We are all a bit afraid. We must be honest with ourselves and admit that we are still in the midst of our Pandemic Mass Shootings War in Europe and runaway inflation…gas just climbed another ten cents in Carbondale and is now $5.19 per gallon…we want to stay in and triple lock our doors…and shut the curtains. Now with all of the realities that confront us and then there are the conspiracy theories that are perpetrated and promulgated as if they were the gold standard of truth.

Billy B. knew that Gene was Gay. He had always known this fact like he knew that the sun was either shining or that it was an overcast day. Gene was a loner and afraid and living a lie. He pretended that he was Straight and dated girls…but he had a secret life that he told no one about. In the 60s the Closets were made of heavy oak and had solid core doors and were kept locked tightly. Chet and Jane and Daryl were good friends with Gene. Gene kept his secret life…secret from his best friends. Gene was often sad and had endured the taunts and name-calling of his schoolmates for years. What hurt him tremendously was that he was a member of a fundamentalist church that did not accept Gay people. In fact, the pastor made fun of homosexuals and lesbians and gave the congregation the tacit approval to do the same. When a Gay person was hurt or abused or defamed by the so-called religious community this church would rejoice in their Self Righteousness. The Hate Speech that was accepted and secretly welcomed by the revered City Fathers and Church Elders…was a manifestation of the lies that they were living…as many of them were secretly homosexual.

Stan was a great kid! Chet and Billy B. enjoyed talking with Stan and being around him. He was intelligent and had a wisdom that was above his years. Stan was Gay in a hostile world. He kept to himself and kept his own counsel. He was a compassionate person and cared about his fellow human beings.

Billy B. said, ‘Some of my best friends…are Gay.’ ‘It seems that Gay folks really understand what being a friend is all about,’ replied Chet. ‘Well, anytime you have been made fun of for who you are and marginalized by laws that do not include you…and chastised for your love for Christ…you quickly discover who your friends are,’ said Jane. ‘Many of the most insightful religious thought and literature…and deep philosophical ethics…has come from the minds and hearts of our Gay friends,’ noted Daryl.

‘I think that our Gay friends must look at much of the Straight Community and wonder what the problem is,’ said Jane. ‘They are living their lives and working and studying and love their kids and love their partner…and love Jesus…who beckons them to come to him. ‘I am going to ask Stan to come with me to church this Sunday,’ said Billy B. Our church will welcome him and love him as a member of God’s Creation. ‘Gene is a Master Organ Player…one of the best in Southern Illinois…and he has agreed to play our Organ for Sunday Service,’ exclaimed Chet. ‘Finally our beautiful Pipe Organ…will resound with the joy of a child of God…playing it again,’ Daryl said as a tear escaped his watering eyes…

Another morning has come. When I was still working I often said to my colleagues ‘Good Old Monday’ and Nancy would laugh. She told me once that she was waiting to hear me say ‘Good Old Monday… Although Monday is not the first day of the week…it seems like it when you are employed. Everyday life is a bit like a forest…’It is hard to see the forest for the trees.’ Most days are filled with some type of routine. Many of our activities have become muscle memory. So often life is rushing by us…while we are waiting to live. Next year is our motto…or ‘Tomorrow is another day,’ Scarlett O’Hara said in Gone With The Wind…

Learning the Secret of enjoying life on a daily basis is valuable. The ordinary is extraordinary when looked at through the right prism. The joy of small things is another way to see the ordinary as special. I regularly walk in Campus Woods and I see the most magnificent lessons of nature. We of the human family believe that rabbits and deer and my Building Beaver that is constantly working in my pond…are interlopers and visitors to our property and our world. But…how do the wild animals feel when they see us. Are we not interlopers and visitors to their world? Are we truly superior because we can read and write…or are we basically a destructive species due to our hubris?

Of late I have been photographing our surrounding small towns in Southern Illinois. These are towns that I have visited many times and one, Eldorado, that I grew up in. Yet, I did not see the many nuances of the buildings and the people that I now see in my senior years. When I was younger…I did not take the time to really look. We are a bit myopic in our vision and thus in our understanding of what is around us. I could liken our lives to a Gerbil on a Wheel…always furtively running and never getting anywhere. When you keep your nose to the grindstone…and never look up…the panoply of life is on an IMax Screen and Surround Sound is encompassing you…but you are preoccupied with the Stone…

After taking photos of several towns surrounding Carbondale…why not Carbondale. I saw the happiest people this morning. By their classy attire…I feel reasonably certain that many of them had attended Sunday Church Services and they were indulging in some brunch after filling their spirits. I love seeing people of all colors and creeds and countries fellowshipping together. Carbondale is that kind of town. It is unique in the amount of diversity that makes up the community. People were laughing and slapping each other on their backs and in general exhibiting…not a care in the world. Sunday morning in Carbondale in June was busier than I expected.

