I Went To Hear The Leader Speak
I went to hear the leader speak
The excitement was so heavy that you could feel it surrounding you.
I went to hear the leader speak
And I listened for something good.
I went to hear the leader speak
And the beauty of the surroundings mesmerized me.
I went to hear the leader speak
To find a mentor for my life!
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The leader said for us to beware of Mexicans
‘They are rapist and murders…and some good people!’
I went to hear the leader speak
And everyone cheered!
I went to hear the leader speak
And those who cheered him
He loved!
‘Take them out on a stretcher!’
The leader commanded regarding those who disagreed with him.
I went to hear the leader speak
There were thousands of red hats
Make America Great Again
Sounded wonderful to me!
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I went to hear the leader speak
And he mimicked and mocked a disabled reporter
The red hats cheered
With a lusty cry of, ‘lock her up!’
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I went to hear the leader speak
And the FBI director was fired
The leader told Lester that the firing was because of the Russia investigation
And the leader laughed with the Russians in the Oval Office
And the Russians brought their photographers to document the jovial occasion!
I went to hear the leader speak
He said that he did not want immigrants from, ‘shit-hole countries’
The countries that he was referring to were countries containing black and brown human beings!
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I went to hear the leader speak
And a protestor against white nationalist was killed
The leader said that there were good people on both sides
And we wept!
I went to hear the leader speak
And he stood next to Russia’s leader
And he said that he believed him
And he said that he did not believe us
Russia’s leader smiled, and gave the leader a volleyball!
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I went to hear the leader speak
And he belittled a war hero
The war hero had spent years in captivity
The war hero was tortured so brutally that he could not raise his arms above his shoulders
The leader missed the war
He had bone spurs!
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I went to hear the leader speak
Many friends hear a different voice
I pray that they will not incur the wrath of
The leader!
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The Joy Of Living!
As Jonathon and I were walking campus, today, I could not help but revel in the 60 degree temperatures
After the, extreme, cold of this past winter; the warming weather brings a lightness of step and and brightness of attitude regarding our future!
We saw Southern Illinois University president, Dr. Kevin Dorsey, as we sat at the fountain, discussing our weekend plans. Dr. Dorsey is a fine man and a respected professional. I called out to him and he waved and smiled the smile of a leader that is secure in his life and the works thereof!
Jonathon asked me if I had read the, breaking news, that Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker had replaced five of the seven members of the university’s board of trustees? I told him that I had not…but I was saddened to hear the Joel Sambursky had been replaced. During the, recent, controversy, of the removal of university president, Randy Dunn, Mr. Sambursky exhibited great courage and a dedication to ethical and fiduciary certitude!
That being said, I do admire and respect three of the five new board of members, who I have witnessed in action many times, in the last decade.
One thing is certain…Southern Illinois University is under the oversight of new leadership.
As I walk the, beautiful, campus of SIUC…I am constantly looking for signs of spring!
The red bud trees, that are native to our region, are outstanding in their supine spring splendor!
We seek renewal! We need rejuvenation and jolt of life’s nectar to enliven us and charge us with the joy of living the wonderful life that we have been given!
Often the tasks that we are given…just to survive in life seem overwhelming!
Many times we work for others who seem to not appreciate our efforts. In these situations I take comfort in my conviction that the work that I am performing is the…right thing to do!
‘Weeping may endure for a night…but joy cometh in the morning!’ Psalm 30:5
Most Of Us…Just Want To Be Treated Fair!
A great mystery, to me, was that many of the leaders that I encountered during my career, did not realize that those who worked for them had functioning eyes and ears and, all five senses, as well as brains that were in good working order!
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It seems that there is a disconnect, at times, in both employment leaders and political leaders, that causes them to believe that have, suddenly, become endowed with special powers and a revamped lung structure…that allows them to breath a, rarified air, that we commoners are not equipped to enjoy?
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During my, work years, I asked, one, supervisor to please decide which story that he was going to consistently tell, as his truth, before I repeated his position to the staff.
On another occasion I felt compelled to admonish a chancellor that if he insulted my intelligence, again, that I was going to conclude my meeting with him!
Now, my management abilities were far less than what I strove for…but I, set my course…from the beginning of my career, to be fair.
If you are a successful leader…you owe everything to the dedicated colleagues that are diligently working to make you look good!
Fairness is not something that you talk about…it is something that you do.
Some vital principles of fairness are:
- When you tell a member of your staff that you are going to do something for them, you should move heaven and earth to make your vow come to pass.
- Listen to each member of your team with the purpose of learning from them.
