The hottest day of the year. It only seemed a little hotter than the day before. The Texas Workmen who installed doors on the writing porch a few years ago said our humidity was like none they had encountered. I heard it is hot in Texas.

Talent is all around us. Much of it is unrealized. I thought that this morning when I listened to several folks from Presbyterian Churches speak. Kind, concerned people. I could feel their sincerity over the Zoom Meeting. We introverts do not speak up often. We are bound by our preferred code of silence. When we do, it is a beautiful thing. Blogging is my preferred way to communicate what is on my mind. All those thoughts have to come up for air. It is a life-affirming exercise.

Still waters run deep, I have heard. A leader can not lead without empathy. If you can not feel what others are feeling there is no understanding. When the President says that our soldiers should have been deployed longer, as some our commiting suicide while others contemplate it is a lack of empathy.

Greatness is not contained in riches, power, or size; it is in the character of the nation’s leaders and people. It has been said, I do not care how much you know until I know how much you care about me.’ Christian/Nationalism was not Christ’s message. His message was to love the stranger in your midst, the widow, and the orphan. Looking the other way when passing the beggar on the street is the opposite of the gentle teachings of Jesus.

‘Neva J, I am so grateful for you inviting me to dinner in your home,’ Rosie said. ‘I usually eat a TV Dinner or a Pot Pie and watch television until the test pattern comes on,’ Rosie continued. ‘I do not talk much; there is no one to talk with,’ Rosie said. ‘I appreciate you taking me to the grocery store in your car; it is such a hot walk to the little grocery a few blocks from my house, and they do not have many items,’ Rosie explained. ‘People pass me and look the other way as I stop and rest a bit in the heat,’ Rosie noted. ‘Sitting here with you and your family makes me feel accepted and loved,’ Rosie cried.

The birds are singing, although it is the hottest day this year. They sing that it is all good when you are a bird on Brooks Pond. Through the fog of humidity, we can see September coming. The beginning of the BER Months. My favorite time of year. The curtain of darkness falls earlier each evening. Halloween with Jack O’ Lanterns and s’mores, hayrides and ghost stories will soon be here. The Monsters of my youth have become comforting when I witness the monsters re-emerging in some political leaders. Checks and balances are vital in a successful democracy. They are essential in a well-run church. They keep out the Banality of Evil. When evil looks like efficiency and common sense, forgetting those who need help, prepare for the worst. ‘I was just doing my job. I was a soldier; I was not a policymaker. I secretly opposed the Banality of Evil, but I had to obey,’ the Workmen of the Banality of Evil said. ‘Look away, nothing to see here, do you not hear the operatic music?’ the Footsoldiers said.