So the Old Man visited the snowy woods. What a sublime sight. A blanket of white under a sky of blue. The quiet of snow is special. The peace of winter is complete. Our New Year is well underway. Can we see what is just beyond our vision? Can we grasp what is beyond our reach? We are born into an earthly plane that is surrounded by spiritual mysticism. We know there is more there than what we can see, feel, and smell. A hint of the other world breaks through to our world from time to time. A bird sings a lovely song that reminds us of what we need to focus on. A deer looks at us with questioning eyes, wondering why we do not see the wonder. We are members of the Club of the Magnificent hidden by the plain.

The Old Man experienced the hidden world in the French Quarter earlier this month. People were connected to the ethereal. I am currently reading Lincoln In The Bardo. It is fascinating in its story of life after death and President Lincoln’s love for his deceased son. We fear what we do not understand, and yet our souls hunger for the world that they instinctively understand and want to lead us to. We seek adventure and color excitement in life. This is what our spirits are accustomed to. This is what our souls remember. Our hearts long for the joy of remembering their home.

The French Quarter musicians touch Heaven with their heartfelt music. There is an aural tone in life that we often do not hear with our fretting about who is President and who is American. Who is being purged by our Authoritarian Government in the name of Christianity? Who shall remain for the blessings of a benevolent God who picks favorites according to our ministers and political leaders? The President decrys the end of Europe due to its welcoming of immigrants who are not white. I had a physician who told me that his colleague said you would not recognize Germany over the past few years. Hitler said the same thing…

Jesus was a dark-skinned Jew from the Middle East. He was not an Anglo-Saxon. The French Quarter understands that they are God’s Children. The feeling of camaraderie in New Orleans was palpable. As the lovely singer sang, we understood that she was our sister. She sang of love and loss of hope and disappointment. The words resonated with all within the sound of her voice…

‘Why would you continue to shoot a man lying lifeless on the street?’ the Preacher asked. ‘Pilate said I find no fault in him,’ the Preacher continued. ‘The throng demanded his crucifixion,’ the Preacher wept.

‘Then music is joyful and makes you want to dance,’ Neva J said. ‘I see my brothers, Dutch and Donald, and my dear mother dancing to it as they listen beyond the Veil,’ Neva J cried. ‘Grandma A told me not to be afraid of death as it is not the big deal we make of it,’ Neva J promised. ‘Grandma A said it is simply going through a door to a magnificent room prepared for your arrival,’ Neva J laughed with joy!