Another short fiction writing.

It had been another long day.  I had already worked ten hours and there was no end in sight to the conclusion of my deadlines.

There was the Stadium to check for the 100th time in preparation for the upcoming Total Eclipse.  So many slots to fill with employees that were no longer with the University.  Each person was currently being asked to perform two people’s work…and I needed them to perform twice that much.

All available staff were excited to be a part of such an historic event.  I wondered how they were able to keep their morale so high…with so much expected of them?

It was brutally hot on Eclipse Day.

As the visitors streamed in, I could not help but notice the elderly couples that were eagerly part of the throng…in anticipation of being a part of history.

I was struck with the new University Chancellor’s accessibility and kindness and concern.  He invites all that he meets to address him by his first name.  Now that may not seem extraordinary to you…but it is of note in a hierarchal University setting.

Leading the Housekeeping staff had always been a joy and a challenge, especially during large events…that were expected to come off without a hitch.  As the years had progressed and our department had lost more and more staff due to budget reductions…I had cautioned University Leaders that the day would come that we would not be able to address emergency situations.

When it became clear that the cloud covered sky was going to obstruct the view of our many assembled guests…a homeless woman…who was unkempt and dirty and dressed in rags…asked me for a bottle of water.

At the time of her request I was addressing the concerns of several disgruntled and hot and ill people.  I wondered, what is this poor homeless woman doing here…I am sure that she did not have the money to purchase a ticket…and what else can go wrong!

The woman explained that she was thirsty and that she had traveled a very long way to observe the Eclipse and that the importance of this day, to her, was immeasurable.

I quickly walked over to a bottled water vendor and purchased her two bottles of water, at four dollars apiece, and brought them back to her.

As she drank…I asked her what her name was and she replied, Mary.  She went on to say that this day had importance…on the Great Clock of the Universe…and I just listened.

I told Mary that it seemed that many of our guests would be disappointed because it appeared that the cloud cover would obscure the Totality of the Eclipse…and she smiled.

Mary said that it would be better if the clouds would roll away.

As I looked away from Mary…the sky was suddenly…cloud free.

When I looked back…Mary was gone.

‘Let brotherly love continue.  Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angles unawares.’   Hebrews 13:1   KJV

In 2009 and 2010 we journeyed to Maine.

Both years we stayed in Southwest Harbor, Maine.  This is the town that television mini-series, The Storm of the Century written by Stephen King, was filmed.

We stayed at a lovely Bed and Breakfast, Clark Point Inn, and the Breakfast, ‘were to die for’, as my buddy Ron often says!

I have had the good fortune to visit many states and several European Countries…but Maine has an allure that is unique.

We had lobster almost every day that we were there.

On our first lobster foray, Mary Jane ordered the entire lobster in it’s shell….and the waitress assured her that the lobster was easy to remove from the shell and that she would assist her.

I ordered the Lazy Man’s Lobster…all removed and ready to enjoy.

Southwest, Harbor is near both Bar Harbor, the former vacation spot for the ultra rich and famous, and Arcadia National Park.

The cool, in the Summer, climate and the lovely peaceful people were a delight!

We were astounded on our second visit to Southwest Harbor, the following year, that the owner of a small local restaurant that we had visited the year before not only remembered us but also recalled when we were there previously.

President Obama and his family vacationed in Bar Harbor, the week after we left and ate at the same restaurant that we did.

There is a slower rhythm to life in Maine…and a peaceful harmony that is seductive and compelling.

Photos from Google.

Below, is a short ficitonal story.

The darkness, and the smell of the hospital room was heavy and foreboding.  Each time the patient dozed…there was the unannounced entrance of another nurse or technician.  The beep…beep…beep of the attached machines made him so conscientious of his erratic heartbeat…that he felt it only made it worse.

The looks of sorrow on his families faces, made him sad.  He thought that he must be close to the end of his life.

There was Mom…talking to him and happy and in her right mind.  She had suffered with Alzheimer Disease for many years.  She spent almost ten years in the Nursing Home…before her death.