- If the last member of the department is being mis-treated by a senior member of the staff…listen to them and rectify the situation.
- Never engage in political speech or feel good anecdotes when interacting with your colleagues; if you are not intent on backing the words that came out of our mouth.
- Never lie to anyone!
‘The management by wandering around, (MBWA), also management by walking around, refers to a style of business management which involves managers wandering around, in an unstructured manner, through the workplace(s), at random to check with employees, equipment, or on the status of ongoing work. The emphasis is on the word wandering as an unplanned movement within a workplace, rather than a plan where employees expect a visit from managers at a more systematic, pre-approved or scheduled times.’ Management by wandering around, Wikipedia
‘The expected benefit is that a manager, by random sampling of events of employee discussions, is more likely to facilitate improvements to the morale, sense of organizational purpose, productivity and total quality management of the organization, as compared to remaining in a specific office area and waiting for employees, or the delivery of status reports, to arrive there, as events warrant in the workplace.’ Management by wandering around, Wikipedia
Focusing on staff and interacting with them on a regular basis, in a positive manner, is empowering to them and a generator of excellence!
When I talked with a Building Service Worker…I remembered that I had been a Building Service Worker. I recalled bow proud that I was of the, professional, housekeeper position that it had been my good fortune to obtain.
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When I spoke with a Building Custodian, later entitled Sub-foreman, I remembered the challenges and stresses that that were involved in the crew supervisor position.
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When I spoke with Building Service Worker III’s, later referred to as Foreman, I understood that I was speaking with managers, and that they were essential in ensuring quality control and high morale in our department.
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When I spoke with our student custodial staff…I knew that I was speaking with people that had a wealth of ability and, without them, we could not accomplish our cleaning goals, and that they were the, entire, reason that we existed!
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‘This is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life!’
At times, we are a bit place-bound by our past.
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We look at our success and our failures…and we, compartmentalize, our future according to our past!
You may be a senior citizen, as I am, and think that your best days are behind you, and that your greatest accomplishments have already been wrought.
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Many years ago, the popular author, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, wrote a, bestseller called, the Power of Positive Thinking.
It can be said that what we visualize ourselves achieving, is obtainable with the, desire to do so!
The biggest battle of a happy and productive life…is first the battle of the mind!
There are a thousand excuses for not doing something…there is no reason for you not to…do it!
I think that we look at others, around us, and believe that they are endowed with some type of special abilities…when in fact they are human beings, just like, us and they have, simply decided to work toward a goal that they can see in their mind!
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I decided, during the last decade, that I was going to loose weight. Six months later I had lost 95 pounds!
I have wanted to write since I was a child, but it seemed that I could never get started. Now I write, virtually, every day, and enjoy it immensely!
Loosing weight or weighing less is not magic…it is the concerted dedication to following a plan that will allow you to achieve your goal!
When I began working for Southern Illinois University at Carbondale as a Building Service Worker I…Mary Jane told me that, God, had told her that one day I would be the leader of the organization! I was like Sara, in the Old Testament, when the angel to told her that she would bear a son, although she was elderly…and she laughed!
Yet, at the years at SIUC flew by…I began to visualize myself leading the department…and for 25 years of my career…I did!
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‘It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.’ Theodore Roosevelt, delivered in the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910
One of the greatest value added exercise that I have done, on several occasions, in my life…is to step outside of my comfort zone!
I find public speaking..frightening! Yet, some of the most rewarding experience that I have had…have come from public speaking.
One of the primary hangups that I had regarding writing…was to have other people read what I had written! I have been able to, successfully, overcome that fear, by writing daily!
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A challenge can be an opportunity…that is wearing different clothes!
I am convinced that most of us realize about 10% of our innate natural ability.
Most of the successful people that I know and am friends with…have achieved their success through a mental image of what they want to achieve and the willingness to do the hard work and make the, plethora, of mistakes, that happen on the road to their goal!
The Gold Standard
A great Jonathon Brooks Blog!
It often seems that people are experts on solving the problems of others. Yet when we try to solve our own problems we struggle as amateurs. How well do we really comprehend the problems of our fellow man? Perhaps we are not really experts on others flaws or shortcomings; we only perceive ourselves to be so.
I aspire to be an expert on knowing myself. I’ve worked on and am continuing to work on all of the problems I’ve had throughout my lifetime. Some sins and shortcomings die slower than others and some don’t die at all. Concerning the problems of others all I want to be is an amateur. It isn’t my job to judge anyone. Christ knows I’ve judged myself harshly in the past. Humanity in general looks so beautiful when we pass out love rather than judgment. I’ve no time to judge my neighbor ’cause I’m too…
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Unrealized Ability…An Asset?
