The Southern Illinois Board of Trustees has named Carlo Montemagno as the Chancellor of SIU – Carbondale.  Dr. Montemagno, ‘is currently professor of engineering at the University of Alberta’s Department of Chemical and Materials and founder of the Ingenuity Lab for the Province of Alberta,’ according to the Southern Illinoisan.

‘SIU Carbondale is an institution that possess the DNA of greatness.  It is an institution with strong genes that enable opportunity, creativity and discovery,’ Montemagno said in an SIU news release.

‘By engaging with the entire SIUC community – including faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends, the Southern Illinois community and industry – will fully activate SIUC’s DNA to realize the possible,’ according to Chancellor Carlo Montemagno.

It is with great anticipation that I look forward to our new Chancellor bringing us all together to energize and restore our great University!

It has been often said…and I have witnessed this unusual phenomena, that the further you travel from SIU…the more glowing accounts that you hear regarding it!  SIU has far in excess of two hundred thousand living Alumni across our planet.  The days that they spent at Southern…are often the happiest of their lives!

Having been associated with our Campus for almost forty years…I know all of the stories of discontent and hurt and disappointment.

I personally was disappointed, severely, with a leadership change that occurred many years ago…but today is the first day of the rest of our lives!

SIU is much to important to each of us…to not release the negative…and embrace the positive!

‘The Teachers College Board elected Morris as the University’s leader in 1948, just a few months before state lawmakers created a seven-member independent governing board to oversee SIU.  In his 22 years at SIU, Morris built upon the rich, early history of the University, which he recognized was situated in the most disadvantaged, rural region of Illinois.  His foresight and leadership catapulted SIU into the ranks of major American universities,’ according to SIU.

Now is our opportunity to be a part of something great.

I am so pleased to see former Interim Chancellor, Brad Colwell, named as the Vice President for Academic Affairs.  Brad has been a friend of mine for several years…and his openness and thoughtful consideration of my requests regarding not outsourcing several of our vital service units on Campus…was deeply appreciated!

The Scripture admonishes the reader that, ‘…Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.’    Psalm 30:5   NKJV

The ‘Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, is a story that has continually fascinated me.  The characters are all animals, Mr. Toad, Badger, Ratty, and Mole.

Badger, Ratty, Mole and Mr. Toad spend much of their time, ‘simply messing about in boats,’ along the Thames and living in the Thames Valley.  Their anthropomorphized, or very human adventures, are mesmerizing.

‘One summer day, Rat and Mole disembark near the grand Toad Hall and pay a visit to Toad.  Toad is rich, jovial, friendly and kind-hearted, but aimless and conceited; he regularly becomes obsessed with current fads, only to abandon  them abruptly.  Having recently given up boating, Toad’s current craze is his horse-drawn caravan.  He persuades the reluctant Rat and willing Mole to join him on a trip.  Toad soon tires of the realities of camp life, and sleeps in the following day to avoid chores.  Later that day, a passing motorcar scares the horse, causing the caravan to overturn into a ditch.  Rat threaten to have the law on the car driver, while Mole claims the horse, but Toad’s craze for caravan travel is immediately replaced by obsession with motorcars,’   according to Wikipedia.

Mary Jane and I took our friend of thirteen years, Brody, to the Veterinarian today for his annual check up.  He is doing remarkably well of his age.

Our good friend, Betsy the Veterinarian Technician, told us that often Boston Terriers live to sixteen or seventeen years of age…Hurray!

In the 1990’s I faithfully watched ‘The Wind in the Willows’ on the Disney Chanel, each Sunday before we attended Church.  Often I enjoyed the program’s lessons more than the sermon.

We have had dogs, primarily Boston Terriers, for thirty years.  They have been consistently an integral part of our family.  I am convinced that they understand most of what you say to them and what is going on in the household…which is their world!

Wallace is our Brown Boston.  He was purchased in Fairview Heights, Illinois immediately after Mary Jane received good news regarding an eye problem that she was experiencing.  We all were worried…a lot!

When she received the good news we proceeded to Lotta Watta Creek Restaurant for a Lunch Celebration!  Long Island Ice Tea…was on special…after a few Specials…we proceeded to the Mall that was next door…and thus we have Wallace T. Brooks!

