This is it this is the big one. Meteorologist say summer ends today and fall begins tomorrow. Summer flys by. Beach and sand surf and swim happens in the blink of an eye. It seems you should have longer. Holidays with the kids camping under the stars and no school is a treat.

‘We must take a last swim in Pounds Hollow today tomorrow is Sunday and it closes Monday,’ Jane exclaimed! ‘It will be invigorating inspiring and melancholy at the same time,’ Jane continued. ‘Where did the summer go,’ she plaintively asked?

‘Today we will dive for treasure with these new snorkels I purchased,’ Billy B said. ‘It is said that the gangster Charlie Birger hid his chest of silver dollars in the depths of the Hollow,’ Billy B said with a spark in his eyes. ‘Do you know what those silver dollars would be worth today,’ he asked?

‘I will bring my fishing net to pull up the silver dollar chest,’ Chet informed. ‘I hear estimations of over a half million dollars is contained in the sunken chest,’ Chet smiled. ‘Do you think the shocks are sufficient on the 57′ Chevy to hold all of the weight,’ Chet inquired?

‘Another glass of Merlot before you dive,’ Neva J asked with a laugh? ‘I read about Charlie Birger while growing up in Mt. Vernon he was a legend and he said that no one would ever find his sunken treasure,’ Neva J said. ‘Grandma A told me to not desire ill gotten gains,’Neva J said while toping off her Merlot.

‘There is Chet hand me an end of the net we will haul it up to the beach,’ Billy B exclaimed! ‘See if Jane can help us it is heavy,’ Billy B continued.

‘Where do you boys think your are going with my treasure,’ Charlie Birger asked? ‘The silver dollars are not stolen they were given me by my Dad their worth is mighty,’ CB said. ‘Now you would not rob a man of his gift from his Dad would you,’ CB continued.

‘Well the 57′ Chevy is gone and there is a Model T in its place,’ Jane said. ‘Charlie Birger is sunning himself on the beach,’Jane went on to say. ‘Better luck next time he said as I passed him,’…

As I began writing on the Writing Porch, I felt a hint of fall in the air. Extremely hopeful it is 90 degrees. I know what is coming. Frank Sinatra told us that the days grow short when you reach September. Life is poetry with blips.

Nice people make living nice. MJ and I heard the lawn care folks cutting our grass early this morning. They came this afternoon. Prophecy. So I feel fall in the air just before it arrives…

We see it in the cloudy distance. The image is hazy but the feeling is real. Home is coming into view.

Mylo leads me into rooms of our house which I am walking towards. Each step or two he looks back to ensure that I have not lost my way. Such is our Guardian Angel’s purpose. We have the best intentions. We mean well. We get distracted.

Cool air envelopes us. Hot chocolate refreshes us. There is a special smell. Sounds remembered. Love reminded. Laughs often had. Secrets shared. Hopes achieved.

Knock we do. The front door opens. Our favorite meal is on the table. Music remembered but what is the title? No harsh feelings. No obsessive worry. Plenty of money. What is money? It is a big table. Friends of every color and faith. Familiar faces all. ‘We have been waiting for you,’ Friends say. ‘Pull up a chair…more are coming,’ Friends continue.

The house was small the table was miles long. It lengthed exponentially. It was over the horizon.

Tears come easy to a full heart. Too much joy to contain it leaks out. The promise is true…the Secret discovered…

Labor Day has been my day since I was young. It signaled my favorite months had arrived. Jerry Lewis had his telethon. I watched it each year. I was touched by his dedication to his kids. Cooler weather was on its way. Thoughts of Halloween and bobbing for apples Frankenstein Dracula and the Wolfman permeated my thoughts.

‘Monday is Labor Day and I am already planning my Halloween costume,’ Billy B said gleefully. ‘I will wear cousin Gene’s Creature From The Black Lagoon costume he purchased from Universal Studios. ‘It is lifelike,’ Billy B winked.

I can not deny my fame for portraying the Lost In Space Robot,’ Chet commented. ‘The other night the Costume spoke to me and said that it is about time,’ Chet said. ‘When I asked about time for what the Robot said ‘You know,’, Chet noted.

‘I shall be Frankenstein,’ Jane said. ‘A short Frankenstein,’ she winked. ‘After the scary politicians they have seen this election year they will be glad to see Short Frankenstein,’ Jane laughed.

‘I will be JFK, Daryl announced. ‘My girlfriend Jackie is going as Jackie Kennedy it is too convenient,’ Daryl chuckled. ‘Halloween will be just before the Presidential Election we will debate the current candidates,’ Daryl said.

