Johnny Cash @ Folsom Prison
Yesterday, I purchased the, original vinyl record of Johnny Cash’s performance at Folsom Prison in 1968. At the end of 1968…I was eleven years old.
I wanted the vinyl record due to having listened to the Audible Book entitled, ‘Folsom Untold’ by Danny Robins.
The story was a fascinating account of Mr. Cash’s performance at Folsom and what a boost that it gave his, then, sagging career!
‘At Folsom Prison is a live album and 27th album by Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in May 1968. After his 1955 song, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, Cash had been interested in recording a performance at a prison. His idea was put on hold until 1967, when personnel changes at Columbia Records put Bob Johnston in charge of producing Cash’s material. Cash had recently controlled his drug abuse problems, and was looking to turn his career around after several years of limited commercial success. Backed with June Carter, Carl Perkins and the Tennessee Three, Cash performed two shows at Folsom State Prison in California on January 13, 1968. The resulting album consisted of fifteen tracks form the first show and two tracks from the second.’ Wikipedia
During the performance at Folsom Prison, Glen Sherley was sitting on the front row. He had written a song called, ‘Greystone Chapel’, and he did not know that Johnny was going to perform it.
After his release from prison, ‘Sherley subsequently wrote and performed a number of other songs. However, despite help from Cash, he was unable to adjust to life outside prison, eventually committing suicide at the age of 42.’ Wikipedia
‘In 1971, CBS Evening News reported that, after 11 years imprisonment for armed robbery, Sherley was paroled. Cash sponsored Sherley and had helped push for his release.’ The Californian
As Jonathon and I were listening to the Folsom Prison, 1968, recording, I was reminded of my mom and I watching Johnny Cash on his, weekly television program in the 1960’s!
Cash was a captivating performer and his phrasing of a song…caused you to feel the lyrics in your soul!
Many of the asides that are on the live Folsom recording…reminded me of my step-father and his humor.
Johnny Cash was a representative of the dichotomy of our human experience! He was plagued by many human temptations…and he succumbed to many!
But, he had a heart and a passion and he cared about his fellow man…he looked to Christ for help and succor and understanding of his predicament.
As we listened to Johnny sing to the prisoners in Folsom…it was obvious that he was not putting anything on for their benefit…he understood their nightmare and how they felt and their pain and hopelessness!
I have watched God reach out to man…in many unconventional forms…at Folsom…on January 13th, 1968…God was speaking through a Kingsland, Arkansas singer…named Cash!
There are so many of us that will never be university professors.
Many of us will never know the privilege of attending university or enjoy the support of family and friends and colleagues who will encourage us to expand our academic horizons and reach for the stars!
Many of us…understand the school of hardscrabble and rearing of, ‘bootstrap and belt buckles.’…and often it appears that there is no place for we, unfortunate sons!
Many of us live in the rust belt.
Many of us live in coal country.
Many of us…worked for General Motors!
Many of us are intellectually challenged!
Many of us are physically challenged!
Many of us have returned from serving our country….with…fears and nightmares….and an anxiety that we need assistance to control!
We are Native American…we are African American…we are Hispanic American…we are Muslim American…we seek someone that understands that we matter…too!
Note: Photos of Johnny Cash and Glen Sherley are courtesy of Google search.
Observing Anger…Twice In One Day!
Today, Mary Jane and I made our monthly trek to our local Wal-Mart Super Center.
The store is so large that it served as my daily walk!
As we made our way, slowly and aisle by aisle, I began hearing a gentleman screaming at other member of his party. The, angry man, noted that, ‘now he was pissed’, while his; family or friends, or colleagues…attempted to display that they were not with the loudmouth.
Have you ever witnessed someone who was so angry that they appeared to be transported to another world…and the rest of us were not a part of their reality?
We then drove, northward, to our favorite, locally owned market, Arnold’s, and again we were aurally assaulted with the, extreme, raising of voices, coming from a home that was adjacent to the market.
The venomous comments that were wafting from the home, was a duet, of a man and a woman who appeared to be equally, extremely mad at each other!
Anger is a legitimate human emotion and all of us experience it, from time to time. However, it can, also, be a dangerous emotion when those who are experiencing it to the extent that they have lost perspective regarding their surroundings.
As I was entering our Kroger Supermarket, about a year ago, I was greeted by someone who was screaming so loudly, at a cashier, that it was deafening! The, apoplectic, individual was announcing, over and over, that, ‘they were a human being!’
