It is a blustery day once again in my neck of the woods. One day hot and the next day cold. My sojourns to Giant City State Park have been numerous. I am becoming familiar with all of the nooks and crannies of the Woods. I have been there for the changing leaves and then for their fall. Bare limbs have their own unique beauty.

‘Be sure to wear your Autumn Jackets…it is chilly and the wind is blowing,’ Neva J. admonished. ‘I live to hike,’ Chet said. ‘There is nothing nicer than a November Hike and the thoughts of Thanksgiving and Christmas swirling in your head,’ Jane said with a laugh. ‘I think that I will wear the new woolen socks that I bought at the L.L. Bean store in Freeport, Maine when we were on holiday in September,’ Billy B. said. ‘The temperature in Boothbay Harbor today is 40 degrees. ‘I will be thinking of Maine when we are hiking at Giant City…it is never far from my thoughts…it is my happy place,’ Neva J. said with a smile.

‘I like the Pin Oak Trail…it is all smooth poured concrete,’ Chet winked. ‘I will say that it is the most user-friendly hiking trail that I have ever taken,’ Neva J. added. ‘I like the benches that are strategically placed along the trail for the purpose of resting a bit,’ Billy B. advised.

Wasn’t it strange when we found that black bassinet next to the stone house when we camped Halloween night,’ Jane asked? ‘Yes…Giant City is noted for strange occurrences…unexplainable and weird,’ Chet said with a learned look.

‘Come over here and look off of the bluff…it looks just like Acadia Park in Maine,’ Darryl said with some bewilderment. ‘I see a lighthouse…and the rocky shore of Maine,’ said The Wiz as he adjusted his binoculars.

‘Man O Man did we ever take a wrong turn somewhere,’ Billy B. called out! ‘Giant City has a bit of a mystical mystery about it…people have entered its gates…and never been seen again,’ said The Wiz. ‘Perhaps we entered a Black Hole,’ noted Chet. ‘Well if we entered a Black Hole…where is the exit,’ Neva J. asked. ‘Let us retrace our steps…if there is an invisible door…we should walk through it,’ Darryl advised.

‘Oh my goodness…we are back at the Stone House and it is Halloween again…’ said Jane. ‘There is a theory in Quantum Physics that when we die we simply return to live our lives over again…and again…and again…somewhat like a flat vinyl phonograph record as our needle follows its designated track…’ The Wiz mused…

‘The Moon is high in the evening sky,’ Chet noted. ‘Tonight we fall back an hour…that means another hour of sleep Sunday morning,’ Billy B. replied. ‘Yes and it will be dark at 5:00 P:M: Sunday evening,’ Jane retorted. ‘I like the dark,’ laughed Billy B. ‘It is too easy to stub your toe in the dark,’ Neva J. reminded the group. ‘Is uncle Gene going to be staying the night…again,’ asked Billy B. ‘Yes he has nowhere to live at the moment and he is welcome to bunk with us until he can get on his feet,’ Neva J. answered. ‘Why do you call uncle Gene…Fetch…and he, in turn, calls you Nave,’ Jane asked Neva J. ‘Well it began when we were kids,’ answered Neva J.

‘Fetch was my buddy…he looked out for me and I for him…when other kids were less than kind to him I would tell him to, ‘Fetch my bullwhip and I would give them a thrashing within an inch of their lives,’ Neva J. reminisced as she thought of her younger days. ‘Did you really whip uncle Genes’ abusers,’ Jane said with sincerity. ‘Why yes I did…on a few occasions…but it was the threat of the action that was almost as powerful as the real thing,’ Neva J. answered. ‘Uncle Gene has always walked with a limp…he was born with it…and smart-ass kids who wanted to make something of it…had me to deal with,’ Neva J. said with conviction.

Tommy was always being either picked on or shunned at school,’ Chet said. ‘He became reclusive and very quiet…it was difficult to get a word out of him…he drooled a little when he sat at his desk and his back had a curvature due to Scoliosis,’ Chet continued. ‘I determined to make him my friend…and he slowly began to come out of his shell and he could tell the most fascinating stories and even tap dance like no one that I have ever seen,’ Chet said. ‘Tommy went from the class prime person to pick on and take advantage of…to the class star…and he caused every Bully to recede into the darkness,’ Jane said with tears in her eyes.

