We have left 15 degrees in Carbondale, Illinois for 54 degrees at Miramar Beach, Florida. I texted Aaron that it was a little chilly here…and he reminded me that it was at home…also. It is all in perspective. We visited Winn Dixie this morning and I listened with great interest as the person on the intercom announced that you could get cocktails and wine in the Hospitality Room of the Supermarket…and carry your drink throughout the store as you shopped…again location and perspective. Snowbirds is a common term in this neck of the woods. I am setting on Ron and Ira Kayes’s balcony and looking out at the brilliant Gulf of Mexico…with the sun shining on it. A few people are walking on the sugar-white sands of the beach…where cares evaporate in the emerald green water of the Ocean. January is a peaceful time to visit Miramar Beach and Destin. The slow down of the frenetic pace of the area is a welcome respite. We snowbirds move rather slowly…but we move with purpose and vision.

We traveled to Mascoutah Wednesday afternoon to attempt to beat the snow that began later that evening and through the night and that could have halted our plans to drive to the Mid America Airport early Thursday morning. Allegiant Airline provides one of the easiest ways of traveling to Destin, Florida that we have experienced in our 12 years of visiting here. Mid America Airport is a 90 minute drive from Carbondale and the trip after that takes just under one hour and one half. Driving from Carbondale to Destin takes about 12 hours. I was distracted by several persons speaking Spanish. There is a massive construction upgrade going on at Mainsail.

Sadly…we discovered that our neighbor and friend of nearly 20 years, Ken, died at home earlier this week. Ken was my favorite neighbor. He never failed to wave at us both when we left our house and when we later returned. Weather permitting…he was in his yard attending to his flowers or chipping golf balls. Each spring he received a large truckload of mulch that was subsequently dumped in his driveway. He spent a month carefully spreading the mulch around his and Barb’s abundance of beautiful flowers. He did not have the mulch delivered the past spring or two. When you met Ken…you felt good about the experience.

Snow is in our forecast. At one time I laughed a lusty guffaw and plowed right through the accumulating white powder. There was a time that my buddy, Steve, and I attempted to reach our destination of cleaning the business offices off Ziegler Coal Company that was located on the far side of Johnston City…22 miles from our home. We found that we could not see the road… and so Steve stuck his head out of the passenger window and attempted to keep our vehicle out of the ditch. We did not succeed. It was a blizzard. We have a trip to Florida planned and want to avoid snow and ice…both getting to the airport and in Florida. Now for the first time in our lives, we have two four-wheel-drive vehicles, Subaru Foresters, and they are more equipped to take the rough weather than at any time in our lives…but the driver is out of the spirit of snow adventure.

Miramar Beach, Florida is a wonderful destination. We have enjoyed numerous visits with Ron and Ira Kaye over the years. They are such wonderful hosts and make us feel so welcome. I am mesmerized by the Ocean. I literally can look at it for hours on end. Each opportunity to visit with our family is precious. When I leave the lovely setting…I keep it in my heart. I love the geographical area that I live in…but Miramar Beach is so different than where MJ and I live…it is continually new to me at each visit.

I often recharge and plan anew when I am at Miramar Beach. The atmosphere is conducive to a pleasant reflection. I also plan for new adventures when I am there. Everything seems possible when you are directly in front of the Ocean… I am now working on my 12th year of retirement and our visits to Miramar Beach and time with Ira Kaye and Ron…have been integral to my retirement enjoyment.

We lost our 16-year-old Boston Terrier, Brody, a year ago today. He was a vital member of our family…and we miss him every day… I can still see him prancing down the long hallway of Aaron’s apartment building in 2015. He went with us to see his favorite human when he lived in Fishers, Indiana. He would stop directly in front of Aaron’s apartment door. When we took him outside to do his business…there was a dog park where he showed… He strutted in front of the other dogs…especially the females…and he cut quite a little figure…

