The Christmas Season is my favorite time of year.  It has been so since I was a child.  I recall Christmases in Chicago where we had a massive Christmas Tree and many presents.  Mom and Dad were still together…and all seemed right with the world.  There was Laughing Santa!

Then, there was Christmas when it was just Mom and me in Eldorado, Illinois.  Money was short and wishes were long.  One or two small gifts were all that were available carefully placed under an aluminum christmas tree.  Yes, aluminum christmas trees were popular in the 60’s.

Christmas in Elkville, Illinois with my sweet wife Mary Jane and our wonderful sons; Aaron and Jonathon…both small and full of holiday wonder.  It was tremendous!

Christmas, now, in Carbondale still presents Aaron and Jonathon full of holiday delight and their Dad full of wonder and Mom full of Holiday surprises.  Now I ponder the precious gift of life and love and family and friends.

I visited a friend of mine yesterday…that I have know for over forty-five years.  What a delightful person…and I was transported back to our younger days.  I remember this great lady’s kindness to me…inviting me to supper with her and her sons…when she really did not have enough for them.

Who do you know who needs a little encouragement?  Who do you know who is down their luck…or that is lonely…or is battling illness…or who has lost a loved one?

In the famous short story by O. Henry, The Gift of the Magi, originally published December 10, 1905, we read of Mr. James Gillingham Young and his wife Della.

Jim and Della, ‘have only two possessions between them in which they take pride.  Della’s beautiful long, flowing hair, almost touching to her knees, and Jim’s shiny gold watch, which had belonged to his father and grandfather.  On Christmas Eve, with only $1.87 in hand, and desperate to find a gift for Jim, Della sells her hair for $20.00 to a nearby hairdresser named Madame Sofronie, and eventually finds a platinum pocket watch fob chain for Jim’s watch for $21.00.  Satisfied with the perfect gift for Jim, Della runs home and begins to prepare pork chops for dinner.  At 7:00 o’clock, Della sits at a table near the door, waiting for Jim to come home.  Jim comes home and immediately stops short at the sight of Della, who had previously prayed that she was still pretty to Jim.  Della then admits to Jim that she sold her hair to buy him his present.  Jim then gives Della her present — an assortment of expensive hair accessories (referred to as ‘The Combs’), useless now that her hair is short.  Della then shows Jim the chain she bought for him, to which Jim says that he sold the watch to buy her combs.  Although Jim and Della are now left with gifts that neither one can use, they realize how far they are willing to go to show their love for each other, and how precious their love is,’ according to Wikipedia.

Please enjoy this thought provoking Blog from Deborah.

‘Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within the other being’s frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in another’s position.  Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with ears of another and feeling with the heart of another,’ according to Wikipedia.

The New York Times reports today that, ‘Jolted into action by a wave of hate crimes that followed the election victory of Donald J. Trump, American Muslims and Jews are banding together in a surprising new alliance.  They are putting aside for now their divisions over Israel to join forces to resist whatever may come next.  New groups are forming, and interfaith coalitions that already existed say interest is increasing.’

African American CNN Commentator Van Jones is beginning a new expose, entitled The Messy Truth, regarding his visits and interviews with white blue collar middle class Americans as to why they voted for President Elect Trump.  At one point, in the Show’s preview tonight while interviewing a white middle class family who had previously voted Democratic, the man being interviewed noted that he and other Democrats had placed many Democratic candidates for President… in the Presidency…and that candidate Clinton did not even mention them.  Mr. Jones noted that he looked at his cameramen…and they were ‘teared up.’

I have been asked, more than once, since the Presidential Election, what I thought about it.  My response is that everything that I have written regarding hateful and divisive words that were uttered, on a regular basis during the Presidential Campaign, I stand behind…and indeed would not withdraw a single word that I have written.

‘Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone,’ as posted by Spirit Science.

