Today we enjoyed a most lovely lunch at the Brixwood Fork and Vine Restaurant and Wine Bar. It has replaced the former Russel Hill Winery which has been closed for some time. The ambiance of the establishment is delightful and the food and wine was to ‘die for!’ Jonathon had told us of the wonders of the Bleu-Cheese and Bacon Burger…but the experience is more than words can speak… The Feather Hills Cabernet was so good…we purchased a bottle for home. Aaron had a wonderful Salmon Wrap…and the fries were scrumptious. We sat outside but with a roof over our heads with a nice ceiling fan turning…it was cool and complete.

Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale is preparing for the beginning of Fall Semester classes on Monday. Jonathon said that the Sunny Side Cafe was full of people this morning…for breakfast. Our little city has added significant population…this weekend…in preparation for higher learning. The official enrollment numbers will not be taken until the 10th day of classes…but we hear good things. However enrollment is just a shadow of its former self…in the 1990s. The Carbondale Campus had just under 25,000 in its heyday. In those days there were 5 multiplex theatres in town as well as a thriving mall with several anchor stores and restaurants. R. Buckminster Fuller lived in Carbondale and taught at the University. Fuller’s home in Carbondale was a geodesic dome…and it is still standing.

Organizations that I have been affiliated with for over 50 years…are usually…top heavy. They have many administrators and managers and leaders…but few followers in comparison to the magnitude of the leadership team. So much of the decision making of governments and universities and churches…is comensurate on what the leaders think is good…for them. The opinions of we little people…are often not considered. For more times than I can count…I have witnessed decisions made regarding what is good for the rank and file or the student…or the congregant out of protection of place and position and continuation of appointment…and the decisions are driven by our own narrow set of values and the opportunity to impose those values on those who we are supposed be protecting. Protection of position rather than leading with a servants’ heart…has become increasingly rare…

Faces are important. This is why, on some occasions, we enjoy wearing a misleading face…or a mask. When we make mistakes…we look for our ‘Smiling and Everything is All Right Mask’ to hide behind and fool our friends and neighbors and colleagues into believing that we have not made a bad decision…but rather a good one… In Florida…we proclaim freedom…to mask our inadequacies and ineffectiveness and ignorance… We stayed much too long in our 20 year war in Afghanistan…and now we are leaving devastation in our absence…and mask wearing in the wake of our bad decisions…

Campus is abuzz and aflutter with the comings and goings of our precious students returning to Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale…and with our wonderful new students…and their parents. When I first witnessed the traffic on Giant City Road…I thought that there must have been an automobile accident. On the contrary…Carbondale High School has begun its semester and it is move in day at SIUC. These are exciting times for a college town… As I was entering Faner a petite young lady held the door for me…and I considered how wonderful nice young people are…and I thought that I probably reminded her of her grandfather. Another student was practicing twirling a University flag…and as long as I can recall I have witnessed this flag twirling session when Fall Semester begins.

In 1978 I was the same age as many of the Universities students…now I could indeed be the grandfather to a new SIUC student… When I first became a supervisor in Building Services…at the ripe old age of 22…I often dressed in a cardigan to appear older than my youthful years. In fact for many years people guessed me older than my chronological age…and I liked it. Now when they guess me older…it does not have the same resonance. I know that Southern has been my home for the past 43 years. I love it…and I love driving to it each day…much as I did during my 32 year and 2 months and 3 week career. I vividly remember the mystery and the majesty of Little Egypt’s hidden treasure. I was overjoyed with the knowledge that not only had I been hired into a job…that was a career…but that I had the opportunity to obtain a college education…and work as a member of an international community.