Parker Gulley…is our rescue dog.  She was thrown from a automobile in Gulley Park and her Jaw was broken…and she was an adorable Lab/Mix.  We have raised her from a pup.  She is a sweet and loyal friend!

We, in the early 90’s purchased two dogs…for the boys.  I fear that they were as much for us.  Their love and never-failing companionship is a tremendous gift.  They are down…when you are down..and they are happy when you are happy!

When the end of life comes….and God’s future presents itself for our joyful surprise and enthusiasm…I am certain that members of the animal kingdom will be there…in  all of their pristine glory…and very likely with the ability to speak to we humans…and tell us of the majesty of creation!

As I walked the beautiful Campus of Southern Illinois University, today, I thought…now SIU has a chance to stabilize and obtain it’s former greatness.

Last week our Illinois Legislature had the courage to override our Governor’s veto and pass a budget…something that had not happened in over two years.

Many Republicans joined the Democratic majority…before Our University and many others…went over the cliff.

With SIU being the Economic Engine that drives the economy of Southern Illinois, needless to say, we felt relief, and joy, and now it is time to go to work!

SIU has suffered from an identity crisis for a number of years.  This can, no better, be illustrated than in the numerous changes in leadership…with over nine different Campus Leaders since 1999.

It has been postulated that Southern will no longer have the great enrollment numbers that it enjoyed in the early 1990’s due to regional competition and less high school students graduating across the country.

These issues can be greatly ameliorated if SIU returns to the Vision that made it great.  A Vision that reached outward…first to Southern Illinois…then to the Country…and finally to the world.

Leadership that has the communication ability and heartfelt belief that all members of the Southern Illinois University Community have intrinsic value and are vital to the success of the School!

The mission of bringing everyone together to reach out to all prospective students and demonstrate by our actions that nothing is more important to us than their attending SIU and their ultimate success!

The re-forming of the Construct… to put students first… and leadership with a Servant’s Heart.

In church, this morning,  Elder John Baker delivered a thought provoking sermon.  He spoke regarding the unusual appearance of John the Baptist and his all consuming passion in announcing the coming of Christ.

John asked the congregation, at one point in his sermon, would we welcome the forerunner of Christ…if he came in and sat in the back of the church and began to loudly exclaim his message of the coming of Jesus?  Would his un-cut hair and his un-shaven beard and his dirty clothes not impede our asking him to come to the front of the church to deliver his profound message?

‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy King cometh unto three: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’   Zechariah 9:9   KJV

‘For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.’     Isaiah 53:2   KJV

I was watching the wonderful documentary series, ‘The 80’s’, on CNN last night.  One of the segments was regarding the Praise the Lord Club or more commonly known as PTL.  The piece focused on the the Reverends Jim and Tammy Faye Baker and their quest for increasing cash flow from their viewers.

I remember this extremely popular program, well.  I worked with people who were very excited about the ministry of the Bakers and their outreach to the U.S.

The CNN program stated that many of the people who were donating to PTL, were very poor and often did not have money to live on.  It was commonly believed, by these humble givers, that when Jim and Tammy Faye had many luxury automobiles and several mansions…that they by association, with them, were blessed by God.

‘Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.’   Matthew 17:27   KJV

When we pass by the poor and the homeless and the hungry and the destitute…are we satisfied in the surety that anyone can make it in America?

Don’t we all feel secure that in our churches…with the bathed and well coiffed and perfumed and polite…we are certainly doing the work of the Christ of the Bible?

‘When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.’   John 9:6   KJV

I just returned from the newest Spider-Man Movie, ‘Spider-Man Homecoming’, with Aaron and I enjoying it very much.

I mentioned to Mary Jane, that I had mysteriously lost 4 lb.. from 10:am this morning until 3:00pm this afternoon.  I told her that this had happened before, more than once, when I have gone to the movies.

I have been a movie aficionado since childhood.  One of my favorite movies, that I went with my Mother and some friends in Chicago to see, was Lady and the Tramp.  I was probably about three years old at the time…and I remember it explicitly.

Lady and the Tramp transported me to an idyllic world of talking dogs and their intricate lives.  The Christmas scenes, in the movie, were imprinted on my brain.  The Siamese Cats stating that, ‘I hear baby cry’, I have never forgotten…and quote this saying anytime that I actually hear a baby cry.

In 1989 I saw ‘Driving Mrs. Daisy’, and my entire concept of friendship and loyalty and race discrimination…was altered forever.

In 1991 I saw JFK.  I have been fascinated with the Kennedy Assassination since Mrs. Kittinger, my first grade teacher, announced that the President had been shot and that school was canceled for the remainder of the day.

The hypothesis that were brought forth in the movie were compelling and food for thought in a mystery that has never seemed answered by the Warren Commission.

When I arrived home from school on the day of the Assassination, my mother was crying as if one of our close relatives had died, I then learned that our President had been killed.

When I saw, on live television, that Jack Ruby cavalierly walked toward Lee Harvey Oswald and shot him at point blank range…my six year old mind knew that something was not right and that there was more to the story than what we were being told.

In 1990 we went with our dear friends, Steve and Faye, to see Godfather Part III.  This was during the Holiday Season…and we often took in movies during this festive time.  I had such a splitting headache that I asked Faye if she had any headache pills, and she did and gave me one.  I felt almost immediate relief.  We watched this movie and I fell in love with the Godfather Saga.  Shortly thereafter I watched the original Godfather and Godfather II…but Godfather Part III has a special place in my heart…because I was with the LaBrier’s…my lifelong friends.

Life is funny with its’ twists and turns…but nothing can replace the little moments that stay with you for the rest of your life!

It is not only the movies that give me peace and relaxation but also being with my newfound brother, Brock, and his family, Marcy, Jeb, and Jamie.  I have been enjoying their Great Alaskan Adventure…vicariously.

Writing…brings me peace and relaxation.  I enjoy it in its’ pure simplicity.

Photography makes me feel peace and happiness and relaxation.

Nature, nurtures me, and teaches me the permanence of God…and my place in his creation.

My sons, Aaron and Jonathon, and the love of my life, Mary Jane, bring me peace and relaxation.

Our dogs, Brody, Wallace, and Parker, bring me peace and an understanding of the intricacy of creation.

Find what gives you peace and relaxes you and makes you happy and pursue it.

‘Springfield — The Illinois Capitol building is currently on lockdown.  No one is allowed in or out of the building after an unknown substance was reportedly thrown at the Governor’s office.’

‘Governor Rauner wasn’t at the Capitol building when the incident happened.’

‘A woman was put into handcuffs by Capitol Police and escorted from the building.’

‘Today’s House Session is currently delayed because not all members were in the chamber before the lockdown went into place,’ according to WSIL Channel 3 ABC.

Our beloved Country is becoming increasingly polarized along extreme political ideology.

Some would have Illinois continue without a state Budget until one side of the political aisle or the other…cry uncle…and acquiesce to the agenda of the victor.

In a similar fashion our Federal Government seems dominated by the extreme of a ‘Pro Wrestling Match’ where the winner obliterates the looser…to the blood curdling cheers of the audience.

Recently the Republican Baseball Team was fired upon by a sick individual in the name of political ideology.  Republican Representative Steve Scalise is back in intensive care ,due to his being shot in the hip during the horrible incident.

Republican members of the Senate are not only not enthused by the Health Care Plan, that a few of their members created, with the support of their leadership, but several of them know that the provisions of the Bill will hurt their constituents.

The ‘do or die…hell bent for leather’ promise to replace Obamacare, which needs serious reforms, is apparently the rationale for replacing it with a Bill that is not even as effective as the Obama creation that they promised to replace.

Is winning the only rationale to political discourse?

What about the people that elected the Representatives and the Senators to their lofty offices?

For the past two years our Illinois Government has stood on their extreme political principles and let the people be damned.

As the fight of the Titans has transpired…the fate of the peasants has seemed to be of little consequence.

Perhaps there is a middle ground…where the needy can be succored…as the scripture admonishes us?

Perhaps there is a middle ground where our children are assured an education and including a higher education…to prepare for our increasingly technological future?

Perhaps there is a courageous and thoughtful and principled and sure ground of voting for the true betterment of the poor and the struggling and the hard working middle class…that sent our elected representatives to office to address our real needs?

‘After more than two years without a budget – and the state’s credit rating poised to topple into junk territory – Illinois lawmakers finally are about to approve a $36 billion spending plan over the objections of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.’

