‘Have you noticed the subtle changes,’ He asked? ’For instance, Russia is now a friend when just a few years ago we were afraid of nuclear annihilation during the Cuban Missle Crisis,’ He continued. 

‘I heard that the President could shoot his political enemies and nothing could be done to him,’ She said. ’He is systematically jailing reporters that he does not like and regular citizens who have criticized him.’ She continued.

‘Masses of people had their health insurance taken away with no plan to replace it,’ Chet said. ’El Jefe says that the prescription for good health is good clean living which includes no unauthorized sex and vegetables that you grow in your own garden…and hard manual labor,’ Chet continued. ‘No more hamburgers, Chet laughed!

‘Our homeless shelters are overflowing and now the poor have taken up residence in department and grocery stores for warmth,’ She said. ’When I asked some of them the other day about their lives they responded that times had never been better since El Jefe is in charge,’ She said.

‘Today a girl said that she did not want to say the prayer in school and the teacher slapped her face so hard that she fell onto the floor,’ Boy said. ’The little girl went on to explain that she prayed in her heart and preferred not to pray aloud…whereupon she was placed in a religious education class,’ Boy continued.

‘When I went to the supermarket this morning many brown-skinned folks were in long lines where they were being questioned by authorities. I asked what they were being asked and was told that they had to recite verbatim the President’s last speech and explain it before they would be allowed to purchase food,’ Neva J said.

‘I would not want to be asked to explain one of his speeches as they make no sense with their illogical subject and meandering meanings,’ Chet said.

‘El Jefe is fun when he is in a good mood…I have seen him do a little dance when things are going his way,’ Jane said with a tear in her eye.

‘It is not only daytime in America again…it is the brightest sunlight we have ever experienced…everybody is saying so, President said…

I am back on the Writing Porch. It feels like I never left. The bitterly cold weather we experienced in January moved me inside by the stove. MJ had coffee with her lifelong friend Bev. Jonathon had a Birthday Lunch with his good friend Julie. I walked among the trees and communed with the Woods. 

The hint of spring brings me around from the cloistered feeling of winter. Life is to be lived. Or as Ron would say, ‘We are wasting daylight.’ 

The rollercoaster ride begins when we are born and some would say it ends when we die…others would say that death is the ultimate beginning. It is reported that the noted movie critic Roger Ebert said just before his death that he saw what was awaiting him and noted that what he had experienced had been, ‘This is all an elaborate hoax.’ What did he mean?

Are we standing in the vestibule of life everlasting and have not been made privy to…what the famous actress Betty White referred to as The Secret? 

Inquiring minds want to know is a popular saying. Our hearts indeed our souls and spirits search for our home. We seek renewal among the ashes. 

Life pulls us forward. Our hearts long for our home. Problems worries and concerns pull us down at times. We know that there is something more and we ‘peer through a glass darkly’ and know that there is something that ‘eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor have it entered into the hearts of men what God has prepared for them that love him.’

You would not have known today from the first day of spring. Woods Guests were exploring their domain. Sixty degrees and a beautiful blue sky. Could winter be over the day after Groundhog Day?

As I age, I often look back on a day and wonder why I felt so good for what I have just experienced and then the revelation strikes me…I am alive and a player in the game. I mentioned to MJ this morning that she and I must start taking more day trips.  As my good friend Jerry said years ago, ‘Blow the stink off.’ I said we should emulate past senior mentors, make a Circle from our home base, and visit surrounding semi-local areas. 

As I see others and witness their life exuberance I feel better. The more I am with my peers, the more I notice the peculiarity of similarity in our journeys. 

‘It is unusually warm for February 3rd,’ Neva J said with a laugh. ’I remember when I was a kid and we walked to school and then back home and both ways were uphill and snow-covered,’ she winked!

‘What did you talk about on those long uphill snow-covered walks,’ Jane asked? ’Did you speak of boyfriends and hope for the future,’ she continued?

‘Grandma A loved FDR and so did I,’ Neva J said wistfully.’ ’We worried about the War and our family and friends fighting overseas,’ Neva J said.’ ’I dropped out of high school to go to work in the Shoe Factory and thought that it was a brilliant life decision,’ she said as she shook her head.

‘It seems that there has always been a War to talk about,’ Chet noted. ’Today it is Vietnam but tomorrow will surely bring another conflict…when will we Christians discover the Peaceable Kingdom,’ Chet mused.

‘Dutch loved to walk in the Woods and he loved a warm February Day like today,’ Neva J said. ’He went missing in Europe and is presumed dead,’ she said as she brushed a tear from her eye.

‘Look ahead in the shadows of the trees…a man is waving for us to follow him,’ Billy B said.

‘He has on a Derby or Bowler hat and he is waving it in the air as he gestures for us to come up where he is,’ said Jane.

