--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The waterwheel was twice a man’s height…" description: "\"“The waterwheel was twice a man’s height, wider than a man’s two stretched arms. The timbers, braced and bolted with rusty iron were heavy, hand-hewn, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/joseph-hansen-25136_atmosphere_the-waterwheel-was-twice-a-man-s-height_2448563.jpg" --- # The waterwheel was twice a man’s height, wider than a… ![“The waterwheel was twice a man’s height, wider than a man’s two stretched arms. The timbers, braced and bolted with rusty iron were heavy, hand-hewn, swollen with a century of wet. Moss bearded the paddles, which dripped as they rose. The sounds were good. Wooden stutter like children running down…” quote by Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/joseph-hansen-25136_atmosphere_the-waterwheel-was-twice-a-man-s-height_2448563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/joseph-hansen-25136_atmosphere_the-waterwheel-was-twice-a-man-s-height_2448563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/joseph-hansen-25136_atmosphere_the-waterwheel-was-twice-a-man-s-height_2448563.jpg) > ““The waterwheel was twice a man’s height, wider than a man’s two stretched arms. The timbers, braced and bolted with rusty iron were heavy, hand-hewn, swollen with a century of wet. Moss bearded the paddles, which dripped as they rose. The sounds were good. Wooden stutter like children running down a hall at the end of school. Grudging axle thud like the heartbeat of a strong old man.”” [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The massive, aged waterwheel evokes childhood wonder and the steady rhythm of life. **In simple terms:** The old waterwheel feels like a child's game and a strong heartbeat. Key Takeaway Appreciate enduring, simple joys. Themes nature nostalgia ritual Mood reflective poetic Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - heritage tourism - environmental education - creative writing - mindfulness practice Key Concepts industrial heritage sensory imagery Questions to Reflect On - What sounds remind you of childhood? - How can you reconnect with simple rhythms? A Different Perspective Modern life may overlook such tactile experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [End of school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-school/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) ## Related quotes > [Shiver me timbers, them's some great inofrmatoin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aira/shiver-me-timbers-them-s-some-great-inofrmatoin/) [Aira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aira/) > [I become a waterwheel, turning and tasting you, as long as water moves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-become-a-waterwheel-turning-and-tasting-you-as-long-as-water-moves/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [The waterwheel accepts water and turns and gives it away, weeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-and-gives-it-away-weeping/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“Like Alan Turing, Zuse was educated in a system that focused on a child's emotional and philosophical life as well as his intellectual life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-zuse/like-alan-turing-zuse-was-educated-in-a-system-that-focused-on-a/) [Konrad Zuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-zuse/) > [The two best days of school, the first and the last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-two-best-days-of-school-the-first-and-the-last/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I remember the first pangs of stress arriving at the end of school. Once I graduated I had to get a full-time job, worry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-koenig/i-remember-the-first-pangs-of-stress-arriving-at-the-end-of-school/) [Ezra Koenig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-koenig/) > [The two most joyous times of the year are Christmas morning and the end of school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/the-two-most-joyous-times-of-the-year-are-christmas-morning-and-the/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [“There’s an air of things closing down. Teachers wear shorts and T-shirts to class. They show movies while they clean out their desks. Nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/there-s-an-air-of-things-closing-down-teachers-wear-shorts-and-t/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [School may be hard, annoying, and irritating. But admit it, youre going to miss it when it ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/school-may-be-hard-annoying-and-irritating-but-admit-it-youre-going/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If the world ends in 2012, I've wasted my whole life in school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-world-ends-in-2012-i-ve-wasted-my-whole-life-in-school/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Finals are coming up. Excuse me while I go crawl into a hole of despair...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/finals-are-coming-up-excuse-me-while-i-go-crawl-into-a-hole-of-despair/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Rose's work of art took her all day, including two playtimes, story time, and most of lunch. At the end of school it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mckay/rose-s-work-of-art-took-her-all-day-including-two-playtimes-story/) [Hilary McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mckay/) > [When I say, I miss school, I mean my friends & the fun we had, not the lessons & teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-say-i-miss-school-i-mean-my-friends-the-fun-we-had-not-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I will never forget High School but I'm glad its time to move on to bigger an better things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-never-forget-high-school-but-i-m-glad-its-time-to-move-on-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I say I miss school, I mean my friends and the fun. Not the studying part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asheya/when-i-say-i-miss-school-i-mean-my-friends-and-the-fun-not-the/) [Asheya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asheya/) ## More by Joseph Hansen > [“Driving is so dangerous I haven't got the guts to do it sober.