Our world is cranked up and turned over! People are undergoing stressors that I did not witness in my youth or middle years.
There is a disconnect in the United States that, one day, will explode!
As I watched, former Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort receive a fraction of the prison sentence that was suggested for his, white collar, crimes, I was not shocked.
It is not unusual for an African American person to receive, many more years, than Mr. Manafort received, for possession of marijuana!
It has been suggested that Mr. Manafort has been treated like a terrorist for being kept in solitary protective custody while awaiting his trial.
Where is a similar outcry for people of color or poor white people…when they do, heinous time, before their trial and then are sentenced to, exorbitant sentences for much less the crimes, that Mr. Manafort pleaded guilty to?
When our society becomes a cadre of oligarchs and the rest of us struggle to make ends meet…something has to break!
‘General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra had total compensation in 2017 of $21.96 million.’ Google
‘Average General Motors pay ranges from $12.24 per hour for Customer Service Representative $42.00 per hour for Performance Engineer.’ Google
‘The top 10% of families–those who had at least $942.00–held 76% of total wealth.’ Google
So we, firmly, believe in the vision of the American dream! We are satisfied that if you work hard and apply yourself…you will succeed in America!
But for many Americans…the dream…has become a nightmare!
Opportunity is wonderful and great and, ‘apples of gold in pictures of silver,’ Proverbs 25:11 KJV
But…first…someone has to open the door of opportunity for you!
We upper middle class, folks, and the rich…tend to judge the success of the middle class and the poor by our comfortable surroundings!
We know that opportunities were, readily, available to us…and in our, white privilege, we accessed our role in society…and had, ample, assistance by our mentors and friends to secure success!
I, vividly, recall when the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, a respected professor and a former SIU athletic star, and a name that is revered by our university…was stopped on campus by the police and had to present his identification and prove that he had the right to drive a nice automobile…while being black!
The template that we apply to the poor and the working class and, even, the middle class of our society…is not working for the majority of our society!
How To Keep a Good Employee
Over my 32 year career at Southern Illinois University, with 31 years being involved in either supervisor or management/administration, I discovered several elements involved in retaining a good employee.
When I began at the university I, immediately, felt appreciated!
As a 20, almost, 21 year old I wanted to not only produce a good job…I wanted to produce an excellent job! I had not worked a week when office occupants, in Thalman Hall, began to tell me that they appreciated the cleanliness of their; offices, and rest rooms, and public areas.
During those first days of being a member of the SIUC community, I had determined that I had friends that were professionals, such as accountancy and insurance executives, and that I was going to be a housekeeping professional!
My supervisor made me feel welcome…from my first night of work, as did his supervisor. Within the first few days of my service…the custodial supervisor for the night housekeeping operations…visited me and told me that he had been hearing good things about me and invited me to go to Personnel and take the Building Custodian exam…which is the position that my boss held.
I was amazed at the positive attention and feedback that I had received…so quickly!
I felt that I was a new member of a, career, housekeeping family!
Now in the first years of my time at SIUC, it was customary to receive an 8% raise annually. I knew that this was a wonderful pay raise…as I had not been accustomed to receiving any in my previous positions.
I recall asking a colleague if he was excited about the 8% raise…and he began to laugh so hard that he bent over and grabbed his knees and tears came to his eyes and then he asked me, ‘do you think that 8 cents is a good raise?’
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I did to have the heart to correct him, as he had enjoyed the joke….so much!
The popular motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, said that, ‘I really do not care how much you know…until I know how much you care…about me.’
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The vital component to keeping a good employee is that the person must feel that they are an essential member of the team!
This would be the same for professors and janitors…and all members of a university community or any workplace.
Periodic pay increases are extremely important. My wife and I have been retired since the end of 2010 and February of 2011. We have, regular received 3% pay increases, for each year of our retirement…accept the first.
If you want to retain, outstanding staff, you, at the minimum, must keep an eye on the cost of living.
The university, has undergone extreme challenges…that include; not having a state budget for two years and the, subsequent, abdication of, fiscal, responsibility by the state …for public higher education.
I have been told, on numerous occasions, that my supervisor, or manager, or administrator…supported me and loved my job performance and that they could not replace me…but and if there is no financial support…the words are hollow!
Money…in the university or in the workplace…equals support for the hard work of, supremely, dedicated staff! In the university…financial support is an un-equivocal marker of recognition and appreciation!
Over 40 years I have watched as my, beloved, university builds majestic buildings and seems to find the money for, top, administrators and leaders!
