Significant snow has fallen. The University is closed, it closes more often than during my time at SIUC. I am glad safety has become important. It is time for a card game and a beer. Jennifer brought us some wonderful beer.

I have been watching the Larry Sanders Show which began in 1992. What a difference over 30 years makes. The show is rated in the top 50 television shows of all time. It reminded me of what I was doing and thinking in the early 90s. Aaron and Jonathon were pre-teens. I was concerned that we needed a larger home. I was in my 6th year as the Assistant Superintendent of Building Services. We were members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

The mid-30s were good years. I was seeking the Secret…I still am…

Happy times were in our little house. After not owning a television we purchased a lovely counsel model. In those days TVs were furniture. The one we had in the early 90s came from Sears. We had cable TV. Berle and Fernie came over to watch Christmas Vacation on HBO. They being holiness people of the Nazarene Church I muted when Chevy Chase uttered a profound expletive. The close caption revealed it for all to read.

So we look back on what seemed like living a long life in reality whisked by… We asked others why we were there? They had many different answers. Some said to make money. Others espoused education art and enlightenment. I saw those around me belittle people different than them. Faith-based on elitism did not make sense. Hungry people were not lazy or cursed. The bastardization of Christ’s message drove my quest for meaning beyond self. How can you hurt and hate others and proclaim your Christianity…

Southern Illinois University opened my horizon. Working and learning among people from over 70 nations was enlightening. We have a common humanity. What was believed in our Tribe was not taught in another…we are all waiting for Godot…

Garry Shandling who portrayed Larry Sanders on the show he wrote was a seeker. Since the death of his brother Barry in their childhood he sought to be his authentic self. Authenticity is no small goal. We seek to be like our leaders. We have our work mask and church mask…our performance before our audience…

‘And away we go,’ Jackie Gleason said on his variety show of the 1960s. He also did a soft shoe with his expected proclamation to emphasize the point. Such is the case with our expected ‘Big Snow.’ I was in Kroger today…twice…and the shelves were bare. People stood in line three deep waiting on the rotisserie chicken. Coffee creamer usually only allowed during the Christmas holidays was on sale. There was a Devil-May-Care attitude in the air. ‘We ain’t afraid of no ghosts,’ the Ghostbusters said…

Aaron and I watched a truly creepy movie called Longlegs this afternoon. Beware of pancake makeup… Some visuals stay with you.

Winter has been a bit of a trial this year. It is as if we are experiencing real winter instead of the faux type of many years. Ice Storm last month with trees and limbs everywhere. Many cold and slick white icy winter walks in my Woods. Have you looked at winter clouds…they are elaborate.

I espouse the Keep Moving theory. As long as I am moving the Grim Reaper has not caught me. Such is life with the increasingly thoughtless challenges to the welfare of people in our nation. I heard that money talks and bullshit walks…but I did not realize that it was arm-in-arm.

Time to buy a new show shovel. Snow melt would be appropriate. Cinders to scatter on the icy ground so poor people can get traction and not slip and break a leg…or three ribs.

The difference between upright and healthy to fallen and broken is only one slip away…

‘I want what I want when I want it,’ Fernie said. I think she was speaking for all of us. We are beyond McDonald’s slogan, ‘We do it all for you.’ Now, we want retail without leaving the house. Hertz was proud of putting us in the Driver’s Seat. Now, we want a leader to drive for us. All of the turgid laws we have require study to understand…our brains hurt… easy to have a leader tell us what we need to know. No muss no fuss just results…that does not negatively affect us. The newscaster informs us what news is fake and what is real. No need for research. Give it to me quick like fast food. Please include my preferred condiments of conspiracy salt and deep-state pepper. Do not neglect to put tomato of scandal on people who can not defend themselves.

The preacher tells us to trust him. The working poor are waiting to be shown the money that was promised. Their paycheck does not cover the month. Eggs are still expensive but they were promised not to be so. ‘Give me your ten percent and then 10% more and you will be rich…church informs. Get rich on the gospel.

