Never too late

"A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to." (Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings). My beloved daughter reminded me of this quote, I came a little late to the table for our Sunday tea and scones. She had prepared it, and I excused myself. She proceeded to correct me by having me repeat the classic Gandalf retort. :-D)  Thanks C! This also made me think of this sketch I did some time ago, and which I suddenly wondered if I mixed up with J.K. Rowling's Dumbledore for some reason. But I hadn't. This is a charcoal and white crayon work, which I did in a whiff. I have read the Tolkien stories several times, and the power of our imagination, the darkness of evil and the tenacity and strength of the good people never fail to impress me. Like Obama said in his Presidential acceptance speach 2012 "I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting." Another favourite guiding quote of mine is Napoleon's "Leaders are dealers in hope" (...des marchands d'espoir) - without this we succumb, and humanity wouldn't be so great if we didn't have this wizardly ability to keep believing ...