Autumn rain is gently falling on the backyard pond. The October rains aid the leaves in their departure from the trees. Campus has returned to a peaceful rhythm of study and fellowship and the joy of youth. I was reading earlier that the Ocean Point Inn in Booth Bay, Maine is in the midst of the last week of their season. Three weeks ago we were there.
We humans love routine. We measure our lives by the season that we are in. Fall brings us three months of significant holidays…and when we experience them…we take stock of ourselves and we know where we are at…and where we are going. So much the more so for the changing seasons of our lives. Sunday, October 10th will mark my anniversary of being given a tremendous opportunity. Forty-three years ago on October 10, 1978 I was hired at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. My life and MJ’s life changed on that day. Before that we were not only not in the Ball game of Life…we were squinting through a knot hole in the fence surrounding the playing field. The suffering and deprivation of poor working people is not lost on me…as I was one. October 10 is a major holiday at the Brooks home. It is added to the 3 holidays that I mentioned earlier in this piece… Suddenly…SIUC…provided a vehicle for all of our dreams to come true!
I watched Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, speak of his twin babies and how he has never encountered anything that was more challenging or rewarding. He went on to say that sometimes he grabs a nap at 5:00 a:m:. I remember those days when Aaron and Jonathon were little scamps. I recall wondering if I would ever work hard enough to rise to a promotion… I worried that we might never be able to afford a adequate home for our family. I know how it feels to be marginalized and rising above that to succeed…when others thought me not capable…
We find our human family still in the dark season of our Pandemic. None of us thought that we would suffer such loss. But…there is light at the end of the tunnel. This page will turn…and what will we learn. Perhaps that love and laughter…are the most important…and that the accumulation of money…has a hollow sound… Understanding and acceptance and patience and hope…are the keys that unlock the door to happiness…
The Happy Traveler 
I wish I could share your optimism – coronavirus is still very much with us, long covic is only starting to show how deadly it has become so debilitating for many sufferers. The numbers are still rising, in both deaths and illnesses and both the US and UK are pinning their hopes on a vaccine, but is this simply false hope I wonder?