Monday Memories
I was pursuing Facebook and I saw a great photo of Christmas 1952. Although, I did not come along until 1957…the photo of the, ecstatic, young boy, when he realized that he was getting a toy peddle car, reminded me of a similar car that I had in the late 1950’s! I enjoyed many happy and care-free hours peddling my little heart out! The Christmas tree, in the ‘Old Christmas’ photo…looked just like the Tree that I recall when we lived in Chicago.
As I walk the campus of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale, and snap photos of the lovely blossoming spring trees…I am reminded of my being mesmerized by the beauty of our campus, through out the 42 years that I have been affiliated with it! Our pandemic has caused me to be appreciative of the little things…which I have discovered are, really, the big things. It is miraculous to be able to wake-up each morning and to be excited about the possibilities that the day has in store!
I discovered, many years ago, that when inspecting the quality of my cleaning, in the early days of my career, and discovering that, although, I saw it with my own eyes on a nightly basis, I really had failed to see so many important facets of it. There is a saying that applies; ‘It is all in how you look at it!’
When I was a child everything that I saw was new and unique and wondrous to behold. There was an adventure around every corner. I saw a Cardinal yesterday. He posed for me for some time. What a magnificent creature! He appeared to have on a little red hat.
I have been ordering books from my favorite independent book-store, Main Street Books, in St.Charles, Missouri. Every time that I order one…I get a thrill out of the experience. I am expanding my library…and helping such a fine establishment…and the owner sends such lovely and heartfelt postcards with each order.
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I saw a photo, on Facebook, of my old friend, Brad Dillard, and it was of him in his police officers uniform and the narrative spoke of his completion of his police training. There he was, smiling broadly, and I was transported to the time that I first met him, and noticed what a friendly person that he was…and we were both much younger.
MJ and my good friend, Wendi, is making us both a face mask…I am humbled at her love and care for MJ…and this Old Curmudgeon!
We are surrounded by love… Our nurses love us…they are risking their lives for us! Our grocery store staffs love us…they are risking their lives for us! Our custodial staffs love us…they are risking their lives for us! Our truck drivers and warehouse workers love us…they are risking their lives for us!
We are afraid…with good reason. But, the helpers…are all around us. We are surrounded by God’s love…when we are surrounded by his loving creation!
Our present distress has magnified the love and concern that our human family has for each other. From the singing on the balconies by the precious home bound Italians…to the united applause, in the United Kingdom, for it’s heath care workers…to, ‘At exactly 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening, thousands of New Yorkers in quarantine stood on their porches and near their windows to applaud first responders and health care workers on the front-lines of the coronavirus outbreak! ABC 7
We Have Each Other…We Have Today
We attended a wonderful Easter church service, this morning. I am slowly catching on to Zoom Church. If you want to see your fellow congregants…you have to click the little arrow to facilitate the scrolling of the images of those in attendance. There were all of my friends! Beaming and smiling, virtually radiant, as they sat in their homes…and joined together for worship. Pastor Kerry was there, with a photographic backdrop that is of the front of our sanctuary. The first time that I saw it I thought that he was preaching from our church. This morning he had the, ancillary effect, of fog around him…that slowly thickened as his message continued. It produced a bit of a spiritual theatrical prop…by virtue of a technological hiccup. Kerry, during his children’s sermon, produced what appeared to be unbroken eggs, and subsequently asked what the children thought would happen when he broke…
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Hope Deferred
Happy Easter!
‘Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then then went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold two men stood by them in shinning garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their heads to the earth. they said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how he spoke to you when when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ And they remembered his words.’ Luke 24:…
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The Big 36!
Tomorrow is Jonathon’s 36th Birthday. This must mean that I am at least 45… This year Jonathon and Easter…share the same day. JC…and JB! We had planned a birthday dinner in Cape Girardeau today and Easter dinner, tomorrow, at Kokopelli’s in Marion. We Brooks have been planning our food celebrations…for a long time. Have you considered that food is integral to our recognition and memorialization of events that are important or milestones in our lives? Seldom are there happy events that are not magnified by good food. Even when we are sad…we look for solace in a good hamburger… We were at my favorite restaurant, Cunetto’s on the Hill in St. Louis, several years ago…when a large group sat down next to our table. There were 20 place settings and the diligent waitress was busily serving water and taking drink orders…when a man with an authoritarian manner, think Tony Soprano, brusquely inquired, ‘Are you going to take the food order?’
Seriously though…as you often hear…Jonathon and his friend Jesus…are truly joined at the hip! Jonathon cares about his friends, and always has time for them….and he has a lot of friends! He is like all of us humans…he has had disappointments and has endured difficult times. Yet, he chooses to meet the world, each day, with a smile and an sunny attitude…and he is a joy to be around…and people seek his company.
Aaron and Jonathon are the light of MJ’s and my life! When we think about what fine and responsible men that they have grown into…I know it is all because of their mother…and she agrees…
When it comes to birthdays…we will not be defeated. Tonight we enjoyed fine Mexican cuisine from Del Sol…delivered curbside…and for our Easter feast we will have Hunan…and mine will be my favorite…Crispy Duck.
Jonathon and Aaron are men that appreciate a fine craft beer. I traveled to the drive-thru at Westroads Liquor Store, in Carbondale. I thought that I had found a secret path from the business that was next door, until I felt the, profound, bump of the curb…that I had just jumped. I, quickly looked to my right and my left to ensure that someone had not witnessed my frivolity…and considered that I had already visited the, Spirits Store. They did not have any of Jonathon’s suggestions…so I asked for their, expert opinion…and 3 packs later…we are all happy!
