miniscule place in God's limitless universe," recounts Dr. Jones.

Dr. Tom Jones will speak about his motivation for being an astronaut, his experience of being "out there," and what attracted him to this adventure to the point of overcoming natural fears.