Yesterday was a lovely day for walking the campus and around campus lake. The sereen mission and purpose of a flock of ducks on the lake was something to behold. The rhythm of our natural surroundings is a lesson for life. Who of us has not sought to live in the warm rays of our summer sun…when it is winter? We senior citizens miss the hustle and bustle of our youth and the endless hours that we could work or play…without needing more than a few hours sleep and then we were ready to do it again. I recall with great affection the countless days that mom and I and my buddy Jackie and my cousin Brenda spent at Pounds Hollow…swimming and eating a picnic lunch and wiling away the hours with the sure knowledge that tomorrow we would return for more summer adventures…

Nature follows it’s flawless time clock without deviation…unless we humans disrupt the timepiece. In winter all plants appear to die…but in the spring…they resurrect. Winter is a time of reflection and solitude and quiet. Spring is the dawning of life and blossoms and leaves and green grass. If we only experienced winter…we would be of all women/men most miserable… Winter is cold and dark and forbidding and difficult to experience on a sustained level. Exposure to winter is harsh and a ready reason to seek shelter from the brutal elements of the earth in the season of slumber. We have little sunlight…we have little brightness or hope for tomorrow…until we remember that spring is coming.

‘Life is not so much about beginnings and endings, as it is about going on…It’s about muddling through the middle.’ Anna Quindlen

Indeed life is about staying home and taking care of the stuff… We do not hear the peel of the trumpets everyday. No one takes our hand and says, let us storm the battlements and feed the hungry and clothe the naked and house the homeless…but instead the regular drip…drip…drip…or regular life and it’s boring sameness and repetition and watching our clocks to ascertain when change is going to begin. The reality is that we are the change that we are waiting for. We are the vision for a new day of peace and love and unity among our brothers and sisters. We are the Winter Children….preparing for the spring…

The chilly rain is following and the wind is gusting in Little Egypt. I attempted to walk campus today…but the persistent rain and wind dissuaded me. I have taken to house walking during inclement weather. I rather like it! During my younger years house walking would have been difficult in our four room home in […]

Mortal — The Jazz Man

MJ and I just returned from our Veterinarian. Parker, our only remaining canine is now in palliative care. She is our rescue dog and is a Black Labrador. She is a sweet girl and has suffered various and sundry illnesses for all of her life. Parker loves her mommy. The Vet says that her lymph nodes are reduced in swelling…greatly. Her nose that had one nostril stopped up with dried blood is clear and she is breathing freely…and she seems happy and in constant search for marshmallows and special treats. I think that I am enjoying the simple things of life more than ever before. Being home a lot has caused me to reflect on my surroundings and how peaceful that they are. I have always sought peace and eschewed conflict. I understood as a young man that my life would be short…if I lived to be 100. Since probably Junior High School…I wanted to help people and to not hurt anyone.

Our troubles are turning around! It may be difficult to distinguish in the early stages…but we have turned a corner in our 2020/2021 Pandemic. There is light at the end of our tunnel of darkness and blue sky on our horizon. Human life is a regular challenge. There are hurdles of various sizes in our path from the cradle to the grave. However there are also times of joy and singing and dancing and laughter…the kind that makes yours sides ache! There is love…and the understanding of the infinite meaning of the word.

My entire career was spent in the Building Services department of the Physical Plant at Southern Illinois University. For a period of 10 years it seemed that we would never see normal again. Wrong was touted as right. Counterproductive activities were lauded as productive. Dirty University buildings were praised and clean buildings were anathema. It appeared to this writer that the powers that be…had lost their collective minds… No one seems to care about the welfare of the students. A slow down in work was promulgated by management and administration and those of us who felt that this was a scam and a con of our University Community were voiceless. But…finally those Alice In Wonderland reversals changed. Normalcy in the housekeeping of our wonderful Campus returned. We who had endeavored to circumvent the wrong that was being perpetrated by those in power…moved from the rebellious minority to the accepted majority. Hopeless adequately describes how I felt with a policy handed to me that would result in our destruction as a viable housekeeping department. Yet…times changed and logic won over lunacy.

