After my mom and dad divorced I took to accompanying my mother to the grocery store each week…for several years. I liked to help her and to, perhaps, pick-up a savory delight that my young palate craved. I also throughly enjoyed buying a 12 cent comic book. Actually they were a dime when I began […]

Old Comics for a 63 Year Old Second Childhood… — The Jazz Man

We could see our breath as we walked the sidewalks of Eldorado! The windows had candles in them and the front porches had smiling Jack-O-Lanterns with a candle in the hollowed out middle of each to illuminate their sinister grins! Parker and Chet were following closely with me, Porter, and they both were taken with the spirit of All Hallows Eve! There were the typical costumes of Frankenstein and Dracula and the Wolfman…as well as contemporary outfits depicting President Kennedy and Jackie along with Russian Premier, Nikita Khruschev. We even had a classmate who was dressed up as the bomb…the Cuban Missile Crisis had ended just 3 days before Halloween! Our parents had all feared that we were going to be blown-up by the Russians…and our bomb drills at school had been daily! The bomb costumes were little more than bed sheets or cardboard that had been cut out to look like a cylindric weapon with a warhead drawn on the top of it…where the wearer’s head was. Everyone was breathing a sigh of relief that President Kennedy had exhibited the courage to stare down the Russians and that they blinked first… We were on our way to Eldorado’s well known Haunted House! It was a large victorian style home on Illinois Avenue that was directly across from the High School. It was said that no one had lived there in 20 years. Chet commented that he often saw faces in the long single paned windows as he was walking to Hillcrest School. He noted that although he had waved at the faces…they neither responded in anyway or returned the wave. When they arrived at the desolate yet magnificent structure they noticed that there was one candle in the upstairs window.

The lights of the Eldorado High School football field created some comfort for the 3 as they walked up to the front door of the Haunted House. Parker looked thorough the leaded glass of the front door and saw a fire dancing in the living room fire place. The fire looked inviting as it had begun to snow…on Halloween. When they entered the front vestibule of the house they heard a jolly gentleman’s voice laugh and extort them to enter and enjoy some freshly cooked popcorn balls that his wife had just prepared! On the davenport was a rotund man with a full white beard and he and his smiling wife…both dressed in red… The lady of the house asked each of the 3 their names and then told them to call her Mrs. C and her husband Mr. C… She noted that they had both been busy all day in the toyshop and that this was their busy time of year! Porter asked if they made a lot of toys…and Mr. C laughed heartily as fragrant smoke curled from his Meerschaum pipe! ‘Why yes Porter we have a heavy work load all year round…but especially so… once fall arrives,’ said Mr. C. We actually are visiting my brother here in Eldorado…and his large home is more than adequate for our projects. Mrs. C referred to her brother-in-law as K and mentioned that he was upstairs and that he liked to keep to himself until Christmas gets a little closer… She went on to say that he was European and that they did things a little differently than we do.

K was often a companion of Mr. C and frequented; Austria and Bavaria and Hungary…along with Northern Italy…at times. Suddenly K called out to the downstairs throng and bellowed, ‘Do I hear the voice of children?’ Mrs. C called out for him to stay upstairs and not interfere with her and Mr. C’s visitors as they were some nice young people enjoying fresh popcorn balls and Halloween.

Peeking around the newel post of the elaborate stair way banister was a creature with the face of a goat. As he stepped into the warm living room his cloven loves tapped on the wooden floor. He smiled and his long red tongue seemed to reach half way down his hairy chest. ‘Krampus,’ said his brother with some mild irritation…’do not frighten the children…’ Krampus replied that he was out of hot chocolate and he wanted to get some more…and asked Parker and Porter and Chet to join him in the kitchen and he would pour them up each a large cup…full…with marshmallows…

October is whisking by too quickly! I was taking photos of the lovely leaves on the SIUC campus on Sunday…and when I returned to engage in some additional photography I noticed that the brilliant colors of the leaves and their abundance on the trees had already changed. Usually my birthday week, October 24th, is prime […]