The church…is not the building…it is the congregation.
The Union…is not the Union Hall…it is the members.
The University is not the buildings or the beautiful campus…it is the people that make it run…and are, unfailing, in their dedication to it’s success!
I have known, throughout my career, many staff for which money…is not their primary motivator! These precious people love their school! They are working…night and day…and many hours for which they are not paid…to re-build and strengthen and secure SIUC…from the winds of change and the vagaries of a state that has been AWOL and the revolving door of leadership at the campus level.
As we build our recruitment and retention efforts and bolster our academic programs…let us re-build the people that have kept our campus afloat!
It is money well spent!
150 Years of Southern Illinois University
Today begins Southern Illinois University’s celebration of it’s 150th anniversary in Carbondale, Illinois.
I have been admiring the jubilant faces of faculty, staff, and students as they pose for photos that encourage people to give to the university.
The signs that the SIUC students are holding, for the photos, are clever in their plea for financial assistance for various segments, of a large and diverse, academic institution. The signs state that if the student had, $1,000.00…that they would give it to their, favorite discipline or department.
When I saw chancellor John Dunn’s big smile, I was reminded of the can-do spirit that founded SIUC and that has kept it vibrant for the past 150 years!
I served on chancellor, Walter Wendler’s, Southern @ 150 committee, several years ago, and the group was comprised of 258 individuals who served on a plethora of sub-committees.
I remember thinking that the committee’s goals were ambitious and the target date for their completion was a mere 16 years away!
One of the most enjoyable experiences I had, while serving with the, august group, was listening to Dr. Samuel Goldman. Dr. Goldman had such wisdom and a far reaching understanding of not only the university but also the Southern Illinois region…and what it would take to make both flourish! Dr. Goldman, later went on to become the chancellor of SIUC.
The years from the Southern @ 150 committee to the realization of the 150th anniversary of our school…have raced by!
During those years we have undergone the triple threat of; abysmal state funding and two years without a state budget, a precipitous decrease in our student enrollment, and poor management by a revolving door of chancellors.
The General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio will close Friday. Thousands of GM employees will be laid-off. This is not only devastating to the laid-off employees and their families…but also to the businesses in Lordstown and the economy of the area!
Lordstown, Ohio is a company town…as is Carbondale, Illinois!
Dr. Samuel Goldman understood the dynamic of town and gown…and he explained it to us, clearly and succinctly, in our sub-committee…so many years ago.
SIUC has been an integral part of my life for over 40 years.
The success that the university has afforded me…did not come to me in the traditional academic route.
I was hired as a Building Service Worker I, which is a janitor, and it was the best job that I had ever had!
I could not believe my good fortune to have a job that had a good pay and great benefits!
Being a member of the university community…I wanted to avail myself of the academic opportunities that were available to me.
As I enrolled in classes…and gained confidence in my academic ability…and received encouragement from wonderful professors such as, Carol Burns, I began to believe that I could accomplish anything that I put my mind to!
Happiness and contentment…do not adequately describe my career at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale! It is, simply, a wonderful place to grow and become a more developed human being.
My world expanded, ten fold, through my years at SIUC.
When I think of the opportunities that I was able to offer to people that do not, typically, receive opportunities…I am speechless!
SIUC is an open door that has opportunity written above it and on the lintels of the door posts!
SIUC is an ocean of knowledge and understanding and growth and acceptance of others who may be different than you are…and it is located in the midst of Little Egypt…and it is a hidden treasure….and, often, people that move here…never leave…why would you want to leave nirvana?
There is a feeling of anticipation that is, palpable, in the air around SIUC!
Students from the northern parts of Illinois and Chicago…want to come here…it is beautiful and sedate and peaceful and a natural laboratory that is worthy of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Thoreau!
Students from across the globe…want to attend Southern Illinois University at Carbondale…because it is like nothing that they have ever experienced…and it possess the, epitome, of academic programs!
The people of Carbondale and of Southern Illinois…love their university and they love…SIUC students!
Over many years, when I worked at Building Services, we had an annual Thanksgiving dinner. The primary focus of our dinner was our 200 student staff. Chancellors and presidents came to have Thanksgiving dinner with us…and they marveled at the unity and the love and the…family…that we had!
Thinking About Spring!
Although the temperatures have dipped into the single digits, the last two nights, and we have snow on the ground, I am thinking of spring!
Winter has been especially cold this year…or at least it seems so to me.
