People Do Care About You!
Have you ever felt alone?
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Has it ever seemed to you that no one seemed to understand what you are going through and that no one cared?
Of, if you friends and family and acquaintances did address your concerns…they did it with, their, religious dogma, or their…pull yourself up by your bootstraps, philosophy?
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When someone is hurting, we want to present them with a neatly wrapped gift box of solutions for their problems!
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We offer, what we think is, constructive criticism; or tough love!
Some respond to this type of, hard, care…but many are devastated by it!
We are looking for a friend…who cares…and will take the time to listen to our concerns. Studies have shown that the best friends are the best listeners. Many times a person will be referred to as wise…when all they did was be empathetic for their friend.
So many people care…but often do not voice their love or demonstrate it due to not wanting to be intrusive. So many of us seek a simple invitation to be a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on…and a friend to call in the darkness of the night.
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I have been a member of the community of faith for the majority of my life. I pray for my friends, often. I weep when my friends suffer loss and I rejoice when they rejoice!
Strict religious dogma does not, adequately, cover the vagaries of the human condition.
If you have a mental illness or a disorder…prayers for the alleviation of evil spirits…will not solve the problem!
If someone tells you that they have the gift of healing…they should pray for you in private…and when you are healed…the glory should be the, healer’s, God!
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All of us have challenges and all of us have, extremely, dark days.
I am available to speak with anyone at anytime and my email is; bradleybrooks@yahoo.com.
All to often, people live and die, at times by suicide, without knowing how many of their friends have wept and longed to help them…if they only felt an invitation.
Our world is not a neat and clearly delineated script from birth to death. All along the, rocky and hilly and dangerous, path of life are pitfalls and Grand Canyons that we can fall into!
We need a sherpa…we need a guide…we need someone to listen and hold our hand and care about us!
In our modern technological society we live, most of our waking hours, in our head!
We seek a succor and a love and a compassion in alcohol and drugs
We feel that we do not fit in to the expectations that our parents have outlined for us.
We see that our faith expectation is not consistent with the faith community that we have been reared in.
At times, we see that our sexual orientation or our gender identification is, apparently different, than our peers.
We discover that God created a diverse human family!
The pain that we feel can be ameliorated by expressing it to another human that cares about us.
The movie, ‘Its a Wonderful Life,’ with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed…illustrated the impact and value that each of our lives have on so many that are connected to us!
You really do not know how may people love and care about you!
Never feel alone!
Never feel that no one cares!
Always reach out to others!
You do not realize how valuable that you are!
Spring Transformation @ Southern Illinois University…And Wallace Too!
It had bee a few days since I had taken the opportunity to walk the campus of SIUC.
I was amazed at the Spring transformation that had occurred!
The renewal and rebirth of life is, continually, something to behold!
I was reading some wonderful writings from my, lifelong friend, Jeff..and I was transported back to the days that he and I were teenagers…with our life before us!
I marveled at how rapidly the past 45+ years have gone by.
We humans see history from our limited time on the planet. What seems long to us is no more than a passing shadow to the universe…and a cool breeze to God!
We took Mr. Wallace back to the Veterinarian today! He had eight teeth removed two weeks ago tomorrow!
Wallace is setting on him mommies lap. Wallace loves him mommy!
After Wallace’s, multiple, tooth extraction…he was able to indulge in special, soft, food!
He seemed to warm-up to his new diet…quickly!
All of us want to leave our mark!
We hope to be, fondly, remembered…once we leave this mortal life!
I think that there is no more certain assurance that we will be remembered than to help our fellow human beings who travel on the road of life with us!
As I think of my, United Kingdom friend, Jeff Lestz, and all that he has done to assist and make easier the lives of his; friends and colleagues and strangers that he meets…I am proud that I have known him, from early in his journey!
Each of us are born into circumstances that we neither asked for or chose. A happy and successful life it the navigating of those circumstances in order to produce a satisfying existence.
Spring reminds me that life is continuous! What seems to wither and die, in the fall and winter…comes back in all of its glory in the spring!
What a, magical, mystical, mystery, life is!
Have you ever experienced Deja vu? Perhaps there is a reason?
Wallace knows when someone is good to him…and he appreciates the love…and the perks!
SIUC is not on the down hill of its history or the diminishment of its outreach!
Oh no! Southern Illinois University is poised to experience a renaissance!
It is spring…and life has been renewed!
Overwhelmed With Joy/Stress!
This past Sunday I wrote a blog regarding Mary Jane and my 41st anniversary. I was overwhelmed with joy at the response that we received!
