‘Frankenstein’
‘ Why Frankenstein is the story that defines our fears’ BBC Culture
‘ One night during the strangely cool and wet summer of 1816, a group of friends gathered in the Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva. ‘We will each write a ghost story,’ Lord Byron announced to the others, who included Byron’s doctor John Polidori, Percy Shelly and the 18-year old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin.’
‘ As an allegory of our responsibility to children, outsiders, or those who don’t conform to conventional ideals of beauty, there isn’t a stronger one.’ BBC Culture
You will recall that the Frankenstein monster began as a peaceful creature until he was forced to react to the verbal taunts and harassment and fire of the villagers who feared him because of his differences.
One of the most recent television shows to explore what it means to be human is Westworld. The popular HBO program examines what it means to be human in the construct of robotics.
‘ Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.’ Frankenstein Mary Shelly
And, so, we create Frankenstein’s today.
Those who we disenfranchise and shun and shutter and persecute and torture through our ignorance and our bias and our extreme prejudice regarding anyone who is different than us.
We, quickly, label those who seek asylum in our country as ‘animals’ and rapist and murderers.
Quietly and confidently we are certain that those in poverty and homeless and that those, smelly and dirty and frightening humans, that humbly ask us for a dollar for a hamburger or a blanket to ward off the cold…are shiftless and unfocused lazy humans.
We see the news reports that show the extreme suffering that our fellow citizens, from Puerto Rico, have undergone and the, verified, high death toll that ensued from the devastation of the hurricane that struck Puerto Rico…and we smugly attest that they do not seem to be willing to help themselves and pronounce our efforts to assist, our own people, as A+!
We see an African American driving a Mercedes and we know that….this could not be legitimate…and we stop them and examine how they are able to own a luxury automobile.
When the money gets tight in either state or federal government….our first cut is to the mental health programs….and the subsequent casting to the street…of the mentally ill…is not our problem.
We characterize a proud and noble people…as slow witted and shuffle footed…’step and fetch it’…and we lock our doors when they come near our automobile and we turn our head…when we are force to personally see one of their numbers…suffering…and we know that they are somehow inferior to us…and that is the way that our white and biased and selective god…intended…
When we yank a suckling child from his mother’s breast…because they broke our immigration policy…not even our law…and we frighten them and we lock them in a facility or a tent city…to make an example of our tough policy….
When the Muslim and the Jew and the Hindu and the Buddhist and the African and the Haitian…enter our country and become proud citizens of the United States of America…and the stares and the whispers and the finger pointing and the fire and the taunts and the hate…..
Remember, Frankenstein…was the doctor…not the creation….
Purpose Brings Peace
‘ Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece.’ Proverbs 16:27 TLB
We humans are designed for action. When we are idle for longer than we should be our minds wander and our thoughts turn to our, unfulfilled, wants and desires and inner mischief.
Of course, we all experience long periods in our lives where it seems that there is not enough hours in the day to accomplish the, necessary, tasks that we must do. The job…care for our children…study…taking care of our home and the many, sundry, duties that accompany its upkeep.
However, there are also times, even when we are our busiest, that a singular purpose and passion, can be the key to tranquility.
I was watching the popular comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, being interviewed on a television program that was discussing the secret of longevity for those that had reached their 90s’. Jerry said that he believed the movement was the key to longevity and to happiness.
He recounted that when he awakens, in the morning, that he feels inadequate and depressed and believes that he is unable to accomplish what he needs to do for the day ahead.
But, once that he places his feet on the floor and begins to move…he is happy and his doubts vanish.
Purpose is vital…no matter how busy that you are. When I was raising our boys I wanted them to travel, as much as we could afford, and I wanted the best for them.
I also was immersed in the success of Southern Illinois University and and worked toward that end…joyfully.
Also, the christian walk has been paramount in my life since I was twelve years old. The christian walk that I am speaking of is not an emotional and frenetic seeking of an spiritual high…which will burn the walker out quickly.
Rather, it is the quiet and daily attempt to live Christ’s teachings of ‘love one another as I have loved you.’
When the work and family rearing chapter of your life, page is turned, to the retirement chapter, it is critical to have a purpose in your golden years.
My friend, Jo Ann, told me many years ago that I was a renaissance man. I am trying to fulfill that title in my years of reflection.
