It is another beautiful day in the neighborhood. But it will snow tomorrow. We are surrounded by doubt. The walk of life is a bit like spelunking as it is pitch dark with our little flashlights showing the dimly lit path. So at times, we say…what happened?

Life hands us reversals. One day we are flying high and the next we are pushing the boulder up the hill like Sisyphus. Today we see Faunie Willis’s trial and her relationship with her lead prosecutor. Watching the trial to decide if there is election interference is interesting to see transpire. It is difficult for me to ascertain how her romantic interests diminish the indictments in the case. If Ms. Wade is found to have lied due to her romantic relationship with the lead prosecutor…another prosecutor surely can take up the case.

Indeed there is a double standard between men and women! Where Ms. Willis’ romantic interests have been emblazoned as so horrendous…others have referred to the former President as…just an Alley Cat.

What happened from the Cuban Missel Crisis where we were certain that Russia was our enemy to now where many in our government laud Putin the leader of Russia?

What happened when a former President called Putin to, ‘Do whatever the hell he wants to NATO countries who he perceives have not paid their dues to NATO?

One day we are in fine fettle…the next we are ill and hoping to survive. What courage to battle illness and still work toward the betterment of others.

Jonathon and I had the lovely opportunity to visit with our dear friend at SIUC. When I see her in a lovely office and a position of responsibility I am so proud that I burst my buttons… At Southern Illinois University I notice with some consternation the unusual result of people who were originally known for their extreme gifts and value to SIUC. Then…suddenly…they became pariahs and were soon talked about in a very disparaging manner. Countless people went from a Hero to Zero without a noticeable difference in their job performance but rather they fell out of political favor with the University Administration.

So we look for guidance in darkness and hope in trouble. Often we are pushing the boulder up the hill and when it rolls down…we begin pushing again…in the hope of making our human journey better for us all…

Wet snow was in the forecast for us but the weather front moved to the south and thus we will have rain. This is life. There is always something waiting for each of us around the corner. As Tony Soprano said to his family on the last episode of The Sopranos, it was the little things like enjoying a restaurant meal together as a family that made life special. Of course, the culmination of the episode when the screen suddenly went black was the question as to whether Tony and his family were going to be assassinated…

Indeed there is always another train coming down the track…another shoe to fall…another joy and another sorrow heading our way. The joy of living is the Joy Of The Rollercoaster. Sometimes up and sometimes down and a lot of sharp curves…

We seek the Secret. What is our purpose? Where are we going? Life is chock full of love surprises and hope joined together with sadness grief and suffering… It is an exciting and demanding ride! 

I am always interested when folks say that they do not believe in God. I assumed that their experience had led them to this decision. I wonder what they do with the seeking of their souls to understand the Secret?

When you think of what we understand and what we do not the difference is larger than the universe. The vastness of Space…the meaning of Time…is there life on other planets…are all questions without solid answers. 

The popular actress Betty White said what her mother had told her before her death…when we die we will find out the Secret. So prayer is a good thing. Prayer brings faith and faith engenders hope and hope is the panic bar on the Rollercoaster Of Life that we all ride…

Another day down in 2024. They go by quickly and almost without notice until you look backward and see them piled up. The Soap Opera The Days Of Our Lives opened each day with the words, ‘Like sands through the hourglass so are the Days of our Lives.’ Or as someone observed we have long days and short years…

The smallest of things bring happiness while the big things are a bit elusive at times. ’So many people are hanging by the thinnest of threads. Treat people with kindness, you could be that thread.’

It has been said that you will pay for what you value. Look at what a person spends money on and you will find their heart. Or the one I like is that one person’s trash is another treasure…

A smile may be the light in a person’s darkness that will cause them to rethink suicide. Often little more is needed to jar a person out of the circular mindset of ending it all. There is a plethora of loneliness in our world and it is spoken of seldom. People become so disconnected from others that their conspiracy theories take over their mental and emotional persona. As the television commercial said many years ago…Reach out and touch someone…reach out and just say hi…

Mental illness is much more prevalent than we realize. A high percentage of us humans suffer mental illness at some point in our lives. 