I was watching a documentary, last evening, regarding the stress that Americans are, yes…overwhelmed, with in the United States.
The program is, ‘One Nation Under Stress,’ and it examines the, ‘root causes of failing life expectancy in America.’ Av/TV CLUB
Dr. Gupta concluded that income inequality is causing ‘deaths of despair,’ and that, ‘Americans are dying sooner, increasingly self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, and committing suicide at alarming rates. The unifying factor for all of these conditions? Stress.’ Salon
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‘Suicides have gone up 30 percent in the last 20 years’…much of which, according to, Dr. Gupta, dashed expectations. Salon
Jobs have been lost to automation and outsourcing and wages have dropped.
We have been raised to expect to do as well, or better than our parents, and have discovered that many of our expectations are not achievable.
The program went on to exam the income inequality in the United States and found that, although the United States, is the highest of wealthy nations it is similar to the income inequality in Sudan, which has the very rich and the abject poor!
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It seems that we do not feel, particularly, stressed until we look at our neighbor and our colleagues and others…and discover that they have much more than we do…and that they do not appear to be working harder or accomplishing more than we are?
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The film went on to look at the health benefits of social cohesion. It showed that communities that have a strong social culture have longer lives.
We need each other!
Today, there is such a, violent, division in people that, often, we socialize with a few member of our family and little more. Do you know the names of the people that live on your street?
‘It’s the community and the social cohesion. I mean people think of those as sort of euphemisms, nice things to add to an academic paper, but frankly you find societies all over the world have some of the same problems that we do, and yet because of their social cohesion, they appear to be fairly protected. We don’t have that. We don’t have systems in place to nurture and foster social cohesion. If anything, it is becoming more fragmented, more individualistic, more siloed of than before, and were seeing the impact of that.’ Salon
Many of Mary Jane and my, happy anniversary, comments came from friendships that we had formed over thirty years ago! In the little church that we were all members of…we spent a significant amount of time together. We also, were a group of people that had something in common, modest means!
Throughout my career at SIUC’s Building Services…we often experienced a family atmosphere.
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When my friend, Barb, left our department she paid Building Services a lovely compliment when she said that our office was the most family like atmosphere that she had ever worked in.
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When I hear from friends, many of whom I no longer see on a regular basis…and who’s, gracious, comments about Mary Jane and I are, primarily based on our association of over thirty years ago…I am overwhelmed and my stress level is reduced…dramatically!
My stress level was, appreciable, reduced during my years at the university, due to our department working for a common and noble goal…the recruitment and retention of our, precious, students!
When you are depressed…and have no one to talk to…you slide into despair!
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Capitalism kills many people through it’s inherent inequities as demonstrated in our country.
Often the person that has more than you do…may not be working as hard as you are…and you may be smarter than they are?
Many of the rich in our country are the beneficiaries of family and friends and connections that are not available to the society at large!
When we let wealth be the arbiter of wisdom, or success, or God’s blessings…we have created a toxic environment for the majority of humanity!
What if when we die…and we look for the streets of gold and the mansions….instead….we find a cobblestone road and a rustic country cabin?
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41
Today is Mary Jane and my 41st anniversary!
Forty-one years ago, I was a lad of 20 that could not believe his good fortune in preparing to marry such a wonderful woman!
Mary Jane had a house trailer and we both had, old automobiles, with mine being the most questionable.
I was earning $70 per week and Mary Jane was donating her time, teaching in a parochial school.
On my first night back to work, after a 3 day honeymoon, I was excited to see that I had two cheese burgers in my lunch pail! When I told my new bride how wonderful that they were…she admonished me that I should not get used to them…as our food budget would not allow for them on a regular basis.
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In 1981, a tremendous blessing came our way, Aaron David Brooks, and everything about him excited us!
He did not sleep through the night…for the first year of his life!
But, he loved to be placed in his swing, that we would crank up, and he would fall asleep immediately!
Aaron also loved for me to hold him on my shoulder and walk with him…and he then would fall asleep…until I laid him in his cradle.
Aaron is a, natural artist, and a photographer, and a manager of a, bustling, warehouse facility!
He is much more intelligent than I ever was…and I am so proud of him!
Then came, Jonathon, in 1984!
Jonathon greeted the world with a smile and a giggle and climbing out of his cradle and jumping on to the floor!
Jonathon inspected all of the figurines and chochkies that we had…and subsequently broke them all!
Jonathon has grown to be a writer and a reader and a man who cares about people that he meets!
He is loved and respected by his university colleagues and friends and holds a responsible position at Key Control…which appreciates his dedication to them and the university’s mission!
