I have been visiting Giant City State Park for many years but in the last year almost every day. The trees and plants are plentious and lovely. I have identified almost 200 with an app on my iPhone. There is an abundance of hiking trails that I enjoyed more in my younger years but I relish walking on the plethora of green space that is relatively flat. Of late Jonathon Aaron and MJ, at times, have enjoyed a drink at their lovely little Bar in the Lodge. They make a mean Old Fashioned. The Lodge was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression including MJ’s uncle Merle and his twin brother…and her father…Berl. Their photo along with many others can be found outside the entrance of the Dining Hall.

In years gone by I served on the Employee Advisory Committee of the State Universities Civil Service System Merit Board. We met at all of the Universities around our State and when we met in Southern Illinois we met at Giant City Lodge. My colleagues simply loved Giant City and the Lodge!

Jonathon and I were privileged to talk with Mr. Richard Kelly who along with his son Mike has operated the Lodge since March 1, 1981. Mr. Kelley spoke of his time at the Lodge and how it has grown. He described with the exuberance of an 18-year-old the manner of the good fortune that he has had and his great life. I told him at one point that he reminded me of the old Jimmy Stewart Movie, It’s A Wonderful Life…he agreed with my assessment. After our conversation, I left knowing that I had spoken to a great man with a servant’s heart.

‘Big’ Jim Thompson who was Governor of Illinois from 1977 – 1991. Governor Thompson was Illinois longest-serving Governor. Governor Thompson loved coming to Southern Illinois and he admired the Lodge. Politicians of both political parties photos can be seen aligning the walls of the Lodge. Good food and good drinks at a reasonable price while you are nestled in the magnificent State Park… cause you to forget all of your worries and your cares for a while.

When August comes I begin to think of autumn. It has occurred to me that I spend a lot of time outside between my Woods Walks and the Writing Porch…3 or 4 hours per day. The Woods speaks to me when I take the time to listen. I am closing in on a year of almost daily Woods exploration. Perhaps I am a Woodsman. The Woods are quite different from winter to summer. During the winter I am the Old Man of the Woods while in the summer I am but a visitor among many. I have seen more deer this summer than I observed in all of the other seasons combined.

Fall is my niche. Fall is my freedom. Fall is my joy and happiest time of the year. I think about my family while I meditate on the glories of nature. I think of my brother Brock who broke his ankle in another woods and I was one of the first to see it online. Often my old friend Steve comes to mind and our many adventures that seem like yesterday but indeed have been many years ago. At times I email another old friend Brent and so enjoy our renewed friendship after again…so many years. I reflect on Jeff and Margo and our wonderful visit over Thanksgiving.

Aaliyah joined us for pizza last Sunday. What a delight she is! She is a poet and an artist and she is wise beyond her years. I love Chess…I understand that Aaliyah loves Chess…

Saturday Night Live is one of my favorite television programs. I have been watching it on a regular basis since the 1980s. When I began watching they were beginning their 15th season. There was a funny segment on the show called Deep Thoughts By Jack Handy. I am a fan of deep thoughts. Albert Einstein one of our most renowned physicists developed the Theory of Relativity by thinking. We must not sell short the worthy exercise of thinking…

When we accept what a person or leader tells us is the truth because they say that it is…we are a bit naive. I watched a thoroughly enjoyable Netflix program regarding Cults last night. Cult leaders learn to tell their prospective followers what they want to hear. They research the things to say to us that will move us. Politicians and preachers are notorious for what is called ‘Code Changing’ whereby they say different things to different groups in order to elicit their support. We live in a society where money is the ultimate yardstick…the ultimate ruler…

Who is selling me now…should be the question of the hour. Why is a person saying what they are to me and what response do they hope to engender?

To understand yourself is to understand others.

‘I swear Billy B. this is the hottest day that I can remember,’ Neva J. said as she wiped her brow.

‘If there has been a hotter day the devil has kept it for himself,’ Chet mused.

‘I say that we should go to the Orpheum Theatre and see Lady And The Tramp…it is the first showing this afternoon,’ Jane proclaimed.

‘I did not sleep a wink last night until just before daylight when the thunderstorm started and the temporary cool breeze wafted through the bedroom window,’ Neva J. said.

The Orpheum was so cool it felt cold after coming into it from the 100-degree heat outside. Grandma Askew…who believed that air conditioning was bad for your health…said that when you come into an AC-cooled room after being overheated…you could die of a heart attack. Old Tom died a couple of weeks back and the doctor said that he died of natural causes but his wife Maude insists that it was air conditioning that killed him.

Neva J. fell asleep in the cool theatre. She did not notice when Billy B. and Chet slipped out and walked a hot walk on boiling sidewalks to the Dairy Queen to purchase some elicit Marlboro Cigarettes. As they walked back to the Theatre to cool off they both felt hungry.

‘Let us go to the Town And Country restaurant to get a quick plate of eggs and bacon,’ Billy B. suggested.

‘You do not think that Jane or Neva J. will miss us,’ Chet asked?

