1) The theme of Winchester's essay is the pure beauty and luck of the unexpected. Winchester never planned on visiting Ascension Island or meeting Paul and Angela, his experiences with them were completely spontaneous. It is like what the tailor says to him: "Lucky to be in such a place. Lucky to see such things. And luckiest of all to meet such very kind people" (271).
I found the description of Paul to be particularly well done: "dressed in white shorts and a tropical shirt, but with the telltale clerical collar. He was short, fair-haired, very pinkish, precise, aimlessly bespectacled" (265). The idea of a cleric in a tropical shirt with the clerical collar is both humorous and easy to picture.
I also liked the description of the eclipse: "As I looked up at the moon I could see that the shadow of the earth was now steadily sweeping across its face, and the whole world was darkening again, being turned back to black as this portion of our planet experienced a total lunar eclipse" (269-70). This description came as a surprise, mainly because the story is called, "Ascension in the Moonlight." It surprised me much like I am sure it surprised Winchester. It is also a nice contrast to the snow-like description of the beach earlier.
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