Aaron and Jonathon are the light of their mom and my life!
There have been constants in our 41 years.
We have, always, sought to follow Christ!
The seeking of God’s will has entailed 3 separate changes in churches…with the last change being, almost, 21, years.
The Bible says that, ‘when a man findeth a wife, he findeth a good thing, and obtains favor of the Lord.’
Certainly, having the counsel of Mary Jane has been the key to our families success!
In our beginnings…she counseled me to take the Building Service Worker exam at Southern Illinois University…and I was offended and I balked…and then I took the test…and the rest is history!
When I became a BSWI…Mary Jane told me that she believed that, one day, I would lead the department…and I laughed in my heart…as did Sarah of the Old Testament, when she was told by the angel that she would bear a child in her aged years!
I was the Superintendent of Building Services for the last 13 years of my 32 year career at SIUC!
Challenges of health have hit us…but God has helped us.
Our sons still want to be around us…and we are planning a family vacation to Maine later this year!
Now I eat a hamburger when I desire one…and I weep for those who can not.
I Went To Hear The Leader Speak
I went to hear the leader speak
The excitement was so heavy that you could feel it surrounding you.
I went to hear the leader speak
And I listened for something good.
I went to hear the leader speak
And the beauty of the surroundings mesmerized me.
I went to hear the leader speak
To find a mentor for my life!
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The leader said for us to beware of Mexicans
‘They are rapist and murders…and some good people!’
I went to hear the leader speak
And everyone cheered!
I went to hear the leader speak
And those who cheered him
He loved!
‘Take them out on a stretcher!’
The leader commanded regarding those who disagreed with him.
I went to hear the leader speak
There were thousands of red hats
Make America Great Again
Sounded wonderful to me!
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I went to hear the leader speak
And he mimicked and mocked a disabled reporter
The red hats cheered
With a lusty cry of, ‘lock her up!’
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I went to hear the leader speak
And the FBI director was fired
The leader told Lester that the firing was because of the Russia investigation
And the leader laughed with the Russians in the Oval Office
And the Russians brought their photographers to document the jovial occasion!
I went to hear the leader speak
He said that he did not want immigrants from, ‘shit-hole countries’
The countries that he was referring to were countries containing black and brown human beings!
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I went to hear the leader speak
And a protestor against white nationalist was killed
The leader said that there were good people on both sides
And we wept!
I went to hear the leader speak
And he stood next to Russia’s leader
And he said that he believed him
And he said that he did not believe us
Russia’s leader smiled, and gave the leader a volleyball!
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I went to hear the leader speak
And he belittled a war hero
The war hero had spent years in captivity
The war hero was tortured so brutally that he could not raise his arms above his shoulders
The leader missed the war
He had bone spurs!
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I went to hear the leader speak
Many friends hear a different voice
I pray that they will not incur the wrath of
The leader!
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The Joy Of Living!
As Jonathon and I were walking campus, today, I could not help but revel in the 60 degree temperatures
After the, extreme, cold of this past winter; the warming weather brings a lightness of step and and brightness of attitude regarding our future!
We saw Southern Illinois University president, Dr. Kevin Dorsey, as we sat at the fountain, discussing our weekend plans. Dr. Dorsey is a fine man and a respected professional. I called out to him and he waved and smiled the smile of a leader that is secure in his life and the works thereof!
Jonathon asked me if I had read the, breaking news, that Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker had replaced five of the seven members of the university’s board of trustees? I told him that I had not…but I was saddened to hear the Joel Sambursky had been replaced. During the, recent, controversy, of the removal of university president, Randy Dunn, Mr. Sambursky exhibited great courage and a dedication to ethical and fiduciary certitude!
That being said, I do admire and respect three of the five new board of members, who I have witnessed in action many times, in the last decade.
One thing is certain…Southern Illinois University is under the oversight of new leadership.
As I walk the, beautiful, campus of SIUC…I am constantly looking for signs of spring!
The red bud trees, that are native to our region, are outstanding in their supine spring splendor!
We seek renewal! We need rejuvenation and jolt of life’s nectar to enliven us and charge us with the joy of living the wonderful life that we have been given!
Often the tasks that we are given…just to survive in life seem overwhelming!
Many times we work for others who seem to not appreciate our efforts. In these situations I take comfort in my conviction that the work that I am performing is the…right thing to do!
‘Weeping may endure for a night…but joy cometh in the morning!’ Psalm 30:5
Most Of Us…Just Want To Be Treated Fair!