‘They were both snoring when we left and as comfortable as those seats are and the cool climate they will sleep throughout the movie,’ Billy B. assured Chet.

‘Who is your cook my good lady…that was the best breakfast that I have ever had even though it is no longer breakfast time,’ Chet said with renewed zeal.

‘Our Cook is out back of the restaurant…he prefers to cook in the heat of the day,’ the waitress said with a slight smile.

‘Your breakfast was to die for…Maestro,’ Chet said.

‘Would you like a second helping…I have prepared too much as many of the folks in Eldorado do not enjoy the heat,’ said the etheral man in the black robe and sporting a wicked grin that showed from his red face…

Upon our first trip to Europe, I learned that it was customary to refer to your vacation as your holiday in the Old Country. Since that time it has been my custom to do so as I like the term better.

‘I think I am just about packed for Gatlinburg,’ Billy B. announced.

‘I remember our first visit to Cades Cove and reveling in the history that surrounds it,’ Neva J. replied.

‘This is my favorite time to visit…arriving the last hour of Christmas Eve and then enjoying a cup of hot cocoa as Christmas arrives,’ Jane smiled.

‘Do you ever feel that we have had this conversation before and that the next thing we are going to do is to step out onto the balcony and see the Smoky Mountains light up as if they were on fire…but it is winter…it is Christmas Eve and they are snow covered,’ Chet asked with a faraway look in his eyes?

Cades Cove was brilliantly decked out in it’s Holiday Splendor. Billy B. and Neva J. had been coming to the Cove for so many years that they had purchased a handcrafted model village of the historic buildings left in CC. Billy B.’s favorite was the Methodist Church with snow on the roof and the surrounding yard covered and a large Christmas Wreath above the welcoming front door.

‘I hope you did not forget the flasks of Moon Shine that I packed for us…you know that is my favorite part of Christmas Eve,’ Jonathon said with a hearty laugh!

‘My flask is the one labeled AB…it has just the plain Shine rather than the flavored stuff that you guys enjoy,’ Aaron said with a wink.

‘Every time I drink too much Shine I see the past,’ Uncle Brock said. Suddenly the Cades Cove settlers are here again and they are cutting wood for winter,’ he continued.

‘Greetings friends…are you here to go on the Cades Cove Hike,’ asked Reuben?

‘The path is totally grown over until it is almost dark…do you ever lose anyone on it,’ Neva J. asked with a smile as she tipped up her flask.

‘No madam…they just keep coming back,’ Reuben said slowly and with the care of a former time.

‘God help us…the bastards did it…they had to use them since they had them,’ Chet exclaimed as he and Billy B. looked out from their balcony at the Smoky Mountains…lit up with nuclear fire…

Life is full and free and sweet when you focus on the things that matter. It is the beginning of another heat wave in Little Egypt but the morning cloud cover has made it bearable. The Woods were dark and subdued upon my visit today. The trees whispered…’ Change is coming.’ I have noticed that I snap a lot of very similar photos…but they look different to me and inspire me anew each day.

The constant chase of power and prestige is a bit of a fool’s errand. Both soon evaporate in the realities of our shared humanity. It has been said that people tend to become more conservative as they age…I have become more liberal. You see we are all God’s creation and he loves us all. The environment is a powerful factor. We often think like the people that surround us. There is a false peace in refusing to change your mind. If you always believe that you are right…you are indeed wrong.

Obsessed we are with personality. The obsession clouds our judgment. We fail to think logically when confronted with the truth if it does not comport with our favorite leader. When I asked as a young man what my aunt Guelda thought of meeting the famous comedian Bob Hope and the renowned singer Bing Crosby she replied that they were simply men who put their pants on one leg at a time. Now that I am old I see the wisdom of her words.

Our greatest heroes and the wisest among us…are never seen. They seek neither fame nor fortune and do not engage in the orator’s hobby of lofty rhetoric. We all fall short of our best selves. We are made of dirt and water…we must not be too proud…mud.

Carbondale is a lovely town in Southern Illinois. With the influence of Southern Illinois University, we have an accepting attitude. You can be who you are in Carbondale.

Faith has captivated my thoughts for over 55 years. I watch with great interest as some preach Christ’s words as words of love and inclusion…while others make his words into something hateful and hurtful. Many of our fellow travelers seek solace and faith and peace in other areas outside the church…they have been hurt before. Some say that if you give your money to them you will become rich. Often these grand orators become richer…while you struggle to pay your light bill and put butter and bread on the table.

The trees are right…change is coming. The Bible says that the meek shall inherit the earth.

Summer is over a month old. It will soon be middle-aged. The heat indices have exceeded 100 degrees today. It is hot. It was an excellent day to see Oppenheimer the movie in the air-conditioned theatre. Three hours long and thirty minutes of coming attractions. When I was a youngster one of the advantages of going to the movies in the summer was being allowed to luxuriate in air-conditioned bliss. The real Oppenheimer always looked haunted to me. His eyes betrayed his conflict. He appeared to be a man who could see two worlds…

The movie is based on the book American Prometheus by authors Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. They wrote it over 25 years. ‘Prometheus is best known for defying the Olympian gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity through technology, knowledge, and more generally, civilization.’