‘We were for eliminating racist and misogynist posts on social media…the check did not clear…we have chosen the ‘More Masculine’ approach. We sat on the Innaguraton Stage…in the front row…it was fun!

John Wayne and Jesus were twin brothers…weren’t they? JW and JC don’t take no shit…smack the people down that are not like them. Watch the cursed poor from the tinted windows of the Cadillac…

I viewed a movie called Omni Loop last night. It had an interesting slant on time travel. The lead character woke up to the news that she had a week to live. She enjoyed time with her family and a trip to the beach…ending with her 55th birthday celebration two weeks early. Then her nose began to bleed signifying her imminent demise. At this point, she took a pill and was transported back to the hospital bed that she was in at the beginning of the week. The process began anew with all of the same occurrences of the prior week. It turns out she had been living her untold long life with these pills. At one point she and a college student were endeavoring to break down the components of the pills to crack the time travel efficacy of them. As this occurred repeatedly, much as in the movie Groundhog Day, she asked her assistant if she did not feel they had been together for a lifetime. The assistant agreed.

So it goes with our seemingly short days on Earth. Have we walked these paths before? If you say no…how do you know? Einstein said the distinction between past, present, and future is ‘Only a stubbornly persistent illusion.’

‘I like our Sauk Village Home…at least we have a nice home this time,’ Billy B thought in his 3-year-old brain. ‘I remember Oxford and the lovely campus,’ Billy B mused. ‘My rooms at University were next to C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien…many nights we hoisted a pint at the Bird and Baby Pub,’ Billy B reminisced.

The house was larger on the inside than the out. An anomaly that could not be explained by builders. Within its walls were mysteries. Chet found when he entered the cavernous basement John F. Kennedy was no longer the President and Donald Trump was. Upon climbing the circular stairs he was once again in 1963. Jane and Billy B were children upstairs but old people in the basement. Chet enjoyed comparing and contrasting the generations.

‘Signs and wonders surround us,’ Preacher said. ‘Trust only me…I hear directly from God…I have prayerfully determined what we Chosen must do, ‘Preacher passionately proclaimed. ‘Nuclear War will weed out the chaff…we the wheat will be spared,’ Preacher shouted midst many hallelujahs from the congregation.

‘The Soviet Union has removed the missiles from Cuba,’ Neva J said. ‘We came within a gnat’s whisker of Nuclear War,’ Neva J said with tears. ‘President Kennedy is my hero,’ Neva J proclaimed…

‘Hit the deck you rubber neck…time to get ready for school,’ Neva J joyfully said! Begin again…

It is easy to succumb to the doldrums in the deep midwinter with water like a stone. The merry heart of Christmas is obscured by the dark days and thoughts. We are like the Energizer Bunny needing a new battery. Although the winter days are grey they are valuable. Time to reflect on our path. We travel a rocky road often without rest stops. Life reversals such as the poor Federal Civil Service employees are experiencing are life-changing. We live in a Country that recognizes the legal protection that Civil Service afforded them. I spent my career as a Civil Servant. Work in the Civil Service is for less money but good benefits and some protection. The modern Civil Service replaced the old patronage system where a political leader fired all Civil Servants of the opposing party and placed his supporters in open positions with no recourse by the fired staff. Contrary to recent political belief most Civil Servants are hard-working people with families to support. If we swear we are for the working class the Civil Service is the Working Class.

There is a reason that there are not more poor among us than there are. Laws protecting working people and unions are vital to the upward mobility of the 12-hour work days and tenement housing of our recent past. I served for 9 years as Southern Illinois University @ Carbondales representative to the Merit Board governing University Civil Service. I was the president of the Civil Service Council at SIUC for 5 years. Firing people for no reason or for spite is illegal…

When the richest man in the world can cavalierly fire on a whim…we are all in danger…

My greatest honor was working with the dedicated Civil Service staff of Building Services. These housekeeping professionals loved Southern Illinois University. They fed hungry students on their crews. They invited them into their homes for the holidays. They cooked a massive Thanksgiving Dinner for our 200 + student staff. Civil Service Housekeepers were the face of SIUC to our students. When Our University fell on hard times regarding the recruitment and retention of our precious students…we redoubled our efforts to assist.

