all or a repair person, they capture those moments creatively. They keep tools handy—a pen, a book, a pair of scissors4, a needle, whatever.
Clement C. Moore was a teacher of classical languages. In the course of his career, he published a Hebrew dictionary and was a major benefactor of the General Theological Seminary in New York City.
But it is not for the seminary or his dictionary that he is remembered. It is for a set of verses dashed off in 1822 in an hour of yuletide inspiration—verses that he stuffed away as if of no importance.
The magic lines begin: “It was the night before Christmas, when all through the house...” They never brought Moore a penny, but they did bring him immortality5.
Such constructive use of time is available to us all. A Seattle businessman carries a briefcase in which he has paper and envelopes for penning letters. In odd moments he keeps countless friendships alive.
A woman I know memorized the sermon on the Mount whilemuting. A bedspread in our home was quilted by my mother-in-law who, though extremely busy, found minutes to prepare a beautiful gift full of memories for her f***ly.
Remember, most time is wasted in minutes, not hours. The average person diddles away enough minutes in ten years to have earned a college degree.
Thinking of this reminds me of a verse from my childhood by Julia Fletcher Carney: