When I just wrote the title for this Blog I thought…what a strong statement.  However as I have been exposed to the heinous…horrible…hurtful…descriptions of sexual assault on women…that is cavalierly described as “locker room” talk…I am shocked and sickened!

Other explanations for one of our Presidential Candidates description of taking advantage of his stardom to kiss and touch the genitals of women, saying that he can get by with it due to his being a star, is that this is common talk among men.  Dr. Ben Carson said on CNN that he grew up with the men that were in his family and that he was around talking like the Candidate.  When the female news anchor said that she was not accustomed to hearing men speak about women in this manner he responded that perhaps this was the problem.

Other Candidate Surrogates have pointed to the coarsening of society or to the lyrics of Rap music.  Pardon me…but the Rap musicians are not running for the highest office in the Land!

Although many Republicans have withdrawn their support for the Candidate…several remain.  They validate their support by saying that no matter what the candidate has said or done that he is still better than Hillary Clinton.

I have written previously that I am an independent or moderate…and that I have voted for several Republicans in my life… yet there must be a point where the recognition of the equality and sacredness of women is more important than politics.

Is it acceptable, in our new normal…or our alternate universe, for the Candidate to begin kissing your wife…your daughter…your mother…your sister… and then…if he feels the urge…to touch their genitals?

The Candidate during the last Presidential Debate, in answer a question by  Debate Moderator Anderson Cooper asking him if he had ever done to a woman the things that he had described in graphic detail to Access Hollywood’s  Billy Bush, he responded that he had not.  Since the Debate several women have come forward describing sexual assault by the Candidate fitting closely to his lurid description that was caught on tape.

Is it logical or feasible that the women have come forward…with nothing to gain…to endure scorn and ridicule by the Candidate…as some totally encompassing conspiracy and collusion between the Government…the media…and the Clinton Campaign?

Polls illustrate that the majority of Americans want to see change in our Government. Many Americans are suffering without jobs or with jobs that pay inadequate incomes.  It seems that so many of our politicians listen only to the special interest groups that line their pockets with money.

Germany…in many ways was in a similar condition as we find ourselves now…and they chose a “strong man”…a leader with powerful rhetoric…a leader who convinced them that there were groups of people that were causing all of their problems…and that if those persons were eliminated…all would be well.

To legislate morals or to vote on their basis is a fool’s errand.  To say that sexual assault is all right in the mistaken belief that a Candidate has some messianic power to produce what his grandiose rhetoric claims… is to be a participant in the Twilight Zone!

During the mid 80’s I had recently became the Assistant Superintendent of Building Services at Southern Illinois University when the custodial crew supervisor for Anthony Hall asked me to come to the building for an urgent discussion.

When I arrived he told me of one of his student employees, a Malaysian woman, was afraid to work in Anthony Hall, the building that she cleaned each evening, due to someone she had seen that frightened her very much.  At this time SIU had one of the largest Malaysian student populations in the United States.

The student employee explained that she had completed her custodial duties for the evening and was going through the floors to ensure that she had not left any lights on…or doors open.  When she exited the elevator on the third floor of the building…she looked to her right where she saw a woman sitting in a chair.  The woman had her hair in a bun on the back of her head and was dressed in a long dress to her feet and a white blouse with long sleeves.  When the student spoke to the woman…the woman did not look at her or respond.

Anthony Hall is named after the famous suffragette Susan B. Anthony…and the building was originally constructed as a women’s dormitory during the early part of the last century.

The story of the apparition of the woman in white spread throughout the campus…students in the Malaysian Community refused to work in Anthony Hall…at this time they made up fully half of our custodial workforce throughout campus.

Soon, the Superintendent of Building Services charged me with writing a full report to the Vice President of Campus Services regarding the Ghost in Anthony Hall.  I began by talking with the Anthony Hall supervisor again.  He mentioned that he often heard footsteps…late at night…but could find no one in the building.  He took me into the attic of the building where he showed me a dusty picture of Anthony Hall during its’ beginnings as a women’s dormitory.  The photo was of an assembly of women all dressed in white blouses with long sleeves and dresses that were to their feet and their hair in buns on the back of their heads.  Now this picture was not available to the custodial worker who saw the woman in white as it was stored in an attic that was only accessible by ladder.

