The mid-90s is today’s forecast. Summer is hanging on for dear life. Fall is coming. Such is life. When things are uncomfortable, we know change is on the horizon. As the sweat drips off our brow, sweater weather is around the corner. Soon it will be time for the brown leather hat. These are the hopes of the Old Man. There is peace in purpose.

We think about the Secret on Sunday. What lies beyond the Veil? Folks who say they experienced death admonish that it is nothing to worry about. They say the experience of peace was unparalleled. Roger Ebert wrote a note to his wife the day before he died, saying that this life was an elaborate hoax. ‘When asked by his wife what the ‘hoax’ was, Ebert responded that he was referring to this world and this place, calling it an illusion.’

We live in a Story. We are key performers. At times, we know our lines, while at other times, we improvise. The angels are watching. Now and then, we see our Guardian Angel in the front row just behind the floodlights. Then our GA is standing behind our shoulder, whispering in our ear. Our angel says, ‘Look over there.’ We see something mysterious and magical. But just a glimpse. A glimpse is all we need to continue the journey.

We are emboldened. We saw a glimpse of the Secret. It was unlike anything tongues have said. It was hard to describe. Both ethereal and concrete. It was like the sound of rushing water and the sound of doves.

The Woods were full of people. My usual spot had many cars parked in the street. Kids playing and Grandmas talking over potato salad and fried chicken. Autumn is here, and it is time to get about the business of the Picnic and family reunion. Leaves are changing and falling dramatically. The drought has caused the early leaf change. The yellow flowers are still there, but looking a bit worse for wear. We are happy in the fall. Negative feelings are always knocking at the door. We choose to open the door and be positive seekers.

Unconsciously, we are processing. All that we encounter lodges in our brains. We compare past experiences with current encounters. Hurts stay with us. It has been said that we must forgive and forget. We can forgive easier than we forget. Optimism takes effort.

Good things are just around the corner. We have experienced those Corner Moments before. There are many times on this Holiday Train ride that we can not see what awaits us around the next corner. So we worry and get a sour stomach. There could be a Big Green Monster around the corner. Someday we will die, and perhaps the Grim Reaper is waiting with his scythe. Some of our preachers tell us that God has a select people or has chosen them. We did not get the sign-up form for the Chosen List. Are there hordes of the Chosen waiting around the next corner for our removal and their glory? We expect the End Of The World. If it happens, many of us will already be gone on to our reward. I heard a preacher proclaim that the Beast of Revelation was going to speak in 1975. 1975 was the year I graduated from high school. Did a short life await me? 50 years later, it appears I have dodged the Beast Bullet.

A Corner Moment for me was marrying my love, MJ. I did not see that coming until I rounded the Corner. Two Corner Moments were the births of Aaron and Jonathon. Another Corner Moment was being hired as a Building Service Worker I at Southern Illinois University and retiring as the department head.

The Holiday Train rounded a Corner a few years ago, whereupon the new normal equates Christianity with politics. What a rocky Train Track! Now it seems that dedicated Christians who espouse loving all of God’s creation have not read the signs. Today, it is too old-time religion to be poor and still believing that ‘Jesus loves the little children, all the little children of the world. Cash is king, and prejudice is governmental policy.

Holiday Train is chugging along toward the next Corner. What awaits us? Will it be acceptance and unity or division and strife? Will we look to the life of Jesus or the pronouncements of the 5%? Corners are change events. The Civil War was a corner, as was the Civil Rights Movement.

Cooler weather and cooler temperatures await us around the Corner. The Holiday Train is looking down the track to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Two Holidays to love those who have not been loved. We remember when we were lonely and shunned. We recall how good it felt when someone sat beside us at the lunch table and shared stories with us, and cold milk. The joy of pizza on Fridays. We see the kind smile and bright eyes. The stranger is looking for the compassion Christ spoke of. The mentally ill are seeking understanding, not judgment. A significant Corner in my life is when I began working at SIUC and discovered there are wonderful people of every color, religion, and lack thereof. Gay people are beautiful friends. The handicapped of our world have much to teach us about life… They taught me that I was the one who was handicapped, and they would love me and help me succeed.

