It Is Beginning to Feel A Lot Like The Holidays!
My goodness…it is November 1st! From this point until the end of the year will feel like a fast moving locomotive, the kind that takes you from London to Paris through the Chunnel, to me! Where did the year go…or where did the years go! We purchased a new Christmas Tree last year. We are discussing putting it up well before Thanksgiving.
But, before Christmas comes Thanksgiving. I did not realize what a sleeping aid Turkey is, with it’s tryptophan, until I witnessed several members of our civil service council dozing when they attended our monthly meeting, just after enjoying a work-related Thanksgiving Dinner!
Thanksgiving at SIUC for the Building Service department meant the annual Thanksgiving Dinner. This was a dinner first started by one of our foreman, Gerald Davis, for the members of his custodial crews. Soon the feast became so popular and student members of our 25 + additional crews wanted to understand more about the annual Holiday revelry! Well, nothing would do but to begin having a department wide, old fashioned, Turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes dinner.
As the over 200 students gathered into Muckelroy Auditorium in the Agriculture building…along with 150 full time staff and guests that included chancellors and vice chancellors and directors and presidents…the excitement was palpable in the air! Nothing says that you care about another human being…like breaking bread with them…especially if you bring the bread!
We have celebrated Thanksgiving and hosted the event at our home for over 30 years. Many of those years were in our little four room house in Elkville, Illinois…where we regularly had over 20 people in attendance!
Grandpa Earl would bring a smoked ham each year and MJ would have rum for rum cake, which is simply delicious, and she would offer Grandma Neve June a shot of it. Grandma would down the shot in one gulp and ask for another! She said that it was very good!
We have already set a date certain for the putting up of the Christmas Tree. Perhaps you did not realize that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is less than usual, with Turkey Day falling on the 28th of the month? Thus, we have to make our adjustments! The Brooks Christmas Tree….with of all of its holiday regalia…will present itself on Saturday the 23rd of November!
The day after Thanksgiving is another Brooks Family Tradition! For the past 20 years we have been traveling to historic St. Charles, Missouri…which was Missouri’s first capitol. St. Charles transforms its cobblestone streets and venerable shops to the land of Charles Dickens and Scrooge and Tiny Tim! There are also derivations of Santa Claus through history…including Father Christmas and Pierre Noel. There is a Revolutionary War band and a Victorian roaster of chestnuts on an open fire…or kettle. Christmas carolers who are resplendent in their period costumes serenade we common folk with the most lovely Christmas songs.
The Charles Dickens characters, as well as the renditions of Santa Claus, give out little cards, to the children, that explain the historical significance of the Christmas character that they are portraying. The first year the we attended…I collected many cards!
We have a favorite restaurant in St. Charles that makes wonderful Reuben sandwiches. Upon entering and sitting in the cafe chairs and high tables that are next to the bar…as you do not have to wait if you sit in the bar…I proceed to order Grand Mariner served in a snifter. I believe that am paying for a shot of the luxurious orange liquor …but I receive, roughly, three or more shots in my glass! There is a wonderful older lady, who is probably younger than me, who only works behind the bar during the holiday season…and she provides a generous pour…and I tip her accordingly!
Once, after we left our holiday lunch of Reubens sandwiches and triple Grand Mariner…we purchased a new dining room suite…made by the Amish! On another Friday after Thanksgiving, after Grand Mariner…I purchased the Trump Tie at a local art gallery! We have a favorite clock store in St. Charles…Jansens…and we have 9 clocks to prove it!
God Is In The Little Things!
It was Stewardship Sunday at First Presbyterian Church in Carbondale, Illinois. My friend, Sarah, asked me to give a, ‘Minute For Stewardship talk,’ and so I…did not know how to say no…to my friend. Actually, this year marked the second year that I had been requested to speak…and…thus…I endeavored to understand what the Lord would have me say? And, so, there is a Stewardship Campaign annually in the First Presbyterian Church and it a a wonderful time to remind ourselves of what the church means to each of us on a personal level.
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Our family experienced a sweet outpouring of love and support from our fellow congregants during MJ’s convalescence following her spinal surgery. Aaron and Jonathon and I were on pins and needles last December the 3rd when her surgery transpired and the demonstrated care and concern from the people of our church was the most that I have ever experienced in 50 years of being a christian! One of our friends, Ro, asked for updates as the surgery was progressing and, Lisa, along with so many others brought us the most delicious meals…and stayed and visited with us as MJ healed and got on her feet! I really felt like that I was surrounded by a large family…that cared deeply about us!
