‘Demons will charm you with a smile for a while.’ So goes the stirring Broadway song. We remember the protectors of our youth. Someone who stood up for us when others were silent. The person who took our part when others averted their eyes from our plight.

Politicians sell their strength as being our protector. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. We do not travel this rocky road alone. Many have taken an interest in our welfare. Often without goading or a hidden agenda. As Sally Field said when she received the Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role in her 1979 portrayal of Norma Rae, ‘You like me, you really like me.’

Have you received a telephone call from an old friend only to discover they want to sell you something? Has a powerful person in your organization suddenly become your friend, only to reveal themselves as needing something from you once the commercial ends? Those precious guardians who stand by you with nothing to gain are more precious than the Gold of Ophir.

We wear a brave mask. We speak courageously. We carry a big stick. Inwardly, we are the little fat kid with thick glasses at the back of the classroom. We need a protector to walk alongside us. Age puts things in perspective. Not so many people to please and get an affirmative glance from. Money does not color the transaction. The Ladder’s Rungs have been climbed. Yet are we good enough, as Al Franken’s character Stuart Smalley asked on Saturday Night Live?

Watch the Leader who portends his invincibility to the masses. He is smarter than others and better educated. He needs no counsel, as his counsel is his own brain. Experts do not understand what he understands instinctively from allegorical information. Inside is a little afraid child. The child is determined to punish those who do not agree with him. The child broaches no dissent. Accepts no varying opinion. Fear marks his path. Who will rip off the mask, he thinks. They must be stopped before that happens. Who will reveal that he does not like peas and carrots and will not eat them?

‘I think we have picked a glorious fall day to walk in the Woods,’ Guardian Angel said. ‘It is warm now, but that will change, and soon the snow will cover the ground,’ GA noted. ‘I have been by your side since you sat in front of the three heart doctors in Chicago,’ GA said. ‘Neva J feared you would not make it to Evansville, Indiana, due to what the Ambulance Driver said,’ GA continued. ‘I was certain that you would make it and have a fulfilling life,’ GA grinned. ‘Nothing is going to harm you, not while I am around,’ Guardian Angel sang with a lilt.