When people saw Rosie coming down the street…they moved to the other side of the road. She had lost her husband and she talked to herself a little…and due to loneliness… she answered herself from time to time. ‘Rosie and I are best buddies…she calls me every day and we have lunch together once a week,’ Neva J. said as she smiled to herself. ‘Since you have become Rosie’s friend and helped her get some new clothes she is seen all over town helping others,’ Jane told Neva J. ‘Rosie was ‘Rosie The Riveter’…really…during WWII…she worked on making battleships while her beloved husband Ralph fought the Nazis in Germany,’ Chet noted. ‘Often we ignore others because they seem different or at first not friendly…or more often than not they are afraid of the rejection that they have felt on many occasions,’ Chet said.

‘I first met Latham in Mrs. Hemphills Remedial Reading Class…I had been sent there due to a bit of dyslexia…and there were some students from Special Education in the class…they were some of the best kids that I ever met,’ Billy B. said exuberantly! ‘Latham was a prince of a guy and could talk about anything…he was unable to take PE due to a physical condition,’ Billy B. said. ‘No one talked to Latham…but I did…and we became friends,’ Billy B. noted happily. ‘It turned out that I did not have dyslexia…but I did have a wonderful experience that has stayed with me for my life,’ Billy B. noted with joy…

‘Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes. Song of Solomon 2:15

Election Day is 4 days away. We all have an opinion. Our democracy is founded on the principle that a workable answer for all our outstanding citizens comes out of a diversity of opinions. Indeed there is more that unites us than divides us. Violence is never the answer. Hateful rhetoric against a political opponent is dangerous. Departed Senator John McCain wanted to win the Presidency when Senator Barrak Obama was his opponent. Yet when a woman falsely accused Obama of evil intentions…McCain defended him and called him a good man with whom he differed politically. When politicians buy into the lie that the last Presidental Election was stolen…they are doing so for their own political expediency at the cost of ending our democratic form of government…and in favor of Authoritarianism.

A lie that supports our worldview is a damaging balm to our weary and forgotten souls. I have traveled to the towns and villages and hamlets of Southern Illinois for most of 2022. Many of the people that I met do not feel seen by their government. They are the invisible women and men and children of our country. So many of the residents of Little Egypt are food insecure. Many of the children would not eat if their school was not feeding them.

My friend and State Senator Dale Fowler is tireless in his efforts to help the poor…and he is a Republican. Neither political party has cornered the market on…kindness…

Demonizing a political opponent is horrendous and dangerous and is cancer that is taking over our political and religious way of life in our great country. Many Germans during World War II stood idly by and watched as Jews were loaded into cattle cars and taken to concentration camps and gassed. They were not troubled by what they had seen…they thought their Nazi government was doing…God’s work.

Some who are running for office have made campaign jokes regarding the Speaker of the House of Representatives husband’s attempted assassination. Would they laugh so heartily if it was their husband or wife…who was bludgeoned?

The insidious banality of racism and prejudice and the pervasive feeling of us versus them is often not proclaimed from a bullhorn. It is what we say to our friends…or wink and nod approval when those who are different than us are marginalized. We assume that everyone must understand how the game is played and how to succeed in a diverse world. We say that we are not racist or misogynistic…until we are with our group…who nod in agreement as we support fascism and tribalism and seek the…people…who are keeping us from getting ahead…and getting our fair share of the American Dream…

Hoist the flag…we do. Wear it on our lapel with pride. We know that the majority of people want to retrieve America from those who are not in our club…The Land Of The Free And The Home Of The Brave…to Americans…but…how did we get into this elite club…

Ashes…and gravestones…carnage…and corpses…while leaders laugh at the lies that we believed…

I watched an incredible television series on Amazon over the last few days. The program centered around a man who was handcuffed to a table and being interviewed by a grieving mother who believed that the convict had killed her son. At one point in the interview, he predicted future events that would happen in the sorrowful mother’s life. When she asked him how he knew the future he replied that he ‘remembered the future.’ What a great line! In the spirit of not revealing too much of the plot, I will leave it there…but it was a bit of a unique slant on life.

De Ja Vu is a strange experience. To have the feeling that you have met someone before but to have no memory of doing so…is akin to Halloween. Or to travel to a location and know that you have been there before…but you do not remember when. I experienced de Ja Vu in Oxford, England during our visit in 2016. The University seemed like home to me. The Pubs and the little winding streets I had trod before… It felt like I had sat at one of the tables in the Eagle and Child and enjoyed a pint with CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien…

During my high school days a quiet and unassuming fellow student…who I was not acquainted with came up to me and asked me if she could tell me something. I said please do and she said that she knew that one day I would be the leader of a large department containing hundreds of people. At the time I had not had my first job and I thought about how sweet she was and how unlikely what she predicted would happen.