Summer weather has returned. Hot but not humid. The lawn mower man ran over our dead grass. It did not take long. They focused on the weeds around the Brooks Pond. No matter the heat, it is fall. The baseball teams are seeking a berth in the championship. Contentment comes from a sense of place. The fighting words of Rabel Rousers do not sink in. It is calming to know who you are. A constant state of unrest is the state of some leaders.

‘Let’s watch them fight,’ the Leader says. Confusion diverts attention from what is important. When the Balm of Gilead is needed, vinegar mixed with wine is given. It is good to be alive. To know who you are without influence. The Pond is still. No ill winds blowing. Bullfrogs are resting for the nightly concert. We were in Maine two years ago. Tomorrow we will visit the Lighthouses on Open Lighthouse Day. One of the Lighthouses had a path of large stones leading to it. The Stones were separated by large cracks. MJ and I turned back after we saw the danger in the cracks. Old folks could easily break a leg or more. Aaron Jonathon, Marcy and Brock ventured forward, but it took them some time to reach the Lighthouse. Such is life. We walk on the smooth stones surrounded by cracks big enough to fall into and be lost. Big enough to throw a cat through. Or a small dog. Of course, we would do neither. The adventure was exhilarating. If you are a gazelle.

Our journey is on the Holiday Train. When we look out of the windows, there are majestic scenes. The sleeper cars are lovely, and the food is excellent. The Holiday Train runs across tressles. The drop off is frightening. I recall Dennis and me as boys smoking our Marlboro cigarettes along the train trestle in Eldorado and hearing a distant train whistle. We ran back to the tracks, surrounded by land that you would not have to drop fifty feet to reach. Then we finished our Marlboroughs. On our Holiday Train, there is an agreement that everyone is going to the same destination. First is the Halloween celebration. Ichabod Crane is seeking the Headless Horseman. We bob for apples. There is a hayride that takes up several train cars. We sit together around the autumn bonfire and tell tall tales and drink hot chocolate and eat s’mores. Fighting has no place on the Holiday Train. We are going home. We seek neither praise nor battle. We set out on our journey at birth. This phase will end in death. We know there is more. What we do not know is much greater than what we know.

We wait. We watch. We live this life God has given us. Divisions we feel we have created. They are man-made. Perhaps we place more value on rhetoric than on reality. The traveller, the stranger on the side of the road, did not care about the politics of the Good Samaritan. He saw the Pharisee and the Levite pass him by. He thought he would die. Kindness is kindness. Love is love. In our desperate hour of need, did the Helpers ask us about our political affiliation?

The Holiday Train rumbles down the track of life. Thanksgiving is coming. Why not break bread and pull the wishbone with those who have different political/religious views? None of us is a monster. We are God’s creation, illustrating the kaleidoscope that God is. We all seek to look behind the Veil. Preachers tell us that they have peeked. Their dogma does not prove the fact.

The last car of the Holiday Train has the wolf and the lamb lying down together. The Baby Jesus is in the Manger. His working-class mom and dad are beaming by his side. Jesus came to heal our divisions. He came to love everybody and teach us how to love as he loves. We climb out of the massive cracks that separate us and in which we have fallen. Republicans lend a hand to Democrats, and Democrats hug their Republican friends.

How could it be? 24 years since 9/11. The beginning of a tumultuous century. So many killed. Both Republicans and Democrats…Americans. I have dear friends who are Republicans. Violence is wrong. Murder is wrong. I am often mistaken and misinformed in my beliefs. We are all human. In World War II, we did not ask about the political persuasion of our soldiers who fought and died for us. The valiant women who filled our factories and kept our country together cared less about their status as conservative or liberal. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, soldiers of all political and religious persuasions died, and many lay under the Pacific Ocean entombed.