One of the first lessons that I learned when I became a manager of a large custodial department was that suddenly my words, even casual ones, mattered.  Having worked for managers and administrators who were quick to speak hurtful words…I have personally experienced the disruption…worry…and agony of being both fearful of the machiavellian manager…but also a witness to others in the organization being emboldened by the leaders rhetoric and subsequently treating those who were different from them in an abusive manner.

Victory in a Presidential Election is only the first step in governing our country.

President Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, said during his second inaugural address…just days prior to the end of the Civil War…’With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work that we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have born the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.’

This past Friday, Black Friday, we made are customary journey to St. Charles, Missouri to enjoy the Christmas festivities of this historic Missouri Town.

St. Charles is not only decorated with the finest and most ornate holiday regalia but it also features Santa’s from around the world and Charles Dickens Characters right out of his Christmas Classic, ‘A Christmas Carol.’

Shortly after we arrived we visited Fraser Leonard’s Fine Art Gallery.  Mary Jane saw a Copper Winter Tree that she admired and I noticed the ‘Trump Tie’.  Then it was on to lunch at Bradenton’s Cafe.  They have the most wonderful Reuben sandwich.  Usually I  partake of the Grand Mariner as the bartender gives generous proportions of the orange flavored delicacy…and it is a holiday tradition.  However our server explained to us that there was a draft beer made by the Schmaltz Brewing Company called Jubilation.  Our waiter warned us that Jubilation contained 17% alcohol.  A better beer I have not had!

As we enjoyed our Reuben sandwiches and luxuriated in the Jubilation…we decided that we must return to look at the Copper Winter Tree.

Upon our return to Fraser Leonard’s Gallery…I suddenly noticed the profound message that the ‘Trump Tie’ spoke to me.  I have been fascinated by the Presidential Candidacy and now the President Elect Trump’s success in the overwhelming belief that he would fail.

The ‘Trump Tie’ is an over three feet long steel tie that is painted fire engine red.  It is a ‘power tie.’

I had one of the most enjoyable discussions with some of my beloved family members over Thanksgiving.  They voted for President Elect Trump…I did not.  However, many of the issues they brought up…I agreed with.  They hope of a better economy for the middle class…so do I.  They hope for an insurance program that will serve all Americans…so do I.

Does the ‘Trump Tie’ signify the fears that I have had of the hurtful rhetoric that Candidate Trump regularly uttered on the Campaign Trail…or does it signify positive change?  I have a definite opinion…read my Blog…but I hope for positive change.

‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’   Luke 2:14  KJV

As Tiny Tim said in A Christmas Carol, ‘God Bless us Every One!’

I have always been fascinated by former President John Kennedy.  He is the first President that I remember.  I recall how frightened my Mother and Father were during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October, 1962.  I heard my parents talking about the possibility of ‘the bombs’ and the fact that we did not have a ‘bomb shelter.’

Tomorrow, November 22, 2016, will mark fifty-three years since President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas…shortly after noon.  I was six years old and in first grade…and Mrs. Kittinger announced to our class that President Kennedy had been shot.  School ended for the day and I walked home to the big…cold…scary house that we had moved to in Eldorado, Illinois.

My Mom was weeping.  When I asked her why she told me that President Kennedy had died.  I was amazed that my mother was so emotionally moved by the President of the United States death…I wondered if we were related to him.

For much of the rest of my childhood our Country was filled with unease.  I watched Walter Cronkite announce each evening on the CBS Evening News the American fatalities for that day.  My cousin was drafted.  I was sure that when I became of age…that I would be drafted and sent to Vietnam as well.

In school we had ‘bomb drills’  where we either crawled under our desk or when we became larger we exited into the hallway and knelt against the wall and covered our heads with our hands.

Today, there is a significant amount of disquiet in our land.  Americans from many different walks of life fear that our beloved country will no longer fulfill the wonderful poem written by Emma Lazarus in ‘1883 to raise money for the construction of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty,’ wikipedia.

