Jonathon and I were in Plaza Records recently and we saw our friend, Matthew.  He is just an all around good guy!  Did you ever know someone that every time you spoke with them…you left the better for it?  That is Matt!  I met him for the first at a meeting of the civil service council.  At the time I  had been asked by the group to be their representative to the State University Annuitants Association, local chapter.  He was a new member of the Council. I had been a member of the elected representative body for civil service employee, for 15 years during my career.  During the 5 years that I was the chair of the group I discovered that chancellors and presidents of our beloved university were as human as I was!  They wanted good for our campus and they needed someone to work with them.  Being set apart by several layers of managerial and administrative bureaucracy…often it was difficult for them to hear the story of the staff that were directly affected by their policies.  One of the most affective answers for that break-down in communication was monthly, or more, meetings with the campus leader.  If the chancellor was on campus I usually could see them the same day that I requested a meeting.  The same could be said for president Glenn Poshard.  So many misunderstandings and knotty problems could be unravelled by the oil of collegial communication…

The dedication of the council was phenomenal!  The professionals that comprised the group already had herculean job duties and yet chose to shoulder the massive and vital task of representing their colleagues.  I watch as my friend Elizabeth works countless hours per day…and night…to represent the civil service community and fulfill her many job requirements!  Chancellors that welcome the advice of their civil service council…tend to succeed in all areas of their administration!

I was fond of telling chancellors that the housekeeping department knew what was going on across campus…  I would say the same for the civil service staff.  We are everywhere…and yet often unseen…in plain sight.  If you want to feel the pulse of the campus…talk to the people that are holding the patients wrist!  

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Our precious students identify with the members of the campus community that they are around frequently.  Usually this is member of the civil service staff.  I have heard countless stories regarding a civil service worker ‘being SIUC’ to lonely or homesick student…when it seemed that no one else was interested.  Our students desire to become a member of the campus community and they are searching for someone who cares about them…before they tell them how much they know!  During times of stress and uncertainty it is essential that all people that we meet know that we value them and want to help them…and that we need their help!

I was enjoying my daily walk on the campus of SIUC today, as I reflected on the beginning of another academic year.  I remembered when my buddy, Steve and I would enjoy a breakfast before class, at the Woody Hall cafeteria in 1980.  Our good friend, Thelma, was the supervisor of the eatery and always brightened our day!  When I am low on inspiration…SIUC’s campus always fills me back up!  As I walk the campus I am returned to my youth.  I recall being so happy to be a part of the University Family.  I was a Building Custodian, which was a custodial crew leader, and I had the best job that I had ever had!  I was an active member of a school that I had admired from my youth in Eldorado, Illinois.  Steve and I were taking a course entitled Understanding Data Processing.  We studied the ENIAC-computer and data input by punch cards.  My first university professor told me that I had a significant aptitude for the subject matter and encouraged me to continue my university studies.  MJ and I had been able to sell our trailer and buy a little house in Elkville, Illinois and a new two door LTD car.  When I drove the new car to my mom and step-dad’s home I felt like I was driving a Lincoln Continental   I was so proud to be in the ‘game of adulthood’ with a new beautiful wife and the means to support her!  I had a beautiful pastoral scene painting for my mom that I had purchased at Down’s Furniture store in Elkville.  I thought that it was the most lovely painting that I had ever laid my eyes upon….

People took an interest in me at SIUC.  I felt valued and wanted and appreciated…and I wanted to give back what I was feeling!  I had friends that had already achieved success…and when I began at SIUC I discovered the I had found my home. A colleague told me that he had spoken to all of the Building Services  foreman and that they too a person spoke highly of me.  I had not heard anything like this in my life.  I was touched and inspired.  I wondered how I could return their confidence in my work.  I saw our new chancellor near the student center yesterday and he was in a suit on a 90 degree plus day.  He was speaking on his phone and had his umbrella at his side.   I thought that this man will return us to our former greatness!

I could not fathom that the assistant director of the Physical Plant and the superintendent of building services were offering me the position of assistant superintendent of building services.  I deemed that job…unattainable for me!  It was a bit like a dream that I was not prepared for.  I was 29 years old…but I thought that I was 50!  I was afraid…but I took the job for fear that once the door of opportunity was shut…it would not be reopened.  My supreme honor was to be cared for and supported by the Building Service Workers and Building Custodians, later called Sub-foreman, and the Building Services foreman…as well as being greeted all over town by our wonderful student staff!  

I think about chancellors a lot, because I was friends of several of them.  I understood, first hand, how hard their job was and how valuable a good leader was to our campus.  