Just after the end of the Cold War our politicians and pundits pontificated on their belief that nuclear warheads from the former Soviet Union need no longer be feared. The Bomb Race was over. Why now we could convert our backyard bomb shelters into potato bins and storage units and clubhouses. I grew up fearing the bomb. Our school had regular Bomb Drills where an alarm blared out and we would ‘Duck And Cover!’ We were on the brink of Nuclear War during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Of late Russia’s leader Putin says that he may use nuclear warheads in his battle to take the Ukraine.

There was some pretty tasty candy in the Civil Defense Sealed Tins in the tunnels under the Engineering And Technology building on the Campus of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale when I worked there in 1980. It was a bit surreal to see the boxes of crackers tins of candy and other survival items for use in the event of a nuclear war.

Oppenheimer feared that once the atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and a few days later on Nagasaki…all countries would want the Bomb. There was a fear that the detonation of the atomic bomb had the potential to destroy the planet. Over two hundred thousand people died as a result of the bombs…’Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man.’

It seems we seek the deliverance of Peace through the atomic fires of death. Oppenheimer said that Hindu scripture ran through his mind at the sight of the explosion. ‘Now I am become Death the destroyer of worlds.’

The movie asks the question that we have lived with since the carnage of Hiroshima and Nagasaki…’ Perhaps the fear is realized that the dropping of the atomic bombs…will destroy the world…’

Excitement is in the air! Anticipation energy and a spring in our step…in summer and it is the order of the day. Sunday is a special day. It is the first day of the week…you know.

Do you remember your first kiss? Do you recall the joy mystery and magic of raising your children? Do you reminisce about the expectation that came each morning? Well…life has not given up on being an elixir of joy peace and hope. As I gazed up into the sky above the Forest this morning I was reminded of the majesty of God’s creation.

‘You shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands…’ Isaiah 55:12

As a young man, I traveled from Eldorado to Elkville for church. Often I took the Gulf Transport Bus to Carbondale and friends would pick me up. I was as the kids say…pumped! The hope of the love of Christ and the time I spent with my friends was music to my ears. The Bible enthralled me and captivated my heart. Joy became my constant companion.

Each day I enjoy my travels with what I am sure… my Guardian Angel. I am always looking for the next happy surprise…as Kramer said during the celebration of George Costanza’s family derivative of Christmas…’Another Festivus Miracle!’

‘Can I dress as Bozo The Clown this Halloween,’ Billy B. asked Neva J.? ‘Yes I bought you a Bozo Costume when we went to see Lady And The Tramp with Steve Susie and Ivy,’ Neva J. answered. ‘I am excited about my plastic pumpkin collecting receptacle for all of the candy that I will be receiving…I have not seen one so nice with any of my friends,’ Billy B. exclaimed! ‘Ivy told me that Susy is going as Lady and Steve has a coutume of Tramp,’ Neva J. laughed. ‘Are you still going as Jackie Kennedy,’ Billy B. asked with a wide smile…as he understood how much Neva J. admired the First Lady. ‘Who will be JFK,’ asked Billy B.? ‘Why Ivy has taken the assignment…and she has purchased a suit and cut her hair short and actually she looks quite a bit like the President,’ Neva J. exulted.

‘There are a lot of ghosts and goblins out tonight…as well as bad clowns,’ said Billy B. ‘Do you mean the costumes are bad,’ asked Chet who was portraying Robbie the Robot. ‘No…I mean that they are a bit scary…they are from a different branch of the clown family than Bozo,’ bemoaned Billy B. ‘You know that Rosemary’s Baby will be screened later in the 60s,’ Chet said with a wink. It is taken from the Ira Levin bestseller,’ Chet continued. ‘I swear Chet how do you know the future so well,’ Neva J. or Jackie Kennedy if you prefer…asked? ‘May I have this dance,’ President Kennedy asked Jackie?

‘You are meaner than the devil,’ a faceless voice said to Billy B. in the dark of his bedroom in Sauk Village…and he awoke from his Halloween Dream…

There are not many better occurences in life than good news. The word ‘Fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.’ We go about our days with little change in our routine until good news comes. Then we rejoice in the sweet mystery of life and all of the beauty that it brings. The climate this week has been just to my liking. Rain has been the order of the day and cooler temperatures. MJ and I thought about new windows for 12 years and now we have them installed. At times we ponder things a bit. Maine is on our horizon and we will be with Brock and Marcy. Brock and Marcy have been a profound blessing to my life as well as MJ and Aaron and Jonathon!

Aaliyah has come into Jonathon’s life and we could not be more pleased. So far we have only seen her picture…she is beautiful! We are set to have pizza on Sunday and watch a Stephen King movie…Needful Things.

I never thought about my health…until I did. Every time I receive a good report I feel that I have a new lease on life. What a Wonderful Life it is!