‘I can not wait for our campout this evening at Giant City State Park,’ Jane exclaimed! ‘It still seems a bit chilly for camping and the wind is neverending, Chet observed. ‘Well one thing is for sure we will be able to see where we are going with no leaves on the trees,’ Neva J. laughed. ‘I believe my new Winnebago Sleeping Bag will keep me warm,’ Billy B. announced. ‘As for the Wiz and me we are erecting our tent for the frosty night,’ Daryl said. ‘It has been a custom in my family to camp on the second night of spring each year…no matter what the weather brings,’ Billy B. noted with a satisfied smile. ‘We are just like the postman in that neither rain nor snow shall keep us from our heritage of Second Night Camping,’ Neva J. said.

‘It seems every few days we hear of another suspicious fire in our area,’ Jane said with a furrowed brow. ‘They are suspected of arson but thus far no one has been apprehended,’ Neva J. responded. ‘It has been speculated that they may be politically motivated, Chet observed. ‘No chance of suspicious fires at the GC…it has been raining all day,’ laughed Billy B.

Our group arrived at the GC late afternoon and it was cloudy with light rain falling. They quickly began setting up their tents as no one wanted to sleep in the rain. The odor of something that was either burning or had recently been burnt hung in the air. ‘It must be a fellow camper’s fire,’ said Daryl. ‘I was camping in a woods in England many years ago when a fire started from a campfire and I barely made my way out alive,’ The Wiz said with some unusual pleasure. ‘It was rumored that Jack The Ripper’s ghost lived in the woods and he loved to blow on campfires and create havoc…for his entertainment,’ The Wiz continued. ‘Perhaps he is here at GC tonight as it certainly is windy,’ Chet replied as he snuggled into his sleeping bag. ‘Let us not sleep until we all enjoy a glass of Merlot,’ Neva J. said as she uncorked a bottle and the pop resounded through the quiet forest. ‘I must visit the restroom before I zip myself into the bag,’ Billy B. advised as he quaffed his last drop of red wine.

Goodness, the acrid smell of burning is getting stronger Billy B. mused as he made his way to one of the nice outdoor privies that were located throughout GC. ‘Hello Mate…fancy a wee do you,’ said the Victorian-dressed man exiting the restroom. ‘What is going on said Billy B…I smell smoke and it is getting stronger,’ Billy B. asked the strange and dignified-looking man who appeared from another time. ‘Controlled Burn…Mate…good for the foliage…

Our last day of winter has been unusually cold in our neck of the woods. I was listening to an article from the Washington Post as I walked the woods and was caught by the writer saying that her primary goal was to get people to tell her their stories. Our stories connect us. I think it is a bit the same in church life in which I have been involved for 55 years. We can believe that the sermon on Sunday will compel people to enter the church’s doors…but what gets them to the threshold to open the doors and come in? Stories that connect them to a fellow human being that finds fulfillment in the church. If you share with me some of your walk of faith and hope for the future and your church is a part of the narrative…you have my attention. There are so many glossy and grandiose places to focus our time on…but we search for the real and the authentic.

Exclusive clubs are a part of life. Many of us have been shut out of the Clubs that require a certain portfolio and a preferred status. When you talk to me about how faith is common sense and a bedrock part of your life and I can see through your story that it is relatable to my struggles and challenges…I am interested. I read recently that denominational churches have become frozen in time as to their outreach and outlook. Baby Boomers and the generation prior to the Boomers had focused on the problems of their generations while Millenials and Generation Z have many different issues and need from the church.

Pastor Kerry spoke eloquently this morning regarding the issue of depression. Depression and other mental illness issues are throughout our world and yet we hear little about these very real health problems. Kerry mentioned that one in ten of us suffer from depression.

Testimony was a part of the holiness Church’s Sunday service. Testifying was people telling their stories. Indeed none of us want everyone to know our business…but there is real efficacy in explaining the meaning of Faith in your life. Nothing captivates our attention and our hearts like the truth out of the mouths of our friends!

Spring is almost here! The sun is shining and the wind is howling with the last vestiges of Old Man Winter! I thought of my days in Eldorado so many years ago. We got up in the morning, went to work or school, and came home in the evening to watch Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News. We had our share of drama but it was primarily portrayed on our television sets and we only could receive three channels and two of them were fuzzy. My fun was watching movies at the Orpheum Theatre and the Starlight Drive Inn during the summer months. Pounds Hollow was the primary dramatic event of the summer. We did not know much about the world around us except what we heard by word of mouth or front porch gossip. When we wanted to do research we went to the Eldorado Public Library. I thought the Library was too good to be true. How could they afford to lend books with nothing but a few pennies in overdue fines? Eldorado Pubic Library had the wonders of the world inside its walls and I was mesmerized!