Laughing Past Midnight
A great, Jonathon Brooks Blog!
Pull up a couple of rocking chairs, bring us each a stout, and let’s tell stories. Make it fact or make it fiction. Just make certain it makes for an interesting tale. Keep me laughing until way past the midnight hour. Or keep me interested until the sun shows up. Stories make us more fully alive.
The story of my life has had a lot of intriguing plot twists. I am certain you could tell a similar story regarding your life’s experiences. My current five year plan is to laugh at the mere idea of ever having a five year plan. I toast my stout to you and to our future plot twists!
I’ve decided to begin writing more flash fiction stories. Many of them will probably be between 500 and 750 words. These flash fiction stories will be written in one sitting and tossed out through this blog page…
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Young Samuel
A great, Flash Fiction Story from, Jonathon Brooks.
The boy had heard before that the nice guys always are the last ones to journey across that finish line. Young Samuel wondered if this statement was also the fact of the day for shy guys. ‘Cause if the statement was the truth for nice and shy dudes then he suspected he might not ever cross the line. Samuel, the young and kind and shy, is age fourteen with a whole lot of heart and a whole lot of life before him. It is his first day of high school.
Would there be bullies? And would they bully him? What about older women who were Sophomores or Juniors or Seniors? If Samuel smiled their direction then might they return the favor? It was only two hours into the first day of the next four years. Graduation day was only an eternity away.
Freshman Samuel sat down for his English class…
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Doubt
Doubt
‘Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.’ John 19: 38-42 NIV
So the disciples went home…and waited…and wondered…what is going to happen to them, and their…
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Good Friday
‘As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means, ‘the place of the skull’). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they placed the written charge against him; this is Jesus, the king of the jews.’ Matthew 27: 32-37. NIV
‘From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachtani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’). When some of those standing there heard this, they said, ‘He’s calling Elijah.’ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ‘Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.’ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. Matthew 27: 45-50. NIV
It is a beautiful day in Carbondale, Illinois. I enjoyed a lovely walk on the campus of SIUC and relished the freedom to do so in our world’s time of great suffering due our 2020 pandemic. It is pay-day Friday…and millions of hard working people are not only not able to draw their paycheck…but they also have no cash reserves…not due to poor planning but because that they require every penny, and then some, that they earn to pay the rent and keep the lights on and buy a little groceries. Thousands are lining up at Food Banks and Pantry’s…and they are running out of food.
Over 6 million Americans applied for unemployment this week…and the total stands at over 10%, thus far. Our government has an over 2 trillion dollar stimulus program and the promise of $1,200 dollar checks.. that are yet to be sent to most of our citizenry…but that does nothing for today…when the cupboard is bare…and the children are crying from hunger…
The light in the darkness is the love that we see exhibited by our fellow travelers on this rocky and winding path of life. The Biblical path of Christ included his betrayal and his brutal death. The scripture says that the common people heard him gladly. When I look for Jesus…I look for him in his creation. I have never had a vision of angels nor a verbal conversation with God…where I heard his voice with my ears…but I have seen his love in the care and concern of my brothers and sisters in the human family.
When I see the nurses and doctors and medial professionals, risk their live to save ours…I see Jesus.
When I see the grocery store cashiers and warehouse men and women, who provide for our health and ensure that we do not starve…I see Jesus.
When I see the precious housekeeping staffs, the unseen and unheralded heroes of our sanitation safety…who’s work protects us all from the Coronavirus…I see Jesus.
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Sacrifice — The Jazz Man
‘And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.’ And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same […]
‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’
‘When a UFO lands in Washington, DC bearing a message For Earth’s leaders, all of humanity stands still. Klaatu (Michael Rennie) has come on behalf of alien life who have been watching Cold War-era nuclear proliferation on Earth. But it is Klattu’s soft spoken robot that presents a more immediate threat to onlookers.’ Rotten Tomatoes
The title of the 1951 film reminds me, somewhat, of our present day circumstances as we have retreated to our homes and shuttered our businesses…and our economy has come to a sudden and abrupt halt. If the pandemic has provided us with any benefit…it has given us time to think. People are reacting in India as they can see the Himalayas, that are over 100 miles away, for the first time in decades due to less air pollution. I regularly see families walking on the campus of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. Our typical frenetic pace has become slow and measured and thoughtful.
It is the year of a presidential election…but most of us are more focused on our 2020 pandemic and the health and safety of our loved ones. Political rhetoric rings hollow…in the face of our imminent mortality. We ask ourselves what is, truly, important to our well being and happiness? Is it a Caribbean cruise…or a trip to Europe…or a summer home in a warmer climate. Or is it the security of our friends and neighbors…and the human family? Is it really vital and essential to be the wittiest or the one who can attract a crowd…if the words that you say are hollow, or designed to manipulate your listeners…for your benefit?
I saw a television preacher, this morning, who pursed his lips and blew his breath and announced that he had blown the Coronavirus out of our country. He went on to explain that he, ‘did not even have to blow very strongly.’
There is a saying, ‘this too will pass,’ and we will return to our lives of going where we want and staying until we want to return home. Will we recall that the heroes of our travail were not the rich and famous…but the poor and hard working…essential…employees who cared for us…when we could not care for ourselves? Will we realize that the Barons of Wall Street have but one goal…that is to become richer with our money? Will we consider that the mother’s milk for political life…is getting re-elected? Will we know that many preachers…have the same goal as the Wall Street crowd? Will the competition that we engage in for almost all perks of western society…seem like a wonderful multi-layered cake with beautiful icing and ornate design…be bitter in our mouths when we cut into it…and it is filled with saw-dust?
The Happy Traveler 