Hang on to your hat and wind that clock!

If, like me, occasionally (sic!) you feel things are all too much and the world has gone stark staring mad and you have lost, or feel you're losing, all faith in humanity especially when you watch the ten o'clock news, then spare a moment to read this etter from the author E.B.White (author of 'Charlotte's Web' and 'Stuart Little')

 As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness.

Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society – things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly. It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbour seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out.

Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.

Sincerely,

E. B. White

 White's missive, penned on March 30, 1973, when he was 74, endures as a spectacular celebration of the human spirit

found at the wondrous:
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