The christian walk continues and the love of traveling with my family and the passion for SIU and its success…but the additions of writing and photography and reading and an awareness of just how unfair the poor of our land and the immigrant and the mentally ill are treated in this, our beloved:
‘ Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’ The New Colossus Emma Lazarus
We humans respond to a mission…we seek the call of ‘the householder’ when he asked, ‘ And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. And he went out about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here idle? They saith unto him, Because no man hath hired us….’ Matthew 20: 3-7a KJV
Our immigration policy now includes the separation of parents from their minor children and the subsequent locking of the children in cages.
Tent cites are to be erected to facilitate the thousands of captured children until they can be deported.
This is supposed to be a deterrent to illegal immigration…
If you were fleeing oppression and danger and genocide…how would you feel to have your children ripped from your arms and subsequently locked up in a cage…or placed in a tent city?
You say…that will never happen in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave…do not be so sure…the Jews in Germany did not think that they would be separated in concentration camps and then sent to gas chambers.
When there is ‘a special place in hell’ for our closest ally and …within forty-eight hours…we are honored to set in a meeting with one of the cruelest and most blood thirsty dictators in the world…we are in the twilight zone and we have gone down the rabbit hole.
Are you setting idly in the market place…because no man hath hired you?
The Trump and Kim Show
I watched, as did millions, the news coverage of the Singapore Summit.
‘ It sure looks as if President Trump was hoodwinked in Singapore.’
‘ Trump made a huge concession – the suspension of military exercises with South Korea. That’s on top of the broader concession of the summit meeting itself, security guarantees he gave North Korea and the legitimacy that the summit provides his counterpart, Kim Jong-un.’
‘ Within North Korea, the ‘very special bond’ that Trump claimed to have formed with Kim will be portrayed this way: Kim forced the American president, through his nuclear and missile tests, to accept North Korea as a nuclear equal, to provide security guarantees to North Korea, and to cancel war games with South Korea that the North has protested for decades.’
‘ In exchange for these concessions, Trump seems to have won astonishingly little. In a joint statement, Kim merely ‘reaffirmed the same commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula that North Korea has repeatedly made since 1992.’ Nicholas Kristof The New York Times
It was just a few short months ago that president Trump was comparing the size of his nuclear button to that of the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un.
The president also admonished Kim that he ‘better not mess with us or he would answer him with ‘fire and fury’ such as the world has never seen.’
Not exactly words of comfort.
It goes without saying, that to meet and talk is much better than trying out their nuclear buttons. All humanity prays and hopes and longs for peace. There should be no political party or partisan passion when it comes to the lives of millions of people.
The president said that, ‘he was honored to meet chairman Kim,’ on numerous occasions.
The president said that the North Korean dictator, ‘was a very talented individual.’
The president said that, ‘his people love him,’ when referring to Kim Jong-un.
Many of the citizenry of North Korea are starving…many are in labor camps…many have been killed by the Kim Regime…including members of his own family and his brother who he had poisoned.
‘Peace for our time was a declaration made by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Neville Chamberlain in his 30 September 1938 speech concerning the Munich Agreement and the Anglo-German Declaration.’
‘….It is primarily remembered for its ironic value: less than a year after the agreement, Hitler’s continued aggression and his invasion of Poland was followed by declarations of war on Germany by France and the United Kingdom.’ Wikipedia
President Trump said that he would be able to determine if the North Korean dictator was serious about negotiating, in the first five minutes of their meeting. After their first and private meeting…the president declared that they had a strong relationship.
The meeting, with only transalators present, lasted forty minutes.
Now I actually believe that leadership can be taught…and that extraordinary leaders are gifted or born with certain abilities that are rare.
I have always took some, limited, pride in being able to ‘read’ people. Also, a leader is able to make decisions in the moment…and should be have the courage to step away from their advisors, at times, and to take calculated risks.
But, the most important personality trait in a leader is consistency. Those who you are leading and working with should be able to count on your word…as if it was bedrock and pure gold…not plastic and sprayed with gold paint.
Note: Singapore Summit photos are by Vox.
Hope Is SIUC!
As I was walking the Campus this morning I was, once again, overwhelmed with the sheer natural and architectural beauty of the ivory tower.
Robert Harper wrote a book entitled, ‘The University That Shouldn’t Have Happened but Did’, in 1998.
‘Robert A. Harper, a Professor of Geography who spent seventeen years at Southern Illinois University from 1950 – 1967, offers a highly readable account of Delyte Morris’s twenty-two year reign (1948 – 1970) as president and architect of Southern Illinois University.’
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale E. Jan Jacobs
University life is of essence…divisive. The push and pull of academic debate and the search for scientific truth is fraught with trial and error.