Our pastor, Kerry, announced that he was writing a play for our congregation to perform…and I thought, ‘Very Interesting.’ as the comedian, Artie Johnson often said on the 1960’s television show, Laugh In. When the theatrical performance took place…I marveled at the coming together of our little churches congregation…and I had not witnessed such an event during my time as a Presbyterian!
Our church is the most actively involved in outreach that I have been a member of. From; Meals On Wheels, a Daycare and a Preschool, a Diaper Bank, working in the Warming Center for the homeless in Carbondale, to an outreach to provide the poor with money to wash and dry their laundry at Laundromats, to members traveling to Africa to assist in digging wells! And, that only scratches the surface of what First Presbyterian in Carbondale is involved in!
As I listen to my brothers and sisters in the faith…I realize that I am in the presence of people who love God and demonstrate that love by loving their neighbor. I think of siting in my red Toyota Camry and musing on how much I was working around the church, during my time on the Stewardship Committee. As I sat, stewing in my own juices, I noticed Clark Ashby slowly exit his automobile and walk around to the trunk of the car and retrieve a tool box…and then painstakingly proceed into our church to perform some necessary work….
Jonathon and I were ushers last Sunday and as we stood at the door to the Sanctuary of our church, I could not help but notice our members, some of whom are in their nineties, walk, haltingly, into the church that they had called home for much of their lives.
Some say that the church is becoming out of fashion…but I think not! Rather, the church is changing…but it’s love and outreach and succor to the poor and hungry and it’s help for the hurting and downtrodden…will always be a vital and living institution…in a sad and suffering world!
‘Then he said, ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ I Kings 19: 11-13. NKJV
Sometimes I Mess Up My Lines
A great Jonathon Brooks, Blog!
Wisdom can be difficult to find. I have played the role of the fool and the wise man in my life’s story. I was not born with a desire to follow Christ. As a boy dealing with undiagnosed bipolar and the woes of being a teenager I needed wisdom desperately. I opened up a Holy Bible when I was seventeen years young and began to read it with an open mind and heart. In many ways I have never looked back.
A life of faith is complicated. Although whose life isn’t complicated? I would rather build my life on Jesus than anything or anyone else. It is so enticing for people to build their lives on what they can see or who is in their family or circle of friends. It is so hard to build a life on that which we cannot see. Faith is more mysterious than some…
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A Cold and Damp Halloween
As I am writing, the chill factor for Carbondale, Illinois is 26 degrees! We have gone from dry weather, a few weeks ago, to long heavy rains. Jonathan and I were in the Student Center, this afternoon, and I noticed several students and staff dressed up in Halloween costumes. The atmosphere was joyful and light! A lot of laughing and photographs were being shared.
Although it is the coldest day of autumn…thus far…I felt the need to snap a few photos of campus woods on this first holiday of fall.
Our great campus has always been blessed with outstanding people who have an unflagging and unfailing dedication to the success of ‘their campus’…and yet often they are overlooked for a, ‘miracle worker,’ who has no particular love of SIUC or affiliation for Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale…and who stays for a short time and then moves on to greener pastures!
I witnessed chancellor Don Beggs, who had a two year appointment as the leader of our campus…passed over…when it was clear that he was a glowing success and that he was turning the great ship of SIUC around…and that he and his dear wife, Shirley, were loved by all members of the university community. Dr. Beggs had turned the enrollment slide around, and at that time we had 22 thousand students on our campus.
I saw it again when current interim chancellor John Dunn was our provost and had been elevated to interim chancellor. The campus was running well under interim chancellor Dunn’s leadership and he would have loved to have had the job on a permanent basis…but he was told that he could not apply!
We had around 19 thousand students when interim chancellor Dunn was our leader in the last decade.
There is a school of thought, that practical people engage in, and that is…if it is not broke…do not fix it!
Or, there is an old christian hymn regarding the crucifixion of Christ that has a line in it, ‘Some times it causes me to…tremble…tremble…tremble!’
So, the October event is upon us! All Hallo Eve! We enjoy the childlike wonder of the day and the promise of what this harbinger of holidays brings!
This is a day for fun…and thoughts of childhood and the mystery of becoming an adult!
It is a day to wish that our university leaders would think a bit pragmatically and examine what has gone wrong at our great campus and how to correct it.
Is it possible to have an effective leader or administrator or manager or supervisor….and to subsequently forget how effective that they are and…rather to embrace the politically expedient?
Everything that we do is not transactional….and our leaders decisions can have dire ramifications that affect all of us!
Halloween
A 1960’s Halloween!
The third grade class was all abuzz with the excitement of each student wearing their Halloween costume to school! It was cold…unseasonably cold for October the 31st. Also, there was 4 inches of snow on the ground! Snow on Halloween was not so unusual in the early 1960’s. What made the day, even, more special was that the teacher, Mrs. Molinarolo, who had lived in Japan, was dressed as a Japanese Geisha.
Carl, who had of late been referring to himself as, Chet, was dressed in his famous Lost in Space Robot costume, and with his perfect rendition of, ‘That does not compute,’ he was gathering crowds wherever he went!
Billy B. had arrived as Frankenstein…courtesy of his cousin, Gene, who had allowed him to borrow both the full head/mask and the Frankenstein hands. Frankenstein kept proclaiming, ‘smoke good,’ as he carried an unlit cigar that his dad…had left behind.
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Have You Forgotten How To Be Happy?
I was watching a television show on Showtime, last night, called The Affair. One of the primary characters, Noah, had decided that rather than flee his home and loose all of his possessions, in California, he would stay with his accumulated stuff…of a lifetime…and burn-up…if necessary! The character of his ex-wife, Helen, pleads for him to join her in an attempt to escape the flames…but he adamantly refuses. Later in the hour psychological drama…Noah startles Helen as he raps on the window of the luxury automobile, that has a safety button for bio-warfare…called an apocalyptical button! Helen asks him why he has changed his mind about leaving and he responds that, ‘movement is life!’ She decides to accompany him on an attempted hike out of the canyon that is on fire, rather than wait in an unmovable traffic jam. Helen had picked a young couple that was attempting to flee on foot and they decide to stay with the bio-warfare protected automobile.
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As Noah and Helen proceed on a more than dangerous hike she asks him to elaborate on why he chose to escape…and he responds that he had looked at some old video of him and had realized that he had forgotten how to be happy.
Modern media purports to inform us on just what; pharmaceutical or movie or automobile or boat or travel…will ensure our happiness! So often we believe that if we can just purchase our dream home…our recreational vehicle…or the finest of clothes and cuisine…we will finally reach nirvana!
Much as Charlton Heston proclaimed at the conclusion of the Apocalyptic movie, Soylent Green, ‘Soylent Green is people!”….I believe that, ‘Happiness is people!’
The more that we can get out of our own heads and raise our eyes from our smart-phones…the happier we will become.
There are two streams of thought regarding christianity…especially in the United States of America.
There are those who believe that God is a God of judgment and wrath and fire and fury. This doctrine espouses that the path to heaven is narrow and there is no room for divergence from the interpretation of scriptures that the leaders or founders of the faith have set forth. These groups attest that if you do not believe the faith walk that they are on…you are lost! Many of these churches, which are often small in number of congregants…have no provision for members of the human family who have never been able to hear their, exclusive, precepts of faith….and, frankly, God is not worried about the billions of people that are lost….but rather he has his eye on a select remnant.
The other stream of thought would be that christianity is for all humanity and the creator’s mind is much larger and more inclusive than the petty prejudices and misogyny and xenophobia of some humans. God is a God of love and acceptance and forgiveness and desires for adherents too, ‘Love each other as I have loved you.’
Happiness comes from uplifting someone in need. It comes from listening to someone who is sad. It comes from making a meal for someone who is sick.
Happiness comes from loving your fellow traveler…who looks different than you…who worships differently than you do….who thinks differently than you….who loves differently than you….and who needs you to reach out to them!
We can choose to find meaning and God and hope and purpose in fashioning a god that agrees with all of our hatred and prejudice….or we can fellowship with a God that loves all of us…and wants us to be happy!
The young couple who stayed in the luxury automobile that had an appocolyptical button to ensure safety from bio-warfare…burned-up…in the television show.
“MOVEMENT IS LIFE!”
Friar Tuck
I have been aware for some time that I needed to diet. However, Jonathon and I were ushers this morning at our church and a wonderful lady of the church commented that I reminded her of Friar Tuck. Now, the Friar was a portly fellow…and I could see the resemblance!
I wold prefer to be Robin Hood!
Being an usher gives the volunteer a birds eye view of the members of your congregation. There are many members of our congregation that are of great age! We have members that are in their 90’s, or are close to being so. When I see them walking in, haltingly, and with a big smile on their face..I understand what a dedication to the christian faith…means! Often we are buffeted by the political or social or religious whims of the moment…when a christian that is well into their golden years…can illustrate what a lifelong walk with Christ looks like. When I witness the elderly among us…present themselves at Sunday church service…no matter how difficult their mobility has become or how weary they may feel…I am inspired!