I was a member of the Chancellor’s Search Committee that brought Chancellor Jo Ann Agrersinger to Campus and she subsequently became our Chancellor. The moment that I met her…I was attempting to place how I knew her. Of course in reality I did not know Dr. Argersinger…but I could not shake the pervasive feeling that I had at some time and somewhere…

As a little more than a toddler in Chicago in Sauk Village…I recall thinking as I perused our lovely little home…’At least we have a nice home…this time…’

It is a balmy 75 degrees this afternoon in Little Egypt. I just received the longest haircut since I was a youngster in Eldorado. The woman who cut my old grey hair did a fantastic job. I reminisced of days gone by when barbers were craftswomen and men. You did not feel like just another head…in the crowd. The young woman asked me what I had done since I retired and I told her that in the first years we had visited Europe and the United Kingdom 4 times. She was amazed and told me that she had never considered going to Europe and I responded that I had not either…for many years.

Paris is a magical city. I was reminded of the great adventure that MJ and Jonathon and I had when we traveled through the Chunnel from London to Paris with our dear friends Margo and Jeff. It had a bit of a dreamlike quality and the Eiffel Tower was spectacular. As we stood in a long line one of the attendants separated Jeff and Jonathon and me from Margo and MJ. Plead as we might he did not seem convinced of the need or efficacy of rejoining us with our party. When we set out from our flat to visit the Tower…we stopped at a local market first to purchase some toilet paper…as our accommodations had none. MJ put the small package in her backpack. Before the Eiffel Tower attendants would let you in line they searched your backpacks. The little man who first searched MJ’s backpack began to laugh and then to gesture to his colleagues to come and see the toilet paper. It was good to provide comic relief for our French Cousins.

Our first evening dinner was a gourmand’s delight. When I asked for a Dirty Martini the waiter assured me that he could make me a lovely Dry Martini…and it was delicious. Each meal thereafter when I asked for a Dirty Martini…the waitress or waiter brought me a bottle of wine… As I stood on the small balcony that was just off the kitchen of our flat…admiring the majesty of the illuminated Eiffel Tower that could be seen clearly…although we were miles from it…when I turn my head to look at the flats across from ours there was a woman stepping out of the shower with her large window opened wide for proper airflow. Jeff told me that the French were much more liberal than many of us Americans when it came to their bodies.

Montmartre was walking through history. We climbed the longest flight of stairs that I have seen. I could visualize Vincent van Gogh walking the streets of the fabled artist enclave. Later that day MJ purchased a painting of Montmartre from an artist on the left bank of the Seine.

Paris was 10 years ago…and it seems like yesterday.

So…I really did not think about traveling to other countries until I experienced it for the first time. What a mind-expanding journey. My empirical appreciation for the diversity of our earth and its inhabitants grew exponentially. Europe and the United Kingdom and Africa were like reading the story of Humanity…one page at a time.

Now it is not there yet…but it has gone over a third of the way toward everyone’s favorite season…winter. Two months left in 2022 and due to the holidays, they go by the fastest. It has been said that opportunity waits for no man. Or…today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. Simply speaking…live in the moment. The lovely fall leaves beckon us to join them…the Pumpkin Spice Coffee is brewing and Thanksgiving plans are underway.

Loneliness and being alone…or feeling alone is difficult all year long but especially at this time of year. When a person who is housebound sees the pageantry and joy of the Holiday Season on their television or remembers happy Thanksgiving or Christmases of days gone by…they feel the burden of different physical rules for them. Many of us are shy or introverted or what we used to call…loners. Loneliness can be as pervasive as any disease. It is damaging to both the spirit and the body.
Fall brings hope for a bright future. The brilliantly colored leaves wave to us as they gently fall to the earth. They seem to be saying…do not fear…I will be back next year…

‘I think that fall is my favorite time of year,’ Neva J. said as she sipped her Pumpkin Spiced Coffee. ‘What does everyone want for Christmas…I am taking orders…here are several copies of the Sears Christmas Wishbook,’ Neva J. announced. ‘Well…I would like a Big Swinger Polaroid Camera, Billy B. said. ‘I want a Daniel Boone Action Figure that looks just like the actor Fess Parker,’ Chet proclaimed. ‘Do you think that Gary S. would like to join us for Christmas Dinner,’ Billy B. asked. ‘I know that he would love to…he lives alone in Parrish Addition and the last time that I visited him he was eating Campbells Pork and Beans for his Breakfast and Lunch and Dinner,’