We are lonely in a crowd. We are homesick at home. We need a kind word while we are surrounded by media 24/7. It is only funny to think about these problems until you experience one or more of them…

Depression is a silent killer. Many of the seemingly happiest people are depressed and hiding it well from the eyes of others. There are Sad Clowns. 

Replace a Criticism with a Compliment. Instead of laughing at others…love them and let them know that you do. 

‘Who’s idea was it to take a February 10th woods hike,’ Jane asked? I can not believe our good fortune with the weather in the 60’s,’ she continued. 

‘Well when I planned the event the day after Christmas I thought I might have to purchase some new warm clothes for the cold,’ Billy B laughed. ’I bought a new compass to secure our safety from becoming lost,’ Billy B remarked. 

‘It is a unique compass in that it has no markings for north or south only east and west,’ Chet quipped. ’What if we are traveling northernly or southernly, and we have no official instrument to notify us of our direction,’ Chet asked? 

‘The strangely attired gentleman at the Outdoor’s Store told me that most folks had decided that the directions North and South were not so important any longer since the New Politics had become in vogue…but rather if the user was drifting to the right or left…east or west,’ Billy B said with a look of consternation on his face. ’The Proprietor was dressed in a white suit but his eyes were like black coals…he smiled often and seemed to look through you,’ Billy B observed. ’The P went on to say that people had become much more fascinated with being considered liberal or conservative rather than identifying with a church or worrying about the afterlife,’ he said with a tear in his eye.

‘Well I am old and understand North and South without a compass and thus we shall begin walking north and see what happens,’ Neva J said with determination. ’The New Politics be damned,’ she proclaimed. ’I have been traveling both North and South all of my life…and all of the variations of the combination of directions,’ she noted.

‘So where are you folks heading,’ asked the man in black with the kindest blue eyes? It had not seen so many coming this way in some time what a nice day for a hike, he continued as he came toward them with a limping gate and a wide smile. ’It seems that people have exchanged faith for political expediency and cults and riches,’ The Old Man In Black said with a sad countenance.

‘Where does north take us…will it take us home,’ asked Chet?

‘

My friends you are home now if you believe,’ The Old Man said…

‘It is good to be the emporer.’ Or so it has been said. It also may be said, ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,’ Shakespeare told us. We all experience this disability as we negotiate the pitfalls of leading others such as our family staff…or President. 

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court said today that Insurecion is, ‘Such a broad term.’ Could it be that Insurrection is in the eyes of the beholder…or that it is like pornography that another Supreme Court Justice said many years ago…’ You know it when you see it?’

Crossroads is where we find ourselves. This is often the life case. It is always been hard to stand for right when our colleagues say that your stand is wrong and that they are truly the ones who are standing for right…

Is there a reason that we have lost confidence in our institutions? When I was a young lad growing up in Eldorado we reverenced our President and trusted our Congress. Then came Watergate and the ignominious resignation of President Nixon and then the Pardon of him by President Ford. I remember it well and thought that I was witnessing something that I would not see again in my life. 

We have lost the Middle Ground. We are a bit like two kingdoms behind massive walls with moats all around the perimeter and boiling oil in large vats at the ready to dump upon our enemies should then seek to breach the walls…

Contrary to many’s opinions right and wrong are not exclusively defined by what your pastor says or your friends or your social group. Right is not subject to political expediency. 

What would the former Vice President say as the armed mob cried for his being hung and had erected a gallows to do the job? 

I voted for former President Reagan twice. I voted for former President George H.W. Bush…it is not about political party…

Sixty degrees on February 7th. Winter hit us like a sledgehammer last month and now has run and hidden. I saw flies in the forest. I continue to walk the Happy Trails. 

