‘Did you know the Carnivale has come to town?’ Chet asked. ‘I look for it year-round,’ Chet continued. ‘It represents our struggle with good and evil in entertainment form,’ Chet laughed. ‘Last August I visited the headless man,’ Chet noted. ‘After his performance, I snuck backstage and there he was smoking a cigar and sitting in a plush Victorian chair,’ Chet said. ‘When the Headless man saw me, he motioned for me to come into his living room and sit down for a chat,’ Chet observed. ‘He knew my name and the names of my mom and dad,’ Chet whispered. ‘We spoke of the War in Vietnam and the assassination of President Kennedy,’ Chet continued. ‘The Headless Man said that her had been in Vietnam and seen combat,’ Chet informed. ‘He mentioned his wife and three kids in New York and how glad he would be to see them in the winter when the Carnivale shut down till the spring,’ Chet said. ‘The Headless Man asked me if I had thought of joining the Carnivale,’ Chet said. ‘He noted that it is the perfect place for a rebel against artificial order. Chet winked. ‘Carnivale accepts the unacceptable,’ Chet noted. ‘Those who stick out in the restrictive milieu of conventional people fit right in with Carnivale,’ Chet grinned. ‘As I was talking with the Headless Man, three Gnomes passed by and bid us good day,’ Chet said. ‘They were carrying bundles of toys for Christmas on their backs,’ Chet laughed. ‘I asked them where they were going and they replied that Santa was already deep in his Christmas preparations and needed their services.’ Chet danced on one foot and then the other.

‘Well, of course, the Headless Man was not truly headless…right,’ Jane asked. ‘It was a show of mirrors, Jane said. ‘Did you see how he portrayed himself as headless?’ Jane asked.

‘The Headless Man held his head under his arm and during our conversation, he lit a cigar to place in his bodyless head’s mouth while remaining seated in his favorite chair,’ Chet smiled knowingly. ‘He complimented me on my lack of shock or surprise,’ Chet said. ‘The Headless Man observed that being headless was an advantage in Vietnam as he could be in two places at once,’ Chet smiled. ‘The Headless Man said he had observed that he made sounder decisions than political leaders who have their head attached to their bodies,’ Chet laughed.

‘Come One, Come All to see what the Carnivale Master has created,’ the Carnivale Barker announced with aplomb. ‘In just a moment, we will reveal a leader for our times that we have created in our Carnivale Trailer, we call the Laboratory,’ Carnivale Barker said. ‘Some call him the forerunner of Christ while others call him the Antichrist,’ Carnivale said softly. ‘He loves those who love him until…he does not,’ Carnivale Barker warned. ‘The Faux Leader refuses labels as he is guided by a Strange Spirit,’ CB said. ‘He promises everything to his acolytes and subsequently tells them he does not want their love or support and refers to them as stupid,’ CB noted. ‘People hate him until they see him, and his gaze mesmerizes them,’ CB observed. ‘He is like Medusa, where if you look upon him, you will be turned into stone,’ Carnivale Barker warned. ‘Remember my warning, dear friends, as I must leave you now and not look upon his visage,’ CB whispered.

‘Welcome, my friends…I am here for you and your needs,’ Faux Leader said with a jaunty dance and a wicked smile. ‘I will provide the Necessary Things for you,’ FL said with a smirk. ‘Do not fear the Antichrist…I kind of like the title,’ Faux Leader assured with a wink.

The cool air is refreshing. Thoughts of falling leaves are in my vision. The simple things in life are fine art. No conflict, just peace. Hope for tomorrow is in reality hope for today. As is said, today is the tomorrow that we worried about yesterday. God is in control. I often said this is a young Christian. I especially uttered those words when counseling someone who was having difficulties. As I said the words, I wondered if I really believed my own rhetoric. Now I am old and know the words are true. Experience is a wise teacher. When we are young, we know the words to the hymn, and as an old man, I know the author.

Saturdays were for doing something different than working during my youth. Living in Elkville, a road trip to the big city of Carbondale was an adventure. The Mall was Main Street under one roof. The Mall had many restaurants and a theatre. There were so many shops that you did not know which one to enter. Upscale items are out of my price range, but not my dreams. During the Christmas Season, on Saturday, the Mall was full of people, as well as all the parking lots surrounding it. Mongomery Ward had our first home computer. It was $2,000, good for word processing and playing The Oregon Trail. I knew times were changing.

