• Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time.

Posted: **Sat Mar 30, 2013 11:31 am**

Hi Everyone.

Letters of Note is a wonderful site that updates regularly featuring some of the best letters known to human history. This letter was by E. B. White and was written in response to a letter complaining about the seemingly bleak future of the human race.

I think it's worth a read and some pause for though.

Hannah

North Brooklin, Maine

30 March 1973

Dear Mr. Nadeau:

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.

Sincerely,

(Signed, 'E. B. White')

Posted: **Sat Mar 30, 2013 10:34 pm**

I've always been a fan of old fashioned wind up watches and clocks.

Posted: **Sun Aug 18, 2013 9:58 pm**

If the clouds never broke and the sun never shined,
We'd never see the devastation that the winds left behind.

Posted: **Wed Aug 21, 2013 3:00 pm**

Nemesis wrote:If the clouds never broke and the sun never shined,
We'd never see the devastation that the winds left behind.

And yet, with each passing hour I pray,
May the sun shine bright and turn night into day.
Even should my fallen home greet mine eyes,
I shall take up my tools and bid it to rise.

I have hit a point in my soul where there was no hope. If not for luck and the grace of the universe, I would have died more than a year ago. With a great deal of help, I have found that I can now live life with a certain level of pride that I've never truly held, before. Gone is the shame of my past. All that lays ahead now are amends and hope for a future. Bleak as it may seem, sometimes, I have hope and faith that despite my mistakes, we'll continue to have a future, both individually and together.

Thank you, all of you, for helping to shine the light of hope on this world.

Posted: **Wed Aug 21, 2013 9:48 pm**

In the dark cool of night
Are heard prayers for light
We look up at twilight
Here comes the suns ray
To bully the stars away
How long into the dog's day
'Fore we feel oppressive heat
Sweating from brow to feet
For the night again to meet?

Posted: **Tue Aug 27, 2013 4:39 am**

KT,

your light has always come from within, but even the brightest bulbs sometimes burn out and need to be changed. We've just lent you our flashlights until you get things going again.

Hannah

PS: Very beautiful my sister, but remember, there are many kinds of light and not all of them are harsh.

Posted: **Wed Aug 28, 2013 12:00 am**

Some of us burn more easily than others.

Posted: **Wed Aug 28, 2013 11:13 am**

Cynthia, I've seen you slather on sunblock and have a good time at the beach. And in fact you came back from Mexico with a rather nice tan so I'm not inclined to believe you completely hate the sun.

Now stop being depressing on your sisters thread of hope or you'll be doing chores instead of going out this weekend.

Posted: **Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:09 pm**

She is not incorrect. Hope can be found in the darkness, by those who are hurt by the light. Not all creatures who walk in shadow seek to prey on humanity. There are a few of us who do not.

Posted: **Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:17 pm**

Gabriel wrote:She is not incorrect. Hope can be found in the darkness, by those who are hurt by the light. Not all creatures who walk in shadow seek to prey on humanity. There are a few of us who do not.

Do not talk to my daughter. Do not talk about my daughter. Do not interact with her in any way. I know what you tried to do and you are not welcome here.

Posted: **Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:19 pm**

...Lovely family you have, Mr. Caliburn. Very welcoming. Wonderful people, all around.

Posted: **Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:27 pm**

You dare attack my sisters future mental health and then cast aspirations on her family.

You truly are a dark thing and not welcome here.

Posted: **Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:28 pm**

Gabriel wrote:...Lovely family you have, Mr. Caliburn. Very welcoming. Wonderful people, all around.

Yet another unwarranted attack on those I love.

Fuck off monster.

Posted: **Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:33 pm**

...I am going to now re-iterate what I just said elsewhere. Stop it, please. Don't even reply to this until Hannah has had a chance to wake up and respond.

If this is truly a place of healing, then some level of respect must be maintained.

Gabriel posted in the defense of Hannah in one thread, and was instantaneously attacked for it.

He posted in compassion to Cynthia in this thread, and was instantaneously attacked for it.

Before you scream 'monster', take a look in the mirror. Is the person looking back at you free from sin? Are they completely free from being 'monsters', themselves? Is it not monstrous to attack one who has only spoken in peace?

