WINDING THE CLOCK

HOPE

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 harbor 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.

E. B. White

E. B. White was born in 1899 in Mount Vernon, New York. He served in the army before going to Cornell University. There he wrote for the college newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun.In 1927 he became a writer for The New Yorker magazine, where he became well known. He wrote a column for Harper's magazine from 1938 to 1943.White's career had already brought him much fame, but he was about to try something new. His nieces and nephews always asked him to tell them stories, so he began writing his own tales to read to them. In 1945 he started publishing these stories as books. All three are now considered classics of children's literature and 'Charlottes Web' has recently been filmed.In 1957 White moved to North Brooklyn, Maine, with his wife, Katharine. There he continued to write. White died in 1985.