The success and herculean building of SIUC did not come from perfect individuals.
In fact Dr. Harper notes that President Morris was a patrician and paternalistic in his treating of both faculty and students. Harper states that Morris was amenable to individual faculty contacting him regarding problems but that he did not work well with constituency groups. He goes on to point out that in the mid-1960’s, ‘Part of the student unrest during this period stemmed from Morris’s ejection of fifty-two-co-eds from their dormitory at Thompson Point because he needed the space for the Student Health Service.’ E. Jan Jacobs
Leaders are people…with the same foibles as the rest of humanity.
When my friend and SIUC chancellor, Jo Ann Argersinger was unjustly terminated, I was broken hearted…as were many on our campus.
Yet, when Walter Wendler was named chancellor I worked with him closely for nearly five years…and much was accomplished for civil service staff.
Personalities come and go…I have been retired for nearly eight years…but the university continues.
Differences of opinion does not signify that one person is right and the other is wrong, when it comes to fixing and renewing and revitalizing our great campus, it simply means that each of us are bringing our brains and our experiences and our life’s lessons to bear on the problem.
When it comes to our school and our hope for the future of Southern Illinois…it is time to learn how to disagree without being disagreeable.
Homeless…In Church
‘The Crisis in the U.S. Church has almost nothing to do with being liberal or conservative: It has everything to do with giving up on the faith and discipline of our christian baptism and settling for a a common, generic U.S. identity that is part patriotism, consumerism, part violence, and part affluence.’ Walter Bruggemann
Have you ever wondered why and increasing amount of people do not seek their spiritual fulfillment in a church?
Have you ever visited an assembly of the faithful and no one spoke to you or welcomed you and you could feel the icy stares?
I recall when many faith communities decided that they were going to make a concerted effort to become more involved in politics. Their goal was to bring the agenda of their church to the political arena and to exert more control over their version of the christian faith.
Gradually one political party, seemed to align itself with the fundamentalist views of many churches. Candidates running for the Presidency of the United States, proclaimed that they were going to bring God back into the schools.
Slowly and insidiously the definition of a christian became aligned with political affiliation.
At about this same time the division of who was a ‘true christian’ and who was something less than a christian became much more pronounced.
As we searched for a gathering of likeminded believers to walk our faith journey with us…we, often, were and are met with political partisan, rigid definitions of what it means to be a christian and an american.
The Democratic and Republican parties are not mentioned in the Bible.
When a politician tells me that he or she is committed to returning prayer into the classroom…are they referring to the prayers of the catholic and the lutheran and the presbyterian? Also, may the muslim and the jew and the buddhist and the hindu…be afforded prayer time?
When we believe that God has revealed exclusive understanding to our religious group and excluded the rest of the human race…is that the faith that Christ died for and after three days was resurrected and returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of God?
When I hear the National Anthem…I stand with humility and tears come to my eyes…but why can’t my brother and sister kneel…with humility and tears in their eyes?
Sports is not the primary purpose of life…it is a wonderful and an enjoyable pastime…but it has nothing to do with faith or love of country…those feelings come from inside of a person and can not be mandated or demanded or ordered by declaration.
Capitalism has been a great economic construct for many people. I and my family have benefited from capitalism.
There is nothing in the scripture that indicates that God is a capitalist.
The co-mingling of christian faith and subsequently becoming wealthy, as a direct result of that faith, is a demoralizing doctrine for millions of faithful christians.
‘Jesus said ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.’ Matthew 22:21 KJV
Affluence, is not a, certain, sign of God’s imprimatur on an individual’s life.
Many in the human family have discovered a way to succeed in the world of finance and have neither christian or faith affiliation of any kind.
Further, millions of christians live and die either poor or of modest financial means…and yet have followed the written precepts of the holy writ to the very jot and tittle.
To have the human constructed mixture of a believer must be patriotic, according to the political leader’s standards and to couple that with the idea that rich people are blessed by God and conversely that poor people are cursed by God…is a significant movement, away, from the teachings of Christ.
‘A Pastor transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning. He walked around his soon to be church for thirty minutes while it was filling with people for service, only 3 people out of the 7- 10,000 people said hello to him. He asked people for change to buy food-no one in the church gave him change.’
‘He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit in the back. He greeted people to be greeted back with stares, dirty looks, and people looking down on him. As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor to the church congregation. ‘We would like to introduce you our new pastor.’ The congregation looked around with joy and anticipation. The homeless man sitting in the back started waking down the aisle. The clapping stopped with all eyes on him. He walked up the altar and took took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment then he recited.’
