January 1: "Charlotte's Web," Year of the Runt, Happy New Year

Small and weak

"Well," said her mother, "one of the pigs is a runt.  It's very small and weak, and it will never amount to anything.  So your father has decided to do away with it."

Wilbur the pig does not have a very auspicious start in Charlotte's Web.  As E. B. White writes, Wilbur is a runt, small and weak.  None of the adults on the farm expect him to survive.  As Fern's mother says, "...it will never amount to anything."  Wilbur is a victim of low expectations.

Welcome to the Year of the Runt.  In 2014, I will be focusing on E. B. White's little book about the friendship between a pig and a spider.  It ranked number ten on Entertainment Weekly's greatest novels of all time.  That's pretty good for a story about a runt.

I sort of felt like Wilbur for most of the year 2013.  People didn't seem to expect a whole hell of a lot out of me.  I always thought I was a really valuable employee.  Hard-working, dedicated, loyal.  I thought I was a pretty good church organist.  Dependable, a little talented, adaptable.  I thought I was a gifted poet/writer.

Well, my hours were cut at work.  The church gave my organist job to somebody else.  And I lost no less than three poetry competitions I entered.  I am the runt of the litter.  I need to find a spider to spin a few webs for me.  Maybe something like "Some Poet" or "Wonderful Musician" or "Will Play Organ for Food."

I'm not going to write about any worries tonight.  That's not a great way to start out a new year.  I will cling to the idea of hope and happiness.  The year 2013 is in my rear view mirror, and I give thanks for that fact.  Wilbur started his life as a worry.  A mouth that couldn't be fed.  Through love, Wilbur manages to live and thrive.  He becomes something extraordinary.

This year, through love, I will accomplish extraordinary things.  I have to believe that.

Saint Marty wishes all his disciples a blessed and happy new year.