So often, we young people…of which I am 62, feel that we have other ‘fish to fry’…or something more important to accomplish than the weekly routine of attending church. We know that we need to have our ‘down time’….or time for our hobbies…or time to prepare for the next work- week…when it reality the best preparation for the incoming challenges of the week is Sunday morning worship.
Modern media would have us believe that we can seek and discover pleasure in; pharmaceuticals or the latest Hollywood movie…or a dedication to a political cause….or a hunger for knowledge. While all of these are a part of the human experience they really do not answer the persuasive question of…why was I born and what is my purpose on earth? Many of us strive to find that purpose of our existence in our work. We believe that if we will just work hard enough and long enough…we will have reached our calling in life! While, others of us know that the, ultimate, satisfaction and reward for a life well lived, is too to enjoy retirement and all of the pleasant vicissitudes that it affords to us. Travel and boats and automobiles and campers and motorcycles and more….is the panacea and balm for our hard working years and our dedication to keeping our noses to the grindstone!
Yet, there are the hungry and the homeless and children in cages and rampant and heartless bigotry and misogyny and xenophobia and cruelty….to our fellow human family! The earth is burning…and we are watching!
When someone tells me that I have helped them…in some small way….I have peace. When I travel across the world…I enjoy it…but it is not the same as helping another member of the human family!
Do You Know Your Horror Movies?
The perfect trifecta of movie attending bliss almost occurred today! I noticed on my AMC Stubs account, a theatre card that I carry that affords discounts based on how much money you spend, that I not only had a $5 reward off of the price of a movie…but also a free large popcorn and a free large soft drink…due to October 24th being my birthday! So, I entered,, triumphantly, the theatre lobby, whereupon a young man asked me if I had a ticket? I replied that I did not but that I was going to purchase one at the counter….that has a large sign regarding purchasing tickets. I handed the, friendly, attendant my AMC Stubs card and announced that I not only had a $5 reward but also a free large popcorn… Suddenly another person set down on the counter, hard enough to dislodge the popcorn from its large container, and a large beverage glass! I said, ‘One please for ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,’ and I thought that the title sounded familiar. As I gingerly juggled there humongous tub of popcorn and the giant Fanta soda, as I made my way to theatre #3 and seat F2.
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The movie previews were already on, so I settled in and prepared to be frightened…in the enjoyable Halloween sense of the word! About 2 minutes into the flick it occurs to me that Aaron and I had seen this movie earlier in the summer. I suppose that the theatre chain had brought the film back for a repeat performance due to the coming of Halloween? The first time that I viewed it…I mildly appreciated it…now I set forth to research it in greater detail…
It did not compare to the 1963 classic, ‘The Haunting!’
‘The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 gothic horror novel by American author Shirley Jackson. A finalist for the National Book Award and considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the 20th century, it has been made into two feature films and a play, and is the basis of a Netflix series. Jackson’s novel relies on terror rather than horror to elicit emotion in the reader, using complex relationships between the mysterious events in the house and the character’s psyches. Wikipedia.
The 1963 movie, ‘The Haunting,’ is by far the best film adaptation of the book. The film had Julie Harris playing the part of Nell…and it had a scene that has stayed with me since 1963…when I saw it in the theatre…and I was 6 years old. Nell and, Claire Bloom, playing Theodora were sharing a bedroom in the haunted Hill house and were sleeping in two single beds. They were members of a small group of people who were aiding a paranormal investigator in determining if ghosts could be verified in the scary gothic mansion. As Nell and Theodora were sleeping…Nell awakened due to someone holding her hand…which was dangling over the side of the bed. Upon being awakened…Nell began to speak with Theodora…who was lying in the other bed. Nell pleaded with Theodora to not squeeze her hand so tightly…and Theodora turned on the bedroom light…to reveal that there was no visible person grasping Nell’s hand!
The twin beds, that had been pushed together, had been moved far apart…at either end of the large bedroom.
When I first saw the Haunting…I was 6…now I am 62…and I still will not let my arm and hand dangle over the side of my bed!
Photos from The Haunting are courtesy of Google search.
Haunted Anthony Hall!
Halloween is quickly approaching. When this ghostly time of year, appears, I feel compelled to write my best, true, account of a ghost story that I know.