Hopeless…gave way to hopeful… Economic marginalization evaporated in the brilliant light of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. Suddenly…the pages of Earth’s Book were available for me to read…in the faces of my international friends and colleagues. SIUC was an oasis in the midst of a desert. I had been accustomed to hearing a very narrow view of life and its purpose. I knew that there was more…but SIUC…opened the door of opportunity for me…

And so, we gather tomorrow with our loving family, Ira Kaye and Ron, at the Bricks Wood Winery…which was formally the Russel Hill Winery. It will be great to enjoy the fellowship of our long time travel partners and fellow visitors to Hawaii in 2015…which seems like yesterday. We will engage in solving the world’s problems and sip wine and be thankful for the days of grace that we are enjoying. The hands of time wait for no woman or man. The sand in the hour glass continues to cascade to the bottom. What we first thought was a long time…is but the briskness of a Weaver’s Shuttle…

MJ and I just had our Thursday lunch at Von Jakob Winery. The wine was good and the food was great. We had tenderloin sandwiches that were as large as my fist…and larger than MJs’. It was almost more than I could eat… Little Egypt is resplendent with wineries. Many people engage a limousine tour of the many wine stops…in order to be able to imbibe freely. When these folks enter an establishment that you may be enjoying a glass of wine in…they can be easily spotted by their peals of laughter and flushed happy countenances… Wineries are good places to lay your worries at the doorstep and enter into days of grace. The plethora of worries that surround us in our modern life…can fog the beauty of life and our part in it. So often we are going to visit a winery more often…perhaps when we have more time…or less to do…or when our projects are finally completed. We know that we intend to stop and reflect and enjoy each others company…when things just get a little better…and we have less on our plate…and we finally have the necessary time for the Golden Years… What if the Golden years are here and prolonged waiting will tarnish their glow?

Work so captivates the minds and hearts of we Americans…that we can think of little else. For several years after my retirement, friends and colleagues asked me what I was going to do for employment. Now, I gave the best years of my life in pursuit of my career and of acquiring financial stability. I worked 12 and 16…and even 24 hour days in the frenetic race to succeed. I wonder why people, who have a stable income, feel that they must work for more money…until they die… Is our worth as humans beings totally tied to our stock portfolio? We take great store and put a tremendous influence on those who have acquired significant wealth. We seek these people to set on our University Board of Trustees and we value their considered opinion over those of us who have simply made a living or the poor among us. Capitalism has become our standard of excellence and our exact ruler for success or failure at the game of life.

A common and popular doctrine in some christian churches is the prosperity doctrine. The teaching that if you are doing God’s will…he will make you rich in this earthly life. I have known thousands of wonderful christians…who have remained poor for their entire lives. The prosperity doctrine is working out well…for the prosperous…or those who seek to become prosperous off the hard labor of others. Somehow we have raised the false flag of wealth…as the beacon of Christ’s love. The flip side of the prosperity doctrine is that we look down on those who are poor and homeless and in need of help…’Why if fhey would just pull themselves up by their boot straps…they could be the recipient of God’s love…like we rich folks are.’ Jesus said, ‘Then the King shall say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom that was prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me. Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will say,’I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Matthew 25: 34 – 40. NLT

”Why are we weigh’d upon with heaviness, and utterly consumed with sharp distress, While all things else have rest from weariness?’

‘Hateful is the dark-blue sky, Vaulted or’e the dark-blue sea. Death is the end of life; ah, why Should life all labour be?

‘Let us alone. Time driveth onward fast, And in a little while our lips are dumb . Let us alone. What is it that will last? All things are taken from us, and become Portions and parcels of the dreadful past.

‘Let us alone. What pleasure can we have to war with evil? Is there any peace In ever climbing up the climbing wave? All things have rest, and ripen toward the grave In silence; ripen, fall, and cease: Give us long rest or death, dark death, or dreamful ease.’ The Lotus Eaters…Tennyson

So, today MJ and I visited the Division of Motor Vehicles. It was time for me to renew my driver’s license. Also we needed to put a vehicle in our Trust. One of the nicest people at the Carbondale DMV is a red headed lady that has been there…it seems to me…for the past 25-30 years. She assisted us with the lengthy title procedure…and even brought me a clip board…as the old man grew tired of standing…to facilitate my not having to stand up, again, and walk to the desk. Good people make me want to be good. They inspire me to strive to be better…as the woman at SIUC told me after she had complained for over 1 hour regarding the performance of housekeeping at the University. She proclaimed…’Mr. Brooks…you could be better!’ I responded that I heartily agreed with her assessment and that I was going to conclude our conversation and set about her recommendation.

