"The Hand May Be a Little Child's"
Silas and Eppie
In high school, I had to memorize several hundred lines of poetry or prose each
year. I did not enjoy that academic task while in high school. I
did not like the process of memorizing the lines and then standing in front of
the teacher reciting them. Additionally, I thought that I knew what the
writer meant in the line that I memorized. One of the great benefits of
growing old is that of facing the reality that you did not know as much about
life as you thought you did decades before.
For example, George Eliot, which was the pseudonym for Mary Ann Evans, wrote a
novella entitled Silas Marner .
Eliot published it in 1861, precisely a century before I stood in front of Mrs.
Davis to recite this passage from Silas Marner .
Even though I did not enjoy the memorizing process, I thought that I got Eliot's
message.
In old days there were angels who
came and took men by the hand and led them away from the city of destruction.
We see no white-winged angels now. But yet men are led away from threatening
destruction: a hand is put into theirs, which leads them forth gently towards a
calm and bright land, so that they look no more backward; and the hand may be a
little child's.
However, a half century after high school, I realize that I did not come close to
understanding what Eliot meant. Nonetheless, I get it now. Eppie
came into the life of Silas Marner, and in that process, changed who he
was. That small child "led him away from threatening destruction."
Little children can do the same for each of us. Trust me; I know that
firsthand. It intrigues me how little children teach, guide, and redeem
us, which is a juxtaposition from what we normally think. We think that
we are the instructors and the change agents for children. That is not
always the case.
This is a video of the movie, Silas Marner ,
with Ben Kinsley as Silas Marner.
VIDEO
It's a Long, Long Road
From Which There is No Return
11/04/24
Replying to Ti Ti’s Request
For a Photo of PaPa Al
08/09/24
You Know that You Are Getting Old
When You Don’t Know All the New Words and Slogans
08/05/24
The Third Old Man
Or Three Coins in the Fountain of Life
07/29/24
How Will We Be Remembered
Another Either / Or Essay
06/28/24
I’m Leading Death Again
On My Dancefloor of Life
06/10/24
The Flying Dutchman
Then and Now
05/03/24
Field of Dreams
A Haunting Return
04/24/24
Immortal Beloved
Beethoven’s, Shakespeare’s, and Mine
04/19/24
What I Discovered
When I Wasn’t Looking
04/08/24
Träumerei
Then and Now
03/15/24
Trump Has Some Issues with Taylor Swift
Beyond His Legal Woes and Coming Up with a Half Billion Dollars
03/11/24
Snow and Fatty
Are Following in Ti Ti’s Footsteps
01/19/24
What’s It All About...
The Paradox of Life
12/29/23
Unexpected Events
Can Create Opportunities for Greatness
12/25/23
PaPa Al’s Reply
To Ti Ti’s Posting, I Love Education
12/15/23
My Yin Yang World
Dreams vs. Reality
12/08/23
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
A Lesson Taught by Dylan Thomas
11/06/23
Let’s Do the Math
It is an Either/Or Choice
10/09/23
My Second Shot
Or the First Insurrection
09/22/23
My World of Xanadu
Another Personal Parallel Essay
09/20/23
Ti Ti’s Surprising Email
To Her Grandfather
09/18/23
Tyson’s Two Thoughts
Regarding AI and a Ticking Clock
09/15/23
Michelle
The Sculptor and Writer
08/23/23
Holding Hands with Neal Katyal
What My Teacher Taught Me
08/21/23
Haunting Photos
Then and Now
08/09/23
Oppie and Me
The Similarities are Striking
07/24/23
The Evolution of Aldie
According to a 21st Century Darwinian Theory
01/23/23
What’s It All About Alfie?
From an Eighty-Year Old Alfie
01/20/23
Grasping Reality
I Can’t Explain It
01/09/23
Problems are Assets
Seize the Problems
12/09/22
Growing Up Without Transparency
And Finally Discovering It
10/14/22
Miah Is the 21st Century Eppie
A Hand Is Put Into Theirs….
06/17/22
I Love Teaching…
Here in Myanmar or Anywhere
05/09/22
Ti Ti, the Driven
An Exceptional Young Lady
05/04/22
Grasping Reality
While My Clock Is Ticking
04/29/22
I Have Miles to Go
Before I Sleep
04/04/22
The Helter-Skelter Mindset1
Locally and Globally
03/09/22
History Is Repetitious
Then and Now
02/21/22
My Personality Quirks…
I Have Several
02/16/22
The Tale of My Foot
Years Ago and Today
02/11/22
Coming to America
A Dream of Many
01/17/22
A Reason for Being…
The Most Important Reason for My Being
12/31/21
Christmas:
Past, Present, and Future
12/24/21
Moh Moh’s Roles in Our Family:
My Daughter and My Mother
12/06/21
I Love My Family
With Some Caveats
12/03/21
My Extended Family
You Can See Her Painting.
11/15/21
Paying Homage…
To Me
10/25/21
The Duality of Changing
Times Change, and We Change
10/22/21
Miss Independent
Bo Bo Gyi’s Granddaughter
10/15/21
Ti Ti and Education
Why Is Education Critical?
10/04/21
Once Upon a Midnight Dreary….