So often, we pigeonhole people into artificial constructs that we quickly assign to them…as an easy method of understanding our surroundings.
Former president, Barrack Obama, was the African American state senator, with the funny name, that was running in the democratic primary in Illinois, to be chosen as the candidate for the United States Senate.
President Donald Trump…was written off as a clown or a, bad, joke…when he began running for the presidency of the United States, in 2016, and it was commonly believed that he would fall, by the wayside, very quickly!
Dr. Billy Graham was an itinerant preacher from North Carolina…that preached to millions for people, around the world, and served as an advisor to several presidents !
I began my career at Southern Illinois University as a janitor. My, official, title was Building Service Worker I….and i was proud of it!
As the years progressed, I had the opportunity to speak with both chancellors and presidents of the university…and my message to them never wavered…that there was, hidden talent in the civil service ranks…and that the leaders need to avail themselves of this, wealth, of ability, that was at the fingertips!
On more than one occasion chancellor Wendler referred to me as his janitor…and I was honored! I had a great relationship with Dr. Wendler and through that bond…much was accomplished for civil service staff.
Chancellor Wendler would speak to me, in an unvarnished manner, and I would do the same with him, but I, instinctively, understood that he had a compassionate heart!
The chancellor was a man of faith and he had worked as a carpenter.
The chancellor was a fundamentalist christian…but then again…I had been proud to be a member of that group…at one time
After chancellor Wendler…I worked with interim chancellor, John Dunn, throughout the time that he led the campus. What a nice and considerate leader, chancellor Dunn was!
Chancellor John Dunn is a breathe of fresh air at SIUC! He is from Pickneyville, Illinois and he is great leader of SIUC! Why search for another….when you have the leader that can turn the great ship of SIUC….around?
‘John M. Dunn was the eighth present of Western Michigan University. Dunn earned his bachelor and master’s degree from Northern Illinois University, and he earned an Ed.D. physical education from Brigham Young University. He began his career in higher education at the University of Connecticut in 1972.’ Wikipedia
I pleaded with the, then president of Southern Illinois University, to make, interim chancellor Dunn, the permanent chancellor of SIUC…when he replaced chancellor Wendler…in the last decade!
The chancellor’s executive assistant, and my friend, Susan, told me the she had discovered the secret of my success in dealing with university administrators. She said that I appeared, initially, to be of little ability or understanding…but that I seemed to obtain the goal that I was seeking?
I remarked that, perhaps, she understood my entire secret?
So often it seems that the disagreements or problems of our society…can be summed up as a conflict between the…red and blue team….when in reality….we are all on the same team….but we do not realize it!
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale has been following the academic template of conducting national searches for vacant chancellor and president position…for many years…as our enrollment has, subsequently, diminished…by thousands of students…annually!
A smart move was to bring Dr. John M. Dunn back to SIUC!
Dr. Dunn has a heart for our university and a, magnificent, understanding of the Southern Illinois region!
Already, positive movements of momentum are turning the academic ship of SIUC around!
Do we, really, require a earth shattering academic plans of restructuring and shake-up…or do we, desperately, need a steady hand on the steering wheel of the educational and economic…ship of state…for Southern Illinois?
How many times must we face the, leadership needs of SIUC, armed with the formula that is contained in the academic model….that is so irrelevant to our needs?
Maine…Again!
I read, the other day, that residents of Maine live longer than any state in our nation.
On our, previous, two journeys to Maine we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast located in Southwest Harbor which is located on Mount Desert Isle.
Southwest Harbor is the town that the Steven King movie, ‘The Storm of the Century’, was filmed!
Southwest Harbor is just a few mile from Bar Harbor.
‘Champlain visited Mount Desert Island in 1604. The first permanent English settlement took place in 1763. Originally known as Eden, the name was changed to Bar Harbor in 1918. That name was derived from a sand bar, which connects Mount Desert Island with another island nearby.’ History of Bar Harbor Maine
‘Bar Harbor a Long-Time Haven for the Rich, Famous and Powerful. Bar Harbor from Great Hill, Mount Desert Island, Maine. …But on the visit to Maine, where he landed Isles des Mount Deserts (Mount Desert Island) for the bare rock peaks of Cadillac Mountain and its neighbors.’ History of Bar Harbor Maine
This year we have charted a destination to Booth Bay Harbor!
‘Just an hour’s drive north of Portland lies the village of BoothBay Harbor, Maine-a seaside getaway embodying the quintessential midcoast. Its shoreline, fringed, with evergreen forests and rocky outcroppings, is an idyllic setting for any weekend escape, and its downtown, filled with a variety of attractive shops and restaurants, ensure the the whole family will enjoy the trip.’ New England Today Travel
We took two Maine vacations, in 2009 and 2010.