So is today. Logical thought, as my favorite Star Trek character Mr. Spock, would always seek,…has won…for now. Covid-19 vaccinations are being fast tracked and the virulent virus is not being denied or politicized with a perverse bastardization of a life taking Pandemic! Life will go on and we will return to a New Normal…that realizes that all of our existence is hanging by a thread…and that it is vital that we make informed decisions that will add value to our terribly short lives…as we create light that will challenge the darkness of suffering and death…

During my campus walk this morning I was especially impressed with how cold the 19 mile per hour wind felt with the temperature just above freezing. I have heard people say that the cold wind ‘cut them like a knife.’ I understood that concept today. It is February 1, 2021…where did January go? As rapidly […]

Spring Is Just Around The Corner — The Jazz Man

This morning we enjoyed a virtual tour of our sanctuary at First Presbyterian Church. It was great to see the place that I and my family have worshipped for well over 20 years. Indeed I enjoyed the experience so much that I stopped by and snapped several photos of the classically beautiful exterior of the building. Faith and church are an integral part of my life and have been so for 52 years. My how time flies! Our 2020/2021 Pandemic has separated many of us from our weekly gathering together in a physical setting for worship…but it has not taken the experience from our hearts. Nothing can remove that beautiful experience. Zoom Church is edifying and fulfilling. It is a wonderful vehicle to bring church to you…when you can not go to it.

I recall helping to build a church so many years ago. We had a little white chapel that we attended beginning in 1969. During the latter 1970’s our congregation took a loan to expand our building in a significant manner. The road to the construction of our new building, that would inculcate the existing building in its surrounds, included the volunteer assistance of most of the congregation. I knew nothing regarding building…but I learned. We did have a fine carpenter in our midst, David, and were fortunate to receive the assistance of a man who had built several churches. Be that as it may…we were for the majority…unskilled labor. One night we were working by the light of work lamps and, all standing on the subfloor that was above the basement that had recently been excavated. Suddenly the floor began to weave and buckle and shake… The first sign that I knew that something extraordinary was about to transpire was when I saw the primary work lamp that was strategically placed in the middle of the wooden floor…quickly rise toward the open sky…as the floor beneath our feet collapsed in what seemed like minutes…but was really a matter of seconds. I was 17 years old… Upon our dust covered inspection as to the loss of life and limb…no one was hurt…

Faith communities have given my life structure and enriched my ideas of what can be accomplished by seeking to follow Christ’s example. It seems to me that the people that have influenced me as to the truth of christianity have been those who never told me that they were a christian…but they lived a compelling life that made me want to know how they achieved such centeredness and peace… I am a lover of old church and cathedral buildings. Notre Dame in Paris intrigues me. In fact Europe is abundant with stone churches and cathedrals. If these edifices could speak…the story that they would tell. Actually they do speak…if we are willing to listen.

Although we are the church…the building that we gather in is of infinite importance to us. Just as we identify with our homes…we identify with the home of our faith. We enjoyed a private tour of the Vatican in 2011 and it was outstanding. To stand in the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica…was mesmerizing and moving! Craftsmen spent years plying their trade of stonemason and other skills to the construction of a physical edifice that would glorify God. Their work is not something to be taken lightly or dismissed or diminished in importance.

‘And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all it’s furnishings, just so you shall make it.’ Exodus 25: 8-9 KJV

Last night I watched a new release on Hulu called ‘Derek Delgaudio’s In & Of Itself. The show was of a Theatre performance of Mr. Delgaudio’s magic act. It was like no other magic act that I have ever seen. To tell you more would be to reveal the emotional power of viewing this extraordinary program for yourself. Needless to say that once you are immersed in the performance…you will not come out the same…and you will think about who you are.