We are in Christmastide. ‘There are several celebrations within Christmastide, including Christmas Day (25 December), St. Stevens Day (26 December), Childermas (28 December), New Year’s Eve (31 December), The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (1 January), The Twelve Days of Christmas terminate with Epiphany Eve or Twelfth Night (the evening of 5 January). Wikipedia. We are basking in the Afterglow of Christmas. Family and friends have warmed our hearts and we have enjoyed their smiles and kindness…and subsequently, we have felt kinder ourselves. The joy of giving a gift and seeing the look of surprise on the recipient’s face and feeling their gratitude is priceless. Christmas allows us to see with special eyes and hear with special ears…and feel the meaning of, ‘Peace on earth and goodwill to men.’ Was it because of, ‘Some magic in that old silk hat they found…,’ as the song Frosty the Snowman says…or was it the magic of taking time to see each other and to listen to each other and to know each other…

Billy B. was full of the joy of Christmas. He had received all of the gifts that he had asked for and enjoyed the day with his family and his friends, Chet and Jane, and Daryl. Neva J. had been worried about Rosie all Christmas Day. She could not reach her and had even gone by her little home to knock on the door and attempt to raise her. Rosie lived alone and was a bit of a hermit. She talked to herself…a little…and answered herself…at times. She was a little round lady and she wore dresses called Moo Moos. Rosie loved Neva J. and confided in her. Rosie had been a dancer in Vaudeville and traveled the United States with the Dancing Troop that she was a member of. Her steady boyfriend for many years was a singer on the radio. They both enjoyed the exciting life of the Theatre and had many friends. Rosie told Neva J. that she had left her daughter with her sister to raise because she could not be with her on a regular basis due to her traveling with the Dance Troop. Her fiance, Bert, contracted tuberculosis and died. Her daughter disowned her. She had fallen into mental illness and destitution before Neva J. met her. Neva J. nursed her back to health and found her a little house and connected her to government assistance. She was her benefactor.

Rosie came to the door. Neva J. threw her arms around her and hugged her tight. ‘Rosie…I tried and tried to call you on Christmas to invite you to Christmas dinner,’ said Neva J. ‘June…I did not want to be with people that I do not know…but I would be happy to be with you and Billy B.,’ she responded. So, there you have it…Christmas happened again for Rosie…and Neva J. and Billy B….and it was more special than the first one… Rosie was dressed as Mrs. Claus and Billy B. came as Santa…and Neva J. was the angel…heralding the birth of the Christ Child…

A remembrance of a leader in our community upon his passing sites his ability to tell wonderful stories. We love stories. We live in a story! We are a story! When I hear the story of an ancestor or a historical figure and their challenges and accomplishments…I have to remind myself that they were as human as I am…their challenges were as great or greater than mine…and their accomplishments were as tenuous and desired as any that I have achieved and desired. Before I became a Christian…I was captivated by the Bible Story Books that I read in my Doctors office.

When I think of Dad I think of stories that I remember about him…and stories that I have been told about him. I often mention his leather motorcycle jacket his motorcycle hat and the fact that he carried a concealed handgun…that was illegal…on the street of Chicago. My father exists for me in stories. The same for Mom since her passing in 2013. I remember her care for the many country cats that she fed each day. She loved a glass of the boxed Franzia Wine…and she enjoyed ice cream called…Vienetta…which she slowly said as if to reveal the word too quickly would be more than the hearer could bear.

We have been to Europe 4 times…during the last decade…and all of the visits have become stories that we tell. I actually began blogging as a means of recording our traveling adventures and to have a record to look back on…as memory fades.

The Bible…both Old and New Testaments…are the stories of the Hebrew and Christian Faith. I have been a Christian for 53 years based on a story that mesmerized me. The Story has provided me with a path to trod and a road map of life…that has been fulfilling and given purpose to my journey.

One day each of us will die…and the next day our lives will become a story that our loved ones and friends and acquaintances tell…

Write your story…well…

Yesterday the temperature was in the 60s…today it is in the 20s. The wind is blowing at 16 miles per hour and the chill factor is 13 degrees. Now, this is normal weather for Southern Illinois…but this fall and thus far winter…has not been normal. Traffic is slow as most folks are in by the fire. I wore the neck scarf that MJ got me for Christmas…it felt good. Winter is most enjoyable when looking at it through your window.

