Future Author of the Year
Please enjoy a great Jonathon Brooks short story!
I invite you to enjoy this flash fiction story of mine.
The boy received an old typewriter in honor of his twelfth birthday. He thought it to be the coolest present in the entire universe! This epic gift was from the 1940’s. Young Charles knew his older brother would have green jealous eyes and Charles did not give a hoot or a holler. Older brother could have his green envy monster and he would have his glorious typing machine from 46.
So the young author began plotting his first short story draft. There might be aliens or dinosaurs or or spacemen or space ladies or a mysterious volcano erupting in his home town. The possibilities were infinite! No one could stop the boy from pressing the keys and pressing on. The typewriter was a dream come true for Charles.
Young Charles had boyhood thoughts in his dreams and on his…
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Harry Loved Frankenstein!
Another entry from the Jazzman!
Harry Hayes had never seen a monster that he did not like! He was Billy’s cousin and several years older than him. His avocation and calling was to research the science fiction and monster movies of the 1950’s and the 60’s.
Harry had several magazines that were devoted to the horror movies of the day. He could speak extemporaneously regarding the make up and prosthetics that the actors used in various movies, such as; Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Creature From the Black Lagoon. He began collecting Monster Masks. Or rather…Monster Masks and Monster Hands! They aligned the walls of his bedroom and some cost upwards of $100 or more.
Harry modeled these, semi-profesional masks for Billy Bump and his buddy, Carl. Carl thought that they were fascinating and began, regularly, asking Billy when they could go over to Harry’s house to look at his masks?
Now, Billy considered the masks…
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A Trip To The Fair!
Another Billy Bump adventure on thejazzmanblog.home.blog
Finally the long awaited summer holiday from school had arrived! Billy had been wiling away the hours at three primary haunts; the Orpheum theatre, Pounds Hollow swimming hole, or the Pool Hall.
Billy also enjoyed visiting his buddy Carl and playing cowboys with Carl’s Daniel Boone action figure and, the new army action figure, G.I. Joe. Although Billy thought that the Daniel Boone figure was the coolest…Carl insisted on playing with the image of the television actor, Fess Parker, exclusively.
During that summer Billy’s mom’s friend, Francis, asked her if Billy could spend some time with her son Johnny and travel to Clarksville, Tennessee with them for an overnight stay. Johnny was an only child, as was Billy, and Francis was a single mother. Rumor had it that for a price Francis would be a gentleman’s friend for a night…when he was lonely and needed company. These thoughts were a…
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Good Management Requires Hard Discussions!
‘Management By Walking Around,’ was popular in the 1980’s. I became a manager of a large housekeeping department in the 80’s. The bedrock principle of the theory was that the, ‘best supervision takes place where the work is being done.’
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I set my cap to talk with and bond with everyone that was in my department, which had over 400 people at that time!
My staff was a group of nine foreman, who each managed five or more Sub-Foreman and their custodial crews which were made up of Building Service Worker I’s and student custodial staff. We were responsible for the cleaning of almost 200 university buildings which included two satellite areas.
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I was amazed at the openess of the people that I spoke with! I did not have the feeling that they were speaking to me with a hidden agenda or that they were misleading me. I had worked alongside of many of them, just a few months before!
During my discussions, that were unhurried and substantive, I discovered a plethora of oversights that management had failed to address! Some were easily fixed and some were major policy change needs!
I had staff tell me that it appeared that I and the Superintendent, I was the assistant superintendent, were hell bent on assuring that the department was contracted out! I had others tell me of illness in their family…and chronic illnesses that they were battling. Others told me that, at times, they became so stressed that they had considered suicide!
Our student staff told me of their experiences at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale…and how that their custodial crew colleagues were some of the first, or perhaps only, representatives of the university that had shown an interest in them. Our international students, of which we had many, told me of their home and their culture and the loneliness that they felt…so far away from home!
I discovered that some of our Sub-Foreman had been incorrect in the management of their student staff and that some had terminated them…without cause! I discovered that my perspective was, vastly, different than some of my Foreman regarding certain individuals and that bias had clouded their managerial judgement.
As I spoke with my, precious, colleagues…I found that the majority of them lived and died for their SIU job! They loved the students of our campus…they loved the faculty and staff…and they loved and treated the buildings that they were responsible for like their own home!
My friends and colleagues did not want to see me every day…but they appreciated that I was not only available to everyone of them…but that I would hear their concerns and act upon issues that needed to be addressed!