‘Dutch…always wore a Bowler hat…,’ Neva J said…

It is here. February where all husbands have a frantic look on their faces as Valentine’s Day approaches. Also, MJ’s Birthday is this month. Her birthday is the 24th and my birthday is October 24th and we were married March 24th. We like 24. 

Toward the latter half of February, you can feel hints of spring in our neck of the woods. Giant City Lodge reopens tomorrow after their annual hiatus since the first week of December. They make a wicked Old Fashioned.

Spring brings the renewal of life. The lovely buds on the trees remind us that nothing really dies…it changes…

I remember looking at people who were my age when I was much younger and ruminating as to whether they enjoyed life in their old bodies and wondered at their persistence to hold on to life when they were obviously ill. Now I understand. 

Seasonal life is magnificent and we want to enjoy all four of the events. What is especially enjoyable is when spring summer and fall dip into the winter of our story. You see it is possible to enjoy all seasons all year long as the book of our life has its pages blown by the wind of change and events giving us the rapturous experience of having the heart of a 20-year-old and love of mystery like a 12-year-old and the love of life of a 40-year-old. Sprinkled in the mix is the wisdom of the Old Sage…

We learn and grow all of our lives and when our journey back to Jerusalem is complete we will not have scratched the surface of what there is to discover…the Mystery is endless…

The first month of the New Year seems a bit long and then the precipitous slide to Christmas. Of course, this may not be how many perceive it other than the children and me. Each year begins with much fanfare and the frigid temperatures and snow and ice seem to slow down time for a moment. Then the motor heats up, the oil flows, and we are soon off to the races. Thus the moment slips by like a thief in the night while watching Netflix.

Opinion Makers give us our opinions. Rather than study and reflection research and empirical study…we choose to believe who we fill our minds with. In some cases, these Influencers could tell us that the world was flat and we would eat their assertion with a spoon. We would join the Flat Earth Society and guard against falling off the edge…

Indeed we work toward the betterment of our Dear Leader while giving only a cursory glance towards the needs of ourselves and those around us. 

‘Each day is a gift from God I say,’ Neva J uttered as she shivered under the blanket.

‘I have never been so cold…and now it is sleeting and freezing on our big box home,’ Jane said with ice around her eyes.

‘Where in the world are we…one minute we were warm and safe and planning a Valentine’s Day Party for our class and suddenly we are homeless and alone, no one seems to be riding up on a noble steed to save us,’ Billy B proclaimed!

‘We talk of parallel universe and Earth II while we fail to notice that these words apply to people surrounding us who remained unseen and unheard and who have no voice,’ said Chet with a visible concern in his voice.

‘The Great Fall from Prosperity can happen in the blink of an eye,’ Horatio said. ’Everything we see and touch and hear and taste is returning to entropy…including us,’ H continued. ’Time is deceiving with its Siren Song,’ H noted solemnly as he turned over the Hourglass.

‘Whatsoever they hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going,’ Chet quoted…

The cloudy and blue-patched sky this morning was charming. It occurred to me that we live with miracles all around us. Tunnel vision prevents us from seeing the majesty of nature. As we focus on our problems both real and not so real…we fail to see the forest for the trees. We have been placed in a Heaven on Earth and still look for unseen beauty. 

Faith helps us see the mystery and majesty that surround us. To believe in something greater than you is empowering. Dr. Martin Luther King saw the possibilities of the future for Civil Rights while he was in the Birmingham Jail. Nelson Mandela kept his vision of the abolishment of Apartheid over many years of imprisonment. 

Christ could see the Peaceable Kingdom…from the cross…

Many do not believe we are down for the count as a Nation. We still believe in the inherent goodness of the human family. 

The Christian message is not the message of controlling others. Many churches have not learned this valuable lesson. Some have fled church to obtain their freedom. 

Our marvelous planet is full of people who are not our clones. Their likes and dislikes are not necessarily ours. Why would we want to control them or legislate their personal lives when we do not understand their respective challenges. Do you want the government to dictate who you can love what books you can read or what you must think?

‘My mirror image winked at me,’ Jane said. ’This anomaly gives me significant concern…not normal and a bit scary,’ she continued.

‘Well that is a bit strange…but Neva J’s Mirror often reveals the mystery,’ Billy B said.

‘We are all connected…we are all members of the same family…each of us relies upon our neighbor,’ Chet noted with a smile.

‘As Larry David says in his new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ The Mirror shows us an image of how we see ourselves while a photo shows us how other people see us.’

‘Neva J’s Mirror shows me as I would like to be with an outgoing attitude and a joy de vie…while my personality is introverted,’ Jane said.

‘I love what the mirror shows me about the beauty of life that I am missing…often I see the reflection of the intricate beauty and wonder that I miss with my eyes,’ Chet said. 