I had the blessing of being able to help others during my career.  I was honored to be a part of diversifying the housekeeping department and increasing the levels of minorities and women in all levels of our organization.  A great thrill of mine was to offer jobs to both the physically and intellectually challenged.  You see the positions in Building Services were not just ‘make-do’ jobs…they were career opportunities!  To see the looks of pure excitement and joy at being hired into an organization that had a future for them…was the epitome of my time at SIUC!

I photographed the new Saluki statue on the Saluki Alumni Plaza, today.  It was inspiring!  We may have been knocked down…but we are back on our feet! 

Saturday, we attended a wonderful birthday party for my buddy, Ron.  His daughter, and MJ and my niece, Tara had provided a wonderful setting at a winery in Carlyle, Illinois.  There was terrific food and all the wine that you desired, and a tangible feeling of love for the patriarch of our family!  You see Ron is my brother-in-law…but he seems like my brother!  I met Ron over 42 years ago…and we were both bit younger.  Throughout the years we reglary enjoyed holidays and special occasions together, but it is over the past 10 years that we have really gotten to know each other.  I recall my first thought the first time that I met him…’I like this guy!’

As I sat next to Ron Saturday I reminisced as to our many adventures.  One of the first things that I learned about my friend is that he has a young heart!  He not only knows how to have a good time…but he knows how to inspire those that he is with to have a good time too.  Our first trip together was to Jamaica…and he talked me into climbing Dunns River Falls.  I thought that I was old at the time…and I was 10 years younger than I am now!  Ron is a little older than I.  He scurried up the falls with the fleet footedness of a mountain gazelle…while I left my finger prints in every stone that I grasped for dear life as I feared that the end was near!  

Our family has been graciously invited to Destin, Florida by Ron and Ira Kaye on numerous occasions.  We have wiled away the hours watching the ocean and walking on the beach…and enjoying the bounty of the cooler.  Ron and I have a tradition of enjoying an afternoon at the Wine and Cheese shop in Watercolor, Florida while Ira Kaye and MJ shop at the quaint stores that are within walking distance.  We have solved the world’s problems on several visits…with the assistance of additional wine!  

Ron is an exceedingly kind man who fiercely loves his family.  I have never been with him that he did not speak of his daughter and grandchildren and his son-in-law, Mike, in the most glowing and heartfelt terms.  He is one of the most skilled people that I have ever known.  He has built houses and wired them and he is a wealth of knowledge!  At times he and I have somewhat different political beliefs…but he always speaks to me with the utmost of respect and deference to my feelings.  

My sons, Aaron and Jonathon, love their uncle Ron!  When they hear that there is an opportunity of visit with him…their eyes sparkle!  I have always been older than my years…and Ron has taught me to look on the bright side of life!  Whether I have been staying with him in Destin…or attending a fish fry and homemade ice cream social at the lake of Centralia…he has consistently been more concerned about everyone else happiness and well being.  

Mary Jane loves her brother…I noticed once in a supermarket in Destin that they seemed to speak a language with each other that both understood… and the rest of us watched with curiosity as to the translation.  

Ron’s face was alive with delight and his smile and laugh were prevalent during the festivities on Saturday…and we were blessed to be a part of it!

Note: The photo of Ron and Mary Jane is courtesy of our great niece, Paige Fleeman.

This past Friday we visited the St. Louis Art Museum.  We attended he exhibit, Millet and Modern Art: From Van Gough to Dali through Labor Day.  

I have been a fan of Van Gogh for many years.  When we were in Paris in 2012 we visited the Musee d’Orsay and there was an entire large room, packed with people, that had nothing but Van Gogh paintings.  

Ron and Ira Kaye were accompanying MJ and I…and their presence made the day 10 times more enjoyable!  I was impressed with the thought and planning that the Art Museum had put into social distancing and face masks.  We arrived about 20 minutes early and the staff had large umbrellas for our group to shield us from the sun’s rays.  We were in the first group of the day which was for seniors…but they looked young to me!  

After our tour we shopped in the Museum’s Gift Store.  Once again they were serious regarding social distancing.  MJ purchased a Frida Kahlo face mask.  I saw a Starry Night face mask…but suspected that it would not fit my face.  When we arrived home I tried MJ’s on and discovered that it fit me perfectly and was extremely comfortable.  I ordered 2 and MJ order 1 of the Starry Night masks.  

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch and Bella Milano at O’Fallon.  The food is superb and the service is first rate!  

The exhibit concluded with three works by Salvador Dali.  

Art brings me a lot of comfort in our troubled times.  When I reflect on the struggles of those who came before me…I am humbled…

Then, of course, we must have one more…Starry Night…