A great mystery, to me, was that many of the leaders that I encountered during my career, did not realize that those who worked for them had functioning eyes and ears and, all five senses, as well as brains that were in good working order!
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It seems that there is a disconnect, at times, in both employment leaders and political leaders, that causes them to believe that have, suddenly, become endowed with special powers and a revamped lung structure…that allows them to breath a, rarified air, that we commoners are not equipped to enjoy?
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During my, work years, I asked, one, supervisor to please decide which story that he was going to consistently tell, as his truth, before I repeated his position to the staff.
On another occasion I felt compelled to admonish a chancellor that if he insulted my intelligence, again, that I was going to conclude my meeting with him!
Now, my management abilities were far less than what I strove for…but I, set my course…from the beginning of my career, to be fair.
If you are a successful leader…you owe everything to the dedicated colleagues that are diligently working to make you look good!
Fairness is not something that you talk about…it is something that you do.
Some vital principles of fairness are:
- When you tell a member of your staff that you are going to do something for them, you should move heaven and earth to make your vow come to pass.
- Listen to each member of your team with the purpose of learning from them.
- If the last member of the department is being mis-treated by a senior member of the staff…listen to them and rectify the situation.
- Never engage in political speech or feel good anecdotes when interacting with your colleagues; if you are not intent on backing the words that came out of our mouth.
- Never lie to anyone!
‘The management by wandering around, (MBWA), also management by walking around, refers to a style of business management which involves managers wandering around, in an unstructured manner, through the workplace(s), at random to check with employees, equipment, or on the status of ongoing work. The emphasis is on the word wandering as an unplanned movement within a workplace, rather than a plan where employees expect a visit from managers at a more systematic, pre-approved or scheduled times.’ Management by wandering around, Wikipedia
‘The expected benefit is that a manager, by random sampling of events of employee discussions, is more likely to facilitate improvements to the morale, sense of organizational purpose, productivity and total quality management of the organization, as compared to remaining in a specific office area and waiting for employees, or the delivery of status reports, to arrive there, as events warrant in the workplace.’ Management by wandering around, Wikipedia
Focusing on staff and interacting with them on a regular basis, in a positive manner, is empowering to them and a generator of excellence!
When I talked with a Building Service Worker…I remembered that I had been a Building Service Worker. I recalled bow proud that I was of the, professional, housekeeper position that it had been my good fortune to obtain.
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When I spoke with a Building Custodian, later entitled Sub-foreman, I remembered the challenges and stresses that that were involved in the crew supervisor position.
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When I spoke with Building Service Worker III’s, later referred to as Foreman, I understood that I was speaking with managers, and that they were essential in ensuring quality control and high morale in our department.
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When I spoke with our student custodial staff…I knew that I was speaking with people that had a wealth of ability and, without them, we could not accomplish our cleaning goals, and that they were the, entire, reason that we existed!
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‘This is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life!’
At times, we are a bit place-bound by our past.
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We look at our success and our failures…and we, compartmentalize, our future according to our past!
You may be a senior citizen, as I am, and think that your best days are behind you, and that your greatest accomplishments have already been wrought.
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Many years ago, the popular author, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, wrote a, bestseller called, the Power of Positive Thinking.
It can be said that what we visualize ourselves achieving, is obtainable with the, desire to do so!
The biggest battle of a happy and productive life…is first the battle of the mind!
There are a thousand excuses for not doing something…there is no reason for you not to…do it!
I think that we look at others, around us, and believe that they are endowed with some type of special abilities…when in fact they are human beings, just like, us and they have, simply decided to work toward a goal that they can see in their mind!
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I decided, during the last decade, that I was going to loose weight. Six months later I had lost 95 pounds!
I have wanted to write since I was a child, but it seemed that I could never get started. Now I write, virtually, every day, and enjoy it immensely!
Loosing weight or weighing less is not magic…it is the concerted dedication to following a plan that will allow you to achieve your goal!
When I began working for Southern Illinois University at Carbondale as a Building Service Worker I…Mary Jane told me that, God, had told her that one day I would be the leader of the organization! I was like Sara, in the Old Testament, when the angel to told her that she would bear a son, although she was elderly…and she laughed!
Yet, at the years at SIUC flew by…I began to visualize myself leading the department…and for 25 years of my career…I did!
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‘It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.’ Theodore Roosevelt, delivered in the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910
One of the greatest value added exercise that I have done, on several occasions, in my life…is to step outside of my comfort zone!
I find public speaking..frightening! Yet, some of the most rewarding experience that I have had…have come from public speaking.
