Sunday, October 23, 2011

Chadds Ford

The famous artist N.C. Wyeth lived in a rural Pennsylvania village called Chadds Ford. It was there that he illustrated some of the books I read as a child: Treasure Island, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Yearling.

Recently I toured his home and studio. The tour guide told us the tragic story of Wyeth's death. He and his grandson were in a car that stalled out at a railroad crossing. Rather than removing his grandson from the car and running for his life, leaving the car to be destroyed, N.C. Wyeth tried to push the car to safety. The result was that Wyeth and his grandson were both killed and the car was obliterated.

Sometimes in life you have to choose between people and things. If you choose things, people are often destroyed as an unintended consequence. Always choose people.

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