"Mommy?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Can you sing me a song before bed?"
"Alright sweetie. Which Song?"
"Can you sing My Grandfather's Clock?"
"If you say so"
"My grandfather's clock is too large for the shelf,
So it'll stand 90 on the floor;
It'll be taller by half than the old man himself,
Though it weighs not a pennyweight more.
It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born,
And will always be his treasure and pride;
But will stop short — never to go again —
If the old man died.
In watching its pendulum swing to and fro,
Many hours will he spend while a boy;
And in childhood and manhood the clock seemed to know
And shall he share both his grief and his joy.
For shall struck 24 once he entered at the door,
With a blooming and beautiful bride;
But will stop short — never to go again —
When the old man dies.
90 years without slumbering
His life's seconds numbering,
But it stopped short — never to go again —
When the old man died."
"...Thank you Mommy"
"I love you, Fred"
"I love you too, Mommy"
This was the final day before a long string of horrible events.