‘4 Days 22 Hours 24 Minutes 1 Second’ until the Eclipse!

‘The August 21 , 2017 eclipse will travel 2,500 miles across the United States of America in an estimated 70 mile wide path, beginning its journey in Oregon, crossing 12 states, and ending at the Atlantic Ocean off the shore of South Carolina.  NASA will be streaming the eclipse live from Carbondale, one of the designated sweet spots within the path of totality.’

‘Carbondale is only a few miles north from the point of greatest duration.  At approximately 1:20 pm CDT on August 21, 2017, you can experience the total eclipse for 2 minutes and 38 seconds.’   Carbondale Eclipse

As I was walking the SIU Campus today I noticed a Eclipse Fair…being set up, in conjunction with the historic event.

The ancient Egyptian Running Dog, the Saluki, is the mascot for Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

NASA will be broadcasting from the Football Stadium.

National Media will be converging on our little city.  CBS News will be doing their nightly news broadcast from the Stadium on Monday evening.

Planning for this captivating event has been going on for two years or more.

Carbondale has installed new sidewalks on the primary street leading to SIU.

My friend and former colleague, Elizabeth, has been working night and day to ensure that her, important part of the operation, runs like a finely tuned clock!

People are streaming in…anticipation….and excitement are at their zenith!

The SIU Campus and the Carbondale Community…will never be the same!

NOW – 4 Days 21 Hours 21 Minutes 31 Seconds

‘Through the looking glass is a metaphorical expression.  It means: on the strange side, in the twilight zone, in a strange parallel world.  It comes from the idea of Lewis Carol’s novel: ‘Through the Looking-Glass’, and the strange and mysterious world Alice finds when she steps through a mirror.’   Quora

‘Trump: ‘Both sides’ to blame for Charlottesville’

‘In a remarkable news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower, President Donald Trump blamed the violence in the Charlottesville, Virginia, Saturday on both sides of the conflict, equating the white supremacists on one side with the ‘alt-left’ on the other side.

‘I think there is blame on both sides,’ he said.’

‘He added: ‘You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, nobody wants to say it, but I will say it right now.’

‘Trump defended his 48-hour delay in denouncing whit supremacists, arguing that he took his time because he didn’t know the facts.’   CNN

‘Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!’   Isaiah  5:20

Heather Hyer is dead.

‘A North Carolina KKK leader says that he is ‘glad’ that anti-white supremacist protestor Heather Heyer was run down and killed in Virginia.’   New York Daily News

‘I’m sorta glad that them people got hit and I’m glad that girl died’, Justin Moore ‘a Grand Dragon’ in a KKK organization, told WBTV’

‘The voicemail for the group’s phone number also praises Fields’ [Neo-Nazi James Fields who drove his car into a crowd of people, injuring several and killing Ms. Hyer]

‘Nothing makes us more proud at the KKK than we see white patriots such as James Fields Jr. age 20, taking his car and running over nine communist anti-fascist, killing one n—-r lover named Heather Heyer.’   New York Daily News

I was driving to Carbondale earlier today.  The Sheriff has a Command Post, about two and one half miles from my house…and I live in the country.

I stopped in our local Kroger store, for a grand slice of hand tossed pizza, and overheard two gentlemen talking.  One exclaimed to the other, ‘that NASA was going to leave the telescope, that they had sent to SIU, as the next eclipse was happening in 2024.’

The Re-Grand Opening of Kroger, as it has been remodeled, had a lot of people inside today.  I could not ascertain if these people were stocking up, as we have been admonished to do before the eclipse viewers descend on our little city, or if, indeed, the Sun Enthusiast had already begun to arrive.

This past Saturday, we journeyed to Blue Sky Winery…which is the nexus for the longest duration of the eclipse…in the nation.

Our friend, Liz, joined us…and we had a lovely day!

I asked one of the young women that was working at the winery…if she was ready for the influx of sun and wine connoisseur?  She said that she was.