The mystery of kids changing before your eyes is seen on a pleasant Saturday. It is like watching a movie on fast forward. You have to jump into the malestrom or be left behind.

Saturday is a good day to see the new Naked Gun movie. MJ and I laughed until tears coursed down our cheeks when the original Naked Gun with Leslie Nielsen came out. It premiered on December 2, 1988. I was 31 and was happy to be a member of the 30s Club. The Thirty Somethings was a television show. I had been the assistant superintendent of my department for a couple of years. Home computers were not around yet.

Regular Order is a good thing. We have become a nation of daily surprises. Tinkering with our government for fun and ‘manosphere’ praise is not healthy. Families are raised on the regular order of a settled life. Not the chaos of constant change for change’s sake.

Saturdays in Eldorado were fun. No school. Saturday matinee at the Orpheum Theatre. Frankenstein on the big screen. Popcorn and a Coke and dreams of far-off lands. Many folks in my halcyon days enjoyed Honky Tonkin on Saturday night. Then came Sunday, and no stores were open nor alcohol sold. People did not cut their grass on Sunday in honor of the Lord’s Day. But Saturday belonged to night dreams…

This is a beautiful Friday. The temperature has a hint of fall in it. A father and his little girl were getting ready to explore a trail in the Woods. The Old Man remembered all that he had not thought of, why he likes cool weather so much. The air is sweeter. No sweat. No cares or worries. An abundance of peace. I wrote of a magician pulling a rabbit out of his top hat. Today, I pulled out a happy laughing rabbit. I smiled when I saw him despite myself. It is not every day you pull a jovial rabbit. We need a laughing rabbit just now. One of my dear friends is ill in St. Louis. She and her family are wonderful people. We were colleagues for years, and she is inspirational.

I have another dear friend who is a bit lost and needs to find his way. The simple privilege of being in his presence lifts my day. He is kind and considerate. He is brilliant both in mind and personality.

We seek understanding among the ruins of society. We are a bit like Job scraping ourselves with shards of pottery. We look for the answer in others when we contain the solutions. We want to look behind the Veil. We want to see ourselves in a good light rather than looking through a mirror darkly. We live in a microcosm of God’s plan. Our Earth seems vast to us. However, what does it look like from his point of view? When we see each other as God sees us, we have an affinity for all. Life is bigger than the money we make or what we pay in taxes. We are participants in a Grand Experiment. We do not have a ticket to this ride, nor a ticket to get off.

We focus on minutiae. Such is our physical world. Our spirits desire to soar with the eagles. The doctor did not tell us when he extracted us from our mother’s belly and slapped us on our butt that this is a quick and exciting ride. We thought we would always be nursing at Mama’s breast. Soon, it was school days and all types of kids. Fat kids and skinny kids and kids who ride on bikes…short kids and even kids with chicken pox love hot dogs…Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs…the Dogs kids love to eat,’ the television commercial said. What a rush life is! Then there is love and marriage and pushing a baby carriage…Frank Sinatra sang. Seeing the Cubs play live at Wrigley Stadium and watching Ryne Sandberg as a young player… Dinner at an upscale restaurant on the Gold Coast in Chicago, and having just enough money to pay the bill. Finger Bowls. The jauntly dressed footman pouring the coffee from two feet above the cup at the Omni Ambassador East. Telling the Hare Krishna devotee that I did not want his thick free book when he subsequently asked for a donation. Being asked by the Chicago Cubs Fans in the bleachers if we were Cubs Fans, and when we said we were, their joyful acceptance of us. Telling the surly cab driver who lectured me on what cab I was supposed to take, and his withdrawal from the confrontation. As my friend Lee Phemister told me the time he was driving in Chicago, a Police Officer directing traffic motioned for him to proceed and called him ‘Country’, and Lee wondered how he knew.

Europe was a mystery. We explored it by the skin of our teeth. Our dear friends Margo and Jeff helped us. I ordered a pastry in Paris. The woman waiting on me said Voila. I responded Voila. Then MJ came in, and it was no longer Voila. The French woman scowled.

‘I have been watching you,’ God said. ‘I like your style,’ God continued. ‘You have moxy,’ God grinned. ‘I want you to teach a class for me on the joy of living,’ God laughed.