Another day for the long hike. I love it when I reach my walking goal early in the day. I have been walking for health most of my adult life. As a child, I bicycled. Now I seek mystery in the Woods. Friday still revs my engine. Both in school and my career, Friday was special. Friday night was a movie at the Orpheum Theatre. We Eldorado kids were ready for release. This time of year was good for a Creature Feature. Friday nights were prime for monster or science fiction on TV as well. At a tender age, it seemed that scary movies were very close to reality. I remember seeing The Birds and wondering about its deeper meaning. I still do. Movies shadow our lives. The parallels are significant. After seeing Frankenstein or Dracula, the weekend seemed open for possibilities. There was a fight between good and evil. Dracula could be held at bay by seeing the cross. Dr. Frankenstein was the real monster. Could there be a Mad Scientist in Eldorado?

Friday was the forward in the book of the Weekend. It was too cool for a Pounds Hollow swim but not for Halloween planning. I drank coffee from the large brown ceramic cup made in an electric percolator. The richer the burnt coffee I drank, the more excited I was for the adventure of discovering the hidden. Discovering the Secret. Adults knew secret things that I did not. They spoke in whispers behind closed doors. Their eyes betrayed their understanding. There was a hidden world beyond the Veil. Friday night afforded time to investigate as Sherlock Holmes and Watson. There was a hidden book of secrets. Now there were precious hours to discover it.

Some kids always looked sad. Did they not have enough iron in their diet? Did they not have liver once a week as I did? Did they not drink eggnog with a raw egg every morning as I did? That is the mornings that Neva J did not leave the kitchen long enough for me to throw the vile mixture out of the back porch door. What were the adults laughing about after I went to bed? Was there a secret comedy that they unleashed after I retired for the evening?

Teachers rarely revealed their human side. Mostly, they were prim and proper, speaking as if they read from a script. The Script was a bit boring. We kids were just people in miniature. We understood much more than they realized. When they connected with us, it was revelatory. They had hopes and fears and bills to pay. Some pumped gas in the summer. My Social Studies teacher did not seem pleased. Mr. Watson was a kind teacher who connected with me as a human. He was interested in what I was reading and what I thought about the narrative. Mrs. Baker talked with me as an equal. She liked my writing. She spoke of her life at home. She wanted to take a vacation, but her husband was not warm to the idea. Mrs. Baker had a historic knowledge of Eldorado that was unparalleled.

Hillary Clinton wrote a somewhat maligned book, It Takes a Village to Raise a Child. She was right. Egg nog and liver do not do it all for a kid. Fridays offered the opportunity to study the mystery. Why was one of the best jobs in Southern Illinois coal mining beneath the ground? Who decides if a student is more inclined to succeed at University, and who should pursue the vocational trades? Was there really a headless man at the State Fair?

Travel intrigues me. Seeing something I have not seen before. Learning customs different than mine. We visited the catacombs in Sicily. Dead bodies were close enough to touch. They were dressed in their best costumes. Some women in their wedding dresses. A lothario in his top hat and tails. A baby so perfectly preserved that she looked like she was sleeping. What is life? What is beyond the Veil? Did the bodies in the catacombs know?