As I walked Campus this morning I was pleased to see many students preparing to welcome our incoming Class of 2021. They were excited regarding their mission…and their enthusiasm was contagious. The University is like the most lovely of Gothic Churches…it is nothing without its’ people. When our precious students are present at our lovely Campus…we are complete and whole and ready to set fourth on our great journey…

Safety should be of paramount concern for our schools that are either opening this week or next. Politics and political expediency should have no role to play in protecting our children. The first illogical premise to be thrown in the bin is that freedom to wear a face mask or not to is somehow directly connected to being free… The Delta Variant is spreading like a fire in standing corn…and Lambda is on its’ heels! Somehow we have the unusual idea that we modern and 21st Century people should not be dealing with a Black Plague from the 14th Century. We seem to feel that if we are canny enough or confident enough…that the pestilence will not touch us or our loved ones. In our supposed freedom…we have expanded our ignorance…

Churches beware. So we got a surprise with the Delta Variant of our 2020/2021 Pandemic. We saw it in the distance…in India. First we are primarily concerned that we and our close affiliations get the vaccination…or we have done our research and have decided to not get the vaccine at all…and then we wonder when much of the world neither have vaccinations or even have access to one if desired. Churches are in the mode of Covid Success With Vaccines…but the empirical evidence does not support this hypothesis. To remain open…is playing with prospective fire…that can not be contained. In many areas of our country the Virus is much worse than when we shut our doors in precaution and the motivation of safety for our congregations…

Life brings us many reversals. To set our cap on concrete certainty is a bit childish and naive. We are in the midst of a world-wide killing Pandemic…that we have only read about in our history books. As we read…we thought…how sad for those poor people… We are those people! We live in the day of incredible wealth and abject poverty. Those of us who have some resources…believe that our accumulated wealth will save us from the coming storm. Many of us have been told that god blesses the chosen with good heath and great wealth…while the poor christian…seeks shelter from the cold on a heating grate and food from the dumpster that is behind our favorite 5 star restaurant. Lies and loud and confidentially proclaimed political rhetoric will not shelter us from our persistent Pandemic. The unquestioned truth that we are all weak humans…who are susceptible to disease….and we…

grieve at loss…and who need each other desperately….the reality has been hidden from us by many of our leaders. We paint the the upstairs of our magnificent homes…while we smell the hint of acrid smoke…emanating from the basement..which is ablaze…

Move in is this week at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. The Campus is splendid under the August Sun. During my 32 year and 2 months and 3 week career…this was the most exciting time for me as a member of the University Community. For my life and my families’s lives…SIUC has been nothing but a blessing. I came to the University as a 20 year old who had a new wife and needed secure employment to make a life. When I reminisce on the carer opportunities and the educational benefits of my school…l am still awestruck and grateful. I discovered a place that accepted me for who I was and where I could grow both as a person and professionally.

Southern’s diverse community captured my imagination. On my first evening as a Building Service Worker I I worked alongside students from several countries. They were friendly and welcoming and I felt at home. During my first shift…I heard a resonate baritone bellowing…Brooks…Brooks…. When I found the source of the intonation of my last name…I first smelled the fragrant odor of cigar smoke…and then an African American gentleman. He told me to sit down and visit for a minute and I was reluctant to do so. Then, Jim, informed me that he was my boss and that when the boss invited me to sit down…I could feel safe in doing so.

Ducks and geese do not like the hot weather any better than I do. Today as i walked around Campus Lake I saw several endeavoring to locate a cool spot.