I dreamed of owning a set of World Book Encyclopedias…but we did not have the money. Later I sold World Book door to door…and still did not have the money to purchase a set. Now I have the funds for a set but instead can read them on the internet.

Although we enjoyed dramatic movies and television shows we did not concern ourselves with either what our neighbor was doing or how the Kardashians of our day were fairing. Neva J. enjoyed reading the National Enquirer but we knew…although I am not certain if she knew… that it was hyperbolic and written for maximum entertainment value. Entertainment was fun but we did not base our life’s path on it.

I loved our annual journey to the DuQuoin State Fair. The Carnivale Barker and the Hucksters and the Freak Shows were mind-expanding. They did not give me a roadmap to my political or faith life. I discovered that people will lie to your face and have a wide Cheshire Grin while doing so. This could represent either theatre or deceit.

Often things are not as dire as they seem until they are placed under the Dramatic Enhancing Magnifying Glass. News has become about 90% opinion. The opinion is purposefully directed toward the people who view the newscast. Facts have become fungible. Lies are promulgated as truth…and many adopt these lies as their

mantra and feel so strongly about what was given to them as a creed with money at its core…as the indisputable fact of their existence.

Library research has fallen on hard times. As we obtain our truth from News Anchors who are explicitly concerned with their wallet or pocketbook and not with the facts. Faith is obtained through prayer and endeavoring to follow the kind teachings of Christ. When we sub-contract that duty to entertainers and charlatans we are made poor both spiritually and monetarily.

Simple is good. Life can be both fulfilling and easy to navigate if our compass is working properly. We were discussing recently how so many of us want to live a bit higher than our finances will carry us. Contrary to common opinion this is not just the working class but indeed the upper middle class and even affluent folks as well. As we sit in our warm homes and drive our Subarus we wonder what it would be like to drive a finer automobile and live a step up home from what we are enjoying. We enjoy a glass of Aldi’s Wine but wonder what a $200.00 bottle would taste like. Don’t look too close but this is what has happened to our failing banks. They were monetarily secure but they wondered how it would be to become bigger than their dreams. Thus they lend to people and businesses who are not capable of fulfilling their loan requirements. Greed.

Facebook and Media tell us that the sky’s the limit for us. Gold is King Of The Castle! You are not a success unless you can soar with the eagles…rather than the Blue Jays…

It is another beautiful day in the neighborhood as Mister Rogers daily reminded us for years. Some folks brought their children or grandchildren out to Giant City Park to play on the playground equipment…although I am certain that the slides were cold. I stopped by the University to capture some photos of the spring buds but they had already been bitten by the unusually cold snap that we experienced the past few days. As I pondered the frost-bitten buds I thought that we are a bit like them in that cold human actions beget similar responses. Being an old guy I remember when the conversation was civil and especially public discourse. When speaking with someone older than your self you did not use their first name unless they invited you to do so and you addressed them as mam or sir or Mr. or Mrs…and later Ms. Certainly profanity in the open arena was verboten. Many blue words were off-limit completely… though you could hear them in the pool hall.

Several years ago I was surprised when walking among a lot of students at SIUC I heard the F— word in every other sentence among many speakers in casual conversation. At the last State Of The Union address, President Biden was shouted at on numerous occasions by members of the opposition. Differences of opinion are what makes this country great…but there is a time and a place for such rhetoric.

Facebook dialogue reveals too much personal information. Now Facebook is not doing this without the willing participation of its membership. I know much more than I need to by reading the posts of those who are probably upset and want to tell their friends about why they are. Remember…not everyone who reads your passionate posts is your friend.

Christian has taken on a false definition. Bellicose strident speech under the moniker of Christian is a false narrative. To take the grand vision of Christ’s teachings and say that your little sub-group of people who hate anyone who is not like you…is a lie!

To be human is an unparalleled miracle! Being a temporary inhabitant of our planet with the possibility of not seeing tomorrow is a gift. The ability to do as much good as you can for as many people as you can is an awesome responsibility. When I look inward I wonder how I could ever criticize anyone.

Kind words and actions beget kind words and actions. We knew this truth at one time. We were not so much concerned with posturing and preening for political or personal aggrandizement. In politics we understood that compromise and finding the middle road was the key to accomplishing something good for our constituents. Christians were taught that Jesus loves the little children…all the little children of the world…

A financial secret I learned several years ago is that many monetary institutions are not working in their customer’s best fiduciary interest. As a youngster mom took me to the local Eldorado Bank and opened for me a savings account. I received a bank book that each deposit was hand recorded and the banker initialed the entry. You could not borrow money unless you could demonstrate that you had the resources to pay the money back. Senator Elizabeth Warren said the other night on a television interview that, ‘Banking should be boring.’ I agree with her statement. The second-largest bank in United States history failed the other day. When did finance become let me get rich…and the hell with you?

