I had forgotten that December 17th is my 12th anniversary of retiring from Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. I was reminded of Facebook which showed me a lovely note that my good friend and colleague Elizabeth had written me 12 years ago. I can recall the surreal feeling that I had on that day. I had been employed by the University since the age of 20. Throughout those 32 years and 2 months and 3 weeks, I had been involved in many of the currents of University Life and I had relished my time there. I thought as I stood listening to my Director Phil and University President Poshrd say nice things about me…where did the time go… Any success that I enjoyed can be directly attributed to the wonderful people who worked with me.

On December 17, 2010, it seemed that I had just begun to fight and it was already time to move on to the next phase of my life. Through the grace and good wishes of so many of the University Community, I enjoyed all of my years with SIUC. Everywhere I turned there were people who wanted to help me and who were so complimentary of my efforts. I could never give back to the University all that it gave me!

I knew poverty and impoverishment and I wanted to help others who were marginalized and unseen and unheard. Nothing made me feel more of purpose and that I was accomplishing in some small measure what God would have me do than when I was able to offer a fellow human being a career in the economically challenged confines of Little Egypt.

So my retirement years have been good with life’s challenges along the path. MJ and I and our wonderful sons; Aaron and Jonathon…and now Mylo the Maltese are having a good life and excited about the next adventure. The joy is in the journey. Christmas is a week away. It is my favorite time of the year. I have many pleasant memories of the Christmas Seasons past. I wanted my memories of my retirement to be during the Christmas Season.

Stop and smell the roses along the way. This is not just a cute saying…it is the truth. Live your authentic life. I have lived the majority of my days portraying myself. I neither attempt to ingratiate myself with the powerful nor put-on aires with my friends. I remember the man on the Commodity Truck throwing the commodities on the ground and my dear mother picking them up so she and I would have something to eat. The Commodity Cheese is quite good but I could not tolerate the Dried Milk and thus saved my pennies until I had a dime at which point I would walk over to State Street and purchase a glass of cold whole milk from the corner restaurant.

There is a winter chill in the air today. I mentioned to MJ that next week is Christmas Week…at least in my mind since the Saturday of next week is Christmas Eve. Indeed the years seem like months…and the months as days…and the days…well you get the picture. I saw my good friend Al on the walk around Campus Lake and he complimented me on the photos that I post on Facebook. I told him how honored I was as he is an expert photographer. We reflected on the long flight both going and of course, returning from Hawaii.

Slow movies and television shows as well as long conversations that seem full of filler make me antsy… as I have gotten older. A movie that is two hours in length…that is in the theatre…I now find it tedious if it is not engaging. Time is precious when it runs from you like a scared deer. However…I never tire or become impatient with Christmas. I was made for Christmas. The peace of the holiday and the joy that it brings is just my cup of tea. In fact, I have a bit of withdrawal when Christmas is over…until January 1…when the anticipation begins anew!

The mystery is compelling. Christmas is a mystery. The shepherds and the Wisemen and the animals in the stable when Christ was born…were all intrigued by the mystery of how God could become one of us and dwell among us. The Story of The Ages has not yet been told…and we are key players in its panorama.

I love the woods. I have been at Giant City State Park daily throughout the fall. The changing leaves were incredible and the bare trees with their branches outstretched to the sky…are compelling.

‘I am very honored to have been asked to your Christmas Feast…I am so sorry that I was a bit late as I had some difficulty locating my spectacles,’ Mole said with a squint and a smile. ‘Mole it would not be Christmas without your…candied sweet potatoes and your pumpkin pie is to die for,’ Badger proclaimed. Suddenly up drove Frog in his motor car…it was careening about from side to side of the path and then he hit a tree. ‘Frog are you quite alright…there is steam escaping from your automobile’s radiator,’ Ratty noted. ‘Yes…yes I am well and happy that I am on time for the celebration,’ Frog said as he held his head with one hand. ‘Come now and let us enjoy the day of days and welcome our dear friends. ‘Hello, all…I am grateful that you invited me to your wonderful repast,’ said Sally Skunk. ‘Indeed it is a Horn Of Plenty…and I am ravenous,’ Peppa Pig said. ‘I would have been here sooner if I had not stopped off for some Christmas Cider for us all,’ Frank Fox noted. ‘Mama told me to wait for her…but I was so excited that I had to be here to participate in the joy of Christmas, Darlene Deer said with a demure smile. ‘Seeing in the daylight slows me down a bit…as I am nocturnal…but I wore my sunglasses,’ Perry Possum laughed.