I spoke with my colleague who had, in the past, worked as the Anthony Hall custodial supervisor for some time.  He told me of often hearing footsteps and not being able to find anyone in the building.  He also said that one time he felt the presence of someone with him in the building…and that the hair stood up on the back of his neck.

The story of the Ghost of Anthony Hall spread throughout Campus and I was asked about it for years after the event.

Our truly wonderful Malaysian students…never worked in Anthony Hall again.

We arrived from Oxford to Stratford-upon-Avon in short order and with great delight.  Having spent two nights in Oxford we were to stay three nights in the hometown of Shakespeare.  Our faces glowed with great satisfaction when we pulled into The Stratford, A QHotel.  It was such an upgrade from the small hotel that we had stayed in at Oxford.  While the Oxford hotel room had been extremely small with a toilet that leaked onto the floor of the Loo…The Stratford was a lovely upscale hotel with both a Pub and a restaurant.  The rooms were spacious and air conditioned…and the toilet did not leak.

Having difficulty in believing our good fortune, as this was the largest and nicest hotel room that it had been our fortune to stay in, in Europe, we proceeded to first tour the historic village.

Our Tour Guide was a native of Stratford-upon-Avon…and was a delight!

One of the first places we toured was the cemetery.

Then we visited Shakespeare’s Tomb in Holy Trinity Church.

Also, there was our throughly enjoyable…and frightening attendance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s production of Dr. Faustus in the Swan Theatre.  This Play and Performance is weird and strange and unsettling from beginning to end…and the performers are so talented that you forget that you are in a theatre…and that it is not real!

So, during our sojourn…as is my custom when in Europe…I searched for a Tobacco Shop for some good United Kingdom Cigars…and found some.

Here I am setting in the pastoral courtyard of The Stratford after a wonderful British Breakfast…looking up at the a corner window of the grand hotel…and seeing a young girl looking down forlornly at the garden setting.

This window appeared to be set apart from the rest of the rooms in an upper cupola.  Although I had enjoyed more than one British Cigar during my stay in the comely establishment…I had not previously seen the window…or the girl.

As I watched her for some time…it takes awhile to smoke a good cigar…I noticed she did not move or seem to change expression.

Who was this girl?  Why did she set looking so sad in this obscure window?  Was she real or a spirit from long ago?

“I have heard (but not believed) the spirits of the dead May walk again: if such thing be, thy mother Appeared to me last night; for ne’er was dream So like waking.”  (The Winters’ Tale 3.3)

“By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.”   (Macbeth 4.1)

“Yesterday the bird of night did sit, Even at noon-day, upon the marked-place, Hooting and shrieking.”   (Julius Caesar, 1.3)

“Donald Trump Tax Records Show He could have Avoided Taxes for Nearly Two Decades, the Times Found,” a headline announced today in the New York Times.

Mr. Trump claimed a $916 million dollar loss.  The Times goes on to say, ‘…between 1995 through 2009 when he was chairman or chief executive of the publicly traded company he created to assume ownership of his troubled Atlantic City casinos.  Ordinary investors in the new company, meanwhile, saw the value of their shares plunge to 17 cents from $35.50, while scores of contractors went unpaid for work on Mr. Trump’s casinos and casino bondholders received pennies on the dollar.’

There is no ascertation in the Times article that anything illegal happened…but the ‘Game’ is weighted heavily in favor of the rich.

During the Great Recession millions of people lost their savings…their homes…and were harshly removed from middle class lifestyles that they had worked to attain all of their life while the Wall Street Elite were neither punished…jailed…or terminated for their malfeasance.  Many received outrageous cash bonuses while we the taxpayers footed both the George W. Bush one billion dollar bailout and subsequently the Barack Obama almost one billion dollar bailout of Wall Street.

Michael Douglas’s iconic character Gordon Gecko in the popular 1987 movie Wall Street said, ‘The richest one percent of this country owns half our country’s wealth, five trillion dollars.  One-third of that comes from hard work, two-thirds comes from inheritance, interest on interest accumulating to widows and idiot sons and what I do, stock and real estate speculation.  Its bullshit.’

Millions of Americans are angry with the evaporation of the American Dream that if you apply yourself…and study…and work hard…you can become anything that you desire.