During my photographic study of the towns of Little Egypt, I have noticed that the churches are often just a block over from the town square. Churches were terribly important to the founders and builders of the towns. Faith and the exhibition of that faith by church attendance were of equal importance with hard work and professional conduct. You did not often have one without the other.

The Railroad was essential to the success of Carbondale as well as most of the communities in the midwest. These Communities were built before automobiles and commerce and goods and commodities…traveled by rail.

Billy B. looked out of the window of the Gulf Transport Bus. Carbondale seemed like the big city to him. He was accustomed to Eldorado and to arrive in Carbondale was to him…enthralling and exciting and energizing…while some would say that he had arrived in Sin City…or Sodom and Gomorrah. He looked around at the Train/Bus Station and wondered where SIU was. He could not see it in either direction that he peered. Not being old enough to drive…he did not know which way to start walking. ‘Excuse me, mam…can you direct me to where the University is located,’ Billy B. asked the kind-faced woman. ‘Well…Delyte and I are going there now…would you like to accompany us, Dorothy said. ‘I sure would, mam, I am going to attend a Play at the Theatre on Campus and then spend the night with my cousin, Brenda, and return to Eldorado tomorrow on the Gulf Transport Bus, answered a happy Billy B. ‘Who is this fine young man,’ asked Delyte? ‘I am Billy B…sir,’ answered Billy B. ‘I am Delyte and my wife is Dorothy…and we live on Campus…we both work there,’ smiled Delyte.

‘Have some Peanut Butter Cookies…Billy B. and some cold milk,’ said Dorothy. ‘I checked the starting time of the Play and found that it does not begin for three hours…would you like a tour of Southern Illinois University,’ asked Delyte? ‘I sure would…Sir…you and your wife are most kind and I will tell Neva J. about your kindness to me, exclaimed Billy B. ‘Good Morning President Morris and Mrs. Morris,’ said the Campus Security Police Officer as Delyte got a bicycle out of his garage that was just the size for Billy B. ‘Who is the fine young man with you,’ asked the Poice Chief? ‘He is a future student of SIU and our honored guest,’ said Dorothy.

Doctor Billy B. sat at the foot of the statue of Dorothy Morris…the First Lady of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale…and a tear coursed down his cheek…

I made another visit to my Photo Project Of Murphysboro. Again I spoke with a kind lady in the gas/market and I considered how rare it is to confront a kind helpful person in our days of ‘Catch Me If You Can’… Just a few kind words change my entire day. I feel more at peace and confident in my endeavors. The world looks sunnier and more inviting…and I feel refreshed and renewed. Kindness is powerful. After someone is kind to me…I am inspired! A person that is genuinely nice to me…has a friend for life.

Chet could not believe his good fortune. He had been asked to play the Lost In Space Robot in the ‘Lost In Space’ Play at Hillcrest school. He was the main character. Billy B. was to portray Dr. Smith and Daryl would be Will Robinson. Neva J. would be Wills’ mother and Jane would be Penny his sister. Irwin Allens’ Space Opera which was loosely based on The Swiss Family Robinson was a massive Hit in Eldorado. Chet had been portraying the Lost In Space Robot daily for over a year and had requests that were backed up by the other students to see his uncanny rendition of the Television Show Mechanical Star. Chet had purchased an entire Lost In Space Robot Suit from Harry Ackerrmans’ Monster Magazine and he guarded it with his life. Chet had the abiding affection of many of the girls of his class and of the upper-class girls…as well. They described him as; Dreamy…Adorable…and they often exclaimed…’ Awww,’ when he approached…especially with his costume on.

‘Who will be the monster that we fight in the Play,’ Chet asked. ‘Well…the TV Lost In Space has so many unusual monsters…perhaps we can fight the monster of Hate,’ said Jane. ‘I like it a lot,’ exclaimed Billy B. ‘How will we dress Hate,’ Neva J. asked. ‘Let’s dress Hate as an Angel…with secret horns,’ said Daryl. ‘Once again…I like it very much…Hate usually portrays itself as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.’ ‘Judas was one of Jesus’ trusted disciples and traveled with him everywhere that he went…and they ate out of the same dish,’ said Chet. ‘Let us dress up our monster as a Lamb,’ said Chet.