‘I asked for a soapbox to debate but they left me behind the lectern and no one could see me,’ Short Frankenstein said. ‘When Creature came in the Moderator fainted,’ SF continued. ‘Robot was the best debater among us with his logic and his catchphrase, ‘That does not compute,’ SF explained.

‘I thought Short Frank needed a touch of makeup,’ Candidate T said. ‘His voice was squeaky with a reedy undertone,’ CT continued. ‘I told Robot that he was Hired,’ CT said.

‘Nevertheless, we have much to do and we will put a man on the moon in this decade,’ JFK proclaimed. ‘Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country,’ said JFK. ‘We all love our children we all breathe the same air,’ JFK said with determination.

‘Looser was a whisper in the wind…’

‘I can not forget her not acknowledging me at church last Sunday,’ She said. ‘We have known each other 20 years yet she passed me like a ship in the night,’ She continued. ‘I speak to her without fail,’ She noted for the record.

‘I call text and message my friend yet he does not respond,’ He said. ‘Calling and texting works both ways how hard is it to pick up a phone,’ He angrily gestured. ‘Apparently, my friend wants an end to the friendship,’ He said sadly.

Hurtful words seem savory and salty when uttered later to become rancid. Love is lost on assumptions and imagination. Our Flag of being wronged is held high. We showed them. No one will tread on us. Lonely we are for the false victories that forgiveness heals.

Walking in our skin is enjoyable and deadly. We are adults with all the rights afforded thereunto. We do not like bullies. We take up for ourselves. We defend our dignity. We imagine slights. We judge our friends by our conspiracy theories. We stand on our soapbox and defend our honor with strong words of criticism. Doors shut love is lost.

‘But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever smite thee on they right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away the coat, let him have thy cloak also. Matt 5:39-48

Fun to talk about and hard to do.

Joseph forgave his brothers who threw him into the pit and left him for dead. Forgiveness is the milk and honey of relationships. Through our eyes, we do no wrong. The snapshots our friends carry in their wallets and purses tell a different tale.

Getting your mind right yields good fruit. Speak less listen more. Empathy is the key…

‘Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear.’ Labor Day is less than a week away. Five weeks until Maine. Ten weeks until election day. Fifteen weeks until Christmas Eve. The Locomotive is chugging down the track jump onboard.

Life is a Countdown. Johnny Cash told us, from the cradle to the grave. Along the way are many notable stations. Often it is what appears the less remarkable that is the most memorable. The little things make the difference.

If I was Citizen Brooks my last words might be Laughing Santa instead of Rosebud. Christmas was real in the merry eyes of the little stuffed Santa with a wind-up laughing box in his belly.

Aaron swinging in his little swing.

Jonathon climbs out of his cradle.

The call from Mickey that I had been hired at SIU.

The Happy Eyes of a person I hired for a wonderful career. How it felt to offer opportunity to someone unseen.

‘Hit the deck you rubberneck,’ and love it!

Riding on Dad’s shoulders.

The look of love in MJ’s eyes when everyone is at the Thanksgiving table.

Memories are snapshots of life.

When you are a kid you will be a kid forever. When you are middle-aged there is nothing else. When you are old you know it is just the beginning…

Ninety’s today and all of this week. But Labor Day cometh. The State Fair is progressing nicely in DuQuoin, Illinois. It is the second of the two Illinois State Fairs. It was the big summer event at one time in my halcyon youth. We drove from Eldorado 50 miles to experience a night of high-level fair. There were carnival Barkers freak shows and delicious taffy. A high Ferris Wheel and Twister. I had a tooth knocked out on Twister years before at the Eldorado Carnival. I do not like Twister.

We used to say that the fair brought more flys. I have not noticed them this year but I still believe it. The Governor is said to be walking around at the fair. I saw Governor Edgar’s back once. Another time I witnessed Governor Thompson the longest-serving Governor in Illinois history helicopter into the fairgrounds and he and his wife and daughter get off. I thought that this was the epitome of money and power.

Earl liked to drive to the fair on Labor Day. Opal told him when he was going to procure some dirt for her, she wanted ‘That rich dirt…Earl.’ Earl knew rich dirt…

The Carnies were hot and tired and never smiled. They were worse on Labor Day. They began closing and dismantling before quitting time. There were new horizons for them for us The Fair was our conclusion.

Neva J’s boyfriend DoDo was supposed to hold on to me when we were on the Twister at Eldorado. DoDo failed. Later he bought me an ice cream cone…

It is a rough world out there toughen up for the journey. How many of us have heard that refrain? Kicked from pillar to post we seek kind eyes. Someone who identifies with our suffering. Anyone who cares.

Have you ever spoken with someone on the telephone where 98% of the conversation was them speaking of their greatest passion…theirself? Finally, they ask how you are doing whereupon you mention a few things you have been going through. Then, having gotten their breath they continue delivering the lecture of one.