‘What a feast we have before us…there is Roast Beast and Hasty Pudding and Goose as well,’ Darryl proclaimed. ‘I remember when mama would make divinity candy when I was a lad…it always made me feel loved and warm inside…mama would cut the first piece of divinity for me and place it on my plate and then give me a kiss,’ Gary S. said with a tear in his eye. Neva J. promptly cut the divinity and walked over to Gary S. and kissed him on the top of his head…and gave him the first piece of the Christmas Candy. Gary S. began to reminisce about his days in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and his job at the factory. He spoke of his wife of 30 years who had passed away a few years ago. They had a son who was killed in Vietnam. Their son…was their life. Gary said that before this Christmas he had been dreading it. He was legally blind and had difficulty walking. Gary S. said that he had planned on purchasing a small turkey for Christmas dinner…but that there were no small ones left…’It is hard buying groceries for one person…and I have little grocery money…’

‘Let us sing some Christmas Carols,’ Jane said with a broad smile. They began to sing Silent Night and each person around the Holiday Table held a candle aloft. The smile on Gary S.’s face lit up the room. He sang with a deep bass voice and the resonant beauty of his voice captivated all who heard the words.

‘Blow out your candles and we will turn on the lights,’ Neva J. said. ‘Where is Gary S.’ Billy B. asked. An empty chair was before their surprised gazes.

‘Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares…’

Christians and many other faiths believe that God created the heavens and the earth…after all, it is in the Bible…right. We look for a church that scratches us where we itch. So often we are in a sack race to prove how pious we can be while running in a potato sack. As we struggle and hop along greatly impeded by our Sack…we point out fingers at those who are running the Christian Faith unencumbered and stopping here and there for a cup of Pumpkin Spiced Coffee. We know that the Creator of our universe and all other universes…is keeping a point-by-point score…and that he is comparing us to our fellow humans in the Potato Sack race…

When others are a bit different than we are…we are sure that they are wrong and if you will give us a few minutes we will find the scripture that supports our draconian view of faith. When we are in the corner supermarket or at a restaurant or in the theatre…we think…thank God I am better than that poor dumb bastard…

The Beggar that is in front of the restaurant or the theatre…must have displeased God and not fulfilled all of their points for the day or month or year…else why would they be in such woefully shape.

We proclaim that the Bible is true…every word…until we find a word that does not agree with our personal theology. When others are sick…it must be God’s judgment befalling them for their not using a Proper Potato Sack at the Holy Sack Race…when we are sick…it is Satan buffeting us to try to convince us to not use the Potatoe Sack that God has provided.

Why would a loving God hate so much of his creation? Why would God require that his suffering human family still use a Potato Sack to hop back to Jerusalem…

‘Well…this is it…isn’t it…the Holiday Season is upon us,’ Neva J. said as she sipped her Merlot. ‘We will be talking Turkey tomorrow,’ Chet responded. ‘I love this time of year and am looking forward to the campout tonight at Giant City State Park,’ Jane said. ‘I think that the Park is spooky in the daytime when it is cloudy and rainy,’ Billy B. added. ‘Remember The Wiz is going to accompany us tonight and he will have a Halloween surprise I am certain,’ Darryl laughed. ‘I have been visiting Giant City every day in October and I find it peaceful and relaxing,’ Billy B. smiled. ‘Yes until you see a ghost or a witch or perhaps even…Frankenstein,’ Jane mused.

There were still many vibrantly colored leaves in the City…but alas some have fallen to the wet ground. Camping on Halloween night requires some inner fortitude. The weather forecast called for a low of 48 degrees and cloudy. The stone building, which was open on both sides, had two fireplaces in it…and two electric light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. When our Halloween Campers arrived they found a Jack-O-Lantern situated under a tree near the stone structure…but there was no one to be seen. ‘The Jack-O-Lantern is freshly carved and appears to be placed for some Halloween ritual or party,’ Neva J. said with a pervasive interest. ‘It has been said that there is a witches coven that has a Hallows Eve Ritual here each year,’ Chet said. ‘What…and we are sleeping next door to the event…did we not reserve the Stone House,’ Jane asked with a quaver in her voice. ‘We did reserve it and the caretaker smiled a toothless smile when he took the reservation…he commented, ‘This will be interesting…very interesting.’

The fire crackled merrily and the hot apple cider flowed smoothly. Hot dogs and hamburgers and candy corn were eaten heartily and every falling acorn was dutifully checked by the torches that Darryl had packed for the event. ‘You do realize that Salem, Massachusetts is not the only enclave for people who practice witchcraft…Southern Illinois has a rich history of those who follow the Pagan Faith,’ The Wiz asked the group. ‘Almost every town and village in Little Egypt has at least a witch or two,’ Chet added. ‘I have heard that they are afraid to reveal themselves during much of the year…but let it all hang out…on Halloween,’ Neva J. said with a glint in her eyes and an evil grin.

