A day made in Heaven. Cool with a nice breeze. A day to wonder at the possibilities. We look for the prophets. Not the self-appointed ones, the God-appointed ones. Many are in the employment line for the job. If you listen, they cite their resume of accomplishments.
Examining the resumes yields different results. We are a bit like a ship at sea, and the waves are high. We need a good sexton.

The Hollow Men are around the corner. Faceless and nameless, they watch our lives. They stand at the top of the hill watching the Theatre of the Macabre. In good times, they are there in bad times, they watch. They have been called ghosts. Slipping in and out of our daily routine, they go unnoticed. A diligent observer catches them out of the corner of their eye.

‘I have been sitting with my sick friend at the hospital,’ Jane said. ‘She said she saw a shadow standing at the foot of her hospital bed last night,’ Jane continued. ‘When she spoke to the shadow, it did not respond,’ Jane explained. ‘My friend wondered if the shadow was an angel,’ Jane noted. ‘She feels better today and appears to be on the mend,’ Jane smiled.

‘Neva J spoke of the Shadow Man, who she said was her brother who went missing from World War II, Chet mentioned. ‘She saw the Shadow Man in the woods with her mother when she was a child,’ Chet continued. ‘There are many reports of Hollow Men or Shadow Men being seen in sundry places and unusual times,’ Chet explained. ‘The ‘Spirit Photograph’ of Mary Todd Lincoln with the faint spectral figure of President Abraham Lincoln standing behind her with his hands on her was later debunked, but many believe it still,’ Chet observed. ‘Why do you think the song Me and My Shadow is so popular?’ Chet laughed. ‘In 1965, there was an episode of the Dick Van Dyke show based on a mysterious shadow which turned out to be President Lincoln’s Shadow,’ Chet said.

‘I saw the Hollow Man,’ Billy B announced. ‘I was distressed about the war in Vietnam and the friends I had lost as I walked the streets of Eldorado,’ Billy B said. ‘I wondered what my future was going to be living in unsettled times,’ Billy B continued. ‘As Neva J and I watched the Cuban Missile Crisis unfold on television, we saw three shadows that looked like men behind President Kennedy as he uttered his ultimatum to Kruschev,’ Billy B said tentatively. ‘We wondered if the TV picture was out of sync as it was the days of the rooftop antenna and snow on the screen,’ Billy B winked. ‘I then recalled turning the corner by the Orpheum Theatre and a Hollow Man stood watching me,’ Billy B whispered.