I have come away from many meetings with my tail between my legs and wondering how I could have been so inept as to not have known what was going on with a trusted technician that was being bullied or abused or teated shabbily!
A member of the university community berated me for nearly an hour as to the poor management style that I had and a basket full of concerns that she had regarding the cleanliness of her building. She ended the conversation by extolling me that, ‘I could be better!’
I told the irate customer that I agreed with her and that I was going to hang up the phone and proceed to work on the project that she suggested.
Support of my mangers did not equal, no matter what wrong that they had perpetrated on their staff, was alright with me, but it mean’t unwavering support as long as they were seeking the two goals of my management doctrine…always treat you colleagues with respect and dignity….and produce clean university buildings!
Many managers and administrators and supervisors are in a hurry to ‘lower the boom’ on their transgressing staff. My motto was that if we err let us err on the side of mercy!
Perspective
Another entry from the Jazzman!
‘A particular attitude toward or way of regarding a point of view.’
‘synonyms – outlook, view, viewpoint, point of view, standpoint, position, stand, stance, angle, slant, attitude’ Google
Elmer Woden had been a mean little kid! He was the type of child that tied firecrackers to cats tails. When the cat ran in abject fear…Elmer felt emboldened and a bit of a giant, compared to the hysterical cat!
When Elmer achieved his full height he measured, from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, four feet and 9 and one half inches. His favorite comedian/actor was Danny DeVito. Elmer told his assistant, Bill Bump, that he had taken, ‘so much shit from people that now that he had some authority…he was going to dish it out to all who crossed him!’
Elmer had his fans and his friends…and they received the ‘plum’ job assignments while others…
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Roller Coaster!
‘Life is amazing. And then it is awful. And then it is amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful its ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. Thats just living heartbreaking, soul healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.’ LR Knost
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Last Friday Mary Jane and I enjoyed a wonderful visit with Jim and Laura, who have been our good friends for many years!
I heard from a former classmate yesterday and it was a pleasure to chat with her on Facebook and I thought of the first time we met…the first day of first grade!
We made our annual trek to Cape Girardeau, Missouri to eat a Father’s Day lunch at Katie O’ Ferrels. I had a delicious beef sandwich!
Aaron bought me an, old cast iron, bank for Father’s Day and Jonathon purchased a Swiss Army knife, for me, with a picture of the Eiffel Tower on it!
Mary Jane got me a pin of the flag of Israel and American flag combined!
As the Brooks men and I enjoyed a Father’s Day beer this afternoon, I was shocked to have our bartender purchase my beer for me! I was pleasantly surprised and humbled by her gracious gesture!
My brother Brock, wished me a happy Father’s Day!
My brother-in-law Ron, withed me a happy Father’s Day!
My buddy Ryan, wished me a happy Father’s Day!
I was speaking with my friend of many years, and we agreed that there are tremendous truths contained within the few lines of the quote by L.R. Knost.
Being well on the road to 62, I reflect on the many times that I have lived the, ‘awful and ordinary,’ and it seemed that it would never end!
Awful is not hard to understand. You know that you are going through a crisis that could be your health or the health of your loved ones! It could also be the loss of a job or financial insecurity. It could be the dissolution of a relationship that, up until that time, your life was based upon.
Awful can be a supervisor or ‘boss’ who is picking on you. The boss is a bully and they take joy in facilitating your misery!
The ‘awful’ has always compelled me to call on God for help and mercy…and wisdom to understand the Creator’s plan for me?
The ‘ordinary’ is more subtle and lulling in its complacency.
So many of our days are carbon copies of the day before and a good barometer of the day to come.
As the ‘ordinary’ days of our life pass by, ever so swiftly, it is easy to grasp on to many things that seem to be a constant and unchangeable! When I was employed at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale it appeared certain to me that I would be working there for all of my life. The idea that I would eventually become old enough to retire…seemed like a fairy tale to me!
I have been retired eight and one half years!
Ordinary days melt together in our memory! Their sameness obscures their beauty! When our children are young we believe that the joy of parenting will last forever. When we experience our first wedding anniversary or our fifth…we think…look what we have done!
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The miracle of this life’s walk, that we are all taking together, is that every day is another piece of the puzzle. Each day has a specific reason and purpose and if we can be given the grace to understand that guardian angels are walking with us and that we should savor and dwell upon every small gift that life brings us…. we understand that it’s tapestry is sewn from the majestic thread of countless small gifts that make up this roller coaster ride that we call life!
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Majestic Maine!
