Dear Editor—

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Norm. Papa
says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth,
is there a Norm?

Mr. 199. etc.

Mr. 199. etc., your little friends are wrong. They have been affected
by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they
see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by
their little minds. All minds, Mr. 199. etc., whether they be men’s or
children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere
insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world
about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the
whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Mr. 199. etc., there is a Norm. He exists as certainly as love
and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and
give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would
be the world if there were no Norm! It would be as dreary as if there
were no Mr. 199.'s. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry,
no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no
enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which
childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Norm! You might as well not believe in fairies. You
might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on
Christmas eve to catch Norm, but even if you did not see Norm coming
down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Norm, but that is no sign
that there is no Norm. The most real things in the world are those
that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies
dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are
not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are
unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside,
but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest
man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever
lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push
aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory
beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Mr. 199. etc., in all this world there is
nothing else real and abiding.

No Norm! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from
now,Mr. 199. etc., nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will
continue to make glad the heart of childhood.


Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)

whatever.




"Xylem" wrote in message
...
Dear Editor-

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Norm. Papa
says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth,
is there a Norm?

Mr. 199. etc.

Mr. 199. etc., your little friends are wrong. They have been affected
by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they
see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by
their little minds. All minds, Mr. 199. etc., whether they be men's or
children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere
insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world
about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the
whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Mr. 199. etc., there is a Norm. He exists as certainly as love
and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and
give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would
be the world if there were no Norm! It would be as dreary as if there
were no Mr. 199.'s. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry,
no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no
enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which
childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Norm! You might as well not believe in fairies. You
might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on
Christmas eve to catch Norm, but even if you did not see Norm coming
down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Norm, but that is no sign
that there is no Norm. The most real things in the world are those
that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies
dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are
not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are
unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside,
but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest
man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever
lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push
aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory
beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Mr. 199. etc., in all this world there is
nothing else real and abiding.

No Norm! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from
now,Mr. 199. etc., nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will
continue to make glad the heart of childhood.


Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)