Southern Illinois is still much too warm for October 14th. Today is forecast for a high of 81 degrees. Storms are in our forecast with a cool down by the weekend. Many years, at this time, the leaves have already changed their color and are brilliant reds and yellows and gold. This year pales in comparison. One of the benefits of being retired is the enjoyment of quiet. Now don’t misunderstand me as I do enjoy excitement…in moderation. However an asset of our home in Carbondale…in the country…is quiet. When we moved here in 2001 there was only one other house on Ash Wood Lane. Over the past 20 years our neighborhood has grown by leaps and bounds…but it still remains peaceful.

Quiet has been a good practice for me over my adult years. I served on a number of committees for Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale over my 32 + year career. I found it useful and enlightening to listen to other members of the group before I offered my opinion. Quiet is a virtue when dealing with an angry person. Hot emotions and rhetoric are diffused by a calm demeanor. ‘A soft answer turneth away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.’ Proverbs 15:1. KJV

Noise and chaos are often the order of the day in the political arena and pop culture. Strident and pervasive persuaders are in our ear 24/7 telling us what we need and who can provide it. It is possible to be very content until you compare yourself to the standard of the moment…that blows away like the wheat on the threshing floor. At about the instance that you conform to the standard of your supposed peers…they change the standard.

SIUC has a quiet quality to it. Since my beginnings with the University I have heard that many students come to Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale for an escape from the hustle and bustle of Chicago. There is time for thought…perhaps deep thought…and an atmosphere that is devoid of the din of a thousand voices with a thousand agendas…vying for your attention…

Carbondale and in fact all of Southern Illinois is sought out as a retirement mecca. Many from Chicago and northern Illinois and neighboring states come to the pristine beauty of Little Egypt for their golden years. A slower pace of living is conducive to a happy sense of place.

Fall is a peaceful and quiet time…and is my favorite time of the year. It is a time of reflection…of pausing…and of considering the road ahead and what is important to take on the journey. My buddy, Ron, told me one time that I really did my own thing… It has been said that some, ‘Dance to the tune of their own drummer.’