We have returned from another Maine adventure!
After landing at Portland we drove our, Ford Fusion, rental to the Ocean Point Inn and Resorts at about 9:00 pm. As we passed a little, ocean front cabin called Seaward, Mary Jane announced that it was the cabin that we would be staying in for the week.
The main offices for the Resort were just a few steps away from our cabin and we checked in and purchased some Whoopi Pies, a Maine desert delicacy, and some Blueberry soda.
There is a different tempo to life in Maine! Mainers are laid back and welcoming of guests. The breakfast, that was included in the price of the lodgings had the most wonderful Scotch Eggs and crisp bacon accompanied by hash brown potatoes that were to die for!
We visited several little towns during our stay including; Bath, Camden, Freeport which is the home of the renowned clothier, L.L. Bean and their signature store.
As we were pursuing the art galleries and speciality stores in Bath we encountered the, ‘Town Cryer,’ who had the most distinct Maine accent that I have ever heard! He had been given some placards of notice to distribute to the businesses throughout the community and when the owner of the gallery that we met him in, asked if she could have both the large placard as well as the small one…he unhesitatingly announced that she could not as he had been instructed to only leave one per business establishment!
There was a, relatively, new Brewery in Bath…and we decided that we must sample it’s product! The nicest waitress served us and I swear that she admired the, younger, Brooks men!
In Camden we enjoyed a delicious seafood meal on the dock adjoining the restaurant that we were eating. I had the most wonderful fried oysters, as did Aaron, while Mary Jane relished the fried clams!
As we were enjoying our wonderful seafood, an oarsman passed by and loudly announced that he was late to lunch and he must hurry!
I have often considering relocating to Maine…if it was not for the bitter winters! When I asked a art gallery owner how the winters were in Maine, as she was a transplant from central Illinois forty years ago…she said that twenty years ago it was nothing unusual for Bath to receive two feet of snow that lingered throughout the winter and for them to have at least a couple of weeks with temperatures below zero.
The captivating allure of Maine has a siren song that keeps drawing me back!
Double Indemnity
Today’s chapter in the adventures’ of Billy Bump!
Carl had been Billy’s friend since the first day of first grade. He was happy when he discovered that another student in the class had the same last name. Carl had been adopted and it was comforting to him to meet a Bump that was his age.
Carl’s dad was a brick mason and a dark brown, from the sun, and swarthy man. He was a kind man who loved Carl and was happy that he had found a friend.
Velma, Carl’s mom, dotted on her son. She bought him a guitar and he was learning to play it from a Chet Atkins guitar tutorial. Carl was getting proficient in guitar!
Mrs. Bump enjoyed, what in that day, were called soap operas. She referred to them as, ‘her stories.’ Mrs. Bump never missed her stories!
The other Bumps, Carl and Carol and Velma, attended the Social Brethren Church in Paris…
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Maine in May
Please enjoy a great Blog by Jonathon Brooks!
My family and I had an excellent adventure to Boothbay, Maine recently. Maine has a different vibe than Southern Illinois. The temperature was in the high fifties. There were lighthouses and unique looking homes that don’t look the houses around Carbondale. The lobster dishes were highly amazing. And the cottage the four of us stayed at reminded me of the home I grew up in in Elkville, Illinois.
I thoroughly enjoyed the small towns and their cool art galleries and shops. Truly, I believe I stopped in all of the one-of-a-kind book shops. I got some great deals on new reading material.
Local beer was another thing the four of us delighted in. In Bath, Maine we stopped in at the Bath Brewery and toasted our mugs together as the friendly server snapped our picture. The photo is worth well over a thousand words.
I am a traveler and I…
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Harley Davidson…Lite
Another Billy Bump adventure from: thejazzmanblog.home.blog
Billy Bump’ stepfather asked him to come out to the garage to see what he had purchased for him. When he opened the large wooden door of the, stepdad hideout, he discovered a twenty inch bicycle with large knobby tires and a middle that was made to appear like a motorcycle, and painted accordingly.
Billy had grown a lot in fifth grade, but he still thought that the motorcycle bicycle was very cool! When Demetrius told him to take it for a spin, he happily complied.
Now the gravel road that ran in front of Billy’s house had large gravel. The wide and pronounced tires bumped and and the handlebars shook and, in fact the entire means of conveyance was difficult to keep on track. Between the bumping and swerving that was caused by the combination of the tires and the muscular gravel and the fact that Billy’s legs were…
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The Happy Traveler 