I remember thinking that I would enjoy living in Maine! The atmosphere was peaceful and serene and inviting for reflection.
The conclusion of my career at Southern Illinois University was on my mind during both Maine sojourns! Although I, throughly, enjoyed my service to SIUC…I was ready for other challenges.
I could read the handwriting on the wall of the university and I had concluded that the housekeeping division of the campus…no longer had the importance to the mission of recruitment and retention of our precious students…that I had, heralded, for 25 years!
Now, please do not misunderstanding me…the cleanliness of our campus was and is of, paramount, importance to the recruitment and retention of our student body…but, the, fog, of financial distress had hidden that fact from university leadership!
Later, the president of the university told me that my concerns regarding leadership, that I had expressed to him, just prior to my retirement, were correct…and that he regretted not listening to me.
I recall thinking, while we were in Southwest Harbor…on the front porch of the Bed and Breakfast, that we stayed in both years that we were there, and while we were enjoying some, wonderful, complimentary red wine, that I would love to take a European Cruise as a celebration of my retirement!
In 2011 we took a Mediterranean cruise that included; Genoa, Italy, Tunis, Tunisia, Barcelona, Spain, and Nice France…where we visited with our lifelong friend, Margo, and…there were more visits to Europe…yet to come!
Maine has a feeling of beginnings! It has a solid feeling of life…as it should be lived!
We visited a, quaint, bookstore where I purchased an antique set of the Pentateuch. Also I bought the finest umbrella that I have ever seen!
The rocky coastline of Arcadia National forest provides a majestic vista to consider the, ancient, permanence of nature and the fragility of mankind!
We have wanted to return for, over, eight years…and this year we shall do so!
Photos: Courtesy of Getty Images and Google Search.
A Peaceful Drive in the Countryside on a Pleasant Summer’s Day
A great Blog by Jonathon Brooks! 🌞
A journey down memory lane can be a peaceful drive in the countryside on a pleasant summer’s day. I live in the present, but I recollect the quality stuff from my past often. I have movie stubs that date back to 1998 when I was a boy of fourteen. Then there’s stamp book collections from 1984 (my mother bought these for me) through 1991. Of course there’s also photographs from the last thirty-five years. In addition I have also collected friends throughout my lifetime that I’ve worked hard to hold on to. Yes, I enjoy driving in the present and I take joy in the long drive home of reminiscing about the past.
Life is what we have the courage or cowardice to make of it. Optimism or pessimism. Love or hate. Kindness or meanness. Hope or despair. Beauty or ugliness. Overcoming or giving up. As I wrote in a…
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Johnny Cash @ Folsom Prison
Yesterday, I purchased the, original vinyl record of Johnny Cash’s performance at Folsom Prison in 1968. At the end of 1968…I was eleven years old.
I wanted the vinyl record due to having listened to the Audible Book entitled, ‘Folsom Untold’ by Danny Robins.
The story was a fascinating account of Mr. Cash’s performance at Folsom and what a boost that it gave his, then, sagging career!
‘At Folsom Prison is a live album and 27th album by Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in May 1968. After his 1955 song, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, Cash had been interested in recording a performance at a prison. His idea was put on hold until 1967, when personnel changes at Columbia Records put Bob Johnston in charge of producing Cash’s material. Cash had recently controlled his drug abuse problems, and was looking to turn his career around after several years of limited commercial success. Backed with June Carter, Carl Perkins and the Tennessee Three, Cash performed two shows at Folsom State Prison in California on January 13, 1968. The resulting album consisted of fifteen tracks form the first show and two tracks from the second.’ Wikipedia
During the performance at Folsom Prison, Glen Sherley was sitting on the front row. He had written a song called, ‘Greystone Chapel’, and he did not know that Johnny was going to perform it.
After his release from prison, ‘Sherley subsequently wrote and performed a number of other songs. However, despite help from Cash, he was unable to adjust to life outside prison, eventually committing suicide at the age of 42.’ Wikipedia
‘In 1971, CBS Evening News reported that, after 11 years imprisonment for armed robbery, Sherley was paroled. Cash sponsored Sherley and had helped push for his release.’ The Californian
As Jonathon and I were listening to the Folsom Prison, 1968, recording, I was reminded of my mom and I watching Johnny Cash on his, weekly television program in the 1960’s!
Cash was a captivating performer and his phrasing of a song…caused you to feel the lyrics in your soul!
