SIUCs’ students are moving in today and there is one look on the parent’s faces…and another on their young adults. Mom and Dad look tired and nervous and a bit of trepidation at their babies flying from the nest. On the other hand, the new students have a look of excitement, wonder, and adventure on their faces.

We Brooks will be flying from our nest for a few days at a time in the next few weeks. First, we visit Kentucky Lake and then Boothbay Harbor, Maine at the Ocean Point Inn. I have heard people speak fondly of Kentucky Lake all of my life. Some folks holiday at the Lake…while others live on the Lake…and even others have houseboats on it. My friend Jeff and I were talking earlier this week and remarked that it was unbelievable how Covid changed the world…and I agree. We did not travel for well over a year. I have basically stopped my Retirement habit and goal of attending the Movie Theatre at least once per week. Prior to 2020…the beginning of Our Pandemic…we cruised often and were able to go to Europe on four occasions. A holiday at Kentucky Lake is a big deal to me! Brock and Marcy and Jeb and Morgan and Jaime will be there…and that will make our visit very special. We have not seen them in three years.

Old is a reality of the calendar…and a state of mind. Motion perpetuates…motion. Many of us have a young and active mind…some would say perhaps too young…and the way to keep your brain refreshed and renewed is to try new things and seek to do all that you can do…

Our last visit to Edinburgh, Scotland involved a lot of walking…like over 20 thousand steps per day. I was never so tired and yet felt more alive. Walking drives away the Blues. In fact, all of our European visits involved much walking…and many stairs. I can remember MJ and I dutifully climbing a tremendous flite of stairs in Edinburgh and thinking as we almost had crested the top that we had made it…when upon looking over the horizon of the climb…there was yet another flite just as long and arduous as the first. On our visit to Paris, we climbed the Montamarte Stairs…I was 10 years younger…and I barely made it. The cruises are nice…you have your Hotel with you.

Travel stirs up the soul and the mind and reinvigorates the traveler with purpose. The purpose is vital to human happiness. When Aaron and Jonathon were children MJ and I dedicated our resources to taking them to as many places as we could afford. Former President Nixon said in a book of his that I read that families should travel with their children as much as possible as there is no better education. After witnessing our friend Margo’s dedication to writing and her inviting us to a Writers Meeting with author Patricia Sands…I returned home from Nice, France, and started writing and have never stopped.

Maine is inspirational. From the crashing of Ocean waves on the rocky shores to the Lighthouses to the majestic towns and the delicious lobster. Maine is the Lobster Man’s life and the Artist and the Writer and the Seeker of Peace and meaning and a sense of place. Stephen King is inspired by his Maine home. Maine stirs up ideas and artistic pursuits.