‘Then the King will say to those on his right. ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’
‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
‘Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Let Us Lift The Conversation!
There is something to be said for temperate speech and actions and thought.
I have always believed that my words reflected who I am.
Hurtful words…profane and unnecessary…are a reflection of the soul.
To revel in gossip about another…may be a perverse enjoyment…until you are the subject of the gossip mongers.
‘A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.’ Proverbs 25:11 KJV
‘A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.’ Proverbs 15: 1-2 KJV
Myself and one of my chancellor friends who I met with and spoke with often; talked in a colorful manner…as did I during our many conversations. My friend was obsessed with what someone was saying and writing about him. Once I said, humbly, to the chancellor…let’s lift our conversation above our petty grievances and focus on the big picture for our University…and he agreed.
I was watching a film, last night, about quantum physics and the possibilities the discipline affords we humans. Quantum physics contends that matter that you see with your eyes is not stable…until you look at it…whereupon it stops moving and your brain assigns meaning to what you are seeing both with your eyes and your brain.
The postulated theory of the physicists was that you could order your day by focusing your mind on what you wanted to achieve.
Plainly speaking…you could order your reality.
Quantum physics has proven that subatomic particles can be in two places at once…until you look at them…and then they are in one place only.
All matter is made up of moving molecules and atoms and subatomic particles. It is not solid.
Well…why not order your day in a positive and friendly and happy manner.
Studies have shown that thoughts, whether they be negative or positive, have a direct correlation on physical outcomes in our lives….and in the lives of others.
And, so, now, calling on all leaders at SIU…let us lift the conversation let us lift the conversation to the heights of academic excellence and collegiality and family…that illustrate our dreams and aspirations for our beloved University.
Separate But… Equal?
‘It is often observed that misogyny and homophobia go together.’ Sentence dict.com
‘The organizations women formed to bring about equality were just as often havens from intractable, institutionalized misogyny.’ Sentence dict.com
‘Misogyny is the hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. Misogyny can be manifested in numerous ways, including social exclusion, sex discrimination, hostility, androcentrism, patriarchy, male privilege, belittling of women, violence against women, and sexual objectification. Misogyny can occasionally be found within sacred texts of religions and mythologies, and various influential Western philosophers and thinkers have been described as misogynistic.’ Wikipedia
In an interview with former President Bill Clinton and author James Patterson on the Today Show, on June 4, regarding their new, co-authored book ‘The President Is Missing’ ,President Clinton was asked about his affair with White House Intern Monica Lewinsky in light of the current Me-Too movement.
‘Yes [I have apologized to Monica Lewinsky], and nobody believes that I got out of that for free. I left the White House $16 million in debt, but you typically have ignored gaping facts in describing this, and I bet you don’t even know them. This was litigated 20 years ago. Two-thirds of the American people sided with me. They were not insensitive to that. I had a sexual harassment policy when I was governor in the ’80s. I had two women chiefs of staff when I was governor. Women were overrepresented in the attorney general’s office in the ’70s, for their percentage in the bar. I have had nothing but women leaders in my office since I left. You are giving one side and omitting facts.’ NBC’s Today Show
The visible melt-down and angry protestations were irrelevant to the fact that he had sex with a Ms. Lewinsky, a young white house intern, and later lied about the affair.
Yet, Ms. Lewinsky has never engaged in a tirade against President Clinton and the, extreme power differential, in their relationship.
In a paid appearance in Israel the former mayor of New York and current lawyer for President Donald Trump said the following: ‘Yes I respect porn stars. Don’t you respect porn stars? Or do you think that porn stars desecrate women? Do you think that porn stars don’t respect women?’ Guilani said. ‘And therefore sell their bodies. So yes, I respect all human beings. I even respect, you know, criminals. But I’m sorry I don’t respect a porn star the way I respect a career woman or a woman of substance or a woman who has great respect for herself as a woman and as a person and isn’t going to sell her body for sexual exploitation.’
‘He added, ‘So Stormy, you want to bring a case, let me cross examine you. Because the business you’re in entitles you to no degree of giving your credibility any weight. And secondly, explain to me how she could be damaged. I mean, she has no reputation. If you’re going to sell your body for money, you just don’t have a reputation. Maybe old-fashioned, I don’t know.’ CNN
And so, it is fine for President Trump to sign a non-disclosure agreement under his pseudonym of David Dennison…with Stormy Daniels…I think that Mr. Guilani should re-examine..who has no reputation!