How could she be talking with him in his hospital room?

Suddenly, he was at work…at the University.  He was speaking with the Chancellor regarding how to increase enrollment.

Now he was back in the hospital room and the television was playing.  The Sopranos was on…and it was the episode where Tony Soprano was watching himself on a television in his kitchen, and wondering if he was dreaming, or if it was reality?

There was Dad and he was giving him a silver dollar.  He had not seen his Father since the mid 1960’s.  At that last encounter… he had given him a silver dollar.

His Dad told him that he would see him soon…and he wondered how this could be since his Father had died in the 1980’s?

The Doctor said, authoritatively, for all family to clear the room…the nurse opened his hospital gown…and he felt cold metal on his chest.

The patient saw his boys and his wife weeping…and beseeching him to stay with them!

There was a beautiful and brilliant light.  It reminded him of the eclipse that he had observed…so many years ago.

What he saw next was indescribable.  Life in it’s past and present and future…was before him and he wondered how religion…had gotten so many things wrong.

Merry Christmas Dad, his sons said to him, as he opened his presents.

‘Dad, for a moment you seemed to be daydreaming,’ his son said.

Of late…it seems that our Country is having an identity crisis.

We are debating, at times in a deadly manner, who is American and who is not, or is there a litmus test to prove who the ‘Real Americans’ are?

This argument also includes various groups of Protestant faiths…or lack thereof.  I wonder…could it really be true that the majestic God of all of the heavens and the Earth…really cares for only a slim slice of the pie that he created?  Does God only care for a small group of his created human family…and the rest are just out of luck?

When I hear a Presidential Candidate assure his listeners that he will bring religion and prayer back into the schools…does he mean my religion…or his?

A similar debate over Southern Illinois most precious institution, Southern Illinois University, has been going on for years.

Recently the passionate discussion has again arisen as to why SIU’s enrollment has fallen.  Some of the commentators laid the blame at the feet of one former Universiy leader or another.  Others said that one of our past Chancellors was terminated because he was a christian.  Others commented that liberal education was akin to perversity.

Now these type of comments…were the kind that I did not take to seriously…a few years ago.  But, since the rise of alt right politics in our nation…it is clear that beliefs that were often thought in the minority…at times are much larger than we realized.

Our wonderful University is for everyone of any religion and atheist or agnostic.  It’s doors are wide open to all political persuasions and all races and LGBT people from across our Globe.

We often are engaged in contemplating the minutae of mundane small thoughts when a stack of gold bars is in front of us.

The freedom to learn and speak and advocate and live in the manner that you feel lead to…and that illustrates who you are…is priceless!

‘The Four Freedoms were goals articulated by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Monday, January 6, 1941.  In an address known as the Four Freedoms speech (technically the 1941 State of the Union address), he proposed four fundamental freedoms that people ‘everywhere in the world’ ought to enjoy;

1. Freedom of speech
2. Freedoom of worship
3. Freedom from want
4. Freedom from fear’

wikipedia

I heard our new Chancellor, Carlo Montemagno, say that we must look at our beloved University as a glass that is half full…rather than a glass that is half empty.’

In our Nation and at our University…and in our lives…we often can not see the forest for the trees.

Let us appreciate and build on the gifts that we have been given.

I was, already, reminiscing about last Monday and the indescribable Eclipse!

Although I identify closely with Southern Illinois University and everything that they are involved in…I, at the last minute, decided to go the Blue Sky Vineyard for the actual event.

The spirit of fun and expectancy and adventure…was alive at the Vineyard on Eclipse Day!

There was no discussion about politics or war or major disagreements…or petty ones.  We all were united in the singular purpose of being witness to an event that was far greater than any of us.

I loved the television show, The Sopranos, and remember well Tony Soprano’s son’s comment to him during the last few minutes of the long running series.  A.J. Soprano mentioned how he was enjoying having dinner at a diner with his Mom and Dad and that his Dad, Tony, had told him to always enjoy the good times.  Tony, responded, that he guessed A.J. was right and that they were experiencing one of the good times.