I watched a movie on Netflix last night that illustrated the sadness of the humans last Christmas. The dichotomy was jarring. Snappy Christmas songs and what appeared at first to be joyous yuletide fun and frolic morphed into the secret that all of the characters knew was coming in a matter of hours. The explanation of the show had several words in its review including comedy and horror. Somewhat like life, I considered. Silent Night was at a posh country estate with an upscale family. Slowly I realized that things were not what they seemed.

How The World Ends is a popular series on satellite television. Folks preparing for the end of the world by several different sources. Some of their reasoning seems flawed…but they believe it to such an extent that they have upended their lives to get ready. Then there is the rest of us who go about our daily lives hoping for the best.

We spoke of the end of the world a lot when I was a kid. Grandma A lectured me on the coming Battle Of Armageddon where she explained to me that the blood would run to the horse’s bridle. I did not have a horse and thus did not know what a bridle was. 

Many built backyard bomb shelters and in school, we had bomb drills where we Ducked And Covered…

Climate change is real and for those who do not believe it…it does not make it go away. If Our Pandemic showed us anything it illustrated the fragility of human life. Some of us enjoy throwing rocks at the Sun…but we never hit it…

The Pandemic Climate change and mutually assured destruction do not respect Republicans or Democrats. The Bible admonishes us that it rains on the just and the unjust. 

Cult is captivating to many. We love stories. We are enthralled with a leader who will tell us what we want to hear. We shut our ears when facts get in the way of our beliefs. ’We can’t feed the poor but we can fund a war.’

The Woods is peaceful and lacks conflict. We love our traditions…we love our clan…we love the sweet camaraderie of those who agree with us and we say, ‘To all our friends we wish them well…and all the rest can go to hell.’

The shock is that with our Cult philosophy…we are all going together…

‘We are all in the same boat on a stormy sea…and we owe each other a terrible loyalty…’

‘Have you noticed the subtle changes,’ He asked? ’For instance, Russia is now a friend when just a few years ago we were afraid of nuclear annihilation during the Cuban Missle Crisis,’ He continued. 

‘I heard that the President could shoot his political enemies and nothing could be done to him,’ She said. ’He is systematically jailing reporters that he does not like and regular citizens who have criticized him.’ She continued.

‘Masses of people had their health insurance taken away with no plan to replace it,’ Chet said. ’El Jefe says that the prescription for good health is good clean living which includes no unauthorized sex and vegetables that you grow in your own garden…and hard manual labor,’ Chet continued. ‘No more hamburgers, Chet laughed!

‘Our homeless shelters are overflowing and now the poor have taken up residence in department and grocery stores for warmth,’ She said. ’When I asked some of them the other day about their lives they responded that times had never been better since El Jefe is in charge,’ She said.

‘Today a girl said that she did not want to say the prayer in school and the teacher slapped her face so hard that she fell onto the floor,’ Boy said. ’The little girl went on to explain that she prayed in her heart and preferred not to pray aloud…whereupon she was placed in a religious education class,’ Boy continued.

‘When I went to the supermarket this morning many brown-skinned folks were in long lines where they were being questioned by authorities. I asked what they were being asked and was told that they had to recite verbatim the President’s last speech and explain it before they would be allowed to purchase food,’ Neva J said.

‘I would not want to be asked to explain one of his speeches as they make no sense with their illogical subject and meandering meanings,’ Chet said.

‘El Jefe is fun when he is in a good mood…I have seen him do a little dance when things are going his way,’ Jane said with a tear in her eye.

‘It is not only daytime in America again…it is the brightest sunlight we have ever experienced…everybody is saying so, President said…

I am back on the Writing Porch. It feels like I never left. The bitterly cold weather we experienced in January moved me inside by the stove. MJ had coffee with her lifelong friend Bev. Jonathon had a Birthday Lunch with his good friend Julie. I walked among the trees and communed with the Woods. 

The hint of spring brings me around from the cloistered feeling of winter. Life is to be lived. Or as Ron would say, ‘We are wasting daylight.’ 