‘Today was born in the City of David a Saviour…Christ The King,’ Badger proclaimed…and all of the trees bowed their great heads…and they clasped branches across the quiet peaceable woods…

Life is short…but the Journey is long. Emotion does not facilitate a smooth walk. At this wonderful time of year, we think of the Christ Child in the manger in Bethlehem. The Christmas Story is enriching and captivating…and is a model for our lives. We read with great sorrow that there was. no room in the Inn. We are certain that if we had been the Innkeeper…we would have given them our bed and accommodations. Yet millions of people are making the trek to Bethlehem with little or no help from any of we Innkeepers.

Pastor Kerry’s sermon yesterday set me to ponder my Christian Journey. I recall when I was a young man in high school I wanted first and foremost to be prepared for eschatology and the events of the last days…and perhaps the battle of Armageddon. I wondered if I would attain the ripe old age of 40. The book of Revelation had some extremely mysterious things to say. In my mind, the most important message of Christ was to love each other as he loves us. I read the accounts of Jesus healing the sick and opening the blinded eyes and even raising the dead. Many people eschew the use of physicians as they know if they pray hard enough…they will be healed.

Christ is coming and we are overjoyed. As Pastor Kerry said…’ Do you think that the Peaceable Kingdom is just going to appear…God called us to be Peacemakers.’

Dr. Ahmad had been a heart doctor in Syria. He and his wife Abia had lived an upper-middle-class lifestyle. Now they were refugees in the United States. They had lived in an apartment that had burned Saturday night. They escaped unhurt but lost what little they had. Abia worked at Walmart while Dr. Ahmad drove a taxi. After being displaced from their home they had the money for two weeks in the Quality Inn that was two miles from their burned-out shell of an apartment. Miss Vickie who was the manager of the Quality Inn asked Abia what they were going to do. Abia did not know…she was eight months pregnant and had just taken maternity leave from Walmart…and she and the doctor were scared. Vickie said, ‘You must come and stay with me…I live alone and have a big house that sits on a lovely pond.’ Abia began to cry and then she embraced Miss Vickie.

‘My greatest Christmas Joy in 2022 is to have Dr. Ahmad and Abia with me…they are a blessing, ‘ said Miss Vickie! Southern Illinois Healthcare has agreed to cover the expense of her birth and I know that the Ahamads will have a beautiful baby.

‘Today I understand what it is to be a Christian,’ Dr. Ahmad proclaimed…God Bless our new friend…with her help 2023 will be a good year!’

Pastor Kerry has moved to my neck of the woods! MJ, Jonathon, and I are overjoyed! He is such a great person. As I entered the doors of First Presbyterian this morning I was greeted by Carlyn with a big wave…I immediately felt welcome and that I had arrived back home. I still feel like a bit of a visitor in that I have been attending church over Zoom since 2020 due to our Pandemic. Kerry and I chatted after service and I was reminded of how much I like him.

Kerry mentioned in his sermon this morning that our lives are a journey of doubt and then the resolving of doubt…only to have doubt return and the process begins anew. This a perfect description of my Christian Walk over the past 53 years. We had a fire in our neighborhood last evening. Fire is scary and when you see it close up…it is chilling. It is my understanding that the occupants of the dwelling got out safely…but it is a reminder that life can change in a moment…even at Christmas.

I visited with Bill Martens who is one of the nicest people that I know. He told me how his wife Jane is so appreciative of Jonathon working at Morris Library. Jane recently was awarded the Human Rights Defender Award 2022 by the United Nations Association (UNA-USA) Southern Illinois Chapter. Jane and Bill’s work to help others is like nothing that I have ever witnessed.

Home is where the heart is…First Presbyterian Church @ Carbondale is a Home that welcomes all who enter…

It is a balmy 60 degrees in Little Egypt today…but it will not last. Indeed the pleasant temperature reminds me of the admonition that one movie character gave another last evening as I watched Amsterdam on HBO Max…’ Enjoy today because we are experiencing the good part…and the bad part will come again.’ I considered what a nice nugget of wisdom in a comedy.

We are social animals. We love to visit and exchange notes on what each other is going through and to hear both the troubles and trials as well as the victories and mountaintop experiences that our friends and family enjoy. We old folks like to speak to other old folks. When we hear about their maladies and challenges, we realize we are not alone.