Traffic seemed greater…but it is also move in week for SIU…in preparation for the Fall Semester that begins next week.

I caught a glimpse of our new Chancellor…he seemed excited and ready for the challenge.

My old friend, Jim Allen, is coming back to Southern Illinois from his home in Texas..to see the eclipse.  I remember talking with him about an eclipse…when we were kids…many years ago.

Our University is looking resplendent and ready for the upcoming semester!  We are excited about displaying it for the thousands of wonderful people that are coming to visit us…it is our special treasure!

It seems that in our present day…all to few things…bring us together.  Certainly it is exciting to be a part of an all encompassing event, the eclipse, that captivates the attention of the nation…and focuses it on Little Egypt…Southern Illinois!

One of the pristine delights of Southern Illinois University is the majestic natural woods and wildlife…that are literally surround you!

Literally, squirrels, almost eat out of your hand and deer contemplate their human neighbors with curious and benign neglect.

‘I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by an epaulet I could have worn.’   Henry David Thoreau

‘ I saw a muskrat come out of a hole in the ice…While I am looking at him, I am thinking what he is thinking of me.  He is a different sort of man, thats all.’   Henry David Thoreau

‘I saw deep in the eyes of the animals the human soul look out upon me.  I saw where it was born deep down under feathers and fur, or condemned for a while to roam four-footed among the brambles, I caught the clinging mute glance of the prisoner and swore that I would be faithful.’   Henry David Thoreau

What an intricately weaved Laboratory of Nature and Life…to receive a first class University education!

‘Many Americans watched transfixed as members of those groups marched down the street, barked out anti-Semitic chants and openly displayed the symbols of Nazi Germany and the secessionist South.’

‘And many looked on in horror as a speeding car crashed into other vehicles on a crowded street Saturday afternoon, resulting in the death of a 32-year-old woman and injuries to at least 19 other people.’

‘We achieved all of our objectives,’ Matthew Heimbach, a founder of the Nationalist Front, a neo-Nazi group that bills itself as an umbrella organization for the white nationalist movement, said in and interview Saturday.  ‘We showed that our movement is not just online, but growing physically.  We asserted ourself as the voice of white America.’  New York Times

Americans, fought and died in World War II…to defeat Hitler and Nazism.

Over six million Jews died in the Gas Chambers of Nazi Germany.

I have often heard the accusation that Black Lives Matter should include that all lives matter.

It has never been my assumption that the Black Lives Matter group…does not care about white or other ethnic groups lives…but rather it is a cry against the documented injustice that the African American Community has suffered since they were first brought to this country, against their will, as slaves.

‘Ex-KKK leader David Duke has told Donald Trump to ‘take a good look in the mirror and remember it was white Americans who put you in the presidency.’   Mirror

‘After hours of silence, President Donald Trump commented on the white nationalist rally and related violence happening in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday.’

‘We all must be united & condemn all that hate stands for.  There is no place for this kind of violence in America.  Lets come together as one!’

A second Tweet said, ‘Am in Bedminster for meetings & press conference on V.A. & all that we have done, and and are doing, to make it better-but Charlotesville sad!’

‘In Bedminster on Saturday, Mr. Trump said he and his team were closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Va., ‘then tried to portray the violence there as a chronic, bipartisan plague.  ‘It has been going on for a long time in our country,’ he said.  ‘It is not Donald Trump, it’s not Barack Obama.’   New York Times

‘In remarks from his Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he has been on a working vacation, Trump made the following statement: ‘We condemn in the strongest terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides.’   NBC News

There is only one side to the virulent…cancerous…corruption of ant-Semitism and Racism…it is wrong and evil and it must be called out and identified in the strongest of terms by all of us…and…by our President!

The KKK and many white supremacist groups claim to be devout christians.  I wonder if they are aware that Jesus was born to a Jewish mother and father?

‘His head and his hairs were white like wool. as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.  Revelation 1: 14-15   KJV

I noticed that there is a different car in the Chancellor’s parking space that is next to Anthony Hall.