Campus seemed so large to me…43 years ago…now it seems like my home. I watch with great joy the many campus tours of prospective students and their parents. I smile at their wide eyed wonder and the excited looks on their faces. I recall the first class that I enrolled in 1980. I was full of excitement and fear. Excited to be enrolled at the University and fearful that I would not measure up.

When I think of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale…I think of the transformation of Bradley Jay Brooks. I went in still seeking my life’s path…and I came out walking steadily on it…

SIUC is a microcosm of our world…and my affiliation with our Campus…made me a world traveller.

Hot is the take away word for the day. It is 90 degrees but it feels like 106. There is a heat advisory. Jonathon and I did house washing last week…none planned for this week. Too hot! It is reported that we humans have reached a crisis level for Global Warming. It is already too late to turn back the clock…there is only a small amount of time to lesson the catastrophic results from a super heated Earth. MJ and Aaron and Jonathon and I watched the glaciers in Alaska, calving, 16 years ago…many of those glaciers are now gone. We are like the people who are in our living room while our kitchen is on fire…we take comfort in the fact that we are. not burning…yet… I just received a news message that Covid 19 is spreading rapidly across my state, Illinois. We are a bit like the Emperor Nero of Rome…of whom it is said that he fiddled while Rome burned. We made Global Warming political…and now we live with the devastation of our shortsightedness and ignorance of the reality that was before our faces.

Our little planet is one of nine in our solar system. ‘The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy’s appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye.’ Wikipedia. Somehow we seem to think that our confidence in ourselves supersedes our brothers and sisters who are experts in their academic disciplines. It seems that the rooster that crows the loudest…garners the biggest flock of chickens. The Bully has been given the seat of honor and the learned man or woman with a servants heart…has been relegated to the back bench.

How often are things that we need to see…in front of our faces…and yet we do not see them? Our 2020/2021 Pandemic is not over. Why would we take satisfaction and political camaraderie with our neighbors and friends and fellow church members…in the fact that we have failed to get the Corona Virus vaccinations. My friend posted on Facebook that two of her good friends had been stricken with the Virus…they had not been vaccinated. Our Pandemic could become a plague of Biblical proportions…if we choose religious/political bombastic rhetoric over empirical reality… Why do we choose death over life? Have conspiracy theories so captured our minds and hearts that we would rather live in the Twilight Zone…than reality?

Confidence tell us that we are big stuff. Political theatre assures us that we are being misled by Dr. Anthony Fauci and the plethora of Epidemiologists and virologists and physicians that assure us that Covid 19 is real…and that it will make many of us deathly ill…and that it kills… Superheated religious proclamations take the place of medical professionals in our life actions. Simply put…we trust our preacher… more than our doctor…and we die for the misplaced allegiance…

I walk the Campus of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale…for the past 43 years. You would think with that long term exposure I would have seen it all. Nevertheless…I see new things every day… Take time to look at your surroundings. I mean really look and contemplate what your are observing. Something new will pop out at you…that you had not noticed before.

Secrets are wonderful. Mysteries are marvelous. The sleuthing of the answer to a riddle is so very satisfying. When you die…the politician that you loved the most…will not attend your funeral. The preacher that you entrusted your life with…may preach your funeral and then go out for a fine dinner and plan his/her vacation. Think for yourself…open your eyes…wide…

Small is the word that describes we humans…best. We are giants in our own Super Ego…but we are midgets in the grand scheme of God’s creation. ‘But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.’ Luke 12:7. KJV