The night of the Hillcrest School Performance of Lost In Space In Eldorado…was about to begin. All of the players were costumed and in their place. Chet had on his Lost In Space Robot Costume and Billy B. was dressed as Dr. Smith and Daryl was there as Will Robinson. In the wings was Neva J. as the Mother and Jane as Penny Robinson…and there was a Lamb…who the others did not know who had on the Lamb Costume…and there was an Angel…with a smile like the Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci. As the Performance was at its’ zenith and the Lamb was to be exposed for its Wolf Nature…it ran from the stage…bleating in fear…

The Angel stepped forward and said…I am wearing a Toupee…

Folks enjoyed my Murphysboro photos so much that I made another trip to the famous old Southern Illinois Town…one more time. I was once again struck by the amount of traffic and commerce in Murphysboro…as compared with the other Little Egypt towns that I have visited over the past few months. Murphysboro has several Antique stores and they seem to be doing a good business. I have felt comfortable walking the streets of the town each time that I have been there. On both visits, I have stepped into a little food/gas station to avail myself of the facilities and to purchase some amazingly reasonable cigars. Cigars and photography are a lovely match. Each time the friendliness of the people and the employees has been refreshing.

I call the above photo, ‘Mannequin Watching.’ As I strolled the vintage streets of Murphysboro…I reflected on what appeared old to my 64-year-old eyes…was new to the residents of this lovely town…in our last century. During our relatively short lives, we have lost much of a feeling of continuity or how the past transported us to our present.

Architecture is a point of pride for we Americans…but when you look at the examples of the building of 100 years or more ago…we fall short of bragging rights.

For much of my life, I have been a resident of Southern Illinois. Often I did not feel the significance of the culture or the heritage of my surroundings. Little Egypt is full of farmers and former coal miners…and professors and Academics of all stripes. It has the ‘High Worship Service’ of the old denominations and the Charismatic Worship of the young and of those who have been forgotten by Denominations. It has the faith that God will heal you if you are sick…and the quiet faith that God will guide the doctor’s hands… In short, I live in a true melting pot of recognized cultures and those that have been a bit missed by the media and some elites. My friends and neighbors and the people of Murphysboro are humble and happy…they often have little of this world’s earthly goods…but they have a deep and abiding faith…that is compelling.

June is a great month. One of my favorite. Neva J. went by the name Neva June for the majority of her life…although her birth certificate showed her name as Neva Jane… Neva J. was born on June 29, 1928. She would have been 94 years old this month. Neva J. enjoyed people and having a laugh and a good time. All of her friends were either Kid or Kiddo to her. She loved to read books ranging from the Bible to Gone With The Wind. She thought the actor, Clark Gable, was just about the epitome of male acting prowess. Neva J. sought to help those who had less than she did. She coveted neither acknowledgment nor fame and had a servant’s heart. Life was a free gift of God as far as Neva J. was concerned and she endeavored to impart what riches of life that she could to her neighbors and friends.

Billy B. watched his mom every day and knew that she was the type of person that he wanted to be. When it came time for the June 2nd trip to Pounds Hollow that he and Chet and Jane and Neva J. loved to take…he was not surprised that Rosie was going to accompany them on the Holiday. Rosie was a round little woman that had variations of one type of dress…the Moo Moo…and she wore them with pride. She had lived by herself for many years although Neva J. had told Billy B. that her parents had been famous in Vaudveile and that she had been a first-grade school teacher before her husband had passed away. Rosie had taught at Hillcrest School in the early 50s and had been much beloved by her pupils. In those days she and her husband, Rudolph, had often traveled to St.Louis to see performances of the premier performers of the day. They had seen Bob Hope and Bing Crosby…and the Play…A Streetcar Named Desire…by Tennessee Williams. Rosie had identified with one of the main characters, Blanche DuBois, who had experienced life reversals and had fallen from prosperity to penury… Rosie loved Neva J. and felt totally at ease with her. Neva J. had purchased for her friend…a comely modern bathing suit that Rosie looked like a million dollars in! When Rosie walked out onto the sandy Pounds Hollow Beach…she felt like Claudette Colbert…who she had met many years previously. Neva J. had taken Rosie to the Beauty Parlor in Eldorado and had her hair styled and she looked like a different person than what she had presented to the world since her beloved Rudolph had died. When Mr. Jefferson said hello to Rosie…he was smiling from ear to ear and he remarked how lovely she looked. Rosies’ cheeks became scarlet and she thanked him with a demure smile.