During the latter 1980’s I was the assistant superintendent of Building Services on the campus of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. During those years there was a large Malaysian student population on our campus. In fact, our entire student housekeeping staff at Anthony Hall were Malaysian. Now, the Malaysian people are simply lovely human beings. I had a student worker whose name was Salman, when I was the crew leader at Parkinson and Allyn buildings, in 1980. I was training Salman, on the third shift and on the third floor or Parkinson Lab. I began my lecture by asking Salman to ‘run’ down to the other end of the hall and retrieve a dust mop. Salman sprinted to the far end of the corridor and sprinted back with the dust mop! I smiled and explained to him that he would encounter a lot of Americans who either speak in an exaggerated manner or metaphorically.
So, I received a telephone call from the custodial crew boss at Anthony…telling me to come over right away. When I arrived he told me that one a female Malaysian student had told him that when she exited the elevator on to the third floor of the building and proceeded to turn off the lights…she looked to her right and saw a woman, sitting, and dressed in a long black dress and a white blouse with a high collar that was buttoned to her chin. The student went on to describe the woman’s hair being pinned up on her head in a bun. When she said hello to the apparition…she received no answer nor sign off recognition from the strangely garbed visitor.
Anthony Hall is named after the famous suffragette Susan B. Anthony and was built, in the 1920’s, as a women’s dormitory. Jack, the crew leader, took me into the attic and showed me old photos of women who lived in Anthony Hall. They were dressed like the spectral woman that the member of our student staff described!
Not only did our Malaysian student in Anthony Hall resign…but the entire crew did so, as well. The word spread among the Malaysian community and soon, no Malaysian would work for Building Services if it entailed that they would be assigned to Anthony Hall. The superintendent met with me and informed me that the Vice President for campus services wanted a full report on the ‘Ghost of Anthony Hall!’ Thus, I began my investigation. Anthony Hall is the administrative center of our campus. It houses our chancellor and vice chancellors.
I discovered that many of our Building Services staff had experienced unexplained phenomena when they were working in Anthony. Often these ghostly happenings transpired late at night…when they were alone…or at least thought that they were alone in the building. Several of my colleagues had heard footsteps on the upper floors…but when they investigated…they found no one. Others described the eerie feeling that they were not alone and the hair standing up on the back of their necks!
Note: Victorian photos are courtesy of Google search.
62 Has Arrived!
And the question is…can the old man really write three blogs about turning 62? The answer is yes. My mother told me for years, until, she reached 40 years old, the she did not believe that she would ever see her 40th birthday. She was a single parent, until she married my stepfather, who was not very fond of me, and I wondered what would happen to Bradley Jay?
My dad, who I never saw again after my 6th year of life….died when he was 60. Often I pinch myself and wonder and I am grateful for some longevity! When I see Aaron and Jonathon who are 37 and 35…I contemplate the goodnesses of God!
Birthday wishes on Facebook are a real treat for me! Nikki, who has always been so gracious to me and Aaron and Jonathon, calls me Pop, and sent me a birthday wish with a photo of, my favorite beer called Dragon’s Milk. She has served me several over the years! Every birthday wish that I receive…is very special to me…and I treasure them all!
My pastor, Kerry, sent me a birthday greeting that warmed my heart!
My brother Brock and my sister in law, Marcy, sent me wonderful birthday wishes! They continue to be a bright Star in my golden years!
I have a fundraiser on Facebook for Mental Health America and, Natalie and Jim donated in the first hour of the posting. I was honored…and humbled.
I talked with our traveling partners, Ron and Ira Kaye, and it was a joy to hear their birthday wishes!
We made the journey to Cunetto House of Pasta, on the Hill, in St. Louis. I had my favorite drink, a dirty martini, and some delicious pasta! We have been visiting the restaurant for over 20 years! Often we have waited in the queue that stretched around the block of the eating establishment!
Each time I receive a birthday greeting from one of my. former classmates…I see them just as they appeared when we were in school together.
My former pastor, for over fifteen years, Janice, just sent me a note…and it made my day!
We visited Von Jakob Winery this afternoon. I quaffed Country Red while MJ and Jonathon enjoyed dark beer. We had the most delicious cooked chips and baked pretzel! MJ and I came home, each, with a handcrafted basket for our wares. We missed Aaron…who had to work.
My birthday is a stellar time for me to take stock of where I have been and what I have done and how I can improve my outreach to others…in some small manner. I was watching the memorial service for Congressman Elijah Cummings today. He was truly an inspirational figure! The Congressman was the son of sharecroppers and is the first African American to lie in state in the the Capitol. His dedication to excellence and his compassionate heart towards his fellow human family…was an inspiration to me!
Birthday cake and pizza, this evening! A special time to think about the days of my life!
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The Happy Traveler 