One of the primary hangups that I had regarding writing…was to have other people read what I had written! I have been able to, successfully, overcome that fear, by writing daily!
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A challenge can be an opportunity…that is wearing different clothes!
I am convinced that most of us realize about 10% of our innate natural ability.
Most of the successful people that I know and am friends with…have achieved their success through a mental image of what they want to achieve and the willingness to do the hard work and make the, plethora, of mistakes, that happen on the road to their goal!
The Gold Standard
A great Jonathon Brooks Blog!
It often seems that people are experts on solving the problems of others. Yet when we try to solve our own problems we struggle as amateurs. How well do we really comprehend the problems of our fellow man? Perhaps we are not really experts on others flaws or shortcomings; we only perceive ourselves to be so.
I aspire to be an expert on knowing myself. I’ve worked on and am continuing to work on all of the problems I’ve had throughout my lifetime. Some sins and shortcomings die slower than others and some don’t die at all. Concerning the problems of others all I want to be is an amateur. It isn’t my job to judge anyone. Christ knows I’ve judged myself harshly in the past. Humanity in general looks so beautiful when we pass out love rather than judgment. I’ve no time to judge my neighbor ’cause I’m too…
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Unrealized Ability…An Asset?
So often, we pigeonhole people into artificial constructs that we quickly assign to them…as an easy method of understanding our surroundings.
Former president, Barrack Obama, was the African American state senator, with the funny name, that was running in the democratic primary in Illinois, to be chosen as the candidate for the United States Senate.
President Donald Trump…was written off as a clown or a, bad, joke…when he began running for the presidency of the United States, in 2016, and it was commonly believed that he would fall, by the wayside, very quickly!
Dr. Billy Graham was an itinerant preacher from North Carolina…that preached to millions for people, around the world, and served as an advisor to several presidents !
I began my career at Southern Illinois University as a janitor. My, official, title was Building Service Worker I….and i was proud of it!
As the years progressed, I had the opportunity to speak with both chancellors and presidents of the university…and my message to them never wavered…that there was, hidden talent in the civil service ranks…and that the leaders need to avail themselves of this, wealth, of ability, that was at the fingertips!
On more than one occasion chancellor Wendler referred to me as his janitor…and I was honored! I had a great relationship with Dr. Wendler and through that bond…much was accomplished for civil service staff.
Chancellor Wendler would speak to me, in an unvarnished manner, and I would do the same with him, but I, instinctively, understood that he had a compassionate heart!
The chancellor was a man of faith and he had worked as a carpenter.
The chancellor was a fundamentalist christian…but then again…I had been proud to be a member of that group…at one time
After chancellor Wendler…I worked with interim chancellor, John Dunn, throughout the time that he led the campus. What a nice and considerate leader, chancellor Dunn was!
Chancellor John Dunn is a breathe of fresh air at SIUC! He is from Pickneyville, Illinois and he is great leader of SIUC! Why search for another….when you have the leader that can turn the great ship of SIUC….around?
‘John M. Dunn was the eighth present of Western Michigan University. Dunn earned his bachelor and master’s degree from Northern Illinois University, and he earned an Ed.D. physical education from Brigham Young University. He began his career in higher education at the University of Connecticut in 1972.’ Wikipedia
I pleaded with the, then president of Southern Illinois University, to make, interim chancellor Dunn, the permanent chancellor of SIUC…when he replaced chancellor Wendler…in the last decade!
The chancellor’s executive assistant, and my friend, Susan, told me the she had discovered the secret of my success in dealing with university administrators. She said that I appeared, initially, to be of little ability or understanding…but that I seemed to obtain the goal that I was seeking?
I remarked that, perhaps, she understood my entire secret?
So often it seems that the disagreements or problems of our society…can be summed up as a conflict between the…red and blue team….when in reality….we are all on the same team….but we do not realize it!
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale has been following the academic template of conducting national searches for vacant chancellor and president position…for many years…as our enrollment has, subsequently, diminished…by thousands of students…annually!
A smart move was to bring Dr. John M. Dunn back to SIUC!
Dr. Dunn has a heart for our university and a, magnificent, understanding of the Southern Illinois region!
Already, positive movements of momentum are turning the academic ship of SIUC around!
Do we, really, require a earth shattering academic plans of restructuring and shake-up…or do we, desperately, need a steady hand on the steering wheel of the educational and economic…ship of state…for Southern Illinois?
How many times must we face the, leadership needs of SIUC, armed with the formula that is contained in the academic model….that is so irrelevant to our needs?
The Happy Traveler 