Often we equate intelligence or wisdom with successful capitalism.  Persons are elevated on their ability to make money.  Our local University’s Board of Trustees often places persons in the governing group that have demonstrated a talent in accumulating riches.

Our current Governor of Illinois was elected primarily on his demonstrated massive wealth and his promise that he would do the same for Illinois.  We are well into our second year without a State Budget and Illinois is crumbling from the ineptitude the Governor and Legislature.

Candidate Trump promises us that he is an excellent business man and that he will do the same for our Country that he did for his Trump Empire…?

A homeless man was at our church service this morning.  After the service had concluded he asked me if I could help him?  He was abrupt and spoke with an anger, just under the surface, that was palpable.  Perhaps he had a reason to be angry and disillusioned?

The allusion of control is one of the most pervasive in the middle class and wealthy members of the human family.  Comfort and ease of living can change overnight.

What if our Heavenly Father reveals to us when we pass from this life…that we were all part of his ‘one creation’  or as the Apostle Paul referred to the New Testament Church as ‘The Body of Christ?’

“For the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so is Christ.”  Corinthians 12:12

“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.”  I Corinthians 12:26

“Abraham, originally Abram, is the first of the three patriarchs of Judaism.  His story is a center piece of all Abrahamic religions and Abraham plays a prominent role as an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,” according to Wikipedia.

“And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou loves, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”   Genesis 22:2   KJV

“Ishmael is a figure in the Tanakh and Qur’an and was Abraham’s first son according to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.  Ishmael was born to Abraham’s and Sarah’s handmaiden Hagar (Genesis 16:3).  According to the Genesis account, he died at the age of 137 (Genesis 25:17),” according to Wikipedia.

Abraham has always been a fascinating historical figure to me.  To think that history illustrates that he is central to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity!

Although I have been a Christian for most of my life…Judaism has captivated my attention on many occasions.  Just today I saw a Hasidic family on campus and I admired their dedication to their faith.

As I have noted in previous blogs I have a good friend who worked in my office several years ago who is Muslim.  Alfie was and is an inspiration to me in his dedication to prayer and his peaceful faith…and the good work that it has accomplished in his life.

My friend of over 45 years, Jeff, is of Jewish lineage but is a Christian…a Jew for Jesus.  His love of his birthright and his connection to it is like nothing that I have ever seen…it is inspiring!  Yet, he became a Christian at a young age…and his faith in Christ transformed his life.

I encounter persons of the Muslim faith almost every time I am away from my house..in our University Town.  They are peaceful and lovely people…who respond to kindness with a warm and inclusive heart.

“Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.”   Romans 4:16   KJV

This is a Tom Clark artistic creation entitled Abraham.  “The story of Abraham is the story of faith.  I have chosen to sculpt Abraham at a period in his life rarely depicted by the classic religious painters and sculptors.  It is the beginning of the journey that has been called ‘Israel’s first great theological epic,’  (…) I have included a scroll of Genesis 17: 1-8, in which God bestows a new name upon his servant: ‘But thy name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee.’  My statue seeks to show the calling of this very human man who is known as the ‘Patriarch of Israel,’ and who remains one of the greatest symbols of faith  for Christian, Judaic and Islamic believers.”  Tom Clark

Perhaps we should all think about the origins of our faiths and the one God that we pray to?

Mary Jane and I were calculating how many days we had visited London during our different European adventures.  We think at least seven separate sojourns into fascinating London have transpired during our visits in 2012 and 2016.

I cannot think of a more intriguing city for me than London.  From the engrossing stories of Charles Dickens to the suspense of Jack the Ripper, I have always considered London to be a bigger than life place…and it is!

Just the pageantry and unique history of the British Monarchy..and to be able to visit Buckingham Palace is enough to make your head spin.

When we were in London in July we visited again the Tower of London.  The ambiance of this place and the history surrounding it is palpable when you are there.

The Ravens at the Tower were mysterious and mesmerizing.

This is the Monument commemorating the beheading of seven individuals in the courtyard of the Tower of London, including Queen Anne Boleyn in 1536.

Just down from Covent Gardens we stopped into a London Hat Shop and purchased a hat for Mary Jane, Jonathon, and myself.  The hats were hand made and while they stretched mine on an antique hat stretcher I enjoyed complimentary Glenlivet.