Unity made our nation great. Division is tearing it apart. Congress sang God Bless America on the steps of the Capitol the evening of 9/11, 24 years ago. Queen Elizabeth requested that the Band of the Coldstream Guards play the Star Spangled Banner outside Buckingham Palace on September 13, 2001. The United States was grieving, and the United Kingdom grieved with us.

We have raised political rhetoric to an art form. We seek the best zinger. We seek the soundbite. We covet the influence that words have over the human spirit. Many things are better left unsaid. It has been said that sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me. How untrue… many have died for their words…

The children cry out. I had no political affiliation. I had no opinion regarding liberal or conservative. I loved my friends; we played together and drank cold milk on break, and rode the merry-go-round together. In Sunday School, we sang Jesus Loves All The Little Children…aren’t we all God’s children?

There are many leaves changing colors and falling at this time of September. The Woods have thousands of brilliant yellow flowers. I do not remember so many this time last year. The Old Man ventured deep in the Woods this morning. The vines amazed him. I can see how people live in the Woods. You are in a separate environment.
The quiet and solitude suit an introvert. Most of our nation was covered by woods in days gone by. Trees have their own personality. They watch humans come and go, wondering what all of the fuss is about.

Soon, MJ and I will go to St. Louis for an overnight stay. St. Louis is our City. We make doctor visits pleasure trips. You do what is required in the golden years. St. Louis is a great city for the holidays. We have been visiting St. Louis since the kids were little, and even before that. They enjoyed seeing the Holiday Bears at Famous Barr during the Christmas season. The Bears were animatronic. I enjoyed them as much as Aaron and Jonathon. Famous and Barr had wonderful chocolate. During the years of its operation, it was my favorite store. In another life, I had purchased so many items from Famous that all the staff knew me by name and greeted me whenever they saw me. One Holiday Season, I made a solo journey to Famous Barr for a Christmas buying binge. With no one to stop me, I spent like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Needless to say, MJ and the boys were the beneficiaries, and I threatened to do it again each Christmastide.

There is electricity in the air. Anticipation is growing. My birthday is six weeks and two days away. I love achieving another birthday. I used to. think 40 was old. Now I know better. Born a week before Halloween. Perhaps my love of Edgar Allen Poe comes from this calendar event. We are excited about life. We are in the big game. Never stop living while you are alive. There is so much to do. There is so much to see.

‘There is an early showing of Frankenstein at the Orpheum Theatre,’ Billy B announced with a wide smile. ‘It will be part of the Town And Country Days celebration,’ Billy B continued. ‘Everyone is supposed to wear their Halloween costume,’ Billy B noted. ‘I am wearing cousin Gene’s Creature From The Black Lagoon Mask and the Creature Hands,’ Billy B said.

‘I will attend as the Lost In Space Robot,’ Chet said with a contented sigh. ‘I have his voice down,’ Chet assured. ‘I probably will win the costume prize,’ Chet laughed. ‘It is rumored that Boris Karloff will speak to the assembled group,’ Chet said.

‘I must say that the Frankenstein Movie is frightening,’ the dignified man said. ‘It is almost as if he will step out of the Movie Silver Screen and talk with the audience,’ DOM said. ‘Certainly this is an example of premier acting,’ DOM continued. ‘What polish and presentation, and he is even smoking a cigar,’ DOM noted.

‘Now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I give you Frankenstein,’ Lou said as the lights lifted.

‘Thank you very much, I will be happy to answer any of your questions,’ Boris Karloff said as he walked from his seat next to Chet and Billy B to the front of the theatre. ‘I must admit that we need to be expeditious as my Bride is coming down the aisle and she tends to scream when she is startled,’ Boris K said with a laugh. ‘Also, she does not like for me to smoke cigars,’ Boris chuckled.