Jonathon and I engaged in round #2 this morning of the mildew removal on our siding. After my first adventure, on Thursday, I was amazed that my left eye did not hurt or sting when I accidentally shot a direct stream into it as I was trying to read the instructions for releasing the cleaner. I rushed into the house to rinse my eye…then I went back to work and was amazed that there was no appreciable amount of chemical that had. been released from the hose grip bottle. I thought, with a bit of self satisfaction, that surely the two $16 bottles that I had purchased would do my house 2 or 3 times over…with no doubt some to spare. Once the job had been completed I immediately showered…as I was still worried about the miracle siding cleaning chemical…and the fact that I had taken a direct hit in my eye. Standing under the cascading water…for at least five minutes, with my eyes open, they were truly bloodshot and irritated when the process was completed. I have worried about my left eye for the past 48 hours. Jonathon and I began the second application of the cleaner…and I noticed…again…that it was imperceptible the amount of soap that was leaving the small bottle. Upon a more detailed search…I discovered that I did not have the cleaning arrow fully engaged…and thus there was no chemical being applied to the house or my eye. Once it began flowing…it exited the bottle in record time!

Safety was of paramount importance after my Thursday…almost accident. I found 2 face shields for $16 apiece. I thought that they would be about $5 or $6. The gentleman who was assisting me told me that the face shields had been unavailable for a year due to Covid. There were only a few when I bought our 2. I had assumed that the face shields that I had seen in abundance during the height of the Pandemic were probably comfortable to wear. Well the Delta Variant of Covid has caused a terrible resurgence of the Virus and face shields are appearing all over town as the realization that we are far from out of the woods. They are hot and more difficult to breathe in than a face mask in my opinion. However Jonathon and mine were made out of heavier plastic that was suitable for chemical protection.

Real…is to be desired in today’s plastic society. One terrible thing that is extremely real is our Pandemic. What if we are not at the end…but the middle of the scourge? We humans have a short little span of attention. Especially we in the industrialized west want what we want when we want it… We are accustomed to people caring for our needs. We do not like to wait for anything. It is still difficult for me to believe…but many jobs are impossible to fill with Americans seeking gainful employment. When I was a lad I accepted any job that would hire me. I did not think that I was too good to work in manual labor. In fact I perceived that I might do so for my entire career. All work has dignity and value. But, we have been spoiled to accept the easy fix and the easy answer to life’s difficult questions. We have accepted that the accrual of money without an appreciable product to show for it…is smart business. We think little of debt or sound financial planning but rather prefer the buy now and pay later philosophy. Some of our politicians have no marketable skills but have fallen into $175 K annual jobs that they will likely never loose until then die. Many of these folks you would not hire for your beginning employment in your company. All that they have to do is ascertain what their voting base wants and then poly parrot those lies and conspiracy theories to the 750 thousand that they are elected to represent…and all are happy in their shared confused denial of reality…until they begin dying…

Edinburgh was a crucial part of our itinerary for our 2016 United Kingdom Exploration. We took a train from London to Edinburgh. We had visited Scotland, once before, as a land excursion from our United Kingdom Cruise in 2012. Our good friends, Margo and Jeff, had booked a wonderful flat for the six of us that was located along the hilly road that we took each morning to ascend to Edinburgh. The walk was an excellent manner to get our steps in…as I logged in excess of 10,000 steps per day…and more like 17,000 to 20,000 per day after ascending the hill in the morning and descending the hill in the evening and walking around Edinburgh and the Fringe Festival each day. The Fringe is one of the largest Arts Festivals in the world. There were hundreds of shows to see. They ranged from comedy to tragedy…and plays and singing and dancing and Avant-garde productions. We saw an enthusiastic young woman from Wales sing Tom Jones songs. Tom Jones is from Wales and my mom would not miss his television show in the 1960s. We watched a comedian who told us that he suffered from depression and especially so during the 11 months that he could not perform at the Fringe. There were pubs for wonderful Scottish Ale and outstanding Scotch of which we availed ourselves of a bottle. We attended a haunted tour, in the gloom of the evening, and the most unique lady, dressed as a ghost and all in white tattered garments, took us to some truly scary places.