Neva J Jane Chet and Billy B entered the Massive Mirror and began their exploration of the Mystery of Life…

Sympathy when I was a lad was in short supply. It was a different time. I worked with the Wilis Boys for three hot days cutting corn out of a bean field and it was so hot my socks slipped off my feet. When the farmer came by he mentioned that I was a bit slow…and I probably was but it was not for a lack of trying. 

Neva J awakened me each morning with her favorite motivational speech, ‘Hit The Deck, Your Rubberneck!’ All my friends must be experiencing the same call to battle. 

Each evening it was already dark in the winter…I was tasked with bringing in the coal for the stove adjacent to the kitchen. Now the coal was not the expensive kind and thus it was full of clunkers and Neva J had cats and thus cat poop as well. 

I learned to not wait for someone to give me something. Neva J was dating a gentleman called Cracky who offered me a penny and when I said no thanks he lectured me on the value of a penny.

I really appreciate Horatio Algier’s Stories or Rags to Riches because I remember the rags. When I moved out on my own the day after High School Graduation…I learned what it was to be hungry. 

So, when I see a fellow human on my Journey back to Jerusalem I empathize with them. It is indeed possible to work very hard and have nothing. 

We must decide to do something about our problems rather than talk them to death. Decisions whether they are right or wrong are at least forward movement. Stagnation in organizations churches universities and countries results in folks not caring or refusing to become involved. Risk-averse we are…while Rome is burning we are tuning our fiddles…

Committees are where ambitious plans for improvement expansion and renewal…go to die. We must ‘Hit The Deck’ when the call goes out, ‘Who shall work in my vineyard.’

Another day in the Woods and it is even better on Sunday. I was watching a film the other night about a famous Life Magazine photographer who only filmed in Black and White. Black and White film has a timeless quality. There is also a subtle mystery to the image that can not be obtained with Color film. 

Vivian Maier’s Street Photography is primarily in Black and White. 

Time is depicted better in Black and White. We live in a world full of color that tends to distract from the images behind the brilliance. When we take the color away we see the bones of the subject of the photo. Often the raw emotion of the scene is depicted sharply. 

Often we see our world in Black and White. The color has drained from our artistic pallet. Life’s challenges come so fast and so frequently that we see them only in monochrome. At these times our reality seems overwhelming. Even the Christmas Tree lights do not sparkle. 

A Hawk saw me as I saw him and soon swooped down to let me know of my violation of his space. 

So is our time here on Earth. We rejoice in the kaleidoscope of color of our happy times and we focus more clearly and deeply on the subjects behind the color in our sad and serious moments. 

Aaron gave me a gift of ancestry.com for Christmas. Today we noodled with it. What a hoot to find ancestors from the 16 hundreds and not only the British Colonies but England, Ireland, and Scotland. You certainly see what a great cast of characters you are associated with. 

We tend to surmise that what we are doing is of profound importance. How could anyone before us have done much more than struggle through life when we are winging on the wispy clouds of modern convenience. Alas, we are only singular members of a great story…a chapter of a majestic novel.

Those who came before us faced many of the challenges that we face. On winter nights they looked up at the stars and wondered what the Secret was. Disease did battle with our ancestors and took some of their young. They sought a new world of acceptance. They looked for a land where they could develop a sense of place and breathe the air of freedom. 

Our ancestors sought shelter food and fellowship with their fellow humans. Peace and prosperity were to be desired. Freedom from fear was a prime motivator. Hope was a Northstar. 

They lived with neither the iPhone nor the internet. Often you parted ways with precious family and did not see them for years or ever again. News traveled slowly…there were not many conspiracy theories unless you wrote them yourself. 

Leisure was rare and it was difficult to stay awake to enjoy it. Folks would travel to see their neighbor and knock on their door to announce their arrival…they could not call them on the telephone…

Most people kept their business to themselves and thus they were a mystery that made them interesting. Talk was indeed cheap and actions spoke louder than words. It was not easy for the conman or the scam artist to overtake our ancestors…they were much too busy with the real world…

The World was a mystery that was yet to be discovered by our ancestors. Exploration was a high calling and worthy of reverence. We knew little of anything that was more than a few miles from where we were born. Everything had a newness and a freshness about it and slept under a benevolent moon…

I was reminded by a Facebook post from Jerry’s wife Betty Jo that it was the eleventh anniversary of his passing. I met Jerry in October 1978 when my foreman Jim brought him to Thalman Hall to introduce him to me as a new employee. Jerry was the Business Agent for Local #316 Service Employees Union. I joined the Union and found a new friend.

Jerry helped so many people it is impossible to count them all. We had good jobs that most of us developed into our careers at Southern Illinois University and we had Jerry to thank for that. 

Jerry was a friend to a little guy like me. He was my friend when I had none at SIUC. In the last chapter of my career, he was a confidant and key advisor. 

Jerry’s advice was actively sought by University Chancellors and Presidents. Jerry had your back…he had my back…

Jerry was wise. He could positively correct his friends and they left with their dignity intact. We will not see his kind again…he was one in a million…