I wonder if all of the men in this country would like to have the close eye of scrutiny of Rudy Guilani cast upon them and their lives, including what they do in the privacy of dark and enclosed spaces?
I wonder if the misogynist of our society would find it objectionable to be engaged in sexual relations with a powerful woman and later that powerful woman either lie about it or proceed to denigrate them and cast aspersion on their reputation?
Apparently the spurned women’s reputation was just fine…during the physical relationship?
10% More
Jonathon and I were talking the other night and reflecting on the lack of ‘buy-in’ that so many American workers have today.
Often, it seems that whether I am in a retail establishment or obtaining contract work on my home…or yes…even at SIU…people desire to accomplish only enough work to prohibit their getting in trouble with their supervisor.
When I began at SIU I was so thrilled to have such a good job that I wanted to impress upon my employer that I was grateful for the opportunity that they had given me.
I was assigned to the General Accounting building and my predecessor, apparently had not cleaned on a regular basis. The ash trays, and yes there were still ashtrays, had a tar residue that took several minutes per receptacle to break down the thick and blackened sludge. In the rest rooms the toilets were encrusted with feces and urine and were disgusting.
Trash can liners were soaked with stale coffee and the residue of old lunches and they stank.
Immediately I set upon doing my janitorial job. It was not long before I began receiving compliments and recognition for doing what the University was paying me to accomplish.
When my fifteen minute break came…I took about ten minutes of it…for fear that my watch and my supervisor’s watch might not be in agreement.
I noticed very quickly in my career that people respond to excellence and dedication in service.
My work philosophy, early on, was to attempt to deliver more than what my supervisor was expecting from me.
I had the honor and pleasure of working with so many SIU staff that delivered much more than I expected from them.
Joan Phemmister was one of the hardest working people that I had ever met. Her dedication to keeping the Agriculture building shinning and immaculate resounded all over Campus. I promoted her to foreman as rapidly as I could…because I knew that her passion for excellence would positively affect all of the custodial crews that she supervised.
Jonathon was a greeter for five years in Food Service at Lentz Hall. He made a point to learn student’ names and to greet them with a broad smile each time that he checked them in for lunch or dinner and he was so well thought of that the Director of Housing, at that time, told me what a wonderful job that he was doing and the positive impact that he was having on our student’s SIU Experience.
The students that Jonathon met were so fond of him that they created a fan club for him…that still exists.
When I came to SIU I had friends that were my age that had achieved success and drove new automobiles and were becoming wealthy….I determined that the SIU opportunity that I had been afforded was a blessing and that I was going to be a custodial professional.
What if everyone at SIU decided that they were going to give…just 10% more than they have been giving?
What if everyone at SIU decided that they would not pass a student without greeting them with a smile and a warm and friendly face?
What if every telephone conversation that SIU has with a prospective student or their parents…was so inviting and congenial and convivial and the voice of the SIU employee so pleasant and melodious…that the prospective student and the parents of the prospective student…say that they want to know more about Southern Illinois University?
Whatever church that you attend…the building is not the church…it is the people that are inside of it.
SIU is not Parkinson Lab or Necker’s or Wham or the Lesar Law School…it is the people that comprise the University Community.
I identify immediately with people that care about me….
‘I really do not care how much you know…until I know how much you care…about me.’ Zig Ziglar
Giving Back
Inspiration and renewed hope for our planet comes in many shapes and sizes.
Recently I was reflecting on the diverse people that I know…that ‘give back’ in a multitude of ways.
My friend of 45 years, Jeff, has been giving back for the length of time that I have known him. As a child he was homeless on the streets of Chicago and when I met him he was a member of a hippy commune that was located off of the Royalton blacktop outside Elkville, Illinois.
Jeff has become very successful and owns his own business in the United Kingdom. I was privileged to attend a meeting with him, the last time that we were there. His magnetic personality and his considered care for others…drew the crowd of nearly 100 people…like a magnet.
Jeff’s, well researched, plan for financial freedom is an exciting and sorely needed plan for many struggling working and middle class Brits.
I marveled, during the meeting that I attended, at his careful and loving concern for each individual that he spoke with. Jeff has a gift of total focus on the person that he is talking with and he projects the ability and gift of believing in yourself!
As we were walking in London, one evening, Jeff suddenly stopped and asked a couple that was taking photographs, if they would like for him to snap a photo of them. They were not only pleasantly surprised but grateful for his reaching out to them.