I think that often the singular beauty and profound happiness of events in our lives…are lost on us…as we seek the joy and fulfillment that the media and society has told us equates the ‘Happiness Ideal.’

Is it possible to miss life…while we are living?

Yesterday, Aaron, Mary Jane, and I traveled to Blue Sky Vineyard, to watch the first total eclipse, since 1918.

I had some trepidation that we might not be able to drive there, due to so many people coming to our area and the fact that Blue Sky had the distinct honor of being the home of the longest Eclipse Totality…in the Nation.

We were so happy to drive to the Vineyard with no delays and park, in the ample fields surrounding the establishment and walk into the main building…where a kind gentleman offered us his table.

I would estimate that there was in excess of a thousand people spread throughout the beautiful grounds and buildings.

I began watching the sun about an hour and twenty minutes prior to Totality.

The majesty of being witness to, what for many will be a lifetime event, and being surrounded by people from all over the world…was inspiring!

Many cheered at the awesome beauty of the Eclipse Totality.  Many wept.  There was a profound feeling of unity…and love…and being a member of the miraculous human family…in God’s Creation…that is so much larger than we are!

‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.’  Psalm 19:1   English Standard Version

Have you ever noticed how many hours you spend in a day…a week…a year…a lifetime…waiting?

Mary Jane and I recently took a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  We planned and waited for months to go.  It was wonderful…now it is over.

As a young person, I could not wait to get older.  Now I am older…and dream of my youth.

Carbondale and Southern Illinois University, have waited for the coming total eclipse on Monday…and the 50 thousand or more, expected visitors, to our beautiful city and our outstanding University…we have our fingers crossed.

We Americans…have all been waiting….to have a government that is responsive to it’s people’s needs.

Those that voted for President Trump, many out of desperation, sought a President that would remember the millions of forgotten people in our Country.  Hard working middle class folks, that had been forgotten by both parties…for far to long.

Over the past few months the President’s actions and rhetoric…have been chilling to much of our nation…including many who voted for him.

Recently, the President of our University posted an observation regarding many business leaders leaving the councils and committees that the President had appointed them to…out of protest about his comments regarding the protests and deaths in Charlottesville, Virginia last week.

I commend the SIU President for his simple and straightforward comment regarding many business leaders leaving the Presidential Committees while it seems that evangelicals are still with him.

We all want to be with President Trump…he is our President…whether you voted for him or not.

But, we are waiting…for our President to delineate between Neo-Nazis or White Supremacist and those protesting their hate filled speech and subsequent death of a young woman and two Virginia State Police Officers.

Thousands of Americans fought and died to defeat Hitler and the Nazis.

There has been untold bloodshed and suffering and genocide in association with the African American Experience in our Nation.

Republican Governor Rauner, of Illinois, spoke out in the strongest of terms against the President’s comments, last Tuesday, regarding Charlottesville, Virginia.

And, so, we are waiting…for men a women of good will and heart and who believe in the bedrock tenets, that have set the United States apart…as a leader of the free world…to come forward….

Men and women of high office and low office and no office…other than the supreme office of being a member of the human family….need to speak out against hate!

‘First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-because I was not a Socialist.’

‘Then they came for the Trade Unionist, and I did not speak out-Because I was not a Trade Unionist.’

‘Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-Because I was not a Jew.’

‘Then they came for me-and there was no one left to speak for me.’

Martin Niemoller

‘4 Days 22 Hours 24 Minutes 1 Second’ until the Eclipse!

‘The August 21 , 2017 eclipse will travel 2,500 miles across the United States of America in an estimated 70 mile wide path, beginning its journey in Oregon, crossing 12 states, and ending at the Atlantic Ocean off the shore of South Carolina.  NASA will be streaming the eclipse live from Carbondale, one of the designated sweet spots within the path of totality.’

‘Carbondale is only a few miles north from the point of greatest duration.  At approximately 1:20 pm CDT on August 21, 2017, you can experience the total eclipse for 2 minutes and 38 seconds.’   Carbondale Eclipse

As I was walking the SIU Campus today I noticed a Eclipse Fair…being set up, in conjunction with the historic event.