The love of money is the root of all evil…mother often said. I really did not know as we had little money…but a lot of love! I think our endemic monetary problem goes deep into the unbreakable bond that many politicians have with those who are the leaders of the industry. When the government looks the other way and lauds removing checks and balances and oversight from Wall Street and our banking system…the common people suffer. It is business as usual for many financial advisors to push investments that enrich them and make poor the investor.

There is a reason when a big bank fails we all quake. It has not been long since we experienced almost the meltdown of our financial system in this country. Confidence in finance is engendered by logical and bedrock principles of banking and investing. When it sounds too good to be true…it usually is.

I vividly recall when it looked like the stock market was the best game in town. Pension systems in most states saw an opportunity to get out from under the fiduciary responsibility of doing their part for their state employees and sold the idea to their staff that they could do much better by having their pensions based on the Market. In those halcyon days, it seemed that the Market was going to keep going up. State Houses had borrowed from their employee’s pension plans until the debt was herculean. Now those retired employees are left with a fraction of what they could have had if many States had kept their end of the Pension Agreement.

Blood may be thicker than water but the love of money is thicker than both. If you do not think so let someone who has resources die in your family and enjoy the Wake with all of those loved ones who you have not seen in many years.

Mundane is not a bad word. Quiet and effective principals of finance or any worthy vocation lack the thrill of immediate riches or political experimentation but they engender confidence in the stewardship of our resources.

There is a chill in the air today. Spring is a week away…we have sprung ahead by an hour… we feel the loss. I have heard that time and chance wait for no one. Opportunity is knocking if we are watching the door and listening.

Each day is a bit of a new world. A new beginning. An embarkation on the rest of our life. Since our Pandemic, we have not traveled as much as prior to it. However, the Trip Of Life is more exciting than any holiday. Spring brings us hope for new life and a renewal of our spirits. The mystery of how we came to be here and where we are going is a daily unveiling. If we are not careful we are in danger of losing the through line or forgetting the plot of our journey. Each time we have taken a Europen Holiday…somewhat like Chevy Chase and family…we have attempted to prepare and think of all exigencies in order to facilitate our smooth enjoyment of the wonders that we expected to be exposed to. There is the currency exchange and the packing in a small suitcase and a backpack. Will we require warm clothes or summer wear or both? We research the popular tourist destinations and book tours that were applicable. Then there is the issue of transportation. How busy is the area that we are going to visit or how remote is it. Most important…where do we eat!

Now, life is much more of an adventure than a month’s holiday in Europe! Each day can bring a new surprise and holiday at home. Much of life’s pleasure is discovering the fulfillment of your abilities. Contentment is somewhat elusive to many of us. As it has been said…’ Happy In Your Own Skin!’ Is your skin fitting well? Mine is a bit looser as I have aged. I enjoyed the actor Brendan Fraser’s Academy Award acceptance speech. His humility and gratitude were overwhelming. Well, we have been given the Oscar Of Life…each day that we are here…what an honor!

Sunday has a beautiful cloudy sky. The woods were lovely and dark and deep as I borrow the phrase from Robert Frost. Of course, I love clouds and rain and woods. I love the many facets of ambition. You know that is what gets us up in the morning and fuels our efforts during our days. Indeed there is a plethora of ambition that is not about money. Being blessed with two wonderful sons has been the passion of MJ’s and my life!

Our lives have been exciting and exhilarating and a magical and mysterious tour of enjoyment in Aaron and Jonathon! They each are their own men. They most certainly are not clones of mom and dad. Each day they reveal to me what new roads they are traveling. I think that we both live vicariously through their energy and uniqueness! Just being with them energizes me!

Ambition is often associated with how high a person can rise in the work world. It is in turn associated with how much money you can make. Now we all require money. But money is not the key to happiness or fulfillment. Money is a means to an end. That end is the realization of your dreams. I seriously doubt that we will require money in the afterlife. Ambition can be redirected to what makes you happy.

I wanted to be a salesman in my young days or a minister…which is a form of sales. I also had aspirations of becoming a lawyer in the halcyon days of yore. It seemed to me that I must become successful in the definite definition of what my peers and mentors described success as. Lo and behold I was hired as a Building Service Worker I at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. I was neither ashamed nor did I feel that I was doing something beneath my abilities. I determined that I was going to be a Housekeeping Professional! As the years whisked by I received promotion upon promotion and ended my career as the head of the department. This was not where I saw myself as a young man but it was just fit for me.

The opportunities that I was afforded to help others were plenteous during my career. Offering career opportunities to those who were unseen and unheard was a highlight of my work life. I had the best benefits of being a minister and management/administration is a sales profession on a daily basis. People are my strength. Helping others is my passion. The success of SIUC was my vision!