Labor Day is coming. Four months from today is Christmas. Empathy will revive for a bit.

We seek an answer to life’s persistent questions. Why do some of us live comfortably while others do not have enough to eat? How is it that religion has coopted dedication to Christ as a get-rich-quick scheme? Why are so many dedicated Christians so poor?

Our Flag is not the property of one political party. Americans of all political and religious persuasions have fought and died for the red white and blue.

Politicians tell women they know more than their doctors what is best for their bodies. Women need someone to think for them through the hard decisions. They need a man…

Ladies who have cats are a good thing. Faith is not dependent on the musings of old men. Hope is not dependent on the corporate board. Faith does not flow from the Bishop or Elder or Pastor.

He cried and stood to announce that the Vice Presidential Candidate was his Dad. He loves his Dad. He was proud of him and wanted the world to understand his affection. He was not looking for affirmation or approval. His Dad and his relationship was all that was important. He was not afraid of tears affection or demonstrated love. He is us if we can just let go…

The evening is descending on Little Egypt. It warmed up to today. It is still August. I was on Campus today it was quiet like a church. I passed semi-large groups of young adults walking from their dormitories to explore their new town. They had the world by the tail. I look at the Campus buildings and remember the old man in every room, nook and cranny. He was not old then, but he is now.

Each day is new. We have never seen one like it before. We are like kittens who just opened their eyes.

Freshness is our goal. We spend a premium to obtain it. Different exciting and enlightening we seek. How do we understand a world without books? How can we feel with gloves on our hands? How can we see with a mask over our eyes?

Many mouths are taped. Debate is not heard in the Academy. We must have One Thought One Voice One Vision the Great Leader says.

The little girl cries by the side of the road. She is hungry but she looks for wisdom. Someone who has empathy someone who cares someone who has a plan…

Mother worries about the morning. No food in the house. Hungry kids and no help. Belittled at school and shunned in the town. No one has a job for such lowly people…

‘Strike her again,’ said the mob leader! ‘Do not listen to her cries of not being able to breathe…she is faking,’ he continued as spit gathered at the corners of his mouth!

‘Halt No More…dress her wounds and give her water and food,’ Wisdom said. ‘We are all just people with no special attributes…just people created by God,’ Wisdom continued.

‘They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.’ Isaiah 11:9

The big day is here again. Pop the Champagne! Break out the old 45s. It is still summer but not for long. School is back. Books are back. Can you say Transition?

There is a summer me and a fall me. Fall me has almost taken over the operation. The barber asked me the other day what I would do after my haircut to which I replied that this is the day’s main event. She looked quizzical. I thought she would understand clearly once she retired.

I was reminded of the cartoon where an alligator slowly crawled out of the swamp with his big teeth grinning. A tiny body and spindly legs followed his massive head and beady eyes. He noted that he had been sick…

Some days are a piece of cake and you want more. Other days are liver and onions that take a lot of chewing.

As Seinfeld told us we all want to get out. Once we are out we want to get back in. Such is life. We are like Mylo who is short and must be assisted on to the couch or the chair. He pirouets jumps and dances to show his enthusiasm. When lifted up he is ecstatic. Then he wants back down.

We know what we are looking for on Happy Friday. We know where we found it before. Just let us return to our warm and comfy bed when it is over…

At times the Good Vibes are palatable. You know them when you feel them. Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale gave me Good Vibes every day. I knew that I was a part of something special. I understood that I was key to the success of my University.

I grew up around some ‘Negative Nellies’ and often heard that I would only be able to reach so high and to be happy with my class and station in life. When I joined SIUC there was a different world of opportunity. Professors took an interest in me and encouraged my efforts. I was shocked that perhaps I too could achieve.

Fall has been in the air for the past few days. My favorite season is coming and I am ready. Being an old man does not affect a young outlook. The politics of doom and gloom has held us down too long. We are an incredible nation! The envy of the world. The hope of our planet. President Kennedy told us that we would send a man to the moon in this decade and we did…

‘Weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning.’

We all need a little Joy in our life. Joy is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Why do you think folks drink and take pharmaceuticals? They are seeking the elusive Joy…

There really is a Pot-Of-Gold at the end of the rainbow. If you look at problems from a new perspective, there are solutions to problems. Turn the problem upside down and inside out and shake off the dust of despair.

Joseph of the Old Testament was thrown into a pit by his jealous brothers in hopes that he would die. ‘The Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.’ Genesis 37:36

Later during famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to obtain grain from Pharoh and Joseph gave them all they needed and gave them back the money they had to pay for it.

Things Change…