The ancient Egyptian Running Dog, the Saluki, is the mascot for Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

NASA will be broadcasting from the Football Stadium.

National Media will be converging on our little city.  CBS News will be doing their nightly news broadcast from the Stadium on Monday evening.

Planning for this captivating event has been going on for two years or more.

Carbondale has installed new sidewalks on the primary street leading to SIU.

My friend and former colleague, Elizabeth, has been working night and day to ensure that her, important part of the operation, runs like a finely tuned clock!

People are streaming in…anticipation….and excitement are at their zenith!

The SIU Campus and the Carbondale Community…will never be the same!

NOW – 4 Days 21 Hours 21 Minutes 31 Seconds

‘Through the looking glass is a metaphorical expression.  It means: on the strange side, in the twilight zone, in a strange parallel world.  It comes from the idea of Lewis Carol’s novel: ‘Through the Looking-Glass’, and the strange and mysterious world Alice finds when she steps through a mirror.’   Quora

‘Trump: ‘Both sides’ to blame for Charlottesville’

‘In a remarkable news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower, President Donald Trump blamed the violence in the Charlottesville, Virginia, Saturday on both sides of the conflict, equating the white supremacists on one side with the ‘alt-left’ on the other side.

‘I think there is blame on both sides,’ he said.’

‘He added: ‘You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, nobody wants to say it, but I will say it right now.’

‘Trump defended his 48-hour delay in denouncing whit supremacists, arguing that he took his time because he didn’t know the facts.’   CNN

‘Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!’   Isaiah  5:20

Heather Hyer is dead.

‘A North Carolina KKK leader says that he is ‘glad’ that anti-white supremacist protestor Heather Heyer was run down and killed in Virginia.’   New York Daily News

‘I’m sorta glad that them people got hit and I’m glad that girl died’, Justin Moore ‘a Grand Dragon’ in a KKK organization, told WBTV’

‘The voicemail for the group’s phone number also praises Fields’ [Neo-Nazi James Fields who drove his car into a crowd of people, injuring several and killing Ms. Hyer]

‘Nothing makes us more proud at the KKK than we see white patriots such as James Fields Jr. age 20, taking his car and running over nine communist anti-fascist, killing one n—-r lover named Heather Heyer.’   New York Daily News

I was driving to Carbondale earlier today.  The Sheriff has a Command Post, about two and one half miles from my house…and I live in the country.

I stopped in our local Kroger store, for a grand slice of hand tossed pizza, and overheard two gentlemen talking.  One exclaimed to the other, ‘that NASA was going to leave the telescope, that they had sent to SIU, as the next eclipse was happening in 2024.’

The Re-Grand Opening of Kroger, as it has been remodeled, had a lot of people inside today.  I could not ascertain if these people were stocking up, as we have been admonished to do before the eclipse viewers descend on our little city, or if, indeed, the Sun Enthusiast had already begun to arrive.

This past Saturday, we journeyed to Blue Sky Winery…which is the nexus for the longest duration of the eclipse…in the nation.

Our friend, Liz, joined us…and we had a lovely day!

I asked one of the young women that was working at the winery…if she was ready for the influx of sun and wine connoisseur?  She said that she was.

Traffic seemed greater…but it is also move in week for SIU…in preparation for the Fall Semester that begins next week.

I caught a glimpse of our new Chancellor…he seemed excited and ready for the challenge.

My old friend, Jim Allen, is coming back to Southern Illinois from his home in Texas..to see the eclipse.  I remember talking with him about an eclipse…when we were kids…many years ago.

Our University is looking resplendent and ready for the upcoming semester!  We are excited about displaying it for the thousands of wonderful people that are coming to visit us…it is our special treasure!

It seems that in our present day…all to few things…bring us together.  Certainly it is exciting to be a part of an all encompassing event, the eclipse, that captivates the attention of the nation…and focuses it on Little Egypt…Southern Illinois!