Enjoy Today! — The Jazz Man

Our little group of 4 Brooks set out for Walker’s Bluff Tasting Room last Saturday. Both, Legends, which is the primary restaurant, and the Tasting Room are beautiful establishments! We went to Legends due to a wedding being held at the Tasting Room. Everything about the magnificent structures speaks of quality and promises an enjoyable experience! It had been sometime since we had been to Legends. The young woman who waited on us was welcoming and friendly…and kind. We immediately felt at home! I ordered a Pumpkin Martini. Soon the bartender came to our table and apologized for not having one of the liquors that goes in the drink and assured me that he could make me almost anything else that I desired. I ordered my favorite martini for the past 20 +

years…a Dirty Martini. The mixologist was so accommodating that I enjoyed the drink more than I have enjoyed my standby…for 2020! Everyone was masked and socially distanced and the milk of human kindness flowed freely…

Jonathon and I were at campus woods Sunday. When we first met on campus he had been telling me about his friend, Crystal, giving him a wonderful mug and how that it had Ray Bradbury’s famous novel, Fahrenheit 451, artistically rendered on the outside of the cup. So, when we arrived at campus lake…there was Crystal and Jonathon introduced me. She told me that she had read many of my blogs and that I sounded like an interesting person. Her kind words were welcome and appreciated in our pandemic isolation!

‘A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.’ Proverbs 25:11 KJV. I wonder how often that I have been short tempered or cross or indulged in criticism that went from constructive to petty and pedestrian and nonproductive. We all find ourselves in a puzzle and maze that does not yield to easy answers. We need each other! When we believe that we are not a part of a community…we are of all women/men…most miserable…

Understanding our neighbor and our friend and our family may seem like a tall order? What about understanding those whom we have not met…a person from another race…or religion…or someone from the LGBTQIAP Community? How about Republicans sitting down with Democrats and attempting to understand each other and find common ground to build on for all of the American people rather than their political base?

Jesus answered when asked, ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all they heart, and with all they soul, and with all they mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ Matt 22: 36-40. KJV

Porter and Parker were discussing the story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. Chet asked them if they had recovered from the hayride that would not end…yet? Chet went on to tell them that Buddy had not only not been to school for the past 3 days but that his mother had reported him […]

10-10-20-20 — The Jazz Man

I was buying some food for our Black Lab and our 16 year old Boston Terrier yesterday. The store owner asked me if anyone had ever told me that I had a distinguished voice? I thanked him and considered to myself that I have always thought that my voice sounds a little strange…but at almost 63 years old I have become accustomed to it. The kind Pet Store owner went on to say that my voice had a soothing quality…somewhat like the actor, James Earl Jones. Indeed, no one has ever likened my voice to that of the dulcet tones of Mr. Jones!

Today I was talking with Pastor Kerry. He said that he enjoyed my photos of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale…and that seeing it through my eyes he felt that it was a welcoming place. I pondered both the comments of the Pet Store owner and my pastor. Both took me by surprise and caused me to think about the impression or influence that each of us have on others who we do not realize that we are influencing. I have always admired those who have the ability to cause those with whom they come in contact…to feel better! Pastor Kerry is one of those gifted individuals. Each time that I speak with him…I feel better for the experience! If we could see the heavy steamer trunks…and the large valises…and the luggage of our complicated lives that we are caring on our shoulders and our backs and pulling behind us…we we would appreciate each other more fully… When a person is seeking to uplift me and to make my burdens a little lighter…during our 2020 pandemic…I am grateful… I watched, from the comfort of my porch as Pastor Kerry preached his outdoor sermon, last Sunday, in a 15 mile per hour wind and 50 degree temperatures…and so many of our church members assisting to make the first congregational gathering, since the pandemic, of First Presbyterian Church of Carbondale a success…and I thought thank God for people who care about the spiritual and mental and emotional welfare of others!