Colin Mochrie, from Who’s Line Is It Anyway, was performing. I later learned that many famous comedians and stars got their start at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival…including Robin Williams and Monty Python. Our flat was large and comfortable. MJ and I slept in a bedroom that had 6 single beds. Aaron and Jonathon had their own bedroom…each. We met the owners, who lived next door, and they were lovely people. I often refer to the person that I met on our first dinner in Edinburgh. He was in a wheel chair and he asked me if I could help him up to a standing position to facilitate his ordering some Chinese food. I was happy to do so and thus ensued our conversation. He asked me how I was enjoying Edinburgh and I responded that for the little time that I had been in the city that I liked it very much. He expressed to me how happy that he was that we were visiting his city. The gentleman went on to say how much he had wanted to visit America…for all of his life…but that his Visa had. been denied…however he was going to reapply.

Edinburgh is a city of infinite layered history. The streets are built on top of other streets giving it a multilayered visit. MJ and I began walking up a three flight grouping of steps and deducted that we would be physically able to complete the climb…only to find that there were an equal number of steps at the top of the first grouping. There was a fascinating Flea Market in Edinburgh. I purchased a watch that was inscribed as a gift for ‘Bill’ and a wonderful shaving kit. Edinburgh was a bit like a waking dream…it was surreal and splendid…

The Military Tattoo is a singular experience and not to be missed! I read that both the Fringe Festival and the Military Tattoo have been canceled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the Pandemic. It is our plan to visit in 2022…if the Virus cooperates. The Tattoo is held on the castle grounds. The magnificence of the show is like something that you have never witnessed. With the columns of bagpipe players and the military and the young women dancing the Ceilidh Dance…the performance is a cornucopia for the senses. As we were leaving after the performance in 2016…I was referring to my neighbors as…Mate. Edinburgh…gets in you soul…and in your blood…

Fringe Festival is held in August as is the Military Tattoo. Like a magnet…Edinburgh draws us back to its ancient confines and mysteries. Scotland is a country that runs by it’s own time and clock. It is a country that recognizes it’s ancient past and yet lives in our present world. It is delightful and devious and good…and wicked…with measure…

In August of 2017 we traveled to New Mexico to visit Ira Kaye and Ron. Facebook has reminded me, this week, of what a wonderful time that we had visiting so many picturesque places in and around Santa Fe. There was a photo of me on the beautiful grounds of their condo. I looked rather dapper for an old guy with my Irish hat on and my seersucker shorts. The facility had the most wonderful hot tub that Ron and I visited twice during the week that we were there. There was also a golf course on the grounds of the condo association and a wonderful full bar for the occasional libation. My buddy, Carson, led us to the best Margaritas in Santa Fe…and we sipped them slowly to ensure maximum pleasure and enjoyment. Santa Fe is an artistic community and the residents and population are easy going people that are easy to like. They see the world from more of a spiritual side rather than from the side of how much money can I accrue.

We were in the hunt for hand woven wool table runners and hand woven wool rugs…the kind that you hang on your wall. We drove to Chimayo, New Mexico, which is noted for it’s hand woven wool products. ‘In 1680, the Pueblo Indians revolted temporarily ending Spanish commitment to the region. The Tewa Indians named Chimayo as ‘Tsi-Mayoh,’ after one of four sacred hills above the valley, which lies directly behind Di Santuario de Chimayo. The Pueblo Indians believed that they shared their land with supernatural beings.’ So we stopped at a weaving shop and watched with rapt attention and amazement as a woman was hand weaving a wonderful wool rug.

We were hooked. We came home with 3 different table runners. Later, MJ ordered a rug from a craftsman in New Mexico and we have proudly hung at the juncture of our Great Room and Loft. We attended the famous Sant Fe Opera and enjoyed it immensely. It was an open air performance of Die Fledermaus and we wore the opera mask to illustrate our opera bona fides.

