[sodpoodle]

Friend sent it to me and I found a link on the internet.

[Daffynition]

Great post.

Hardly anything cuter than a sandpiper...or a piping plover chick.

[BraveMan]

[jimfr]

What happened to the screen?

[NEMDF]

Thanks for sharing this. Everything turned blurry...

[outofsalt]

The gift of happiness belongs to those who unwrap it. Thank you for this post.

[lee martell]

The real ‘shadow of her smile’.

[wastoute]

In 35 years of practice the most mature patient I ever had was a 6 year old boy who died of brain cancer a few days later. Somehow I don’t doubt this story a bit.

[Deo et patriae]

What a beautiful story.
Upon reading it the second time i began to choke up, could not get through the whole story!

[Timmy]

Oh, if only it were true . . .

[M Kehoe]

Bttt.

5.56mm

[Responsibility2nd]

Thanks for posting this.

I’m sorry to say that what kept going through my mind is today’s response and reaction to this story.

How shocking and even dangerous that a grown man should dare speak to a six year old child. It’s almost assumed as normal that Robert would be considered a pedophile today. Just for being near a child.

What a shame. What a complete and utter shame that evil has corrupted our society to such a degree.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Thanks for posting this. We lost our (adult) daughter and this hit home.

[concentric circles]

Very nice. The story brought to mind this song by Fairport Convention. The song has been recorded by many but none have ever surpassed the origional. Sandy Denny singing and Richard Thompson backing with superb guitar phrasing. The visuals here are a little distracting but I chose this particular YouTube selection because of the excellent audio.

Who Knows Where the Time Goes

Across the evening sky, all the birds are leaving
But how can they know it's time for them to go?
Before the winter fire, I will still be dreaming
I have no thought of time
For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?

Sad, deserted shore, your fickle friends are leaving
Ah, but then you know it's time for them to go
But I will still be here, I have no thought of leaving
I do not count the time
For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?

And I am not alone while my love is near me
I know it will be so until it's time to go
So come the storms of winter and then
The birds in spring again
I have no fear of time
For who knows how my love grows?
And who knows where the time goes?

[glock rocks]

There is no Robert Peterson. The actual author of the piece is Mary Sherman Hilbert. The full-length version of Hilbert’s story appeared in 1978 in a periodical produced by a religious order in Canada and was subsequently picked up by Reader’s Digest and offered in condensed form to its readership in 1980. In that shortened version, which went on to become the widely-forwarded piece now part of online culture, the beach walker is identified as Ruth Peterson and the child as Windy.