So the weather was pleasant and I am told that there is no time like the present…thus another trip to Eldorado for a few more photos. It will not be long before I will have graduated from Eldorado High School for 50 years. The school began in Eldorado today as it did in Carbondale. Two ambulances had their sirens blaring and were headed somewhere in a hurry. This was somewhat unusual for the 8 to 10 visits that I made to my old hometown in 2022. Each time that I return to Eldorado I see something different and from a different point of view.

I was sitting in Eldorados’ lovely pavilion when an old gentleman, who was younger than me, asked me if I had forgotten a coke that he was carrying. I said that I had not. He then asked me if I had a cigarette. I noted that I had just finished my last cigar. Gary S. sat down next to me and asked me what the food was on the table in front of us. I said that it appeared to be some type of coffee cake that had been left. He went over and retrieved it and opened the plastic lid and smelled it and deducted that it smelled alright…and thus he had a piece…he commented that it was hot. Gary asked me where I was from and when I said Carbondale…he asked if the University was still there. I said that it was and he observed that there were a lot of pretty girls there when he visited. Gary S. then asked me if there were still pretty girls there…and I said that there were but that there were a lot fewer students than in the past. Gary S. was originally from Carmi and he had taken a Karate Course in Mt. Vernon many years ago. Gary S. asked me if I attended church and when I told him that I attended First Presbyterian in Carbondale he commented that Presbyterian is a good church. Gary S. asked if I had the time and when I told him that it was 12:10…he said that he must be on his way as he got a cigarette at 1:00. He then told me to not forget his name and to tell the pretty girls at SIU that he said hello.