I am so impressed with E. B. White, author of Charlotte's Web along with The Trumpet of the Swan and Stuart E. Little, his first book.

I came upon some quotes of his that both motivate and inspire me to press on. I believe his humility to be as sincere as it is refreshing:

"It has been ambitious and plucky of me to attempt to describe what is indescribable, and I have failed, as I knew I would. But I have discharged my duty to my society; and besides, a writer, like an acrobat, must occasionally try a stunt that is too much for him."

With or without a net, E. B? The fall isn't so bad...but hitting the ground isn't much to look forward to... I guess that's where the courage and faith come in.

"I arise in the morning; torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world."

E. B., my goal for SpiderLogic is help show the way to do both... After all, I do believe the spider and her surrounding cast of nature's own are here to help lead the way if we are willing to listen and learn. It's all around us. It connects us to everything; the light, the air, the vibrations of sounds...

"...whatever light is generated, whatever excitement, whatever beauty, must come from original sources - from internal fires of professional hunger and delight, from the exuberance and gravity of youth. It is the difference between planetary light and the combustion of stars."

Yes! That most original of sources; the Creator of those very stars and planets - and of ourselves. It all ties in... and is inside every one of us; that combustion of light and beauty.

Out deepest intuitions tell us this.

"Heaven's heartstrings
Spider's thread
Lift my spirit
   Something said...
 
Something to me
Through me - wound
Something spoke
   Without a sound..."


Re-reading Charlotte's Web after 50 years or so, if that counts as 're-reading', I'm struck by the fact that it is simply not just a kids book. It is a work on many layers and levels. Author E. B. White is brilliant in his metaphors and allegorical vignettes. I'm in awe of his insights. Recall when Fern's mother is concerned about her daughter supposedly talking to the animals, including Wilbur, the pig and also the mysterious, word-spelling spider; Charlotte? So like a good mother, she consults with the family doctor.

"Well, do you understand it?" asked Mrs. Arable.
"Understand what?"
"Do you understand how there could be any writing in a spider's web?"
"Oh no," said Dr. Dorian. "I don't understand it. But for that matter, I don't understand how a spider learned to spin a web in the first place. When the words appeared, everyone said they were a miracle. But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle."
"What's miraculous about a spider's web?" said Mrs. Arable. "I don't see why you say a web is a miracle. It's just a web."
"Ever try to spin one?" asked Dr. Dorian
"No," she replied.
"But I can crochet a doily and I can knit a sock."
"Sure," said the doctor. "But somebody taught you, didn't they?"
"My mother taught me."
"Well...who taught a spider?"
"I never looked at it that way before," she replied.
"Still, ...I don't understand it, and I don't like what I don't understand."
"None of us do," said Dr. Dorian.
"But I don't intend to let it worry me and doctors are supposed to know everything."

"Do you believe animals talk?" asked Mrs. Arable.
"I never heard one say anything... but that proves nothing," he said.
"Children pay better attention than grown-ups."
 
"Perhaps if people talked less, animals would talk more."

I can assure you of this;
When we talk less, we most definitely hear more.
And see more...

You'd be surprised where it can come from.

Thanks, Charlotte!

"Radiant..."
Your word, not mine.   ;)

 

Quaint and unassuming, this musty bookstore in downtown Lincolnton, NC held copies of three E. B. White classics including... Charlotte's Web. I was on the look-out for a broken-in version when I just happened to spy the shop on an un-related visit to the small town, 50 miles northwest of Charlotte.