Have you taken the time to reflect on your identity. Who are you from the inside out? Not who does your mom and dad tell you that you are or your evaluation description at your workplace that was written by your boss. Are you who your friends think you are and do they interact with the real you…or your theatrical stand in? Does your faith community understand who you are or do you present to them the doppelgänger that they are expecting…who fits in with the group think of your fellow congregants?

Becoming You…is refersing and inspiring and surprising… You may not realize who you are at your core and in your subconscious and from your emotional truth…unless you are willing to be honest with your best friend…yourself.

I have been involved with literally hundreds of committees in my life. This is peculiar for someone who does not particularly like committees. I do believe that some of the most meaningful work emanates from committee work…but I am a square peg attempting to fit in a round hole. My experience, over 50 years is that committees begin with the best of manners and considerations for fellow members until familiarity breeds some minor contempt. I have lived my life by the maxim of, ‘Praise someone publicly and engage in constructive criticism, always privately.’ Also, never compare what I perceive my work level to be…with what your work output is… Committees can produce lifetime friendships if all members take their places in humility and esteem others better than themselves.

The magnificent program that I mentioned at the beginning of this writing focuses on being truly seen by a fellow human being. Many of neighbors and family feel angry that being required to wear masks to protect others and themselves from contracting Covid-19. This is a somewhat unusual emotion to project itself at this critical time…as we all wear unseen masks on a daily basis. We agree with things that we really do not feel are right or prudent or fair…but we fear the verbal and perhaps physical abuse of telling the truth. We discover what our office requires and we become a dutiful automaton that does not stray from the hive mentality of our working space. I often told chancellors and presidents that their greatest untaped resource at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale was their Civil Service Staff. I went on to explain that when they saw a Grounds Worker or a Building Service Worker I… that they pigeonholed them…when in fact that the diversity of abilities that were held by these people, which they had marginalized, would benefit the University immensely…if they were just asked!

My assistant at Building Services, Cyndy, held a vital clerical position for our department…but she was and is so much more than her job description! She caused our students and staff to feel welcome and at home in our department. She is a wonderful singer! She is an artist! Leaders of our University tend to ask other leaders, by job description, what the answer is for recruitment and retention of our precious students. Why not ask the people that really know what the the students want and need from their School? I do to mean the typical parochial survey that checks the box of inclusivity for constituency groups…but really talk with individuals that will respond from their heart…if they are seen…

Billy Bump and JB were intent on their study of their new National Parks puzzle. Before them was a picture of what the puzzle was supposed to look like once completed. Arcadia National Park was in the lower right hand corner. MJ had asked if they wanted an Old Fashioned…and they both answered with an enthusiastic, and in unison, yes! Now MJ manufactured a mean Old Fashioned…with high class bitters! As they began to imbibe… the puzzle became clearer. Billy B. reflected on he and his families time at Arcadia when they visited Maine for the first time in 2009. It was magnificent with its rocky shores and majestic ocean vistas.

Suddenly JB and Billy B. were in a Bed and Breakfast in Mount Dessert Isle which is near Bar Harbor and Arcadia. There they were eating a marvelous breakfast with AB and MJ. The breakfast was to die for. Not withstanding the wine and cheese that they had enjoyed the day before, Sunday, at the three-story lodging. They were discussing their trip to Bar Harbor, after breakfast, and then on to Arcadia. It was January 27, 2021 and there was four feet of new fallen snow on the ground with a promise of another foot or more that evening. It seems that there was a moose that had lost his way and needed to be reunited with his family. Of necessity they had to stop by Bar Harbor to purchase some snow shoes for the difficult trek to the last sighting of the wayward moose…who the Park Rangers had named Bullwinkle.

Now there was only one store open in the off season in Bar Harbor and they had promised to wait on the Bumps to arrive if they could get there before noon…as they were planning on closing for the winter season that afternoon. When they did arrive in Bar Harbor the roads were freshly plowed and the proprietors of Moose and Bear Emporium were waiting on the front porch. Soon they were on their way to Arcadia with snow shoes for all and warm LL Bean Parkas and hats for the inclement weather.