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/driving-is-so-dangerous-i-haven-t-got-the-guts-to-do-it-sober/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“I told myself all that's wrong with us is misunderstanding. That's not good, but it's not the worst. The worst is not having anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/i-told-myself-all-that-s-wrong-with-us-is-misunderstanding-that-s-not/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“Something had offended her and failed to apologize. Not lately-long ago. Life probably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/something-had-offended-her-and-failed-to-apologize-not-lately-long/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“It happens to everyone and it happens fast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/it-happens-to-everyone-and-it-happens-fast/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“Don't forget, and don't let your reader forget, that the small world in which you have held him for the last hour or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/don-t-forget-and-don-t-let-your-reader-forget-that-the-small-world-in/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“When people run out of probable things to do, they do improbable things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/when-people-run-out-of-probable-things-to-do-they-do-improbable-things/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“You know what kind of a man Lonny Tooker is? The kind of a man that sets broken bird's wings." "Hitler loved dogs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/you-know-what-kind-of-a-man-lonny-tooker-is-the-kind-of-a-man-that/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“He put out a hand for Dave to shake. "You're the only new friend of Tom's I've met. And you're just what I expected."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/he-put-out-a-hand-for-dave-to-shake-you-re-the-only-new-friend-of-tom/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“People with limp handshakes are takers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/people-with-limp-handshakes-are-takers/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“The man who acts as his own lawyer has a fool for a client.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/the-man-who-acts-as-his-own-lawyer-has-a-fool-for-a-client/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“You're a little short on self-awareness. People who are always exacting right behaviour from other people tend to be that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/you-re-a-little-short-on-self-awareness-people-who-are-always/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“It seems important to me that beginning writers ponder this—that since 1964, I have never had a book, story or poem rejected that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/it-seems-important-to-me-that-beginning-writers-ponder-this-that/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“Los Angeles didn't get like this often. He hated it when it did. And this time it was holding on. It had been brutal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/los-angeles-didn-t-get-like-this-often-he-hated-it-when-it-did-and/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“It's a four-letter word for a part of the human anatomy but it's not m-i-n-d.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/it-s-a-four-letter-word-for-a-part-of-the-human-anatomy-but-it-s-not/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) > [“And you never even reported it. You should have reported it. I could have took fingerprints. I'd love to lock up them skinheads." "What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/and-you-never-even-reported-it-you-should-have-reported-it-i-could/) [Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) [Explore all 23 Joseph Hansen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/) ## More Atmosphere quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Pause before you get home and prepare your heart. A peaceful heart leads to a peaceful atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-burns/pause-before-you-get-home-and-prepare-your-heart-a-peaceful-heart/) [Jim Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-burns/) > [Sometimes a minute is really the difference between success and failure. There are times when you finish with ten seconds left, and one extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-symon/sometimes-a-minute-is-really-the-difference-between-success-and/) [Michael Symon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-symon/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Atmosphere" is a massive song. A lot of people say it's their favorite Joy Division song, but it's not mine; it reminds me too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hook/atmosphere-is-a-massive-song-a-lot-of-people-say-it-s-their-favorite/) [Peter Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hook/) > [Establish an atmosphere that energizes you. Some creative people flourish in confusion; others need to be free from interruption. Many prepare themselves for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/establish-an-atmosphere-that-energizes-you-some-creative-people/) [Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/) > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [It was clear to me that the White House's solemn atmosphere would not civilize Trump. But the merciless nepotism with which he conducts politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/it-was-clear-to-me-that-the-white-house-s-solemn-atmosphere-would-not/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“Bjerknes had come up with equations capable of describing the behavior of the atmosphere. The state of the atmosphere at any point could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullen/bjerknes-had-come-up-with-equations-capable-of-describing-the/) [Heidi Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullen/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [ Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the \[Oxford\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than-any-other-single-man-to-let/) [Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/) Browse all 1,572 Atmosphere quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The waterwheel was twice a man’s height, wider than a man’s two stretched arms. The timbers, braced and bolted with rusty iron were heavy, hand-hewn, swollen with a century of wet. Moss bearded the paddles, which dripped as they rose. The sounds were good. Wooden stutter like children running down a hall at the end of school. 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