So the first day of fall is less than a week away. Time for pumpkin spice coffee and pumpkin spice cake. The days will cool. The nights grow long. Trees will display their glory in the last leaves. Hope will grow as we travel toward the holidays.

Holidays are fun, refreshing events that recharge our batteries. What were the holidays like for those who came before us? Neva J and Bill were members of the Greatest Generation. Bill was in the Pacific Theatre. Neva J was on the home front in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Thoughts of being home for Christmas were heavenly. The world at war. They did not know if the Allies would win or if they would see each other again. We, little people, have big thoughts; live big lives; dream big dreams. A little man named Adolf Hitler had decimated Europe. His plan of telling the Big Lie often enough that people would believe the lie worked extraordinarily well. People sat, watched, and wondered but could not accept that such a little clown would be taken seriously. Millions died for accepting the banality of evil.

Halloween is just around the corner. Kids will wear Halloween costumes of Frankenstein and Dracula. They will be in search of free candy. The costumes political leaders wear are custom-made. They want free candy too. They gaslight us a bit do not believe what your lying eyes see and your lying ears hear. Gas did not go up thirty cents a gallon today and will soon be five dollars a gallon.