A lone Park Ranger was waiting for the Bumps at the gate of Arcadia. He asked them how they happened to be visiting Maine in the middle of winter…and they replied that they really did not know… The Lone Ranger went on to explain that the walking trek to reach Bullwinkle would be a mile in five foot drifts of snow. The Bumps all indicated that they were fully ready for the adventure!

As the intrepid group began to think that they would never reach the location of Bullwinkle…there he was looking out from a warm den that he had had either found or lived in for some time. AB and JB both asked if he was lost from his herd and he responded that he preferred to not travel in herds…rather he was a bit of a philosophical loner…accept for his little pal…Rocky… Bullwinkle invited the Bumps in to his warm and inviting home. There was a fire in the fireplace and hot cocoa for all. The moose admitted that he did not mind doing the ‘tourist thing’ in the summer and early fall…but that he prided his privacy in the winter months. He asked who had won the presidential election and mentioned that Rocky would be pleased. He asked what residents of Southern Illinois were doing in the cold and winter climate of Maine…in January…

Billy B. was startled when MJ intoned that he should wake up… There was snow falling in Carbondale…which is a somewhat unusual experience in Little Egypt. MJ asked if he would like another Old Fashioned…and he replied…absolutely!

Snow clouds are gathering. There is a forecast for snow tomorrow. I noticed on my campus walk today that the clouds look promising for some snowflakes. I was thinking that we live in a time like I have not experienced in my 63 years. We are surrounded by grim reality while many of us seek fantastical fantasy. I have been watching and listening and reading of the logistical challenges surrounding administering 1 million Covid 19 vaccinations a day in the United States. The goal of President Biden is to administer 1. 5 million per day. Life is full of the intricate hard work of making things function and operate. It is not like the actress Elizabeth Montgomery did in the 1960’s sitcom Bewitched…where when there was something difficult to be done she wiggled her nose and it was accomplished by witchcraft.

Over my 32 years and 2 months and 3 weeks as a member of the Building Services department at SIUC I encountered on innumerable occasions the opinion that our customers believed that housekeeping was easy and that they could obviously do a better job than the professional staff. Living in a physical world requires an appreciation of physical reality.

Simply put fantasy has never put food on our families table nor paid our bills or placed a roof over our head. Three weeks ago, tomorrow, a riotous mob stormed our Capitol and desecrated the People’s House…and caused death and destruction. This insurrectionist political action was not fantasy…it was reality.

When our pandemic began in 2020 I saw postings on social media asking if anyone knew a person that had Covid 19. Others said that the fake virus would be over after the election. Workman like conduct is not as exciting as conspiracy theories…’truth is still putting its trousers on while a lie runs around the block.’ Gossip spreads like a fire in standing corn.

Truth is kind. Truth is freeing and liberating and creates a real road to travel on. To be prepared for reality it is important to accept reality. We witness political courage so seldom that it seems strange and unusual to our sensibilities. When leaders do what is best for the people that they have been elected to lead…rather than doing what is politically expedient for them the unusual altruistic action is deemed by many as…not smart. Our culture of capitalism and accruing as much money and power as we can…as a barometer of our wisdom and success had blinded us to the lone voices in the wilderness…that respect us enough to tell us the truth.

Have you ever been lied to and both you and the person telling you the lie understood that they were lying? One of the insidious elements of public speech is the obfuscation and lies that are not even creatively told to the listening public. Somehow we have changed the parameters of honest communication. I first saw the usage of the artful masking of truth in sales. Much as the magician creates his illusion by causing his audience to focus on one area while he is performing his magic in the place that you are not looking. When our leaders are singularly focused on what is best for their political career and thus democracy is negotiable…we must be able to critically think about the outcome.