‘A dramatic showdown ended with a series of votes cast on Independence Day.  Fifteen Republican members of the Illinois House broke away from the governor to pass a budget.’

‘One more vote remains – the Illinois House is poised to follow the Illinois Senate and override Rauner’s veto – perhaps on Thursday – setting the stage for Democrats and Republicans to squabble over who prevailed in the fight that made Illinois a national laughingstock,’ according to DNA info.

State Representative Terri Bryant broke with her party to vote for the passage of the House Budget.  I greatly admire the courage of her convictions and her vote…that recognized the profound needs of her district…and the crisis that is knocking at the door of her University, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Representative Bryant will absolutely have my vote in the next election!

We can debate, ad nauseum, who is at fault for the dire fiscal condition that The Land of Lincoln finds itself in.  There is more than enough blame for both political parties.

There is much room for debate and a profound need for political reforms.

However, when the price of that debate is the possible closing of our precious Universities and the shuttering of Grade Schools and High Schools and the evaporation of our support for the mentally ill and the homeless…then the price is to high!

Calmer heads must prevail.  Statesmen and Stateswomen must come to the front!

Terri Bryant is a Stateswoman…and a breath of fresh air!

Once again the celebration of our American Independence has returned.

We will cook out today at Aaron’s house.  He is such a wonderful grill master!

The joy of getting together with family and friends on this commemorative day is a great privilege and honor.  To live in a country that you can say what is on your heart and speak your mind and believe in the freedom of the press…is a special gift.

Countless men and women have fought and died for our gift of freedom.  The freedom to immigrate to a Country that is commonly referred to as a ‘Melting Pot.’  We virtually all came from somewhere else.  The only indigenous Americans are the Native Americans.  The rest of us arrived for a variety of reasons.

I watched, Ken Burns, documentary regarding the Stature of Liberty, the other night. This Great Lady…and the hope that she symbolizes has been and is a beacon that shines in the darkness of fear and repression and ignorance and hate.

When you enjoy a wonderful dinner in China Town…in New York City…you are in America.

When you listen to, one of my favorite musical genres, jazz…that is as America.

When you worship in a Mosque you are praying alongside your fellow Americans.

When you stand alongside your Jewish friends and neighbors…wearing their kippahs and reading the Torah…you are standing with your fellow Americans.

When you stand in solidarity with the forgotten Americans…the poor…the hungry…the homeless….the sick…you are standing with the America that we celebrate today.

No one can take our American Experiment from us…we can only do that to ourselves!

Over this past weekend we were privileged to have my brother, Brock and my sister-in-law, Marcy, and my niece, Jamie, who is a lovely and sweet young lady.

When I refer to Marcy as my sister-in-law…I must say that she seems like my sister.  She is one of the most considerate and caring people that I have met and her love for her husband and children is inspirational.

Marcy, reminds me so much of my wife, Mary Jane, and indeed she and Mary Jane became good friends instantaneously!

The two Brooks’ Family’s did not meet until this past August…and really not our entire families until last April…but they have become a great gift to us with their love and camaraderie!

We missed our nephew, Jeb, very much, on this visit.  He is such a kind and distinguished gentleman.

Mary Jane had a birthday cake for Brock.  He just turned 41.  I will soon be 60!  We represent the beginning and the end of our father’s legacy.

This was Dad’s birthday. He was 57. Taken in Tennessee

Brock and Marcy fascinate me.  I have observed how their children love them both so naturally and securely.  Marcy and Brock are dedicated to their kids and their happiness.

When Brock is talking I see Marcy watching him with love and respect.

Marcy is a strong woman.  I was raised by a strong woman.  I married a strong woman.  There is nothing more valuable than the love of a strong and caring and compassionate woman to stand by your side through out the storms of life.

Brock is such a hard working and talented individual.  I really think that he is capable of accomplishing anything that he desires.

This couple…this family…is an inspiration to me…on how to take the storms that life brings and still sail their ship through to calm seas and a sunny dawn!

Just this past Friday I received good news regarding some medical concerns that I have been worried about almost since the beginning of the year.  This weekend…with my family…has been a blessing to me…and a reaffirmation of just how sweet this life is…and how we must release the negative and embrace the positive of this precious gift!