Tower Bridge is such an iconic image…and on this trip we had the good fortune to see it raised…which we are told is seldom seen.

Tower Bridge seen through a window in the Tower of London.

We attended a performance of the Oscar and Hammerstein classic Showboat and throughly enjoyed it!  Theatre in London is on par with Broadway.

After the show we had a lovely dinner at a Turkish restaurant that had the most unusual and interesting decor that I have seen.

When I am in London I think about what it must have been like in Dickens time?

When in London do enjoy a scone and clotted cream.  The combination is to die for!

Also, for a culinary delight…stop at the Pie Shop in Covent Garden.

They have wonderful Sticky Toffee Pudding!

When you visit London…listen closely for the voices of the past…they are hauntingly beautiful.

I heard a news commentator say this morning, with some unrealized optimism, that perhaps the Presidential Debates that begin tomorrow night will at long last be the beginning of a “serious Presidential Contest.”

The Los Angeles Times states that, “Scope of Trump’s falsehoods unprecedented for a modern presidential candidate.”

Stephen King says, “Trump Presidency scares me to death.”

Former President George H.W. Bush has said that he will vote for Hillary Clinton.

The Washington Post says that Donald Trump,” is mounting a campaign of snarl and sneer, not substance.”

The Washington Post goes on to say, “He is desperate for affirmation but contemptuous of others’ views.  He also is contemptuous of fact.  Throughout the campaign he has unspooled one lie after another-that Muslims in New Jersey celebrated after 9/11, that his tax cut plan would not worsen the deficit, that he opposed the Iraq War before it started, and when confronted with contrary evidence he simply repeated the lie.  It is impossible to know wether he convinces himself of his own untruths or knows that he is wrong and does not care.”

It has been my misfortune to be associated with and at times be under the authority of persons who suffered from a narcissistic personality…megalomania.  They were not pleasant experiences.

Traits of megalomania consist in part of, according to Meriam Webster Dictionary: “a mania of great or grandiose performance.  A delusional mental disorder that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur.”

After having been a manager of a large organization for twenty-five years I can attest that good job performance relies upon a steady adherence to the fundamentals of the position that have been tested by time and historically produced good results.

This is not only an unprecedented Presidential Election but could also be a signpost of the beginning of the end for our beloved country and the bedrock principles of inclusion…’freedom of speech…freedom of religion…freedom of fear…and very likely freedom from want,’ that former President Franklin D. Roosevelt enunciated so beautifully during the extremely dark days of his Presidency!

So many Americans feel left out by our elected officials, including me, and seek leaders that will work for our interest rather than their own.  I get it!  We urn for positive change.  This is why Senator Bernie Sander’s message resonated so strongly with so many!

The ‘measure’ that I have used throughout my life and my long career at Southern Illinois University was a statement that my friend and former Chancellor Jo Ann Agersinger said regarding me in a letter she wrote on my behalf many years ago when referring to my department, “Jay has built a house for all peoples.”  I fall far short of being worthy of those kind words…but I… and we must first…care about others.

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, the ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”  John 13:34 and 35   KJV

One of my favorite shows is the original Star Trek.  Mr. Spock was my favorite character.  Mr. Spock’s trademark saying when confronted with statements or situations that did not make sense was that they were not logical.  Synonyms for logical are :reasoned, well reasoned, reasonable, rational, sound, cogent, well thought out, and valid.  When we disregard any standard for evaluating political speech…Mr. Spock would be disappointed.

Last month we were in Edinburgh for five wonderful days.  My good friend Elizabeth asked me, at a meeting of the Civil Service Council earlier this month, what was my most memorable memory about my United Kingdom Adventure?  I replied that it was the coolest weather in July and August that I had ever experienced.

The entire time that we were in Edinburgh I felt like I was experiencing mid to late autumn temperatures, and I throughly enjoyed the experience!

Scotland is a fascinating country and Edinburgh is a mysterious…beautiful…suspenseful city.  We were there during the world renown Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  The Fringe is the world’s largest Arts Festival.  “in 2015 it spanned 25 days and featured 50,459 performances of 3,314 shows in 313 venues,” according to wikipedia.  The Fringe was established in 1947.

