Figure 1 – Bend in the Road, (c) DE Wolf 2014.
Years ago, when I was a graduate student at Cornell, one of my favorite places on campus was a bench that crowned and overlooked “Libe Slope.” The bench was placed there in 1892 by Andrew Dickson White and his wife, Helen Magill White. It bore the profound inscription:
“To those who shall sit here rejoicing,
To those who shall sit here mourning,
Sympathy and greeting;
So have we done in our time.
1892 A.D.W.–H.M.W.”
There you have it once more – the sense that we may speak to our fellow humans across the otherwise impenetrable abyss of time.
I have carried that bench in my mind with me for over forty years now and truly I think of it often. I thought of it again this past weekend when I took the photograph of Figure 1, which I entitle: “Bend in the Road.”
Dear David,
Today’s photo along with the inscription and your thoughts moved me much. >If Dave were grieving it would take a form like this< I thought. And then, knowing how gravely ill your wife was just recently I was disturbed that you might actually be much troubled. Wiebke and I are thinking of you and hope that better times lie ahead.
Jan
I remember that same bench so very well. I sat there often taking in the fantastic sunsets from the hill.