The oil change for one of the Subarus had to be changed this morning. A Winter Storm is upon us…early. Freezing Rain is currently falling from the sky and it is my worse fear of Winter Weather. I mentioned to MJ this morning that we had great vehicles for…snow…but the vehicle has yet to be constructed that is great on…ice. Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale is closing at 2:00 P:M: and is closed tomorrow…Jonathon has just informed me. The Winter Storm promises to be significant as Winter Storms go…for Little Egypt. In days gone by I have witnessed severe winter storms in Southern Illinois…but not so much in this century.

An Omicron Variant has been discovered that is even more transmissible than Omicron in its current form. It is yet to be determined if it is more virulent. Covid has changed the world and given us a new normal…and it is not done…

Card playing is the order of the day. MJ beats me almost every game…and she enjoys it… Winter is a good season for reflection…especially when a Winter Storm has you place-bound. I have an autographed photo signed by Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow of one of my favorite childhood shows…Leave It To Beaver. I have just ordered a photo of the Beaver and Wally and the actors Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley as the mom and dad of the family. Etsy is a marvelous pastime.

Winter Storms are terrible when you have to drive to work. I recall, vividly, when Steve and I were on our way to clean Ziegler Coal Company Corporate Headquarters in Johnston City and got stuck in a ditch. Steve pushed us out of the ditch and we both hung our heads out of the windows in the attempt to see where we were going in a White Out…

Blizzard is a useful word to describe our present distress. Now well into the third year of our Pandemic and political turmoil such as I have not witnessed in my 64 years. The combination of empty store shelves and vacant job positions across our nation…we find ourselves between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. It becomes difficult to see our path forward when we have been blinded by the metaphorical snow of the cacophony of diverse voices…all talking at once…

I have worked with the leadership of men and women…and I much prefer…women. Throughout our history women have been marginalized and pigeon-holed…when they had the answer to the problems that the white men of the day ceaselessly debated without ever coming to a conclusion… One of the biggest failures is recognizing women in ecclesiastical leadership. Women are often more compassionate and better listeners than we men. Women look for common-sense solutions that include all stakeholders and that do not seclude others. Women are not ‘spoiling for a fight…for the sake of fighting.’ Dr. Jo Ann Argersinger was one of the strongest leaders that I have had the opportunity to work with at SIUC. We all felt included in her mission and that we were vital members of her team!