It is a bit warmer in the last days of summer. The drought continues. People are puttering about with purpose. 2025 is on the move. 2026 is often referred to. It is just around the corner. This is the time of year we visited Maine in the last few years. Lobster was on the menu daily. Fresh Maine lobster can not be beat. Lobster in pasta is wonderful. The Taste of Maine has a giant lobster on their roof. We had a wonderful server who told us that the lobster was ‘Yum.’ Indeed, it was. As the temperature turns to fall, we will be scurrying to have Happy Vibes. Vibes that recall the many happy times we have had. We seek the input of joy. Trouble will find you. You do not have to seek it. At times, joy must be worked for.

The Woods was bright with sunshine rather than lovely, dark and deep. That comes later in the year. Mama Turkey was leading Junior across the busy road. She looked back at him and told him to hurry. He seemed to not have a care in the world. Junior was happy being with his mom. Junior had heard of Thanksgiving, but was not worried with a mom looking after him. His friends had told him tales of Turkey and oyster dressing and a warm oven. Junior knew that the stories had to be Turkish Tales. There were no ovens in the Woods, and what was oyster dressing? The simplicity of the Woods comforted him. Recently, Sally Squirrel admonished him to gather nuts for the winter. Junior watched with wonder as Sally and her husband, Sam Squirrel, worked from dawn to dusk in their nut-gathering business. They even sold Nuts by the side of the road. People in Little Egypt like nuts. They bought them by the pound. Nuts are good for the holidays. Business was booming.

Sylvester Snake asked Sally Squirrel what was so good about nuts? He had never eaten one. Sylvester saw everything at ground level. Sylvester noted that he is misunderstood. ‘I am an introvert and do not bother others,’ Sylvester said. ‘I want to come to the fall picnic on Sunday and may bring some nuts,’ Sylvester grinned with delight. ‘Susie is making pumpkin pie and potato salad,’ Sylvester noted. ‘I like hot apple cider,’ Sylvester commented. ‘Also, I enjoy apples…you may have read,’ Sylvester laughed.

‘I will be at the fall picnic, Bernie Black Bear said triumphantly. ‘My family came up from Tennessee last year,’ Bernie continued. ‘We like the Woods a lot,’ BBB said with a dance. ‘We are part of the Dancing Bears,’ BBB noted. ‘For many years we performed in the circus,’ BBB commented with pride. ‘We think that there should be more black bears in the Park,’ BBB proclaimed. ‘If you like, we will perform some of our dances at the event,’ Bernie asked. I am famous for my Irish Jig,’ BBB said as he danced on one foot and then the other. ‘Some humans do not understand us and seek our removal from the Woods,’ BBB said with sadness. ‘We Black Bears seek unity with all man and beast,’ Bernie offered. ‘We want to offer our talents and skills for the betterment of our community…we do not want to be strangers in the Woods,’ Bernie said softly.

We are aboard the Holiday Train. The year has had ups and downs. We have booked a sleeper car for the journey. Meals served and a complimentary drink. A little bed to lay our weary heads. It could be that train travel will become our new go-to transportation. Planes are a bit stressful. The hurry up and wait is painful. Everyone is looking and few are talking. They know they are soon going to be in the air. Being in the air does not come naturally to us. We do not have wings. Angels have wings, but we are no angels. We are angels with dirty faces. We muck about in the dirt and broken potsherds. Some of us seek an advantage over our fellows. Perhaps we can get more if our neighbor has less. It is a zero-sum game for some. We are the country that proclaims, Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’ Now we say America for Real Americans…and how do the powers that rule come up with their definition of Real Americans?