I am watching the geese on our pond, and they do not seem to be worried about anything. When Parker, our Lab, barked at them, earlier, they honked, a little, and moved, even less!
I was overwhelmed with the goodness of God over the winter when a member of my family had surgery and her, terrible pain was alleviated!. I did not have time to feel lonely or forgotten, due to so many members of our church coming to our aid and bringing the most delicious meals and fellowship to us.
I think that winter must be a time to regroup and reassess and renew our life’s journey and be the cartographer of our living map.
You know, really, our life is nothing more than a series of choices, and often is is difficult to discern which bend in the road to follow!
I see so many positive and productive moves being made by our chancellor at SIUC, such as the approval of a nursing program for our school…that will, greatly, benefit our entire region!
The fragility of life…walks arm in arm with the permanence of life!
‘My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;
for now the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.’ Song of Solomon 2:10-13 NRSV
It seems that we must rise and seize the day…and claim the, majestic gift, that we have been given!
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Anxiety!
‘Anxiety – A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.’ Dictionary
Feelings of anxiety are unpleasant.
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Anxiety and nervous worry…is debilitating!
I can, vividly, recall being asked to officiate at funerals for deceased members of the little church that I attended, so many years ago, and feeling an, overpowering nausea, for a period of two hours or more before the service.
I was so nervous that I was not up to the task…or that I would say the wrong thing…or that somehow I was inadequate! However, once I began speaking, I felt calm and secure and determined to deliver a message, that with God’s assistance, would be a comfort to the family of the deceased and, credit, to their life!
I have always felt an, unease or anxiety, before public speaking. Yet, upon, speaking to, many, audiences for over 40 years…I have received, many gracious compliments.
When I was 29 years old I became the assistant superintendent of Building Services at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. This position entailed the management of 150 full time staff and 200 part time staff and the 24/7 housekeeping of over 200 campus and off campus buildings.
I reported for work at 3:30 p:m:…and I was sick to my stomach each day…for at least two years!
Prior to my promotion to the assistant manager of a large academic/custodial organization…I had been a crew supervisor, as well as a foreman with several crews reporting to me. I was comfortable with these levels of supervisory responsibility due to being able to, empirically, inspect the quality of the cleaning that our staff was performing…but the idea of being responsible for several hundred people and 200 hundred buildings…was a bit overwhelming!
I believe that many of us are, privately, consumed with feelings of anxiety and extreme worry…and fear of what awaits us around the, next, corner!
Now…as you know…most feelings of anxiety are baseless!
Most worry…is a specter in or our mind and a shadow, that lurks in our peripheral vision, that we can not see well…but feel it’s foreboding presence!
So many things that worry us are fog banks that seek to hide our abilities from us.
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Our current political environment can make us ill…with anxiety!
Whether you are a Republican or Democrat…if the news make you anxious and effects your sleep or your general feeling of wellbeing….a good idea would be to consume less of it.
So much of what we see in the media, can cause you to feel left behind or not good enough…or as the Saturday Night Live character, Stuart Smalley, as portrayed by Al Franken…’I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, People like me.’
Happiness is not contained in…things!
Many of us require an automobile…but do we need a Mercedes Benz?
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We require shelter and a comfortable home, is a blessing….but do we need the largest home in the neighborhood…or a summer cottage?
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We don’t want to be hungry…but is gluttony the answer?
We want to be clothed…but do we need a $2,000 suit…is it not still made of cloth?
Real life is not depicted in our nightly commercials or our, rat race, to ‘keep up with the Jones family!’
We are cajoled into believing that there are enemies lurking around every corner and behind every bush. The fear mongering of, self-serving, politicians has made us afraid of our neighbors and anyone who looks different from us…or who worships differently than we do…and assured us that only a few countries are worthy of us allowing, their refugees, entry into the United States.
Now we sit in our houses with our doors securely locked and our alarm systems engaged…and when we see our neighbor suffering…we experience anxiety!
‘Worry never robs tomorrow of the sorrow, it only saps today of its joy’ A Healthy Place
‘Your mind is your prison when you focus on your fear.’ A Healthy Place
‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’ II Timothy 1:7 KJV
Brothers!
Yesterday, dear Marcy and Brock visited us!
We had originally planned to get together in October and then in December…but illness prevented our reunion!
Each opportunity that I have to visit with the Tennessee Brooks…I realize what wonderful and sweet people that they are!
I am the oldest of our father’s lineage and Brock is the youngest. We first met in August of 2016 at the Marriott Airport Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Brock and Marcy, graciously, drove over an hour to meet us for lunch…upon our return from our visit to the United Kingdom.
