Barnes and Noble was a bit quiet this morning.  I was there to pick up a birthday card. I purchased tear-off-the-day and desk calendars for many years, my habit beginning in the early 90s for my office at Southern Illinois University. In those days it was my sheer delight to find an after-Christmas New Yorker Calendar on sale.  Well, there was one left and it was 25% off and I had it in my hand and then subsequently put it back. I remembered that I am subscribed to the New Yorker Magazine both online and in hard copy and all of the current cartoons are in those mediums. Also, MJ and Jonathon both have tear-the-day-off calendars and they share with me each day.

So…we search for peace and don’t let anyone tell you that we do not. we seek the sparkle that captivates our imagination. Sometimes the sparkle is hard to find. Leaders tell us with their shiny rhetoric that they have discovered the elusive peace. We are looking…so we try out their poltis and panacea in a bottle for just $19.99. 

Peace is neither found in a bottle nor a pill. Peace comes from purpose. A vision for the future and knowledge of the past. We change as I have changed in my determination to purchase calendars that reminded me of my 32+ year career at SIUC. The pages are turning and the chapters are changing. But the constants are bedrock. Faith in the inherent goodness of others. Hope for a future that we will, ‘Beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks,’ and calmness amid the storm.

The actress Jodi Foster was being interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning and she commented that she was much calmer than she had been in her youth and that perhaps it was a chemical thing. I have found this to be true with me. Somehow the chains of chasing a dollar and impressing others and the pursuit of success at the expense of health both mentally and physically are not so important as the truth of our situation becomes apparent. This life is a preview with a purpose and our time on Stage is but a moment…

There is a feeling of snow in the air…snow coming soon. There is still the feeling of Christmas in our midst but soon it will be in the rearview mirror. The Bible tells us, ‘ Hope deferred maketh the heart sick but when the desire cometh it is a tree of life.’ 

The old Mission Impossible television show began each week with the head spy receiving a reel-to-reel tape recording of his team’s mission…’If you choose to accept it?’ We have the same question daily and certainly at the beginning of the New Year. 

Many times our hopes deferred are realized when we help others reach their hopes. Not so long ago we understood that good manners trustworthiness and character were of paramount importance to our daily walk. How does a leader explain why they are making fun of a person’s challenges? 

When thinking of Next…we must think of our future as human beings on the journey back to Jerusalem…not just what we like and enjoy. Change is as certain as the Sun rising in the morning. 

Thinking of others is the key to happiness. Empathy is vital. Our hopes are wrapped in shiny wrapping paper that is bound together with the most festive ribbon.  If you were sitting around the Christmas Tree and watching our hopes being unwrapped…you would notice the peculiarity of their similarity. 

We think that we are all quite different but the truth be known is that we are much more alike than different. We want answers to life’s persistent questions. We want peace rather than war. To receive these mutual desires for the future will require listening to others with whom we disagree. It will require an open mind. It will require a mutual affection for our species…the human species. 

Next…is not easy…it is not a given…it has not been written in stone. Next depends on us. Rome fell from internal divisions. Churches in the United States are doing the same thing. 

Money has shut and padlocked many mouths. Good people who fear losing their livelihoods are silenced by those who write their paychecks. The people we elect to be our leaders often are not rich. Congress or the Senate is a bit better than any job they have experienced. Our political system was to be so…full of farmers and labor and businessmen and clergy…it was to be gatherings of the people. The intention of our founding fathers was to have the people’s voice to be heard and then after a season, they would return to their chosen vocation. 

Let us talk about what we want next. Our church is currently having this important discussion. We must be clear regarding our vision for the future. Our voice is not more important…but is as important as our brother and sister’s voice in fashioning what is…Next…

So New Year’s Week is almost over. After that, it is a slippery slide to Memorial Day and then July 4th, and soon we are in the Holiday Season again. I have heard of people making a five-year plan for where they want to be and the level of their success after what seems like a substantial amount of time. Now that I am old I realize that five years goes by like the blink of an eye. 

I peered at my reflection in the barber’s mirror earlier this week and noticed an elderly gentleman looking back at me. I wondered what they had done with my youthful appearance. However many friends older than me have admonished that the goal is to stay on this side of the dirt. 

Just being and having a sense of place are the true adventures. So many of our profound concerns turned into nothing and our wellspring of worries were little more than overactive assumptions regarding others. Hope and happiness are in front of us if we choose to avail ourselves of them. 

Somewhere we have gotten a bit lost. Where we once saw politics through our faith. Now we have replaced faith with our politics. The idea that any earthly leader will suffice in the light of the war for America has dimmed our vision and diminished us in the Christian journey. Christianity equates to mean and arrogant people who are self-satisfied in their righteousness many of our neighbors think. I am not talking about one political party but both. The message of Christ is neither the bloodthirsty warrior who is defending America against the infidels…nor is he the comfortable parishioner who has little time for the poor among them…

Talk is cheap. Actions speak volumes. Perhaps who we are is not who we want to be. There is no better time to change the picture than today. Remember in five years you can look back and say I began my road of change during New Year’s Week of 2024…and that has made all of the difference…

I am a bit addicted to tradition. I traveled to Eldorado last January 4th to snap some photos thus I had to do so again today. We have Christmas ornaments from 40 years ago. We recently finished our 6th holiday in Maine. I say roughly the same things each day and do the same things. If it is not broken do not fix it…

‘Let’s do a Polar Bear Plunge at Pounds Hollow,’ Chet said. ’It will be just the ticket to inspire us on our journey into 2024,’ he continued. 