When you first arrive at the Fringe the enormity of it is overwhelming!  There are so many eager young people emotionally and adroitly advertising their show and the value of attending it that you feel that you would like to take them all in.

We attended two or three shows per day while we were there and one of the most unique that we were privileged to witness was, “Jo Jo Bellini,” who sang Tom Jones songs for an hour while she cooked the audience lunch.  The lunch was delicious!

We also were in attendance for a lovely magic show performed by Asian actors, entitled ‘Snap,’  that was not only beautiful but also compelling in the mystery of the magic.

The Play Small Hours…was one of the most thought provoking that I have seen.  It was two women setting in arm chairs…discussing their lives over several sessions…until you discover…that one of them has been deceased for some time…and that her dramatic depiction is the memory of the living member of the friendship.  This clever Play stayed with me long after I left the venue.

Once again being with our dear friends Jeff and Margo added so much to our European experience.  They have lived in the United Kingdom and France for twelve years or so and to experience the joys of discovery of Europe with them increases our joy ten fold!

We saw the most delightful Improvisational Comics, Stu and Gary,  who perform year round in Edinburgh.  I marvel at the quickness of wit and agility of Improv performers…they are truly something to behold!

The first performance we attended was “Junkk” which consisted of the most talented young men who performed musical numbers on truly what was Junk!  The musical numbers were tremendous and their comic energy and musical professionalism  was inspiring!

Edinburgh captured my imagination and desire to return to this magical…mysterious…beautiful place.

It has done me much good and has benefited me beyond measure to travel to other lands and see with my own eyes that God has created a wonderfully diverse humanity that is neither better or worse than American dogma.  It is just different and beautiful…and complex…and to be appreciated and admired as the wonderful gift of the inhabitants of our small blue ball called Earth.

I met a man who was in a wheel chair on the first evening that we were in Edinburgh.  He asked me if I could lend him an arm as he rose to walk through the line of Mexican food ordering that we were in.  His friendliness and genuine humanity touched me and set the tone for my entire visit to Edinburgh.  He said that he wanted to visit the United States but that his partners’ Visa had been denied…although they would reapply.  His warm open nature and his admonishment to me to enjoy all that I could see of the Fringe and Edinburgh…was one of the most significant connections that I have made in my now four visits to Europe.

This past Sunday our Pastor, Rev. Janice West, preached a compelling sermon regarding material riches and our obligation to them.

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”  Mark 10:25 KJV

Donald J. Trump Jr tweeted a picture of a bowl of skittles with the caption, “If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you three would kill you.  Would you take a handful?  Thats our Syrian refugee problem.”

This past Sunday Mary Jane, Aaron, and I saw the new Oliver Stone movie, Snowden.  “When Edward Snowden left his job with Booze Allen Hamilton, an NSA contractor, he flew to Hong Kong and subsequently revealed thousand of classified documents to Guardian newspaper columnist Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Ewen MacAskill.  Mr. Snowden came to international attention after the Guardian and the Washington Post published the materials,”according to wikipedia.

The classified information that Mr. Snowden revealed was that the United States was collecting information from the American publics’ private phones, computers, and emails in the pursuit of national security.  The question, is Edward Snowden a traitor or a whistle blower and a hero?

More often than not I have found that the rich and powerful were recipients of being in the right place at the right time.  Also, often their riches were aided by a considerable ‘leg up’ by financial gifts and family that were able to put them into contact with influential people to aid them in their success ladder climb.

I have often wondered if the Christ of the Christian faith and the New Testament measures your success as his follower by how much paper money you were able to accumulate?

The marginalization of people who are less fortunate than others is as old as the scriptures.  Does monetary wealth equal adroit leadership skills and political brilliance?  Are suffering members of the human family no more important than a bowl of candy?  If the Skittles analogy is true then it can be used for any group that is outside the Leaders’ definition of Valuable Humanity!

Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

All of us are walking the same path of life that we did not ask for, work for, or earn by some special merit of our own…or our hard work.  I wonder sometimes if we are not all in the foyer of a great house…and the Creator is watching us through the peep hole in the door…to see how we treat each other…our brothers and our sisters…our family…before he opens the door?

This life may indeed be the audition…let us play our part well!