‘Indeed it is a perfect day for Christmas Dinner,’ Chet announced. ‘I have to still heat the mashed potatoes…and the broccoli casserole,’ Jane said. ‘I am going to pick up Dee Dee and she is bringing her homemade dumplings,’ Jonathon mentioned. ‘I have all the Tequilla and Tequila mix that we will need,’ Paige advised. ‘Don’t forget the Jack and Coke,’ Tyler extolled. ‘Do you guys still like Rye Bread and Dill Dip,’ Tara asked? ‘Is the turkey smoking…and what type of cigars does Tom Turkey enjoy,’ Billy B. asked Mike? ‘I have the new coasters of Old Eldorado for our drinks,’ Neva J. said with a lilting laugh.

‘MJ and Billy B. remembered when they were the young people around the Christmas Table Feast. They were trees that were full of sap! Everything seemed possible and there simply were no limits… Now they sat at the senior citizens’ table…and were glad to be there. Life was good when they were young…but the golden years bring a special joy. They realized what a magnificent rollercoaster ride that they were on…and how the puzzle pieces of life fit together.

Aaron was handing out vintage lighters and Onyx bracelets to everyone in the house. He was proudly wearing one of the rings that Billy B. had given him for Christmas. Jonathon had on his new cap and was styling and profiling… Chet had on his Vintage Lost In Space Robot Costume.

Suddenly Santa Claus came through the front door…and it was Uncle Ron dressed up like the Jolly Old Elf… Santa had a share of Tesla Stock for each person around the Christmas Table…and Deer Sausage for all!

Ira Kaye cut the Key Lime Pie and all admired her wonderful Nativity Scene. There was Baileys Irish Cream for the coffee and Jack for the Coke and Kettle One for the Orange Juice… The pressing problem of life seemed far removed for a season…Christ is born…he gives us hope…

‘It is just a little over two weeks until Christmas…and we are woefully behind the production,’ Herman the Head Elf over Toy Production said. ‘The staff tells me that we needed more mallets and the trucks are delayed from our satellite facility in England,’ Margie said. ‘What is causing the delay,’ asked Santa? ‘The Elves who produce the toys want additional sick days…they say that with Covid that three days a year are not adequate, Margie answered. ‘I thought that we had provided unlimited paid sick days for Covid and health insurance to cover all of their medical needs,’ Santa asked with a concerned look. ‘Well you did…but your lieutenant Hortence stopped the order and changed it to three days sick leave and a two thousand dollar deductible…with no additional consideration for Covid, Margie bemoaned. ‘I saw Reuben this morning and he was coughing his head off…I gave him some Mucinex and told him to go home and get in his bed and to turn on his vaporizer,’ Santa said. ‘Hortense told me that the stockholders will not tolerate a drop in their stocks and thus she reduced your benefits package to fit their wishes,’ Margie said with a tear in her eye. ‘If my Elves are not happy…I am not happy…call a meeting,’ Santa roared with an angry glare!

Beauford spoke first at the Elves and Santa labor meeting. ‘Santa we love you and Mrs. Claus…you are like our mom and dad…and we love the children around the world…but we are hobbled by the Pandemic…and we are Elfian and we have feelings, Beauford said. ‘I have been riding my bicycle to work through the snow…and you know how much snow there is at the North Pole… the corduroy coat that you gave me twelve Christmases ago is threadbare…and I am cold all of the time,’ said Beuford.

Backster added, ‘Santa…do you how frigid it is when I am checking the Zip Lines for the gifts for the Kids… ‘I travel all over the midwest and south working with love in my heart for you and my colleague…and most of all for the children…but I became ill with Covid and now I am paying my medical bills on the installment plan…and you did not come to see me when I was in the hospital. ‘I keep telling the others that you must not realize the shape we are in…and you have often told us that we are essential employees…and you must not realize that we are treated like interlopers and visitors in our own Toy Factory,’ Backster added.

‘I speak with weeping mothers and sad children each day who do not believe in you any longer due to having received nothing for Christmas…and I tell them that you love them and that you see them and know of their requests…but I doubt the words that I am saying in my heart,’ Helena the Elf in charge of North Pole Public Relations said. ‘I have assured the sad parents and the lonely children that you will make a special visit to each of their homes this year…we Elves need your consideration and you and Mrs. Claus love to fulfill the awesome task…we have all worked silently…waiting for you to see us and hear us and know how much we love your mission and Christmas,’ Helena said in a whisper.

‘First I want all of the families that I have missed to be brought to the North Pole for a special Christmas Eve with Mrs. Claus and me…immediately there will be a pay raise of 50% for each of you and sick days will be taken from 3 to 30. with unlimited sick days for Covid or any serious disease…each of you shall join Me and Mrs. Claus in Florida in January…all expenses paid…and Hortence you are being reassigned to the factory floor and Reuben shall be the Head Elf over Finance.