Discipline and responsibility are not always fun…but they are fulfilling. When I was a lad in Eldorado, Illinois I really did not compare mom and my life to others. I knew what our reality and resources were and felt satisfied that we were doing the best that we could with the tools that we had to work with. Life was simpler and often better without the constant harassment of Facebook and its comparisons to others that have more earthly goods…and who seems to be having…constant fun…without cost. The Lottery is a multi-billion dollar industry that is financed by many people who are using the butter and egg money to purchase the magical Lottery Ticket. Dreams are mystical and magnificent things…and working to fulfill your dreams is a worthy goal. Dreams that lead to poverty and sorrow…are not the substance of hope.

On October 10, 1978, I was hired as a Building Service Worker at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. Custodial work is a fundamental bedrock need in our society. Not glamorous or often sought after…but a dream come true for MJ and me. I emersed myself in my housekeeping duties. I did not consider my position a ‘Bridge Job’ to a better position. I understood that if I sought excellence in my service and kept a servant’s heart…my work would be recognized by some. I knew from my first day that I wanted to be a Professional Housekeeper…I wanted to be the best that I could be.

Often we grow discouraged that our climb on the Ladder Of Success…is not moving as rapidly as we believe that it should be. We witness others get ahead by rhetoric and deception and we wonder…if anyone is watching or noticing… There is no easy answer if we choose to compare ourselves to our neighbor…if we focus on excellence and the fundamentals of our success…we will be rewarded…in time. True success is incremental.

Lentils and ham for dinner today. Home-made cheeseball to accompany the New Years Feast. It rained all day and now the thermometer is dropping precipitously. Aaron and I watched a Horror Film…that we still are trying to decipher. Jonathon and I put the Christmas decorations back into their Christmas Closet. Aaron helped MJ with dinner. If the holidays teach me anything…they teach that life is short. When I reflect on Christmas past…they seem like yesterday. Christmas is a Station in our earthly travel. A time to remember and a time to plan for the future. Time to take stock of what seems to be a random set of occurrences and circumstances…when you are experiencing them…but in reality, they make up the fabric of your life.

Colder temperatures will come as a shock to the many who have received significant tornado damage to their homes…especially in Mayfield, Kentucky. I saw a man with many rags and blankets attempting to sleep in a doorway in Carbondale. When you see the homeless…it is difficult to conceive how horrible it is to Sleep Rough…as the English refer to homelessness. We have been experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures most of December…now the full force of winter in Southern Illinois is coming…tonight.

It has been said that to continue to do the same things and to expect different results…is a form of insanity… 2022 can be a year of change for each of us. The change will be all around us and it will demand our attention and our time and our talents. If we can have a spirit of change…we will be much happier with what the New Year brings us. We can accept responsibility for our actions in the New Year. The Change that we want to occur in ourselves…is our responsibility. Another human is never going to take the interest in you that you naturally have in yourself. Your failure is usually your primary responsibility and your success is attributed to your hard work and sweat and determination.

Visualization…helps in the achievement of goals. If you can see yourself firmly in the place or position or succeeding in the goal that you have set for yourself…it will be achieved. There is an old saying that ‘Rome was not built in a day,’ and neither will our goals be achieved in a day. Success is incremental. You do not fail overnight…and you do not succeed…overnight.

Happiness comes from the continued pursuit of excellence. I wonder if many marriages fail due to each partner having unrealistic expectations of the happiness that their partner is going to bring them. Usually what you work at in endeavoring to make another happy…will come back to you… Karma

Fiction Chapter II

Grandma Askews’ stories scared Billy B. He wondered if he would have time to grow up and experience some years as an adult. Billy B. wondered why Grandma was not speaking about Santa Claus and his reindeer and the elves making Christmas toys for the children of the world. His cousin, Gene, loved the Biblical accounts of the last battle…Armageddon… and Grandmas’ favorite Biblical reference regarding the blood rising as high as the bridle of a horse. Gene was into monsters…especially Universal Studios Monsters. He also was a science fiction fan. The idea of an apocalyptic end to the earth that he lived upon…seemed to brighten his day. Neva J. had asked her mom to read the Christmas Story from the scriptures. Grace began to read…

‘Jane, we must go and see about your dad,’ said Billy B. As they proceeded on their bicycles across Eldorado they could not believe what their eyes told them. There were abandoned cars and people laying on the snow-covered sidewalks and some appeared to be dead. The Pharmacist stuck her head out of the drugstore and called out to the three children. ‘Please come and help me…a family has passed out at the soda fountain,’ she implored. Chet said, ‘My God…those are horses…a lot of horses…and they are running right down the middle of the street.’

