Yesterday I saw some old friends. I was transported back almost 20 years ago and the journey took a blink of an eye. When I consider that I have been retired nearly 13 years I am a bit like Rip Van Winkle who slept for years only to find that when he awoke the world had changed around him. The clock ticks by so quickly that the days morph into weeks and the weeks years and…you get the picture…

We are looking back home. The brevity of life causes us to rush through the important things. We want to do it all…whatever that is… I see the beginning of school and I recall how I felt when I was a child.

‘The DuQuoin State Fair begins in just a few short days,’ Neva J. announced to the group. ‘I am especially looking forward to it this year as Bob Hope will be performing,’ she continued.

‘Will he have Bing Crosby with him,’ asked Jane?

‘He will have Bing with him and they will be staying at the St. Nicholas Hotel…we will go there after their show and see if we can obtain an autograph, Neva J. said with a wicked grin.

‘This year they are going to have the actual Time Machine from the movie…I hope to sit in the seat of it and have my photo snapped,’ Chet said.

‘May I sit in the Time Machine’s seat,’ asked Chet? ‘You certainly may if you will wait just a moment as Bob Hope and Bing Crosby are going to have their photo taken for Life Magazine with the original Time Machine and they would like to have a youngster photographed with them, the exhibit person said.

‘My my look at the kid in the seat…all American boy I say, ‘Bob Hope chuckled.

‘Young sir would you be so kind as to allow me and Mr. Hope to have our picture taken with you and the Time Machine,’ Bing intoned?

Just as the camera snapped a black cat ran across Chet’s lap and flipped the lever forward and the TM began to whir. ‘Where are we, asked Chet? ‘This is Vaudeville and we are on,’ Bob Hope answered.

‘Let us go kid…we will knock um dead,’ Bing sang…