As a candidate for Chancellor described Civil Service Staff…’ They are the salt of the Earth.’

‘It is going to be a dinner for the history books,’ Chet said. ‘Jane has bought a new dress and has a Valentine’s Gift for me,’ Chet grinned. ‘I am going to buy a new sports coat and shoes for the epic event,’ Chet laughed.

‘Have you asked her yet,’ Billy B inquired? ‘She may have other plans,’ Billy B noted. ‘She went to the Valentine Dance with you but may be booked for the V Dinner,’ Billy B warned.

‘She told me she was planning on the V Dinner and is waiting for you to ask her,’ Neva J cautioned. ‘She did purchase a new dress and has you a wonderful gift…but don’t be shy…ask her,’ Neva J smiled. The basketball captain has asked her and she declined to wait on your invitation,’ Neva J informed.

‘She is so special and I could not believe she accepted my invitation to the V Dance…surely she will not be so kind to me if I ask again,’ Chet mused. ‘How could she like Fat Man Chet,’ Chet said with sadness. ‘I have always been an introvert…I watch from the back of the room…most people pass me by,’ Chet commented.

‘Hi Chet…you look like a Champ,’ Jane said. ‘What are you doing for the V Dance,’ Jane asked? ‘Would you like to go with me,’ Jane asked? ‘You are my sweetheart…you are the Bees Knees…my one and only,’ Jane winked as she took Chet’s hand.

‘Have you ever seen me do the Irish Jig,’ Chet asked Jane? ‘I have been practicing…I am pretty good…

‘I have a gift for you that I will give you now…and after you open the box you may give it to me…if you want,’ Jane said with tears in her eyes…

The sky is full of splendor today. I did not know how much I missed the Sun until it was gone. Snow is coming tonight, much like life.

Jennifer and Lee joined us for the Super Bowl last evening. They made it like Christmas in February! Jennifer, Lee, and Annelise are a sweet trio. Their presence lights up a room!

I received a lovely comment regarding my recent blog The Ark. Our Ark of safety is our Earth. We are all in this together. There is no need to fight and feud with our fellow travelers.

We search for a Wise Man. We look for a Seer. Someone to worship. Forever disappointed and afraid. Humans fall short of human expectations. We cheer for our performers our Stars…our icons in the flesh until they fall out of favor…then we Boo…they have ceased to follow the Party Line…the approved text.

Our Ark knows no political division. The Sun is brilliant. The sky is azure blue. We occupants of the many cabins on board are sorely disenchanted with our accommodations. Some cabins are too small while others do not have a Balcony View. There are Cruisers on our deck that do not look like we do. Some people speak a different language. We saw a man holding hands with a man. Many pray differently than we do. Some do not pray…

The highest rank a leader can have is Servant. Servant Leadership is rare. Bluster and Bullying hide a lack of skill. Mean words create mean people. The coarsening of political rhetoric leads to our mutual destruction. It is possible to Bastardize democracy. We create many clouds hiding the Sun. We forget what matter of man and woman we are…

I was out among them today. Three stores and a visit with my friend Jim. Hustle and bustle wondering if more snow is coming our way. Gray skies and misty rain. Often the weather in Southern Illinois. Also, there is more wind than I remember as a youth. I purchased a Valentine’s Day card for MJ and the gentleman checking me out said I am one of the few men that buys their Valentine’s Day card before February 14th. I told him I had learned from being married for nearly 47 years. He said my comment was priceless…

We are all a part of something. We are home somewhere. We are known in the congregation. It is good to be the king and queen of our castle. Problems concerns and hopes are much alike. People are not so different. Media would have us believe that some of us are from Mars and some from Venus…we all live on Earth. More unites us than divides us.