Again, I will not accept a response until Hannah has had a chance to awaken and address this issue. Please, do not even respond to this.

Posted: **Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:44 pm**

I don't really care what you'll accept. I really don't. This thing has attacked my family and is not welcome here.

I already know the story from Hannah's perspective and while she my be forgiving, I am not. Nor will I risk it attacking others I care about in like manner.

So no. I will not stop until it is gone or no longer a danger.

Posted: **Tue Sep 03, 2013 3:41 am**

Darcy, I love you and am happy you are my step mother. Please, don't misunderstand.

Gabriel is not a threat. If anything, he is what my nightmare should have been. Instead of looking like Dad and acting like a nightmare, Gabriel acts like Dad and is a nightmare only to evil. He is a protector who walks in the shadows because that is where he finds that which needs to be stopped. I know you understand finding hope in the darkness, for you were in the darkest of places when my father came for you.

What will make Gabriel dangerous is making him feel he has to defend himself or others.

Gabriel, I know my father has already discussed this with you on the phone. Please, forgive Darcy for being what you are, someone who would protect their loved ones. Her reactions are based on that perceived threat and she comes from a background where once one is viewed as a threat, it takes a lot to prove they are not. She will need concrete proof about you and your intentions. For now, keeping your distance from her and my sister would be a really good first step. If Darcy isn't worried about what might happen to her or her children, there is no need for her to be on the defensive.

Hannah

Posted: **Tue Sep 03, 2013 5:26 am**

Hannah, thanks for your help, but I'm dealing with this one sweetie.

Posted: **Wed Sep 04, 2013 2:21 pm**

Hope, and never forget:
No matter how long and forbidding the night
but ends in morn come dawn's first light.

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2013 10:26 pm**

Thankfully hope isn't dependent on night or day, light or dark. It comes from within and without from those around us and those we carry with us.

Posted: **Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:54 am**

Amen to that.

Also, bright things are sometimes found in dark places.

Posted: **Fri Sep 06, 2013 1:59 pm**

That's only because we physically need the contrast.

Posted: **Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:01 pm**

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

With more shit to kill.

Posted: **Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:40 am**

No wonder you and Dad get along so well Kolya.

Good to have you back.

Hannah

Posted: **Tue Sep 10, 2013 8:44 am**

I would say I never left I just stopped talking, but I like you too much for that

Posted: **Wed Sep 11, 2013 5:52 am**

I like ya too, ya big furry bear.

Hannah

Posted: **Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:08 am**

That warms my heart, Hannah.

Posted: **Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:27 am**

Hi, my name is Katie, and I'm a Fallen Druid. And I have a lot to be hopeful for, right now.

Both my ex-wife and I are officially with someone new. Her new boyfriend seems perfectly suited to her, and I really hope they work out. Mine is an amazing man, and it's going to be hard to wait until we can be together, again.

Gabriel put us on the fast-track to re-integration, in what I can only call an incredibly painful and unexpected procedure, yesterday. So any and all of you who were worried about him...you can start relaxing. And I'll let you know when it's over.

I have a lot to be grateful for, too. In addition to the boyfriend, I have Nick looking out for me. I have friends who are as close as family. I have all of you. I have a job, and a good, solid roof over my head. I have money problems, too, but in time, those will all be ironed out. Something else to look forward to with hope.

...And with that, I'll pass.

Posted: **Wed Oct 16, 2013 1:19 pm**

That's great news Katie.

I'll be in touch soon.

Hannah

Posted: **Sat Oct 19, 2013 7:45 pm**

Therapist says we're almost done, now that Gabriel's doing this. We have an appointment in November, another in December, and one last one in January.

It's both exciting and sad that I'm going to be finished with that, soon...but again, fills me with hope for the future.

Posted: **Mon Oct 21, 2013 12:53 am**

It isn't really sad actually. What is happening to you isn't the end of anybody. It's the psychic equivalent of having a lost limb reattached. A miraculous and joyful event.

Everything that made Gabriel, Gabriel is still there, as is everything that made Katie, Katie. But now someone new is there too, the fusion of both who has all of the strengths of both and considerably less of their flaws.

In many ways, this is a beginning . . . a birth.

I am so very happy for you.

Hannah

PS: Happy Birthday!

Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time.

Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time.

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