Many of the asides that are on the live Folsom recording…reminded me of my step-father and his humor.
Johnny Cash was a representative of the dichotomy of our human experience! He was plagued by many human temptations…and he succumbed to many!
But, he had a heart and a passion and he cared about his fellow man…he looked to Christ for help and succor and understanding of his predicament.
As we listened to Johnny sing to the prisoners in Folsom…it was obvious that he was not putting anything on for their benefit…he understood their nightmare and how they felt and their pain and hopelessness!
I have watched God reach out to man…in many unconventional forms…at Folsom…on January 13th, 1968…God was speaking through a Kingsland, Arkansas singer…named Cash!
There are so many of us that will never be university professors.
Many of us will never know the privilege of attending university or enjoy the support of family and friends and colleagues who will encourage us to expand our academic horizons and reach for the stars!
Many of us…understand the school of hardscrabble and rearing of, ‘bootstrap and belt buckles.’…and often it appears that there is no place for we, unfortunate sons!
Many of us live in the rust belt.
Many of us live in coal country.
Many of us…worked for General Motors!
Many of us are intellectually challenged!
Many of us are physically challenged!
Many of us have returned from serving our country….with…fears and nightmares….and an anxiety that we need assistance to control!
We are Native American…we are African American…we are Hispanic American…we are Muslim American…we seek someone that understands that we matter…too!
Note: Photos of Johnny Cash and Glen Sherley are courtesy of Google search.
Observing Anger…Twice In One Day!
Today, Mary Jane and I made our monthly trek to our local Wal-Mart Super Center.
The store is so large that it served as my daily walk!
As we made our way, slowly and aisle by aisle, I began hearing a gentleman screaming at other member of his party. The, angry man, noted that, ‘now he was pissed’, while his; family or friends, or colleagues…attempted to display that they were not with the loudmouth.
Have you ever witnessed someone who was so angry that they appeared to be transported to another world…and the rest of us were not a part of their reality?
We then drove, northward, to our favorite, locally owned market, Arnold’s, and again we were aurally assaulted with the, extreme, raising of voices, coming from a home that was adjacent to the market.
The venomous comments that were wafting from the home, was a duet, of a man and a woman who appeared to be equally, extremely mad at each other!
Anger is a legitimate human emotion and all of us experience it, from time to time. However, it can, also, be a dangerous emotion when those who are experiencing it to the extent that they have lost perspective regarding their surroundings.
As I was entering our Kroger Supermarket, about a year ago, I was greeted by someone who was screaming so loudly, at a cashier, that it was deafening! The, apoplectic, individual was announcing, over and over, that, ‘they were a human being!’
Our world is cranked up and turned over! People are undergoing stressors that I did not witness in my youth or middle years.
There is a disconnect in the United States that, one day, will explode!
As I watched, former Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort receive a fraction of the prison sentence that was suggested for his, white collar, crimes, I was not shocked.
It is not unusual for an African American person to receive, many more years, than Mr. Manafort received, for possession of marijuana!
It has been suggested that Mr. Manafort has been treated like a terrorist for being kept in solitary protective custody while awaiting his trial.
Where is a similar outcry for people of color or poor white people…when they do, heinous time, before their trial and then are sentenced to, exorbitant sentences for much less the crimes, that Mr. Manafort pleaded guilty to?
When our society becomes a cadre of oligarchs and the rest of us struggle to make ends meet…something has to break!
‘General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra had total compensation in 2017 of $21.96 million.’ Google
‘Average General Motors pay ranges from $12.24 per hour for Customer Service Representative $42.00 per hour for Performance Engineer.’ Google
‘The top 10% of families–those who had at least $942.00–held 76% of total wealth.’ Google
So we, firmly, believe in the vision of the American dream! We are satisfied that if you work hard and apply yourself…you will succeed in America!
But for many Americans…the dream…has become a nightmare!
Opportunity is wonderful and great and, ‘apples of gold in pictures of silver,’ Proverbs 25:11 KJV
But…first…someone has to open the door of opportunity for you!
We upper middle class, folks, and the rich…tend to judge the success of the middle class and the poor by our comfortable surroundings!
We know that opportunities were, readily, available to us…and in our, white privilege, we accessed our role in society…and had, ample, assistance by our mentors and friends to secure success!
I, vividly, recall when the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, a respected professor and a former SIU athletic star, and a name that is revered by our university…was stopped on campus by the police and had to present his identification and prove that he had the right to drive a nice automobile…while being black!
The template that we apply to the poor and the working class and, even, the middle class of our society…is not working for the majority of our society!
The Happy Traveler 