There was joy at the North Pole at the changes that Santa had made. Untold numbers of families laughed and sang and had their hopes renewed when their own personal Elf sleigh driver came to their homes and chauffeured them to the North Pole to meet and enjoy Christmas Eve dinner with Santa and Mrs. Claus. They could not believe their good fortune when toys and great baskets of food and even money for medicine and heat…especially the families of the United Kingdom…and the Christmas Promise of more to come as they required additional funds to see them through the difficult winter.

The Holiday Season is in full bloom. We are scurrying about in the noble attempt to get everyone a Christmas Gift. From sizing rings to Vintage Santa Claus…it is Noel Immersion. Yes, we are thinking of those who are less fortunate and know that this is the epitome of the giving season. Christmas parties are abundant. We must have the perfect outfit for the joyous event. Hopefully, we can be clever and fluent in dry humor and appropriate quips. I remember with great pleasure this time of year when I was working at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. The time off from work was plentiful and greatly appreciated. For a number of years, we attended our friends’ Christmas Parties. Jo Ann and Peter knew how to throw a Christmas Party. They had the most glorious of Christmas Trees each year and vintage ornaments adorning them. Their parties were catered by Tom’s Place, a superb local restaurant with an award-winning chef. I strove to be a silk purse made out of a sow’s ear… The madrigal revelry was compelling…but the highlight of MJ and my visit was the few moments that we were able to spend with our friends…and the mutual affection that we had for each other.

I received my crown this morning, not for my head…but for my tooth. Dr. Jenny told me how much she enjoys looking at the photos I display on Facebook. Her heartfelt words made my day! Later this morning I texted my friend of over 50 years and told him that the photos that he sent MJ and me reminded us of the lovely time that we spent with them over Thanksgiving Week. Jeff wrote that he and Margo loved us…and I replied that MJ and I loved them as well and that old friends are the best.

There is no substitution for telling your family and friends how much you love and appreciate them. We want to…but we do not want to appear flaky or silly or have a blank stare returned to our loving gaze. Yet the Bible says that a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver… I promise you that you will not receive a Christmas Gift that will touch your soul more than the words from the soul…the heart…of someone that you care about.

Genuine words of commendation and praise and affection can lift depression…give hope…and illuminate the path for 2023… You can be lonely in a crowd. You can feel forgotten and unseen and unheard in the midst of a throng of humanity. Soon we all will leave this mortal coil. We will discover the Big Secret…that none of us currently understands. Words of praise are melodious at funerals. People come that you would not have dreamed of coming…and they utter what the deceased person meant to them. I hope that somewhere they are listening…because they will be as surprised as anyone…

I typed my first blog today on the Writing Porch…and it was much too cold to write the second from the December Chill. So I have been thinking about who is watching you and me. We often feel that we are islands in the sea of humanity and no one is noticing us or caring little about what we do. I read a study the other day that said that we live in our heads more now than we ever have. With IPads and iPhones and laptops and computers, we are preoccupied with our own world that is private before our eyes. Have you noticed that first-run movies spend a sparing amount of time in the theatre? They rapidly are moving to pay-per-view or Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime. When you do make the somewhat dangerous journey to a restaurant for the fellowship of other customers and staff…and of course your friends or family…you may observe tables full of people who are all magnificently obsessed with their smartphones.

Perplexed I was many years ago when a fire alarm would sound in one of the Campus buildings when students seemed to not hear it and paid no attention to it. I would go from classroom to classroom to verbally warn the lethargic academics that a fire alarm was peeling and thus they must exit the building. Often the students would say that someone probably pulled the alarm as a prank and that it was no doubt a false alarm.

Watch what we do as life passes us by on our screens. Suffering and death and war and famine meld with computer games and Hollywood movies. Reality does not phase us if we do not feel it. We pass by the hungry and the cold and think about getting home to eat and warm up from the chill.

Perspective is everything. I have noticed when I am photographing an area that I have taken pictures in before that if I change my perspective I see an entirely new portrait. When I was a supervisor and then a manager/administrator at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale I strove to see colleagues’ points of view from their vantage point. Many times things appeared one way from the Superintendent’s Office and quite another way from my friends working in the University buildings. Rules and requirements seemed common sense as I comprised them from my office…but onerous and silly in the field.

Christmas brings us an opportunity to change our perspective. What is happening on our doorstep…who is suffering in our family…who is hungry and cold and lonely in our community.

