mitch albom the time keeper

[...]... invent the first sundial He would create the first clock, even the first calendar “Ahead of his time. ” That’s a phrase we use Dor was ahead of everyone Consider the word time. ” We use so many phrases with it Pass time Waste time Kill time Lose time In good time About time Take your time Save time A long time Right on time Out of time Mind the time Be on time Spare time Keep time Stall for time There... debate The way history tells the story, the Tower of Babel was either destroyed or abandoned But the man who would become Father Time could testify to something else, because his fate was sealed on that very same day As the people climbed, the structure began to rumble The brick grew molten red A thundering sound was heard—and then the bottom of the tower melted away The top burst into flame The middle... as they told their tale They, too, had been cast out from their village, the people fearful that the dark blotches meant they had been cursed They lived now as nomads, in a tent made of goat skins They moved in search of sustenance and waited for the day they would die The old woman cried when she said this Alli cried with her She knew what it felt like to lose your place in the world She held the. .. him happy That night he observed a quarter moon through the clouds, and he used it to mark the moment, the light of the night they were wed Dor and Alli had three children A son, then a daughter, then another daughter They lived with Dor’s family in his father’s house, near three other houses made of wattle and daub Families lived together in their time parents, children, and grandchildren—all under one... as the others say Your knowledge and these … things …” He pointed to the instruments “They could make my tower stronger, yes?” Dor shrugged “Show me how they work.” For the rest of the afternoon, Dor explained his ideas He showed Nim how the shadow from the sun stick lined up with his markings, and how pointers on the stick broke the day into parts He laid out his collection of stones that charted the. .. you must leave the city.” “Leave?” “Yes.” “Where?” “That does not concern me.” Nim examined the carvings on the sun stick “But go far If you do not, my men will force you onto the tower—as they will the others.” He moved past the bowls and lifted the one with the small hole in it, turned it over, then shook his head “I will never forget our childhood,” Nim said “But we will not see each other again.”... One yelled to the other Several dropped their tools and bricks Quickly the slaves began ascending, too, convinced the race for the heavens had begun The guards followed People near the base joined in The lust for power is a combustible thing, and soon thousands were scaling the tower’s facade You could hear a rising roar, the collective yowl of violent men, ready to take what was not theirs What happened... worried about the visitors, who did not look well Their eyes were red and watery and their skin had dark blotches When he was alone with Alli, he warned her, “Do not touch them I fear they are diseased.” “They are alone and poor,” she protested “They have no one else Show them the mercy we would want in return.” Alli served the visitors barley cakes and barley paste and the little goat’s milk they had She... blanket and staring at the floor From time to time, Dor’s father would bring them food—at his wife’s insistence—and each visit, he spoke about Nim’s tower, how high it had grown, how the bricks were made with fir, how the clay mortar came from the fountains of Shinar Already, Nim had climbed near the top, shot an arrow into the sky, and claimed it had landed with blood on its tip The people bowed to him,... good in the white—” “Mom!” Lorraine sighs She lifts a wet towel from the floor and leaves Sarah returns to the mirror She thinks about the boy She pinches the fat around her waist Ugh Eight-thirty, eight-thirty! She is definitely not wearing the white Victor Delamonte fears time is running out He and Grace step from the elevator into their penthouse “Give me your coat,” Grace says She hangs it in the closet . children laugh. They resume their running. Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard. often the way it is between girls and boys. For these two, it is the way it will always be. The boy’s name is Dor. The girl is Alli. At this age, they are nearly the same size, with high-pitched. to something. Voices. Endless voices. They rise from a pool in the corner of the cave. They are the voices of people on Earth. They want one thing only. Time. Sarah Lemon is one of those voices. A