On our numerous visits with Jeff and Margo, and travels through Europe…the constant that I could rely upon was that my friend would never meet a stranger…and that he would seek to help each one in some way.
We have been members of the Presbyterian Church for 20 years. The first thing that I noticed when we began attending services…was that Presbyterians work!
I was a member of the Stewardship Committee for three years. My friend and colleague on the committee, Barbara, was somewhat older than I. I gave it my best…but I must confess that, at times, I bemoaned the almost daily need for, what the church often refers to as Sexton duties, and the conflict of my desire to enjoy my recent retirement and I wondered where the young people were for some of the more onerous duties?
I mentioned to Barbara that I had done all of the physical duties around the church, as a young man, but I did not realize that I would have the opportunity to repeat my youth.
Barbara turned 80 during our work together…I was in my 50’s.
When there were weeds to be pulled…there was Barbara.
When there were repairs to be done on our porte-cochere…there was Barbara.
When there was work to be accomplished for our Presbyterian Pre-School…there was Barbara.
We deliver Meals-on-Wheels to many elderly and shut in residents of Carbondale. Our delivery partners, until recently, are Jim and Sarah, who, again, are older than Mary Jane and I.
Sarah has been suffering with cancer…but you would not know it by her attitude. She and Jim are lovely people who are doing what they have always done…helping others…and not thinking of themselves.
My friend, Elizabeth, has a work ethic that just won’t stop. It was my privilege to hire her, and later her wonderful husband Ryan. I think Elizabeth was 23 when I hired her.
I have followed her carer with great interest and can not help but notice her passion for helping her fellow employees. Whether it be concern about staff being able to keep their jobs and not be laid-off or pay increases or working conditions…Elizabeth is immersed in the machinations and political minutiae of advocating for civil service staff.
Elizabeth is a backer of all things that are Southern Illinois University. No matter if it is the basketball team or the football team or the academic achievements of our wonderful students…she is on the frontline of cheering for and helping those who need assistance.
And, so, it seems to this writer…that the joy and satisfaction of living is found in the getting out of our own heads…and the helpining and ministry and care of others who are less fortunate than us.
The Beauty of Simplicity
The older that I become the more I notice the simple pleasures of life.
Two occurrences struck me, or perhaps even three, with their delightful immediacy and, two of the three…with a pleasant surprise.
My friend and former Stewardship Committee member, Rob Jensen, delivered a lovely and humorous sermon. His research into what it means to follow the scripture’s admonition, ‘ to keep the sabbath holy,’ reminisced regarding the accepted practice, not so many years ago, of keeping Sunday as a day of rest and reflection and devoid of most if not all manual labor…including cutting your grass.
He went on to remind us that, at one time most retail establishments were closed on Sunday.
As I was listening to Rob talk, I thought that I could not think of anywhere that I would rather be than right where I was.
As we were exiting the sanctuary and visiting with our fellow congregants, my friend Wendi asked me if I had received her email and I replied that I had not. She asked me to wait on her as she wanted to ask me something.
Wendi wanted to know if I would be willing to provide the Pulpit Supply for one Sunday morning? Now, the terminology Pulpit Supply means to deliver the sermon. I not only was surprised to be asked but humbly honored.
My primary desire, for about the first ten years of my christian life was to become a minister. Actually, I was involved in preaching or assisting in 20 or more funerals and probably delivered 100 or more, sermonette’s, in the church that I attended. I was considered clergy for our denomination and often visited the sick in their homes and when they were in the hospital.
This was over 30 years ago…and my answer will probably be no to my friend…but it was a nice surprise, for this old chap, to be asked.
Jonathon and I traveled to Marion, Illinois to experience the, Hard Copies, record store. It is several times larger than the store that we have in Carbondale.
What do you think that I found…Good Times…which is the soundtrack to Sonny and Cher’s movie.
Good Times…was the first vinyl LP that I purchased after I received a stereo record player for my eighth grade graduation. I thought that Cher was beautiful and that she could sing good…too.
I am becoming increasingly convinced that simplicity is the key to a happy life.
I have had the opportunity to travel to Europe on several occasions. But, when I visited there I did not find the elixir to happiness. People and places or locations…do not have the key to contentment…it comes from within.
My good friend, Elizabeth, sent me a video of our mutual friend, Brad Dillard, receiving the Lindell Sturgis award from the Board of Trustees for Southern Illinois University.
I can not think of a person who deserves this award more than Brad. His herculean efforts for the community and the Southern Illinois region are outstanding and I am so pleased to see him receive this well deserved honor.
The Happy Traveler 