MJ and I agree…where did 2020 go? I have a theory! Our 2020 pandemic has forced us into a life without the customary little breaks whereby we mark our walk through a year… Without the semi-regular visit to our favorite restaurant or bar…or the theatre or a vacation or a mini-vacation…we have lost touch with our time clock! It seems that we should be entering spring…and we are in the fall. I was taking photos of the SIUC Campus this afternoon and I marveled the the autumn colors are vibrant…while I had a dim memory of spring and summer. I think that each of us need to tell each other…that it is going to be alright…

Good times are around the corner! Yes, the corner is a little further than we first imagined it…but it is well within our field of vision! We will travel again…and take lengthy holidays…and celebrate birthdays and weddings and our favorite memorable occasions! This is not the end of our strange new world…but it is the beginning of the end… God is in his heaven…and his emissaries are our next door neighbors and our pastors and our coworkers! Listen to those who care about you and love you! Do not be to quick to criticize…be quick to listen and to understand…

Two days from now will be my 42nd anniversary of being hired at SIUC! October 10th is a holiday in the Brooks home! That is the day that our lives changed for the better and the benefits of a position at the University made all of the difference in the little home of the Brooks! In those days I wanted to be a minister…but it did not seem to be in the cards for me. In those days I dreamed of being successful in sales like my minister at the time was…and like my best friend had become… In those days I had the vision of becoming a leader in some area…as a classmate had told me in high school study hall when she said that she saw me as a leader with a brief case and many people working under my direction. My pastor had told me, when I had nothing and no immediate prospects of obtaining anything, that he had a dream of me becoming a leader of men and that many of my fellow congregants would be working for me. He also said that in the dream I had purchased a brand new automobile! I laughed as Abraham’s wife Sara laughed when the angel told her that she was going to bear a child…when she was much to old to do so… Both of the minister’s dream forecasts came to past…

Chet understood that something was desperately wrong with his and Parker and Porters’ experience in the Haunted House! Parker had fainted during their visit inside the House and he had seen a vision of Armageddon! Now Chet was somewhat well-versed in eschatology or the study of last things. He and his mom, Thelma, and his dad, Carol, had been members of the Social Bretheren Church in Eldorado, Illinois…for a long as he could remember. His grandmother had often told him that during the time of the last battle on the Earth…that the blood would flow up to the horses bridle. He often wondered what the experience would be like…although he was 7 years old and in the 3rd grade. Chet was a bit on the, ‘fleshy,’ side…as his mother often referred to him and his eye glasses were similar to the bottom of Coca Cola bottles…although he preferred Chocola! Chocola was a popular soft drink in the 1960’s and had a small amount of chocolate syrup within each 16oz glass bottle. It like the other popular sodas of the day sold for 10 cents. But, back to the primary concern of why Parker had dreamt of Halloween when it was only October 6th? He pondered that the dream that she had described was eerily similar to his and Porter’s plans for the big night! Buddy, or Gomez the Shy Ghost, had already approached them regarding his joining the fun throng for a night of hilarity and abundance of popcorn balls and full size Hershey Bars…and candy corn. He had just received his Lost In Space Robot suit from Sears and Roebuck and no one knew of it accept Porter… How did Parker dream of him wearing the Robot suit? Porter had been strangely quite when Parker awoke from her nap when the hayride wagon hit the chug hole. He seemed to understand much more than he was willing to admit.

Parker was an energetic and vivacious young lady with a smile and kind word for everyone that she met. She was well grounded in the reality of the third grade. Chet had noticed that Parker enjoyed being around Porter and he…he thought what a good friend that she was!

Chet dozed as the rhythmic rocking and rolling of the hayride and his full stomach of smores and hot choclate and roasted wieners…lulled him to sleep. Suddenly Chet was on the television set of the Lost In Space show! He was not in his Sears and Roebuck Halloween costume…but was in the Hollywood made for TV version of the Lost In Space Robot! There was Will Robinson and Dr. Smith asking his for advice on some aliens that they had encountered. The lights on his clear globe of a head were blinking widely. The question that the Space Family Robinson’s son, Will, had asked the Robot was…’Will Parker and Porter survive the coming devastation?’ The Lost In Space Robot had answered in typical Lost In Space Robot form…and said…’That does not compute…’