Love is the answer…but we must first understand the question…

‘Well here it is the fifth of December and I still do not have my Christmas shopping done nor my holiday menu prepared…pour me another glass of Merlot,’ Neva J. announced. ‘I like the idea of having Christmas Dinner with the homeless at the Lions Club…first, we help prepare the feast and then we sit down with them and enjoy Christmas Dinner together,’ said Chet. ‘We all could go; Grandma A. and aunts Wanda and Vema and Guelda…along with cousin Gene and cousin Brenda,’ said a happy Billy B. ‘We could perform a Christmas Play for them…with props that were used last year in the Christmas performance of the It’s A Wonderful Life…there is still a lot of fake snow left,’ said Jane. ‘Dad has a Santa suit and a long white beard that stays on with glue,’ Daryl added. ‘I think that we should include the rumors that Santa was actually seen last year at Debbie’s house…she swears that she not only saw him but that they enjoyed milk and cookies together,’ Chet noted. ‘Poinsettas will be needed…and a lot of them…they add so much to the ambiance of the holiday,’ Neva J. laughed as she poured another glass of Merlot and one for each of the collaborators.

‘Did you hear that Cousin Freds is closing…and all of the staff are being laid off just before Christmas,’ Jane asked? ‘Cousin Freds is a great store…why they have a little bit of everything…a bit like Wal-Mart…which has not been realized as yet,’ Chet responded. ‘What will those poor people do…there is nowhere in our little town or the surrounding region that is hiring,’ Daryl mused. ‘Let us invite all of the laid-off Cousin Freds staff to join us in the Christmas Play and for Christmas Dinner at the Lions Club,’ Neva J. said with a hearty laugh! ‘We will have turkey and dressing and mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and pumpkin and pecan pie…and that is just for starters…the wine will flow and hot apple cider and a little Jack Daniels to help us through our celebration,’ Rosie proclaimed!

‘I would love for us to have a tribute to JFK…before the Play begins,’ said Rosie in view of his assassination just a few weeks before. ‘We not only will do so but we want you to read your poem that you wrote about what a wonderful President that he was,’ Neva J. said with a tear in her eye.

Christmas Day was here and Billy B. and Chet, Jane, Neva J., Rosie, and Daryl were busy at work in the kitchen of the Lions Club. They were assisted by Cousin Fred’s displaced staff and some little people dressed as Elves. Now, these little people that were dressed as Elves…did not break character…they spoke in the Elfian Language and answered in English only when requested. They moved so rapidly that it was difficult to follow their movements. They laughed and chittered a bit like squirrels. Chet heard one say something like ‘The Old Man will be here soon.’

As Rosie read her poetic tribute to JFK there was not a dry eye in the house.

‘I have not had such a fine Christmas Feast since I was a boy,’ said Earl who was homeless. ‘Back in those days we even had roasted chestnuts and Christmas Pudding…but then again I was raised in York, England,’ Earl continued. ‘Mum brought me to America and we lived with her Mum and my Grand Mum in Eldorado when it still had three Movie Houses…I worked in the Coal Mines…until they closed,’ Earl said with a deep sigh. ‘My wife left me and she took our little daughter with her…they moved to Chicago…and I have not seen them in some time,’ Earl said in no more than a whisper… ‘What I would give to see them again and tell them that if we had stayed together I believe that I could have found another job…and that we would have been alright,’ said Earl.

‘I hear that you are looking for Santa Claus said the ‘rotund little man with the pipe fastened securely between his teeth and the smoke encircling his head like a wreath…I have come to hear everyone’s Christmas wishes,’ the amazingly authentic Santa Portrayer said. The Cousin Freds staff noted that they were all out of work and that they did not know what they were going to do… Santa said that he had spoken to the Cousin Freds owners and showed them how to keep their budget in the black and that they were so happy that they were going to hire everyone back on Monday…the day after Christmas.

‘Earl…I have someone who wants to say hello to you…,’ Santa said. There was Earl’s wife and daughter and they ran to him and embraced him. ‘I am hiring you and anyone of the homeless who wants a job as Santa’s helpers in 1964…you can stay in Eldorado and work throughout Southern Illinois…as there are more than enough people that need your assistance,’ Santa laughed so hard that his ’round little belly shook like a bowl full of jelly!’

Suddenly Santa was gone and an angel was in the room. ‘Santa has many other stops today…but he says that if you need him he will be back,’ the angel said with a benevolent smile.

‘

‘I know that this sounds impossible but I swear that I saw Santa change into the angel,’ Chet said…