The Pounds Hollow Water was extremely choppy that June 2nd. It was reminiscent of the ocean…although it was just a large lake. ‘I am going out beyond the rope to swim,’ announced Chet. ‘Me too…that is the best swimming at Pounds Hollow,’ replied Billy B. ‘Not me…I am going to stay with Rosie and Neva J. in the shallow end of the Lake,’ Jane said with conviction! ‘Be careful you guys…you know that there are Water Poccassins out there in the deep,’ Neva J. muttered with a worried look on her face. ‘Do not worry…Mom…you know that Chet and I are expert swimmers, Billy B. yelled with a large grin on his wet face.

Chet began to sputter and spit water and gasp as he went under the large waves. Billy B. was trying to bring him in…but Chet was too heavy for him…and he began to succumb to the rage of the water as well. Suddenly…there was Rosie and Jane…and each grabbed one of the boys and began to easily bring them to the shore. ‘Rosie…you swim like an Olympian,’ said Jane. ‘I swam in the 36′ Olympics in Germany…I got the bronze medal…Hitler was a Prick,’ Rosie said.

June has arrived and the three meteorological summer months in our neck of the woods with the arrival. School is out and all the kiddos are free to do as they please…they think. June was Billy B. and Chets’ favorite summer month. It was not too hot, yet summer break had just begun. Plans for a trip to Europe were in the works and everyone was dutifully excited. They were going to fly to Gatwick Airport and then take a land excursion over several countries. ‘I can not wait until we leave on the big jet,’ said Chet. ‘It is going to be a blast,’ replied Billy B. Neva J. had been entering the Irish Sweepstakes for many years…and this year…she won! There were enough prize winnings for Jane and Daryl to accompany them. Of course, Daryls’ dad, The Wiz was in the group as he had Daryl come from Bath, England. They were a bit of the talk of the town in old Eldorado…as previous to this grand trip…the main adventure of summers past was a combination of visits to the Orpheum Theatre and swimming at Pounds Hollow. The gossip was that Neva J. had been financed by her former friend, George H., who everyone said was a mobster. But George H. had not been seen or heard from for over three years…concrete overshoes were feared as the cause…

‘I shall have a Derby Hat…when we get to London, Billy B. exclaimed! ‘Do you think that they will have your size,’ asked Chet? ‘They have antique hat stretchers,’ I am told by Daryl. ‘I have more than one hat stretched at the haberdasher,’ noted Daryl. ‘We must visit Stonehenge…as it is not far from Gatwick,’ said The Wiz. ‘So we shall,’ said Chet as he doffed his Carriage Man Hat. ‘We leave in the morning…and I have yet to finish packing,’ Jane said with a sigh.

Grosvenor House was everything that the brochure had said that it would be. It was in Westminister Borough, London, and 1.2 miles from the Center of London. ‘Everyone please hurry or we will miss our Stonehenge Tour. The ride was a pleasant one with the vehicle being a BMW minivan. Soon Daryl began to talk of his last experience at Stonehenge. ”Dad and I came to Stonehenge early one morning…the morning of the Autumn Equinox…the Pagan holiday of…Mabon. ‘Several people with the costumes of the Druids were present,’ The Wiz said. ‘But…what about the flying saucer that we saw…just over the Stones at daylight,’ Daryl asked with urgency?

‘We are here…now where is my Polaroid,’ said Neva J. ‘The Pagan worshippers are reverent,’ whispered Chet. ‘Many are touching and embracing the Stones,’ Jane noted. An otherworldly blue light bathed the Stones and all of the Pagan Worshippers gazed toward the sky…when to Billy B.s’ amazement…the Stones first disappeared and then reappeared while three disc-shaped objects hovered just overhead.

‘What a great English Breakfast with the Blood Sausage and the beans,’ exclaimed Chet! ‘I have wanted to visit Bath ever since our friends, Margo and Jeff, moved here a few years ago,’ said Neva J. ‘What happened at Stonehenge…I do not remember anything,’ Jane said softly. ‘Stonehenge…why we have not been there yet…have we,’ Billy B. murmured…

‘The Autumn Equinox is in September…how did we think that we were going to visit Stonehenge for the Autumn Equinox in June,’ Daryl said…to himself…