The rollercoaster ride begins when we are born and some would say it ends when we die…others would say that death is the ultimate beginning. It is reported that the noted movie critic Roger Ebert said just before his death that he saw what was awaiting him and noted that what he had experienced had been, ‘This is all an elaborate hoax.’ What did he mean?

Are we standing in the vestibule of life everlasting and have not been made privy to…what the famous actress Betty White referred to as The Secret? 

Inquiring minds want to know is a popular saying. Our hearts indeed our souls and spirits search for our home. We seek renewal among the ashes. 

Life pulls us forward. Our hearts long for our home. Problems worries and concerns pull us down at times. We know that there is something more and we ‘peer through a glass darkly’ and know that there is something that ‘eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor have it entered into the hearts of men what God has prepared for them that love him.’

You would not have known today from the first day of spring. Woods Guests were exploring their domain. Sixty degrees and a beautiful blue sky. Could winter be over the day after Groundhog Day?

As I age, I often look back on a day and wonder why I felt so good for what I have just experienced and then the revelation strikes me…I am alive and a player in the game. I mentioned to MJ this morning that she and I must start taking more day trips.  As my good friend Jerry said years ago, ‘Blow the stink off.’ I said we should emulate past senior mentors, make a Circle from our home base, and visit surrounding semi-local areas. 

As I see others and witness their life exuberance I feel better. The more I am with my peers, the more I notice the peculiarity of similarity in our journeys. 

‘It is unusually warm for February 3rd,’ Neva J said with a laugh. ’I remember when I was a kid and we walked to school and then back home and both ways were uphill and snow-covered,’ she winked!

‘What did you talk about on those long uphill snow-covered walks,’ Jane asked? ’Did you speak of boyfriends and hope for the future,’ she continued?

‘Grandma A loved FDR and so did I,’ Neva J said wistfully.’ ’We worried about the War and our family and friends fighting overseas,’ Neva J said.’ ’I dropped out of high school to go to work in the Shoe Factory and thought that it was a brilliant life decision,’ she said as she shook her head.

‘It seems that there has always been a War to talk about,’ Chet noted. ’Today it is Vietnam but tomorrow will surely bring another conflict…when will we Christians discover the Peaceable Kingdom,’ Chet mused.

‘Dutch loved to walk in the Woods and he loved a warm February Day like today,’ Neva J said. ’He went missing in Europe and is presumed dead,’ she said as she brushed a tear from her eye.

‘Look ahead in the shadows of the trees…a man is waving for us to follow him,’ Billy B said.

‘He has on a Derby or Bowler hat and he is waving it in the air as he gestures for us to come up where he is,’ said Jane.

‘Dutch…always wore a Bowler hat…,’ Neva J said…

It is here. February where all husbands have a frantic look on their faces as Valentine’s Day approaches. Also, MJ’s Birthday is this month. Her birthday is the 24th and my birthday is October 24th and we were married March 24th. We like 24. 

Toward the latter half of February, you can feel hints of spring in our neck of the woods. Giant City Lodge reopens tomorrow after their annual hiatus since the first week of December. They make a wicked Old Fashioned.

Spring brings the renewal of life. The lovely buds on the trees remind us that nothing really dies…it changes…

I remember looking at people who were my age when I was much younger and ruminating as to whether they enjoyed life in their old bodies and wondered at their persistence to hold on to life when they were obviously ill. Now I understand. 

Seasonal life is magnificent and we want to enjoy all four of the events. What is especially enjoyable is when spring summer and fall dip into the winter of our story. You see it is possible to enjoy all seasons all year long as the book of our life has its pages blown by the wind of change and events giving us the rapturous experience of having the heart of a 20-year-old and love of mystery like a 12-year-old and the love of life of a 40-year-old. Sprinkled in the mix is the wisdom of the Old Sage…

We learn and grow all of our lives and when our journey back to Jerusalem is complete we will not have scratched the surface of what there is to discover…the Mystery is endless…