The Poem is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty Pedestal and reads in part, ‘Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breath free, The wretched refuse of you’re teeming shore.  Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’

Thanksgiving is a time of thankfulness and renewal and re-energizing.

It is a time to realize our many blessings…and to think about those in need…and to resolve to help lessen the suffering of our fellow human beings.

Let us all realize that the success of our Great Country has never been about a President…no matter how charismatic he might be…but it has been about our inclusiveness and working and struggling together…much as our wonderful troops did in World War II.

The secret of the United States Success is the acceptance and transformation of ‘the huddled masses yearning to breath free…the wretched refuse…the homeless and the tempest-tost!’

If;  Bigotry…Xenophobia…Misogyny…Respect for the Disabled…’Standing Rock’ and the horrible manner our government treats our Native Americans…has given us concern…it is up to us to do your part to make it better.  No political leader will ever solve those Herculean problems for us.

As President Kennedy admonished us at his Inauguration… so many years ago…’My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your Country.’

The Quakers say, ‘Speak Truth to Power.’

Facebook reminded me that a year ago today I had written a blog that was critical of Republican Presidential Candidate Trump’s bigoted rhetoric, including his promise to build a wall.

Now half or more of our Country is shocked that he is the President Elect.  I am not.

I began my career at Southern Illinois University as a Building Service Worker I…which is a janitor.  I was assigned to the General Accounting building.  As a young man of twenty years old I felt that all the people who occupied the office that I was cleaning had important jobs that they had obtained through their higher education.

My predecessor in custodial had done an abysmal job.  I began by striving to produce a clean General Accounting building each night.

I asked the Associate Director of General Accounting, about two weeks into my tenure, if he was satisfied with my job performance, and explained that I understood that my work was not nearly as important as the rest of the building’s staff.  Associate Director Blaney told me that my work was as valuable as the work that he performed…or maybe more so and told me that without my preparing the cleanliness of the building each night the accountants coming in the next morning would not be able to perform their job duties effectively.

After many years of working within the Building Services department and rising through the ranks, I determined that I wanted to have more of a Global understanding of the University that had been so good to me.

The University was a microcosm of our Country.  There were definite classes…of which I was a member of the lowest…the Civil Service Employees.

Through my work associated with the Civil Service Council, which is the elected representative body for employee concerns and ideas for the University Administration, I became acquainted with University leaders; including Chancellors and Presidents.

It became abundantly clear to me that most of the Administration had little or no knowledge of the real concerns in the Civil Service Community.  It also became certain to me that when I was speaking with them and they were smiling and shaking their head in mock affirmation to my words…they were giving me the political correct body language for my ‘small…pedestrian requests.’

One Chancellor told me unequivocally that Faculty came first and then Administrative Professional Staff and finally…if there was anything left…Civil Service Staff.

I met and befriended two ‘breaths of fresh air’ in the Chancellor role during my thirty-two years of service.  Both of these individuals spoke to me with respect…they really listened…and moved affirmatively on some of my requests.  Dr. Jo Ann Argersinger and Dr.Don Beggs sought my counsel…and on University Wide issues.

Believe me when a leader listens to you and respects you and seeks your counsel…you become loyal to that leader.

It is disingenuous and wrong to equivocate the supporters of President Elect Trump as all bigots and misogynist and haters of those who are not like them.

As the adroit Dan Rather put it on a news program this morning, often the States in the middle of the East coast and the West coast are considered ‘fly over’ in political importance to the Presidential Candidates.

So, it is noted that Businessman Trump customarily walked the construction site of his buildings and stopped to talk with the workers and sought their ideas and valued their counsel…and showed them the respect of their knowledge of their craft.

President Elect Trump made that same connection with millions of hard working…intelligent…and exhausted people…who are often working two or three jobs to put something on the table and pay their bills.

I began my career as someone who was thought of as a ‘job description’ and not a person.  I set about and actively sought to understand the Academic Community and to break through the ‘wall of academic elite’ to benefit my group.