We enjoyed dinner at Walker’s Bluff, The Tasting Room, that is located about three miles from our home.
The Tasting Room is a quality restaurant and a relaxing venue to to enjoy drinks and a leisurely dinner…with a, wonderful musician to serenade our familial bonds!
The musician was, Leight July, and her singing and guitar playing was virtuosos!
When I am with Brock and Marcy…I feel like that I am home!
They have the most lovely children, Jeb and Jaime…and I loved them from the moment that I met them!
As we were talking with our family…this morning, over some of Mary Jane’s, famous, coffee cake and Hardee’s biscuits…I reflected on how fortunate that we are to have been united with such wonderful and caring people!
When you become older, as I have, you realizes that miracles do not happen…every day. But, a miracle happened to bring these, precious, people, into my life!
I think that I was a, rather, lonely child…once we moved to Eldorado, Illinois from our, seemingly idyllic, home in Sauk Village, a suburb of Chicago.
I often wished that I had a brother or a sister…and that I had someone to bounce ideas off of or to discuss the many concerns that I had, as a youngster…from a broken home.
Since 2012 I have known that I have 6 siblings….that I have communicated with…but only two that I have met….
Jonathon, introduced us to his, Story Cube, game. This is a game with nine dice with pictures on each side of the individual die. One person roles the dice and then each player in turn, draws a die and creates a portion of the story that the group, ties and subsequently, constructs…together!
Truly…the story of the Illinois Brooks and the Tennessee Brooks…is being constructed in expert fashion!
I can not wait to read the next chapter!
‘We Are Better Than This!’
‘I’m sitting here listening to all this, and it’s very painful, very painful,’ he began addressing Cohen. ‘As I sat and listened to both sides, I just felt as if…we are better than this. We really are. As a country, we are so much better than this.’
‘I don’t know why this is happening for you, but I hope a small part of this is for our country to be better,’ Cummings continued. ‘If I hear you correctly, you are crying out for getting back to normal. Sounds to me like you want to make sure our democracy stays intact.’
‘The one meeting I had with the president, I said, ‘The greatest gift we can give to our children is making sure we give them a democracy better than the one we came upon.’
‘Let me tell you the picture that really, really pained me. You were leaving the prison, you were leaving the courthouse, and, I guess it’s your daughter, and braces or something on. Man that thing, man that thing hurt me. As a father of two daughters, it hurt me. And I can imagine how it must feel for you – But I’m just saying to you – I want to first of all thank you. I know that this has been hard. I know that you’ve faced a lot. I know that you are worried about your family. But this is part of your destiny. And hopefully this part of your destiny will lead to a better, to a better, to a better Michale Cohen, a better Donald Trump, a better United States, and a better world. And I mean that from the depths of my heart.’
‘And I’m hoping all of us can get back to this democracy we want and we should be passing on to our children, so they can do better than we did,’ he said. ‘When we are dancing with the angels, the question will be asked, ‘In 2019, what we did to make sure we kept our democracy intact? Did we stand on the sidelines and say nothing?’
Democratic Congressman, Elijah Cummings, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, at the conclusion of Michael Cohen’s, public, testimony before the committee. The Baltimore Sun
When, freshman, Democratic Representative, Rashida Tlaib commented that she felt that it was a ‘racist act’ to for Republican Congressman, Mark Meadows, to have as a ‘prop, an African American employee of president Trump who attest that she had never heard the president say a racist comment…Representative Meadows became, incensed, and, immediately, began requesting the Ms. Tlaib’s comments be, ‘taken down!’
Chairman Cummings began to arbitrate the emotional exchange and Congressman Meadows plea…he mentioned that he had grandchildren of color and that Chairman Cummings was one of his best friends! The Chairman, vigorously, nodded his head in agreement!
I heard, today, that Representatives, Tlaib and Meadows, were seen hugging on the floor of the House of Representatives!
We can disagree without being disagreeable!
Hate and venom and spite and name calling and Gotcha Politics…will never span the Grand Canyon of differences of opinion and severe problems that our great nation has!
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I have many friends that are of a different political persuasion that I am…and I love and respect them and, honor, our differences of opinion!
We have a shared humanity that far surpasses our political or religious differences!
I believe in freedom of thought and freedom of speech. I oppose the tyranny of those that are in power, rather a state government or a federal government…or a church or a university….
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Liberals as well as Conservatives…often are dogmatic and intrsnsigenient.