“Ride, Boldly Ride”
09/27/21
“I’m Doing the Dance”
The Title of Ti Ti’s Poem
09/03/21
Snow’s Poem
About Her New Normal
09/01/21
It Is Time To Write Poetry
Another Teaching Event
08/06/21
Happy Birthday, Snow
Time To Remember
07/21/21
Write On
Advice from PaPa Al, aka Grandpa
06/28/21
One More Comment For Ti Ti
As She Journeys Down Her Yellow Brick Road
06/11/21
The Little One,
A Part of My Family
06/09/21
Set Set Yo
And a Little Child
06/04/21
Learn and Become a Storyteller
All You Need To Do Is To Travel
05/10/21
Three Take-Aways
From Denzel Washington’s Commencement Address
05/03/21
He Is My Brother
On This Pale Blue Dot
04/28/21
Meghan, Harry, and Archie Address Royal Racism
03/17/21
Who Is That Lady in Yellow? A 21st Century Eppie
02/01/21
Finding Immortality Gilgamesh and Ti Ti
01/22/21
Seeing Ourselves as Others See Us In This Case, Ti Ti Seeing Herself
01/08/21
A Teaching Moment With Ti Ti
01/01/21
Hear Ye, Hear Ye… Ti Ti Is Starting College Today!
10/16/20
This is Success in the Making You Heard It First from PaPa Al
09/30/20
From Then to Now What a Difference Seven Years Has Made
09/23/20
Masks Matter… To Some
09/16/20
Two Poems By Two Ladies
09/14/20
Coming Home to Roost Kierkegaard, Mt. Lebanon, Dancing, and My Family
09/04/20
There Is More to Dreaming… Than Just Dreaming
08/07/20
Ti Ti My Granddaughter and Poet Laurate
07/24/20
"Give Me a Place to Stand... And I Will Move the World.”
07/20/20
The Brighter Side of My Life Due to a Serendipitous Moment
07/15/20
A Tribute to Fatty The Girl with Those Eyes
07/10/20
A Tribute to Snow My Granddaughter in Myanmar
07/08/20
A Tribute to Ti Ti The Young Lady
07/06/20
Living in the New Normal Our New World Order
05/29/20
It Is All About Family And Who Makes Up Our Family
05/20/20
Our Reason for Being Discover It
05/18/20
The Elephant Ride Over the Alps of Myanmar
05/11/20
Ballooning Over Bagan With My Family
05/06/20
Ti Ti… The Amazing Young Lady
04/29/20
Mr. Chips An Updated Version
02/26/20
Snow aka Eppie
02/14/20
Happy Birthday Fatty… An Incarnation of Eppie
02/12/20
Fatty….
My Karate Granddaughter
06/03/19
The Moving Finger Writes
And the Writings Haunt Me
04/26/19
One Moment in Time
Carpe Diem
03/04/19
Warren Buffett
Don’t Sleep Walk Through Life
02/22/19
Light at the End of the Tunnel
However, the Tunnel is an Illusion
02/06/19
Pa Pa Al’s Grandfatherly Advice
To Ti Ti Who Doesn’t Need It.
01/11/19
A New Year’s Eve
With a New Resolution for the Coming Year
12/31/18
Bette Davis Eyes…
But They Are in Myanmar
10/19/18
Eppie…
Then and Now
07/20/18
My Follow-Up…
To My Email To Ti Ti
03/19/18
Live in the Moment...
Plan for the Future
10/20/17
Ginger
And the Issue of Kissing
08/30/17
Jack’s Birthday
And Now You Are Seven
08/09/17
Owen’s Birthday
And Now You Are Five
08/07/17
Ti Ti and I
A Most Haunting Relationship
08/04/17
Self-Portraits...
By Vincent, Jack, and Owen
07/19/17
Rage, Rage...
Against the Pissing Pug
07/10/17
Fearless Girl
The Times They are a Changin’
05/03/17
Merry Christmas Owen
From van Gogh, Darwin, Shèngdàn Dăo, and Truman
01/11/17
Merry Christmas Jack
From van Gogh, Darwin, Shèngdàn Dăo, and Truman
01/09/17
GiGi's Psychoanalysis
Me and My Hauntings
09/23/16
The Fighting Téméraire
Explained My Nostalgia to Me
09/21/16
Owen Teaches Me
About Fossils
08/03/16
A 21st Century Unicorn
A Creative Moment
06/29/16
A Pit Stop Can Be Our Destination
Don't Miss Your Destiny
01/20/16
Owen's Christmas Gifts
From Around the World
12/30/15
Jack's Christmas Gifts
From Around the World
12/28/15
Träumerei
The Dreaming of Schumann and Me
12/02/15
Doubling Down...
To Make Dreams Come True
10/19/15
Squirt's Observations of Her Papa
A Modern Day Eppie's Reflection
10/02/15
If—
A Message for Jack and Owen
07/27/15
Darwin, Chagall, and Lindbergh's Gifts
For Jack on His Fifth Birthday
07/22/15
Darwin, van Gogh, and Lindbergh's Gifts
For Owen on His Third Birthday
07/20/15
A Gift on Papa's Day
You Both Have Hearts of Gold
07/19/15
What Makes Me Tick
Finally, an Explanation
07/12/15
What I Learned About Life...
From Facing Down the Dragon
06/29/15
Father's Day
What Fathers Can Learn on Their Day
06/21/15
What a Wonderful World
You Think to Yourself....
06/15/15
A Hand Is Put Into Theirs...
And the Hand May Be a Little Child's
12/29/14
The Still, Small Voice
Emerson and All of Us Have that Voice
09/08/14
O Ship of State
Thoughts While Sailing My Ocean
10/18/11
The Ants Will Lead Us
Revisiting George Eliot and Silas Marner with Argentine Ants
04/29/02