New Mexico is compelling in its scenic beauty and the Native American Sprits of generations long past. It has a beauty that is unique and a spirit that is pervasive. Life seems simpler in New Mexico. The grandiose costume of modern life yields to the natural beauty of the earth.

Rings are a passion of mine. I remember, many years ago in St. Louis, Missouri that my friend Steve said that he knew Jay Brooks and that I would not wear a ring that had diamonds in it. MJ had sought to purchase for me a nice and flashy diamond ring for our wedding…that we could not afford when we actually were married. There was a smaller one and a larger one…I chose the larger one. And, so, we stopped at a Jewelry Store in Chimayho. I found the most fantastic New Mexico style ring for just over $100 and purchased it forthwith. It is a fantastic ring! I am wearing it today…

Our August temperatures are still temperate. So I thought that I would do a little, necessary work, around the ranch. Since MJ and I both have new Subaru Foresters…I have noticed the cramped parking space on my side of the garage. In fact on one occasion I tapped the drivers side door on a bookshelf that we had been storing for many years. It was time for the bookshelf to go. There was no room in the Inn…for it. Burris Disposal had to be called. The nice lady at Burris told me to put my bookshelf and my long folding table, that we had used at Thanksgiving for many years, out by the curb and her colleagues would pick them up this morning. So, as Jonathon and I pulled the tall bookshelf next to Ash Wood Lane…we subsequently found a table top to add to the mix and a nice piece of particle board. This morning just after I arose from my slumber…I looked out of our window to see if my items had been removed. The bookshelf was no longer there nor the nice piece of particle board. Remaining was the much used Thanksgiving table and the table top. I called the nice lady at Burris. She called the technician that was commissioned with the removal of my unwanted items. He assured her that he had not visited my house as yet. My lesson learned…book shelves and lumber products…are valuable…

Look, as the newscasters say in every other sentence throughout the day, what do you do when part of your garage clean-up is taken, under the cover of darkness, by a person whose books are strewn upon the floor…you look for more to remove for disposal. So, away went a massive piece of packing material, made from the precious particle board, and two by fours. And…our new window screens that came with our new house in 2001. We had saved the screens for over 20 years…knowing that none of them fit any of our windows…

Vinyl siding is very popular in the United States. It has taken the place of the, miracle , aluminum siding of my youth. Before aluminum siding there was weatherboard that had to be painted on a regular basis. Aluminum was groundbreaking due to not having to be painted. It has the color on it’s surface…but if you scratch it off…it is the silver color of aluminum. In any case…in my neck of the woods…the wealthy people had brick or stone siding. The upper middle class had aluminum siding. And we poor folks had weatherboard. Vinyl is colorfast. People love it due to having no maintenance. But is has to be cleaned. In Southern Illinois mold and mildew are prevalent. Thus after the August 2021 Great Garage Clean Out…the Wedge Wood Blue Vinyl Siding Project…began today. At Lowes, which is a humongous do it your self store in the U.S., I discovered some vinyl siding cleaner that…according to the instructions…all you have to do is attach it to your garden hose and spray your siding down and allow it to air dry. The green mold and mildew is supposed to magically disappear over the course of one week. It is promised to get better every day. No need for a pressure washer or an extension pole with a scrub brush attached to the end of it… We will see.

Home improvements are a bit therapeutic. There is something about getting up and out and addressing the little pressing concerns that occupy you mind…that is peaceful and helpful and satisfying. Aluminum is aluminium in the United Kingdom. When we first visited our UK friends I heard Jeff spelling his last name, Lest-zed. I thought that I was hearing things until he told me that the alphabet letter Z is not recognized in the UK.

A large component of life is work. It is a Hollywood Myth that a life of bliss has not work or manual labor involved. We humans get up in the morning to accomplish something. When we fail to do so…we are sad and ultimately morose. Action and movement are life. Our brains are stirred up and our souls energized by forward movement and accomplishment. A life of rest and refreshing ceases to be enjoyable…if there is not work involved…