The Holiday Train offers many delights and treats. There is a car designed for bobbing for apples. There is another for Ghost Stories. The vehicle that has the family Thanksgiving Dinner is always in demand with its stuffed turkey and giblet gravy. Several train cars have a Christmas theme. There are Santa, Mrs. Claus, and all of the elves sitting around a fireplace. Rudolph and all the reindeer take up two cars. They are smoking cigars and drinking holiday beer while playing poker. The reindeer are a rough and ready lot. The manger and the baby Jesus are the most desired characters to visit. The shepherds stand vigil at the baby, surrounded by animals and straw and all the common elements of a barn. There is no flash or glitz. The lambs smile contentedly. The Son of God has come to earth. He has come for the good of all creation. Everyone is welcome, and no one is turned away. The Conductor calls out All Aboard. The Poor of the Land climb the train steps. The immigrant and the stranger in the land take a seat in one of the pristine train cars. All are welcome as the lame and the blind take their seats. There is a peace that passes understanding. There is a calm that you can breathe. Hope is palpable.

Church was wonderful this morning. There was neither the clanging of cymbals nor the beating of drums but a calm assurance of being in the right place. The quietness of faith overwhelms me. The mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting, the Bible tells us. We live under the canopy of angels. Often, we are anxious without reason. Our story progresses. There is a peace that passes all understanding. We live in disquieting times. Clowns to the left of us and jokers to the right, the song tells us. We are stuck in the middle with Grace.

The darkest of nights yield to the brightness of the new morning. The mountain we could not climb is but a foothill. At times, we felt alone, misunderstood, and rejected. The devil was peering through the crack in the door. He smiled a wicked smile. He danced an Irish Jig. Job’s comforters told us to curse God and die. We considered their admonition. Scraping boils with broken pottery is not for the faint of heart. Then the light shone through the same crack in the door that the devil was peering through earlier. Suddenly, we knew everything was going to be all right.

Autumn winds are blowing this afternoon. Moms held their kids’ hands as they explored the Trillium Trail. I was snapping photos of the massive rock face when a young man asked me if he was at the right place for rappelling. He figured that the Old Man with the brown leather hat must know. It is Sunday in September. The year has flown by. The Holiday Season is knocking. Life is good on the Blue Orb. Crickets are singing. A change is coming.

We hunger for purpose. What is it all about, we say. Is our purpose to get a good job, buy a home, and have two cars? Is money the measurement of our success? Neva J used to tell me that money can not buy happiness. In those golden days of youth, I thought that I would like to see for myself. Mr. Rabbit ran across the lawn. He was late for an important date. He had his three-piece suit and a wonderful hat. He had a stopwatch attached to his watch fob. Mr. Rabbit was known for his expediency. He got things done. If you want a job done right and quickly, ask for Mr. Rabbit. Robby Rabbit felt good every day. He was the Energizer Bunny. That is, until a car hit him on Giant City Road. Robby was laid up in the Wildlife Hospital. He pondered his mortality. His fast friends in business seemed to forget him. ‘Hello, my friend…are you feeling better?’ Tom Turtle asked with a wide smile. ‘I brought you a couple of thousand-piece puzzles to put together during your convalescence,’ Tom Turtle said with a grin. ‘I put these puzzles together over the winter months when it is too cold to get out of the den,’ TT said. ‘It will not be long before you will be in racing form again, and we will marvel at your exploits,’ TT laughed and winked. ‘You are the fastest rabbit that I have raced,’ TT noted. ‘We will race on the same team this time and drink from the winner’s cup,’ Tom Turtle danced about as turtles do when they are happy.

Peace was the word for today. Cool breezes and autumn leaves. The Old Man got right in for a haircut. The white hair wafted downward. I told my barber that MJ says I had black hair when we got married. I told her I thought it had been brown. She said that her hair had gone prematurely white. She does not like people to call her hair gray. I remember Earl laughing and telling me that he saw a pronounced bald spot on my head as we rode the ski lift at Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I was in my 30s. In those halcyon days, I had quite a bit of gray hair.

So we wonder if our bodies have a soul. The reality is that we are a soul that has a body. I have been in the presence of several people as they died. Nothing is more evident than that once they expire, they are not in the bed before you any longer. We make decisions regarding those we meet from how their body looks. We have missed the mark. The person is on the inside of their body looking out.