It is vital that all people of good will seek to not hate and define each other by a simplistic group name…but rather with the respect of their intelligence…their humanity…and our shared struggle for fairness and equality of human rights.

Last night there were massive protests in many of our major cities regarding the election of Donald Trump.  When interviewed, many of the protestors expressed their fear that members of their family were going to be deported…that a target was now on their back because of their religion…that the ‘stop and frisk’ policing policy embraced by the Candidate Trump would be brought back…that there is a diminishing of  the horribleness of sexual assault…and that the personal freedoms won by the Gay and Lesbian Community would be under attack.

Last night I watched an impassioned response, to Trump supporter Andy Dean complaining about CNN Commentator Van Jones.  Mr. Jones was talking about Trump’s electoral victory being a ‘white lash’ as opposed to being a backlash. The response came from respected New York Times Columnist, Charles Blow, appearing on CNN.  “I don’t know what walk of life you have to be in to think that race is a media fascination…I happen to live in this skin, been doing it for forty-six years and I’ll tell you something, this has nothing to do with the media, my job, any of that.  It has everything to do with the fact that I know my history…”

I have worked closely with two mercurial leaders. One was in a faith community and the other was in a work environment.   Both men had the capacity for great kindness…and great retaliation… and mean spiritedness when they perceived that they had been crossed.  Both could be influenced by good advice that leaned toward mercy and understanding of others.  Both ultimately stayed true to their darker paranoia.  My combined time with these two leaders was twenty-nine years.

This election is unprecedented.  The American people have elected a person who said, on a regular basis during his campaign the most… bigoted…misogynistic…xenophobic utterances ever heard by a Republican or Democratic candidate for the presidency.

Now that President Elect Trump has secured the highest office in the land it is incumbent on him to quiet the fears of the many groups that he maligned during his candidacy.  We are in to the second day of the President Elect…and so far his actions have been magnanimous and Presidential.  I was heartened at his gracious words for President Obama when they just concluded their White House meeting.

Mr. President Elect…calm the fears of millions of Americans…reach out to them and show them that you care about their welfare…assure us that we are not in the ‘Twilight Zone.’

After the most acrimonious presidential campaign in my lifetime Donald Trump is the President Elect of the United States.  This result was something that the political pundits and pollsters almost universally did not forecast.

Mary Jane and I had dinner, the other evening, with a couple who are dear friends of ours.  I stated that irrespective of what the polls were showing… Donald Trump could win.  I was going to go on to say that he could win, and that he may win handily.  I did not make the final statement as my friend, who I deeply respect, told me that there was no way Trump would experience a persuading win due to the democratic Blue Wall.

I have believed since the President Elect first appeared on the political scene…riding down the escalator at Trump Tower…to announce his candidacy for the presidency…that he indeed could win!

Millions of people in the United States are hurting.  They are out of work or underemployed.  The Affordable Care Act has been a godsend to many poor people and a nightmare to much of the middle class.

Many feel that their elected representatives do not listen to them…with good reason…because they do not.

The CNN political commentator, Van Jones, gave a beautiful and frightening description of the fear and trepidation that is now in the hearts of African Americans, Latinos, Women, Muslims and the disabled…the fear of a Bully with power!

The Tableau beginning today,…will be painted of a Trump presidency.  Mr. President Elect…bring us together…don’t divide us by our fears…our bias…ask us to be our better selves…

Our country is a melting pot.  What has made us great is our inclusiveness.  Now we are praying for our elected leader.  We want our President Elect to succeed.  We want him to listen to us…African Americans…Muslims…Latinos…Women…the Disabled…American Indians…it will take all of us to…as it always has… make American Great Again!

Mr. President Elect…you can choose to listen to the haters…the prejudiced…the xenophobic…the misogynist… because their voices were loud during the campaign.  Or, you can seek greatness by hearing the voice of the downtrodden.  Their voices are not as loud at times…but…to hear them…is the mark of a great leader.