"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
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What I Discovered
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Träumerei
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Beyond His Legal Woes and Coming Up with a Half Billion Dollars
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Are Following in Ti Ti’s Footsteps
01/19/24
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The Paradox of Life
12/29/23
Unexpected Events
Can Create Opportunities for Greatness
12/25/23
PaPa Al’s Reply
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Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
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Ti Ti’s Surprising Email
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From an Eighty-Year Old Alfie
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I Can’t Explain It
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Problems are Assets
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12/09/22
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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
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While My Clock Is Ticking
04/29/22
I Have Miles to Go
Before I Sleep
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The Helter-Skelter Mindset1
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History Is Repetitious
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My Personality Quirks…
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A Dream of Many
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A Reason for Being…
The Most Important Reason for My Being
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Past, Present, and Future
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Moh Moh’s Roles in Our Family:
My Daughter and My Mother
12/06/21
I Love My Family
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12/03/21
My Extended Family
You Can See Her Painting.
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Paying Homage…
To Me
10/25/21
The Duality of Changing
Times Change, and We Change
10/22/21
Miss Independent
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Ti Ti and Education
Why Is Education Critical?
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“Ride, Boldly Ride”
09/27/21
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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
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Write On
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06/28/21
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06/11/21
The Little One,
A Part of My Family
06/09/21
Set Set Yo
And a Little Child
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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
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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
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09/04/20
There Is More to Dreaming… Than Just Dreaming
08/07/20
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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
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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
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08/04/17
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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
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01/11/17
Merry Christmas Jack
From van Gogh, Darwin, Shèngdàn Dăo, and Truman
01/09/17
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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