Weary World

So shines a good deed in a weary world. — Willie Wonka.

Charlie returns a gobstopper and places it on Willy Wonka’s desk. Wonka is heartened by this act of honesty. His response is a rephrasing of a Shakespeare quote from The Merchant of Venice, which was originally, “So shines a good deed in a naughty world.”

I like the phrase weary world better. It captures well the state of affairs in our country and the world. The virus is a dark cloud that consumes our thoughts and discussion. Natural disasters seem to grow in numbers and intensity. Perhaps worse, we as fellow humans seem more divided and angry with one another more than ever. Perhaps the cause of the latter is social media and twenty-four hour news cycle, or maybe, just maybe, we are simply weary.

Yet the wisdom of Willie Wonka shows us the cure for weariness. A single good dead lights our way. Maybe we all should turn our focus away from the virus, disasters, and anger and perform a good deed. Imagine the light!

About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.

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