‘Well it is in the 30’s but the water will be freezing,’ Jane remarked. ’Last year I got a terrible cold after the PBP,’ she added. 

‘How will we get in as the Hollow closed Labor Day,’ Neva J asked? ’Is the hole in the fence still there,’ she asked?

‘Gosh it is frigid,’ Billy B said with his teeth chattering. ’Whose idea was this January adventure,’ Billy B continued.

‘My idea…I got a new Wet Suit for Christmas and wanted to try it out,’ Chet said with a wide grin.

‘I have packed some wonderful hot chocolate spiked with Bullet Rye Whiskey,’ Neva J laughed.

‘I believe that a Wet Suit will be much warmer than the rest of our PBP garments,’ said Jane. 

‘Tommy L is sitting by the lake and looks cold and forlorn,’ Jane said with concern. ’Tommy L what are you getting ready to do…are you going to take the Polar Bear Plunge with us,’ she asked?

‘I had the taxi bring me out to Pounds Hollow…I have always wanted to take the Plunge but have no swimming trunks and I feared that the cold water might interact with my physical challenges and that I might drown if I had no one to help me surface and get out of the cold water,’ Tommy L said with a sad countenance.

‘You will not get cold with my Wet Suit and you can breathe through my snorkel, Chet said in a jubilant tone! 

‘We will be surrounding you and will lift you out of the water,’ Jane said with a beaming smile.

A

tall figure with massive wings and a beatific smile stood by the hole in the fence…

We live in hope…I have heard it said. We live for God’s Peaceable Kingdom. People who propagate peace love and regard for their fellow humans catch our attention and religion has little to nothing to do with it. Is not Christianity to be lived rather than talked about?

Our problems are domestic interpersonal and dysfunctional. We do not have the elite concerns of who has the Ph.D. and Master’s Degree…we are much more pedestrian than that. The author Robert Fulgum said that All I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten in his groundbreaking bestseller. 

Capatlilasim is the key we cry with economic fervor as being the New Jerusalem… Serve Jesus and get rich…what is not to like… Some of us are chosen and the rest of you people are not…get used to it…our evangelical churches tell us. Follow our political party…Uhh…I mean our Church if you want the abundant blessing of Capitalism and God’s holy country…his chosen…his people…

The poor girl sits quietly on the heating grate outside the Theatre. She had big plans and dreams when she moved out of her parent’s home. Her mom slapped her face and her dad abused her. She knew that there was a place for her in the New Jerusalem… Theatre-goers pass and look the other way in their fine clothing and hats and leather gloves and neck scarfs. She hopes some will drop a quarter or two and perhaps she will get a chance to audition for a production. But…she is exhausted and has a persistent cough. Her throat is sore and her feet are cold…

Our weather has become seasonal. Two winter events are on our horizon. Wintery Mix, snow, or even storms may occur within the next week. Such is meteorological life in Little Egypt. My walk was good this morning and crisp and cold. Giant City State Park sections have the road to them blocked, including Do Not Enter signage. This is a bit of what we encounter in our lives. We have our hearts set upon traveling roads that we have not gone only to discover there is a blockade. Two thoughts occur to us when we encounter a roadblock. One is perhaps it is dangerous on the other side and the other thought is that we will find a way around the impediment. I saw several vehicles drive up to or near the warnings and then turn around and backtrack. One truck proceeded to drive through the saw horses and I wondered what they would do when they came upon the padlocked gate…

Dreams propel us through our daily struggles. Often we are full steam ahead to attain our dreams until someone tells us that we had best rethink our aspirations. We visualize what we dream of and yet become easily dissuaded when negative advice or roadblocks are placed in our way. All success is incremental but the journey is most enjoyable. 

‘I fear that Boy will never amount to very much…he does not seem to know how to do anything and when he attempts to accomplish a task he is full of questions and some trepidation,’ He said. 

‘He has to learn and although he is a bit slow he is a good Boy,’ She said. ’I would like to see him go to Barber College as I believe he is well suited for the task,’ She said.

‘I will be back to visit…thanks for everything,’ Boy said. ’I have a profound faith and a desire to succeed and I shall do so with God’s help,’ Boy continued.

‘Mr. B. I appreciate all that you have done for me and giving me a chance at a job that leads to a career,’ Happy Person said. ’You gave me a chance when no one would,’ HP continued…

Today is significant. It has weight. It has value. Today we feel the burden of 2024 on our shoulders. We know the New Year will ask much of us. When I was working I understood what each season of the year brought my department regarding its duties and challenges. The same can be said for life now as a retired person beginning my 14th year of retirement.

The Sun is shining bright on our Old Illinois Home as we embark on 2024. We retired folks have our challenges. Health is a primary one. Our bodies are deteriorating while we are walking around in them. You begin to notice the transformation around 40. Faith is transforming in the United States. Denominations are losing membership while fundamentalist churches are gaining members. The Moral Majority was the catalyst in combining faith/nationalism. Many folks worship America. I love my country but I am not convinced that the authors of the Bible had America in mind when they wrote their portion of the book.

Life in 2024 will be best observed through the prism of your local challenges. We are a bit focused on national and international occurrences when our true impact is at home. Who is in need? Who is hungry? Who is homeless. Are books being banned in our libraries? Are civil rights being abated and abridged in our towns villages and hamlets? 

Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath it entered into the heart of man what one person can accomplish that is inspired by their cause! 

This is the first day of the rest of our lives. We can change. We can be reborn and renewed and revitalized. We can develop a new vision of the future. All success is incremental as is all improvement…but today is a good day to begin…