My Brother Brock posted on Facebook a photo of me and mom and dad preparing to take a journey on dad’s Harley Davidson motorcycle. The picture brought back so many memories of my very early years. Dad was a dapper dude. He loved his Harley and loved the motorcycle culture. This is evident in the photo. Mom was a fashion plate…she was a lovely woman and always looked perfect before she left the house. She was infatuated with my dad and doted on little Jay… Dad was a bit of a mobster. He was a person who enjoyed operating outside the norms of society. He was a tough guy…for real. He smoked Marlborough Cigarettes and worked on Semi Tractor Engines and returned home to love his lovely wife, Neva June, and to carry his son, Bradley Jay, on his shoulders…around their Chicago Home.

Dad was a rebel and Mom was a rebel…and they had a rebel son. I have never taken what those in power told me as the ‘God’s Truth’ until I examined it thoroughly. I noticed early on in my life that adults were not especially wiser than children…the only difference was size. I learned by the ‘Devil May Care’ attitude of my dad to examine the supposed truths that people would tell me…

Jonathon and I visited Campus Lake today to see the Geese and Ducks on the semi-frozen water. It was a picturesque sight and worth of a photograph or two.

I considered briefly this morning the sadness of committees having members who have something valuable to contribute for the enrichment of all… and the edification of the organization…and they’re being marginalized and their comments are taken with a ‘grain of salt’…while other committee members suggest the same things that that they have for many years….which have resulted in limited or no productive results or improvement in the status of the organization. It is little or no reward for thinking outside the box…while the organization whither and dies… I have been a member of many Blue Ribbon Committees at SIUC where the subject was the desperate issue of the recruitment and retention of students at our institution. The end reports of these committees were written by the recognized Academic Wise Men…and aided little in the solving of the endemic problem. I have been a member of churches that were finally forced to shut their doors due to declining membership and stale ideas for the recruitment and retention of members of the congregation. Again…the committee dynamic is to defer to the grey hairs and the senior members of the congregation for fresh answers to changes needed in the mission and vision of the church…

When a University shuts its doors…all you have is memories…and the same can be said for a church… One measure applies to both institutions…are we a social club…or are we a mission to our fellow human beings?