I think that I must be a simple man…but when I see the New Chancellor’s Vehicle in his parking space…I am reminded of some of the great Chancellors that I have known and worked with over the past, almost forty years.

As I walk our beautiful Campus…I can feel the electric expectancy of the renewal and revival of SIU Carbondale!

I have been following the Tweets of New Chancellor Montemagno.  His excitement about joining the SIU Community…is palpable!

Let me tell you of my experience at SIU.

I began working in Building Services as  BSW I in 1978…still 20 years old…for three more weeks.

I knew no one at the University and had no college education.

Immediately, I was welcomed into the department and encouraged to seek promotion and to begin taking University Courses.

I was mentored by some outstanding Professors, such as Dr. Carol Burns and Dr. Jo Ann  Agersinger.

Dr. Burns told me that I had the ability to study for and become anything that I desired.  Such words…had never been spoken to me in my life!

For many years, in Building Services, we had an annual Thanksgiving Dinner for our over two hundred student workers, the feeling…was of close family.

Chancellor Argersinger, wrote a letter of recommendation for me once…where she said that I…’Had built a house for all people.’  I was humbled and honored by her kind words…and thought…that this was indeed what I was attempting to do…because SIU had been so welcoming to me!

SIU is much more than bricks and mortar…it is friends for a lifetime…it is love…it is family!

A Place where if you have the will…SIU has the way to success!

I was reared in a small Southern Illinois Community…that had little diversity.  When I came to Southern…I learned of the richness and intricate beauty of people from all over the world.

A student employee from Africa told me, in my early days, that the international students loved to work with me…because that I had no prejudice.  SIU opened those doors to the experience of international fellowship and understanding…this is probably the greatest gift I received during my time with the University!

When the African student gave me this lovely compliment…I was honored that he would call me…his friend.

There is a Great Banner that is prominently displayed over every entrance to Southern Illinois University…that you may not see with your eyes…but will immediately feel with your heart…OPPORTUNITY!

When we drove through Santa Fe, three years ago for Mechem and Carson’s Wedding, Ira Kaye pointed out the Santa Fe Outdoor Opera Amphitheater.  I thought, then, if I ever returned…I hoped to be able to see a performance in the venue.

We were privileged to do so a week ago Tuesday.

This is an extraordinary Venue…with not a bad seat in the house!

The Operetta that we saw was Die Fledermaus or sometimes called The Revenge of the Bat.  It is composed by Johann Strauss II.

The performance was done in english with close captions on a screen in front of every seat.

During Act II or a Masquerade Ball…Ira Kaye had brought masks for the four of us to wear.

Prior to the performance we enjoyed wine and cheese and savory meats…outside the Theatre…in the midst of the magnificent splendor of New Mexico!

Ira Kaye…even brought along a white table cloth and wine glasses…to make our Opera Experience Complete!

The Santa Fe Opera Experience was thrilling and one that requires another visit!

When the opening score began…I was amazed that I had heard it many times before…on Looney Toons Cartoons.

During our visit to New Mexico we were privileged to visit a Wildlife Refuge that Ira Kaye’s friend, Ann, volunteered at.

I was impressed with Ann’s dedication and passion for the animals, many who had been wounded, and sent to the Refuge for healing and for education for children visiting the safe and caring facility.

It was thrilling to see a Bald Eagle…so close!

A different Bald Eagle.

I noticed that Ann spoke with each animal with such love and concern…that I was touched with the mission of this small rescue and refuge and educational facility.

The Bobcat seemed keenly aware of his surroundings…restless…hungry!

Owls are fascinating!

I, being an animal lover…throughly enjoyed not only our visit to the Wildlife Refuge…but also it’s profound and meaningful mission to save and protect the beautiful and diverse animals that were native to the New Mexico and southwest region.

There was a Grand Tortoise…that I did not snap a photo of…he was majestic!