For instance, most people want a common sense immigration policy. But, they do not want to see children separated from their parents.
We want our government to keep us safe…but we do not want to be made, more, fearful by…fictional enemies!
I have heard the pleas, on numerous occasions, that when immigration is allowed…the the country that the immigrants are being allowed to immigrate to…is in danger of loosing it’s culture?
Well, first of all, the culture of the United States of America is comprised of peoples and cultures from all over the world!
History has, clearly, illustrated that cultures evolve and morph and change…over time!
I think that we either believe that we are members of the human family…or we ascribe to the tribal and clan theory of separation and division and the placement of nations and peoples and customs on a scale of, those, to be desired ‘shithole countries!’
There is an, rightful, expectation that a country should be open to immigration and refugees….and the immigrants or refugees should endeavor to assimilate into the customs, of their new home, that their faith will allow.
Many of the Jews in, Hitler’s Germany, identified with being German and retained their German identity in the countries that they, subsequently, immigrated to….or a survivors of the Holocaust.
Under our current political administration we proclaim and, rest, our philosophy on making America Great Again…and our, supreme, belief that we must care first for Americans!
Otto Warmbier…was an American…and Kim Jung-un…..fully understood…the condition that he returned Mr. Warmbier to the United States!
We can not have it both ways!
A Lifetime…Or One Long Day?
Mary Jane and I saw many old friends last evening.
Many of our friends we had not seen, more than once or twice, in over thirty years!
We were at the visitation for our dear friends daughter. I can not think of anything that saddened me more, in some time, than the untimely passing of this lovely young lady…and the knowledge of the great chasm that would be left in the hearts of her mom and dad and her husband and, young, son!
As I visited with many of the people that were at the wake…I was transported back to my teenage years, and my twenties. I had spent time in these, wonderful, people’s homes…and they in mine. We had worked alongside each other…and prayed alongside each other.
I knew many of them, long before they were married and had families…and we were still in school and wondering what life had for us?
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Barbie and Herb both gave Mary Jane and I a hug…and I wept…as I could not hold back the tears of my sadness at their, profound, loss!
Robbin and Terry, both, came up to us and hugged us and made us feel both welcome and loved! As we were talking…I thought of what precious people that they are!
There was Lori and Sherry and her mom, Kathy, and many more…that caused the years to roll backward…as they were so kind and sweet to us, both!
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There was my lifelong buddy, Steve, peeping around the corner…and I was sorry to learn that his sister had passed away…early this morning.
David D. and David B. and I remembered having dinner with David D. and his father and mother and brothers and sisters…and feeling like that I was one of the Dunmyer’s!
David B. is a natural comedian and he is also a minister. As we spoke, I recalled the many laughs that we have enjoyed together.
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And, then, my old friend, David Brandon, who has been my buddy since we were both, much, younger! I convinced him, many years ago, to take more naps!
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My life has been, seemingly, seamless…when it comes to friends and relationships.
If you were my friend on my first day of first grade, as I recall Janie B. and Debbie C., being so friendly to me and welcoming me…on what for me…was a trepidatious beginning, or if you were my friend in the first church that I attended…time has stood still for me…and you are always important to me and my friend!
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I have, often, wondered, if what we mark in; days, and weeks, and months, and years…and a life…is but one long day to to God?
People come into our lives…and for many reasons…do not stay…but they are an, indelible part, of our Life Story…and we are part of…theirs!
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Plunging For a Good Cause!
Jonathon and I attended the, Polar Plunge, which raises funds for the Special Olympics, at SIUC.
Having been an employee of the Physical Plant for over 32 years…I still have a great affinity for the organization that afforded me so many opportunities.
I think that the PSO Director, Brad Dillard, is the finest team leader that I have had the opportunity to know…and that, period of time is, now over 40 years!
This year is especially significant to me, as my friend, Elizabeth, who I, initially hired …many years ago….was, once again, participating in the event…even after undergoing, significant challenges, over the past year.
Elizabeth has an indomitable spirit!
I thought that I would get a little closer to the, plunge action, this year and I saw a nice and close spot that was on the edge of the lake.
I noticed that there were several people taking photos on both my left and right…and so I, gingerly, stepped on the large stones…and began to take photos of what is a, perhaps, a minute event. I could hear shouting in the background, and when I looked around a lady, screamed at me to, move!
My apologies to the upset photographer…as it was clear to me that she could not tolerate a giant…even a, stooping one.
Next year I will bring my camera with the zoom!