‘Mylo is with us and he will protect us…he already has his little red sweater on,’ Billy B. laughed. ‘Yip…Yip…Yip,’ added Mylo. Then the singing…began. The Wiz was the first to go and see what or who was singing. It sounded a bit like the chanting of the witches in the movie Rosemary’s Baby.

‘Where are we…this is not the Stone House…we are in the movie…Rosemary’s Baby…’ said Chet with a shudder. ‘Wake up Chet…you fainted from the smoke from the fireplace…the damper was closed,’ Billy B. said.

After a night of fitfully tossing and turning…morning came. ”I am certainly glad Halloween has passed for another year…I heard singing and chanting all night….noises like someone was walking about just outside the building,’ Jane said. ‘Someone has left their witches hat and broom…and who left the Black Bassinet…

Life is a challenge. I was talking with a good friend recently and I thought of the vagaries of our human existence. As the Godfather said…’Just when I think I am out…they pull me back in.’ I have heard others speak of being tested…and I think…that has been my life. Easy has never been a part of my vocabulary. Those who attest to the easy manner of their life…are often wearing a mask for public viewing.

The strength of the human spirit is astounding. Through illness and reversals and loss…we seem to carry on and more often than not…with a thankful heart and a desire to move forward and see what is around the next corner… The little children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital…have the widest smiles. When we were in Venice a gentleman was sitting just outside the door of our flat and begging for a few coins for food. He had a beatific face…the face of an angel. The love that he showed to everyone rather or not they gave him any money…was inspiring!

Often we can identify with Jacob who wrestled with an angel. Jacob came away from the all-night wrestling match with a hip injury. And…so we wrestle…and ask God for guidance and direction and purpose…and just a little respite from the struggle…

During our rest periods from our wrestling…we seem to forget how blessed we are and how so many good things have come from our lives…and wonder what is next.

More Rollercoaster…the resumption of the Wrestling Match…deep snow and ice…warm days and spring…and the sound of the turtle dove heard in our land…

‘Well…it is just four days until Halloween and we still do not have a good scare planned for the Holiday,’ Billy B. said with some minor exasperation. ‘I think another Hayride is just what we need to create a fun mood for the Holiday celebration,’ Chet noted. ”You know we did a Hayride a couple of years ago and I became somewhat disorientated when we went through the haunted house,’ Jane added. ‘Yes I recall that event but I believe that it was three years ago,’ Darryl said. ‘All the better then…it seems that it is high time to bring back the Hayride,’ Neva J. chuckled…

‘I love the chilly air and the smell of hot chocolate and cider,’ Jane smiled as she climbed onto the wagon. ‘A freeze is a forecast for tonight…and it will be quite a ride before we reach our destination which is the Haunted House near Raliegh, Neva J. smiled as she sipped her infused hot chocolate. ‘I like the addition of the black cat,’ Chet said with a grin. ‘Billy B., how did you get the idea for the Shadow to ride with us on the Hayride,’ Darryl inquired. ‘Not my doing…I thought that it was an optical illusion…or a small hidden light shining on a black piece of cardboard,’ Billy B. answered. ‘There really is no rational reason for the Shadow’s mysterious appearance…Eldorado history says that it appears as a warning of impending doom,’ Chet explained.

Shadow stayed perfectly still…neither moving nor disappearing. Soon our group of Halloween Adventurers was at the Victorian Haunted House near Raliegh. As Billy B. and Jane and Chet and Darryl and Neva J. gingerly dismounted from the Hayride they looked to see if Shadow followed them into the House. It did not…but it appeared to take off the Stove Pipe Hat that it was wearing and place it on the wooden driver’s seat next to the reins used to steer the horses.

This Haunted House is the scariest I have been in,’ Jane exclaimed. ‘The House is much as it has been for 150 years,’ said the strange-looking tour guide. He was dressed all in black and had extremely angular features. He spoke little and primarily gestured when it was time to move to the next room. The original owners of the House had lost their children in a Halloween Hayride when the Horses had been spooked and the wagon turned over and the hay caught on fire from the candles that they were using for light. There had been 5 children lost in the fire and the grief had been so overwhelming that their mother and father had died of broken hearts shortly thereafter.

‘Look…in the corner of the sitting room…it is the Shadow,’ Chet said. ‘Shadow appears to be following us throughout the House as I have seen it in every room that we have entered,’ Neva J. announced with a curious wink.

The tour Guide gave each of the five visitors a Milky Way candy bar and a Snickers. When Jane smiled at him he grinned and winked. As Darryl began to climb onto the Hayride with a small candle for light…Shadow jumped up and blew it out…before returning to his place beside the Hayride driver…