Our visit to Ann’s Wildlife Refuge was a wonderful experience!  Also, we had a lovely lunch with her at a great New Mexico restaurant, that was nearby.  She also suggested that we might like to visit Chimayo, New Mexico…that was known for it’s weaving prowess.

Our subsequent visit to Chimayo turned out to be one of our most enjoyable days…and I was able to find an authentic New Mexico Ring!

New Mexico…has an allure that is ancient and compelling!

On our trip to New Mexico. last week, we visited Los Alamos, where the Manhattan Project was headquartered.

‘Los Alamos is a town in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States that is recognized as the birthplace of the first atomic bomb-the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II.   Wikipedia

Mary Jane and I, and a very young Aaron and Jonathon, had visited Los Alamos over thirty years ago, with Uncle Merle and Aunt Loretta…Jonathon cried the entire way to Los Alamos from El Paso, Texas…due to being in a car seat.

It was interesting to return to the birthplace of the Atomic Bomb and notice what a lovely community Los Alamos is.  As we toured the Bradbury Science Museum, I noticed many of the same exhibits that I had seen many years ago.

The exhibits and films focused on the history of Los Alamos and Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein’s, letter of warning, to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Also, the exhibits illustrated the mission of the the Los Alamos Laboratories to ensure that the current nuclear arsenal is kept safe and up to date and ready…should it be needed…and that the purpose of the tremendous amount of nuclear bombs…was to create a deterrent that no country would dare ‘throw the dice’ to challenge.

‘Julius Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at the University of California, Berkley.’   Wikipedia

After the dropping of ‘Fat Man’ and ‘Little Boy’ on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki…Dr. Oppenheimer quoted from the Bhagavad Gita: ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’

I watched a thought provoking documentary on Netflix, last evening.  It was entitled The Bomb.

The program began by showing several countries militaries…marching in lock step and in a very similar fashion to their enemies.

”The Bomb places the viewer in the middle of the story of nuclear weapons – the most dangerous machines ever built – from the Trinity Test in 1945 to the current state of nuclear weapons in 2016.  It will explore the culture surrounding nuclear weapons, the fascination that they inspire and the perverse appeal they still exert.  It will convey the impossibility of controlling this technology.  The Bomb is about the immense power of nuclear weapons, their dark allure and ingenious technology.  The computer systems invented to control them, the missiles and bombers built to carry them, the practice of denial and secrecy that perpetuates them, the societal and cultural influences of them, and the profound death wish at the very heart of them.’   Rotten Tomatoes Movie Info.

‘North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States.  They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. [Kim Jong Un] has been very threatening beyond a normal state and as I said, they will be met with fire and fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before.’   President Donald J. Trump

I have often heard the rationale that, ‘we must strike them…before they strike us’ has it not occurred to the powerful of the world…that to strike them…is to strike us as well?

When we cheapen human life to the extent that we love our powerful nuclear bombs and what they can do to our enemies…we have lost sight of the fact that our enemies have more similarities to us…than differences…and to obliterate them is to obliterate us…we are all one human family!

Leaders are often governed by their damaged psyche.  Their need to constantly prove their narcissistic worth…at the expense of those that they lead…is frightening.

‘And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

And there went out another horse [that was] red: and [power] was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

And he opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see.  And   And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

And I heard a voice in the midst of the beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

And I looked and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.  And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger. and with death. and with the beasts of the earth.

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservwnts also and their brethren, that should be killed as they [were], should be fulfilled.

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?’

Revelation Chapter Six   KJV

Today, August 9, 2016…is the 72nd Anniversary of the bombing of the Japanese city of Nagasaki.

‘The Bomb…nicknamed…Fat Man…was dropped at 11:02 A:M:.  The explosion unleashed the explosive force of 22,000 Tons of TNT.

‘It is estimated that 60 – 80 thousand people were killed.  Exact figures are impossible,  the blast having obliterated bodies and disintegrated records.’   This Day in History.

Note: All Photos are Public Domain.