‘A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma,’ has been my life story and I would not have it any other way!

This is the day that we have been waiting for all week. When work starts again on Monday we will know in our hearts that another Saturday is coming down the track! I enjoyed watching the demeanor and faces of my colleagues when I was working. Monday is a bit of a dour day. Tuesday follows Monday and there appears to be some hope for another Saturday. Thursday was always a big day for me as I knew that I almost had the week whipped. Friday is replete with all of the wonders of childhood and Christmas Eve and Santa Claus. We know that tomorrow we get to do whatever we want! No Boss! Why we might stay in bed until noon if we so desire. There are movies to see and hiking to do. We will go out for lunch with our dear family…the Fleemans! Now that is Christmas in March! Then Sunday comes and it is quiet and nice and peaceful. Church or reading or writing or a visit to the local pub. A Sunday Brunch! Perhaps a Bloody Mary or two? Soon it is Sunday afternoon and in the recesses of our memory, we vaguely recall…work. Now it is Sunday night and Lassie is on, or Mutual Of Omahas Wild Kingdom…and the Wonderful World Disney…and School or Work the next morning…

Hope springs eternal…Saturday is coming again…

Sometimes someone has to turn on the light switch. Every now and again it is much too dark to make the evening tea. Not long after MJ and I were married we were visiting her mom and dad in DuQuoin. It was winter that had grown dark early. Berl asked Fernie if she would like for him to make her a cup of tea. We were sitting in their little living room that was quite drafty and we were warmed by an electric space heater and had but the light of the electric coils of the heater and the blue light of the television for our illumination. Fernie replied that she would enjoy a cup of tea and thus Berl walked into the totally dark kitchen to do the job. As he walked into the kitchen Fernie said to MJ and me that we should watch and see that he will turn on the stove light to make the tea. I wondered how he could possibly see what he was doing if he did not. Indeed Berl turned on the dim stove light and began the tea. Fernie looked at us with a wide smile and said, ‘See I told you that man would turn on the stove light!’ Berl and Fernie had lived during the Great Depression and they did not waste money.

Fernie often asked me if I was 30 years old yet. This bothered me a little as I felt that I was mature and did not need to be reminded of what seemed to her to be my perpetual youth. Now I would be overjoyed to be reminded!

As I journeyed through Eldorado last Sunday I was struck by how events of 50 and more years ago seemed as if they had happened yesterday. What seems long to us due to our short lives is really just a moment in time. We go along for some considerable days with little new ideas or innovative plans…and then suddenly there they are in front of our faces. Suddenly someone has turned on the Stove Light…and we can see how to make the tea.

Dim light is much better than no light at all. Our lives are governed by our past experiences…unless we turn on the little light of mystery and magic. In that light are visions of things that we did not see in the dark. Possibilities and opportunities are illuminated in the little light. The little light brings hope and comfort and fueling of our engines to move forward and discover what awaits us that is just beyond our view…

Enjoy your tea!

Early spring is back after a temporary displacement. It feels right. MJ and I were engaged in some house cleaning this morning and I was reminded of how I enjoyed cleaning during the early days of my career at SIUC. The rhythms of cleaning suit, my soul. Many an evening work shift in 1978 and 1979 whisked by quickly while I was immersed in my housekeeping duties. I enjoyed it to the extent that I suggested we dismiss our cleaning service and do it ourselves for a while. As I said to MJ we will never be more able to do so than we are now.

We, humans, function best when we are moving. Our brains become more engaged and our spirits brighter. Performing a job and admiring the end product is essential to our self-worth. I have discovered that every day that I miss blogging…I feel diminished somewhat. When I do not take my daily nature walk I feel lacking. I enjoy having something to do throughout the day.

Older folks do not so much wear out as we rust out. Projects give us purpose. When I see that someone has enjoyed one of my blogs I feel that I have accomplished something. I have always wanted to make others feel better.

Hope is the fuel that feeds our engines. Hope comes from being involved in life. When we surrender to our aches and pains we become reclusive and removed from what inspired us to reach the point of senior citizens.

I never relished following orders. I have always enjoyed doing my own thing. I have a melodious drummer that I listen to. Since my retirement over 12 years ago, I have been much more aware of the intricacies of each day. When you have the opportunity to slow down from the frenetic workday world you see the beauty that has been surrounding you for the entirety of your life. We really have been dropped into a world that is more lovely than any artist can portray. To be engaged both spiritually and mentally and physically is ideal living.

The rocking Chair lifestyle for we oldsters is not ideal. Activity with purpose is the ticket to happiness and well-being! There is much to be said for doing your own thing. I have been practicing the Creed for my entire life. I have never cared or concerned myself with what the group was doing or what the ‘In Kids’ were involved in as I purposefully sought what my mind and heart told me to do.