‘For unto us a child is born, unto us, a son is given…,’ Grandma Askew read. Billy B. woke up from his Christmas nap and saw that Jane and Chet had fallen asleep…as well. He was safe in Grandma’s Beulah Heights Home. There were cookies to eat and more fudge…and some of his mom’s famous coffee cake…

Billy B.. is old now…but he thinks of that Christmas nightmare…on a serene Christmas day in 1963…

Fog is the word of the day. The fog that you can wear. We have all been down with colds…and the fog seems appropriate for the moment. As I reflect on the New Year I am struck with how little we do to celebrate it in the Brooks house. The extent of our New Year’s Revelry would be a couple of outings with our good friends, Laura and Jim, and many years ago when we attended another church…at a fellow parishioner’s home to watch football… Usually, MJ toddles off to bed and I wait up to see the New Year come in…and creep into the bedroom to give her a New Year’s Kiss…if she is not asleep. We old folks sleep sporadically. A two-hour nap is like pennies from heaven.

New Years Resolutions are not my foray any longer…although they were for many years. I do recall a resolution that I made some time ago to walk for my health every day of the New Year. I kept it faithfully for 6 months. Since my retirement, I have walked every day as a matter of habit. My retirement vow or plan was to walk and read and write. I have fallen into the habit of doing all three on a daily basis. My hobbies require about 4 hours per day…and that is enough for this old fellow. I enjoy staying engaged on a wide and diverse basis. I want to hear and learn things that I do not already know. I want to be challenged regarding the things that I believe that I know… Actually, I want my thinking challenged…why do I believe the things that I believe…have I considered all sides of the argument…do I know the downside of my accepted beliefs…

So, what is on our horizon? What does past practice prognosticate as future behavior? The first problem that comes to mind is the continued division in our country. We are not coming together and if anything…we are pulling further apart. The world of work has changed and is in the midst of change. Restaurants across the United States can not find enough help. Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale is experiencing difficulty in attracting people to their openings…and they are the largest employer in our region. Our Pandemic has caused many of us to decide that we are, ‘Mad as Hell and that we are not going to take it anymore,’ as the newscaster from the movie Network proclaimed. The U.S. exists on Servitude Labor Pay. Our country operates on the backs of the working poor… Covid 19 has changed this paradigm and it will not go back to its former self. Church has changed. Faith Communities have altered their composition…and Faith Leaders have yet to understand the shift in this tried and true form that has worked for hundreds of years. Churches will either change…or die…

There is a shift coming in the monopoly of the upper 2 percent. The Great Unwashed have seen the light and realize that they are getting the short end of the stick…and they are tired…and determined for change. People are weary of seeing the CEO drink Crystal and eat Fau Graus and they do not have enough to pay their light bill…they do not have enough money to feed their children…they die for lack of health care…because they can not afford it. Marie Antoinette said, ‘Let them eat cake,’ but the cake is stuck in our throats…

Fiction Chapter 1

Billy B. was going to the Theatre for a between Christmas and New Year movie. 1963 had been a difficult year with the assassination of President Kennedy occurring just last month. His mom, Neva J., had still not stopped crying and Christmas seemed hollow after the death of their beloved President. Jane and Chet had been over to participate in the shared opening of their presents. Billy B. had received, from Santa, a Big Swinger, Polaroid Camera…and he had been taking photos of everything that he saw. Chet got a Visible Man and Jane received a Visible Woman. The figures were fascinating in their anatomical accuracy. Jane mentioned that her dad was coughing a lot…and that he could not sleep due to the severe cold that he had. Chet remarked that his mom, Thelma, had been sneezing often and she seemed listless. President Johnson was on television walking around the White House with his Beagle Hounds.