So it goes as we enter fall. A settled feeling permeates the air. We are ready for what is to come. Health and happiness, as well as challenges and days in the Valley. All are on the rollercoaster ride we are on. The Grand Experiment has not been revealed. A Veil is separating us from the next stage of existence. Peace of place surrounds us. A magnificent story is unfolding and we are in the middle of the narrative. First, our children were born, and we joyfully brought the babies home. Were we the first to experience parenthood and the joys and challenges of the journey? The kids mature and finally take care of us. What a circle. Is time linear or is it a circle? Have you ever been to a new place and felt like you had been there before? Have you met a stranger and sensed in your bones that you had shared secrets? We are in the middle of a massive mystery. Those who say they have the answer avoid.

The message of Christ is to love others as I have loved you. Christ loved the poorest of the poor, the leper and the stranger. Jesus came to us clothed in flesh as we are. If you are a Christian, you ascribe to the belief that he is the Son of God. He modeled how we should treat our brothers and sisters. As he wrote in the sand, the stoners of the woman caught in adultery walked away. What did he write? Christ’s critics called him a friend of publicans and sinners and a winebibber.

A bit of a chill is welcome. It is a feeling I remembered from the past. It is nice to be out of the microwave. The leaves are falling in the Woods. Our drought has something to do with it. A little rain has fallen. The dust has settled. I am fascinated by the big rocks in the Woods. Sandstone formations. People long ago carved their names in them. Many were full of sap like a young tree. They had their lives before them, and nothing was going to get in their way. We are the visitors, the rocks are the residents. We come and go; they endure. If you listen closely, you can hear distant laughter. Young people making plans and old folks dreaming dreams. Kids ask how the rocks got there. Spirits watch.

We humans want to beat the system. Where is the key to glory and power, we say. Are creative lies good if they increase our bounty? Ms. Squirrel is gathering nuts for winter. The baby deer was hidden in the Woods’ thicket. He knew he was safe as he waited for his Mom. She told him to stay put while she checked the area for strangers. The Old Man was taking pictures as he was wont to do. The yellow flowers were pristine and plentiful. The Baby Deer could see the Old Man through the yellow flowers. He did not resemble the deer he had seen. The Old Man smelled like sweet but not woodsy. He had on a straw hat. Baby Deer thought that he would enjoy a straw hat. A straw hat would distinguish him among the other deer. A straw hat would be a bit regal. No other Baby Deer had a straw hat. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bullrushes. The Baby Deer jumped up and, in one motion, had the Old Man’s straw hat and was off like a deer.

Soon we will light a fire in our fireplaces. Many years ago, I was substituting for an absent crew boss at Anthony Hall, which was the White House of Campus. The President of the University had a majestic fireplace in his office. One of the many specific instructions for such an important building for the Custodian to perform nightly was to ‘Lay Fire.’ At the conclusion of the shift, I asked a person on the crew what ‘Lay Fire’ meant, and she told me it was to strategically place wood and paper in the fireplace, whereby the President could simply put a match to the affair, and fire would ensue. She assured me not to worry as they did not ‘Lay Fire’ every night.

So we will lay fire and enjoy the warm glow. Long nights of reflection. Where we have been and where we are going. A pot of stew on the fire for lost friends. A candle in the window to light the path to our door. Animosities and hurts forgiven. Conspiracy theories set aside. The Star of Bethlehem will light our way. We are home from the hunt. Understanding is in the pages of our next chapter. All of us cry. We all laugh. Our eyes tell the story of our lives. We are still here. Our loved ones surround us. The fire is crackling, and the stew smells delicious. Hope is on the horizon. Peace is ours if we will grasp it. A sense of place encompasses us. Big boulders with inscriptions and baby deer with straw hats around us. There comes our lost loved one up the path. Light the Christmas Tree, we will have Christmas now…