Conspiracy Theories divide us. Paronia comes from the Conspiracy Theories. Us and Them is how humanity is portrayed. Many churches base their doctrine on exclusivity. Most will drown in the flood but we are on the Ark. The Ark is the Earth…we are all on it…

We are like the man who looked upon his mirror reflection and then forgot his visage. Later he kills his brother…blinded to his family…

Snow is forecast for next week. It is winter. Mr. Groundhog told us what to expect. The hints of spring must yield to winter. But time is drawing nigh.

The reality of the moment was compelling. There were family and friends, and Grandma, who had been dead for many years. She was in the pink, drinking Merlot and laughing. Earl announced Mimo’s Pizza had arrived. Aaron was toddling around Granma’s Eldorado home with the basketball larger than him that Earl had gotten for him because he pointed at it. In walked Uncle Gene saying, ‘Get the point…Get the point,’ he wore a beanie with a propeller on his head. Uncle Gene wore a pink ballerina dress with ballet shoes on his large feet. We were in the car outrunning a tornado. Cheetah sat humbly in the car seat as Earl drove frantically zigzagging to outwit the twister. President Kennedy stood in the middle of the stormy road and advised that we had better turn back…he said he had told Rosemary the same thing.

Dreams are real to our sleeping selves. If you do not think so check your heart rate upon awakening. Once a pastor told me that soon I would have a new car. I laughed as I had nothing and did good to keep body and soul together. A month later I purchased a new LTD.

‘Is the dream the real reality,’ Chet asked? ‘Dad told me that he was going on a journey and that I would be the man of the house…he cautioned me to take care of mom and water his garden…I then woke up to find he had died during the night,’ Chet said sadly. ‘Remember when we visited the future and saw our adult selves…old and arthritic,’ Chet asked? ‘Was that reality or is this,’ Chet said.

‘It was the near future…the United States was diminished…authoritarianism ruled,’ Billy B said. ‘People lived in enclaves with others of similar beliefs and ethnicity…guns were everywhere people carried them in their pockets and slung over their shoulders,’ Billy B noted. ‘Russia China and North Korea became our allies…NATO lay in ruins from neglect…the Gaza War had been going on for years with the United States a key player,’ Billy B said sadly. ‘I had this dream in 1965…it is now waking reality,’ Billy B said questioningly…

Love makes the world go around. The Valentine’s Day cards are on the shelves. Cupid is sharpening his arrows. His quiver is full. Holidays help us through the rough times. We need them regularly.

Paradoxically, we Baby Boomers have grown old. Full of life and ready for any challenge, we are now often in the cheap seats watching the circus.

‘I gave Jane a Valentine’s card,’ said Chet. ‘I hope she receives it warmly, Chet continued. ‘She lights up my life,’ Chet exulted!

‘I saw several envelopes containing V Cards on her desk when we went to lunch…she is popular,’ Billy B noted. ‘I heard she is dating the Basketball Team Captain,’ Billy B advised. ‘You know the girls like the Jocks,’ Billy B smirked.

‘Chet your Valentine’s Card was a pleasant surprise,’ Jane said with an angelic smile. ‘I have always admired you and your quick wit and kind demeanor,’ Jane said. ‘I never thought you might like me as well,’ Jane said with wide-eyed excitement.

‘Love is a splendid thing,’ Neva J laughed. ‘It makes your heart do flips and your breathing gets erratic…stars get in your eyes,’ Neva J explained. ‘When I was 16 and working in the Shoe Factory I set my eyes on Billy B’s Dad,’ Neva J recounted. ‘He went off to fight in the Pacific during WW II and when he returned we married,’ Neva J said with tears in her eyes. ‘He was my whole world,’ Neva J said softly.

‘I am excited to be with you at the Valentine’s Day Dance,’ Jane said to Chet. ‘Do you Dance,’ she asked?

‘I have been taking lessons…may I have this dance,’ Chet asked?