The hayride stopped at Poor Boys Supermarket in Harrisburg because five of the kids had to use the rest room. Porter said to Parker and Chet. ‘Let’s get off this bumpy ride and stretch our legs!’ When Parker and Porter stood on the blacktop parking lot they looked around for Chet…but he was no where to be seen! They both searched for their friend…and determined that he was no longer on the hayride. ‘Where could Chet be,’ exclaimed Parker? ‘I did not see him fall off,’ said Porter. Doc Irvin told Parker and Porter that Carol, Chet’s father, had picked him up at the bonfire before they had left the festivities….

Chet…or Chet as the Lost In Space Robot…exclaimed…’Danger…Danger…Will Robinson!’

The temperature dropped to 34 degrees last night. The frost was on the pumpkin this morning…as my mother would often say! MJ and I were looking at a miniature orange pumpkin at Aldi’s market, Saturday. We chose not to purchase the fall symbol of holidays and fun…and then we decided that we needed one after […]

Life In The Slow Lane — The Jazz Man

Porter and Chet were excited about the possibilities that awaited them! Outside of their Halloween costumes…they had spoke of little else for the majority of the month of October. Chet had sent off for a full body suite representing the robot on Lost In Space. He had told his mom and dad that the cost of the suit could also be his birthday present…as he and Porter were both born on October the 24th! The entire Lost In Space robot suit, which included a full head mask made out of ‘space age polymer’…which in reality was just hard Hasboro plastic, was $49.95…before tax! The suit included robot arms that you pulled on over your arms. There were battery powered lights in the head that flashed red, yellow and green. This suit along with Chet’s amazing portrayal of the robot…was something to behold! Chet would begin to gesture his robot arms akimbo and utter the famous robot phrase, ‘That does not compute,’…and the crowd would go wild with delight! While Chet was the robot from Lost In Space…Porter was going to experience Halloween as the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Porter’s cousin Billy had a, movie quality, full head mask and Creature Hands that he let Porter borrow. There really was nothing to compare with the effect of the awesome costume! Chet and Porter’s friend, Buddy, wanted to accompany them on their Halloween revelry’s. Buddy’s mom had made him a ghost costume. She had named the ghost…Gomez. Porter noted for the record that he had never heard of Gomez the Ghost? Buddy responded that Gomez was a cousin to Casper the Friendly Ghost…but that Gomez was a bit shy… Parker spoke up, as she was the female accomplice in the adventure…and had been so since the Haunted House escapade at the first of the month, ‘I think that Buddy should join us as a ghost will round out our group nicely.’ Parker was going as Snow White.

So, the evening of Halloween finally arrived! There was the Lost In Space robot…stopping to conduct extemporaneous performances for each group of kids that walked by. The Creature from the Black Lagoon was making repeated menacing sounds and hand gestures…and attempting to see through the eye slits in the thick rubber mask…while his eye glasses repeatedly fogged up. Parker was walking beside Porter and Gomez…and Gomez had not uttered a word… Gomez was a full sheet that dragged the ground and Parker asked him how he could see…because there were no eyeholes? Parker or now…Snow White was followed by Seven First graders who were dressed as the 7 Dwarfs! Chet had taken notice that Gomez had not been going up to the front doors of the houses that the ensemble stopped at to plead, ‘Trick or Treat!’ He preferred to stand just outside of the front porch light…with he sheet flapping in the night breeze… After about the 5th stop Parker said that she heard someone calling their names…’PARKER….CHET…PORTER…WAIT UP!’ When they looked to see who was calling to them…there was Buddy running with his homemade ghost suit on…and trying to put his mask on! Chet asked Buddy…if you are just now joining us…who is the guy in the sheet… Parker went up to the sheeted ghost and pulled on the top of the garment and it fell to the ground!

Parker suddenly woke up when the wagon that they were riding on hit a chuckhole and the hay shifted that she and Porter were sitting on. She had not left Porter’s side since the terrible fright that they had experienced in the Haunted House…