When I first watched Lady and The Tramp at a theatre in Chicago when I was 3 or 4…I identified with the happy band of canines. I thought of the Disney film often and still do today. It portrayed a fantasy that was comforting and uplifting to my childhood…especially with some of the reversals that I was soon to experience when my mother and father divorced… and mom and I experienced some significant hard times. Fiction and fantasy and prose and poetry is a tremendous assistant in navigating the rocky shores of our challenging human existence. I love Santa Claus and now have a Laughing Santa that is just like the one that I had as a child…courtesy of Jonathon. However when our leaders, either in our jobs or government or faith communities, tell us lies and falsehoods and insult our intelligence…we sheep are dealing with wolves in sheep’s clothing…

Political/Religious extremism is frightening and a hydra headed creature that it is extremely difficult to stay in the good graces of. Have you ever attempted to stay in the good graces and have the benevolent favor of a narcissistic dictatorial leader? The Blues Brothers were on a comical mission from God and were wonderful entertainment for Chicago Blues fans. True believers in the dark fantasy of conspiracy of Religious/Political leaders are difficult to deal with…as they are on a mission from god…

So we have all been sitting at home for a year. For many of us travel is a high point of our life and especially so for we retirees. MJ and I are discussing travel plans for later in 2021…and hoping for the best. A few years ago we enjoyed visiting Europe and the United […]

A Travel Boom is Coming — The Jazz Man

Words matter. Speech is powerful. Oratory moves nations to both war and peace. The 271 words of the Gettysburg Address spoken by President Lincoln. ‘While it is Lincoln’s short speech that has gone down in history as one of the finest examples of English public oratory, it was Everett’s two hour oration that was slated to be the ‘Gettysburg Address’ that day.’ Wikipedia

President John F. Kennedy asked the question, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.’ These words inspired a generation to the Peace Corps and other public service.

Jesus Christ is referred to as the word, ‘And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.’ John 1:14

Words have a magical and mystical power. They have the power to uplift and encourage and give the energy and vision to carry on… Words can also deceive and discourage and demoralize. Words created Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Words created our United States democracy.

Throughout my life I have noticed that what people say to me affects me. I am moved by kind and inspirational words and I am hurt by hateful and unkind comments. I have labored under a leader’s comments that were chaotic and divisive and I have been the recipient of healing words that are applied like a balm on the wounds of life. Neither is guaranteed…it is up to us which we choose…

Forty-one years ago when I became a crew supervisor at Southern Illinois University in Building Services…I set my heart and purpose to be a healer rather than a destroyer. I had been wounded by the slings and arrows of callous comments that the speaker neither considered or cared what the affect of their words would be on the person that they were directing them at. I understood what it was like to work 16 or more hours per day and be labeled as ‘lazy.’ I understood how a person’s best efforts could be marginalized and discounted in favor of another preferred person. I wondered if my plight was my poor appearance or my lack of formal education or simply the luck of the draw? When I become a supervisor and later a manager/administrator…I decided to treat people like I wanted to be treated. I had noticed how the American term of ‘Horseplay’ had hurt many people that I had witnessed receiving this supposedly innocent American practice. Rather than being funny or good natured humor…I felt the pain that the practice caused. I had been the recipient of and had mentally recorded on numerous occasions the arrogance of, just a little power, and the deleterious demoralization it had on the poor employees that had to absorb it or be without a means of feeding their family.

Bullying is not a normal right of passage. It is a perversion practiced by insecure individuals who want to bolster their lack of confidence by tearing down those around them.

There is a saying that power corrupts and ultimate power corrupts ultimately. It does not have to be that way. I shared a stanza from Amanda Gorman’s tremendous Inaugural Poem that spoke of, ‘We are striving to forge our union with purpose.

To compose a country committed to all cultures, characters and conditions of man.

And so we lift our gazes, not to what stands between us.

We close the divide because we know to put our future first.

We must put our differences aside.

We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.’

‘He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.’ Isaiah 2:4

The Poet’s admonition is not about the right to bear arms…it about the learning of war no more. As long as we see each other as two dimensional characterizations and not as fully formed creatures of the God that we attribute our creation to…we will hide in our houses and peek out of our windows and wonder when the others…are going to go away…