The last week of summer is going out like a lion. Leaves are changing colors and falling rapidly as the sun shines hot. We know it is hot chocolate season. Things change. Understanding is somewhat rare in our world. No one has all of the answers. Some say, ‘Let me earn all the money I can.’ Others say I work 16 hours a day and have little to eat. Both are valid concerns that no one should be demonized for. The rich retire to their gated enclaves. The poor rest their heads where they find a bed. The rich say motivation is the key. The poor reply is that I am working 16 hours per day. Halloween is coming. The hot weather will not stop it. MJ and I were in St. Louis Sunday and Monday. It was 100 degrees to 101. Not the feels like temperature but the actual temperatures. This is how we feel in the current political climate. The heat has been turned up too high. Most of us are moderates. Social Media portrays us all as anarchists.

We never had a lot by some standards. I loved my ‘Leave It To Beaver House ‘ in Sauk Village. I recall thinking that at least we had a nice house this time…I was four years old. I have no idea what other house I was referring to. My childhood was filled with nice and not-so-nice. I know what it is like to be hungry. Not hungry because I skipped breakfast, but hungry from not eating for days at a time. I reflect, perhaps this is why I collect. I don’t want to run out. My father-in-law, Berl, offered me something to eat as soon as I walked through his door. Berl lived through the Great Depression. He understood hunger.

None of us is going anywhere. We live on a beautiful blue orb. A bit like living in a fish bowl. Sunday, MJ and I enjoyed some fine dining. Restaurants that, as a child, I knew nothing of. The ethos of capitalism is that if you work hard and play by the rules, you will succeed. Not so fast. I have dear friends who worked hard all of their lives and have few earthly possessions. The form of the formula does not work for everyone.

So we sit with those who are richer than us and those who are poorer. We know the meek and those who are aggressive. Violence is never the answer. What about looking at both sides to find the good? We desire the middle ground of happiness and contentment. Over the top rhetoric in politics/religion does not portray the majority. Hope for the future encompasses us all. A future for our children and our planet. We come from the Earth and to the Earth we will return. Take care of the Earth. Our faith gives us strength. Other people’s faith gives them strength. Why does it have to be the same faith? Respect the differences that unite us in our many similarities.

Some of the kindest people I know are not Christian. If you believe in God, we come from the same God. His message is in harmony. His message is one of love and compassion. Shall we destroy a people and a nation because we have been persecuted? Does God choose one flesh over another by its color? Is Genocide fine as long as it is perpetrated against the people you do not deem as human? Shall we embrace evil that good may come?

Brooks Pond is a happy place. The Bullfrog Quartet is taking an afternoon nap. They know they must be prepared for tonight’s performance. Mr. Beaver does not take a day off. His Damn must be built by winter before the great freezing. The hummingbirds have not flown south. They enjoy listening to the Bullfrog Quartet and watching Mr. Beaver. They are different, yet they live in harmony…