Irma La Douce was the Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemon movie that was playing at the Orpheum. Billy B. settled in for a long enjoyable Sunday of watching Irma La Douce over and over again…until closing time. As Billy B. watched Shirley MacLaine portray Irma La Douce on the silver screen…he decided that he loved her… When Neva J. came to pick Billy B. up…she was coughing uncontrollably. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen…and she could barely communicate…Billy B. told her to move over and let him drive the 1957 Chevrolet Convertable…and she did…without complaint. When he arrived home he helped his mom into her bed and then the phone rang. Jane said, ‘Dad is really sick…can you come over and help me with him…I do not know what to do for him.’ Billy B. said that he would be there as soon as he could get his mom settled. Then, there was a knock at Billy B.’s back door. It was Chet and the look on his face was more frightening than any monster mask that they had ever tried on. ‘Billy B…..Mom is dead…’ Billy B. invited Chet inside and said that they would telephone Ferrel Hospital to send an ambulance to Chet’s home in Parrish Addition. Billy B. rang the Hospital and let the ringer sound 20 times or more. Finally, someone answered and said that they were the custodian and there was no one available to take their call as sick and dying people were being brought in every door…and there was no more room…

President Johnson was on CBS and he was saying that they had discovered that there was a virulent flu spreading rapidly across the United States…and that it was incumbent on everyone to wear a face mask and stay away from other people…until the government could find out how to cure the virus.

This is the best Christmas ever…Billy B. thought as he scooped another ladle of dressing onto his plate. Grandma Askew gathered all of the adults and children around her after the gifts were opened and the food was eaten and told them a story. ‘Hard times are coming…Armageddon…and the 7 Last Plagues of the Wrath of God…and the scripture says that the blood will run-up to the horses’ bridle,’ Grandma Askew said. Billy B. was full of Turkey and Ham and Oyster Dressing…and he held his Big Swinger Camera aloft and took her picture as she spoke. ‘Life is precious…but it is not guaranteed,’ said Grandma. ‘All of us should get right with our Maker,’ Grandma Askew intoned. About that time Jane was at Billy B.’s side and wanted to show him her new Barbie Doll and Ken to go with her. Billy B. noticed that her Ken Doll looked very much like his GI Joe…but he was an Action Figure…not a doll…like Neva J. called him.

Barry Goldwater was now on TV and saying that he believed that the flu was not a pandemic like the Democrats were saying and that it would soon disappear like the regular flu does each year. He saw no cause for alarm and suggested that everyone go home and enjoy the peaceful interim between 1963 and 1964. He noted that he had been told that there were only a few cases and that they would soon be healed by modern medicine. Billy B. and Jane and Chet rushed to Chet’s house and verified that Thelma was dead…and no longer needed an ambulance…but rather….and undertaker…

Do you enjoy a good burger…I know that I do…Jonathon and I had some tasty burgers at Buffalo Wildwings recently. When I entered the eating establishment I knew that I was behind the times…as it had television screens on every wall and in all nooks and crannies. There was so much going on…it was a bit difficult to take it all in. Jonathon told me that the restaurant had been in Carbondale for 15 years…and yet it was a new experience for me. It is fun to have new experiences.

Life brings me constant surprises. When I was young I was satisfied that I knew the score and what inning I was in…now I neither know the score nor that ballpark that I am in. New Year means new beginnings. I am not speaking of exercise programs or weight loss efforts…in particular. When the Old Year goes doddering off and the Baby New Year comes bouncing in…we are all young again in our purpose and intent and new roads to travel. I am watching an adaption of the book, Station Eleven, on HBO/Max and one of the characters said, ‘I do not want to die and discover that I lived the wrong life.’ So many facets of living call our name and beckon for us to join in…we often do not do so because the area is out of comfort level. At times…being out of your comfort level is the greatest adventure that you will ever have…

Around the corner are good things waiting for each of us. Many of us are closet artists. We want to paint…or write…or act…or sing…but we are afraid of what others will think or say… ‘Be not afraid…’ Many of us would like to try out for Theatre…but we are afraid of the judgment of our peers…wanting to do something is over half of the battle. Our New Year is a Clean Slate…write upon your slate…it is your slate alone to write upon…make a piece of art that has never been seen before…