Spring is in the air. 62 degrees today in my neck of the woods. Some trees are budding. The sky is azure blue. What happened to the snow? The environment changes our outlook. Want and need hunger and deprivation darken our horizon. Money and power luxury and no accountability make many mean…

I was watching the television show The White Lotus, in which a rich businessman said things on his cellphone regarding his malfeasance that he obviously did not want others to hear. A man at the guard house was listening to all the admissions. The rich man was unaware of him, although he was just next to him. The poor caretakers of the luxury getaway in Thailand did not register as people on the distraught man’s radar. Even before his self-made crisis, his responses to the staff were perfunctory and condescending.

Rich folks are certain that all who meet them are aware of the rarified air they breathe. Those who are caring for the rich may be more intelligent than their charges. Working people are often unimpressed by the wealth of a few fortunate sons.

We see Elon Musk cavalierly fire and abolish the jobs of civil servants. He proclaims government efficiency unless it is his business that is affected. Posturing with chainsaws and references to woodchippers he boasts about disrupting thousands of lives of hard-working Americans. It would seem that intelligence ability education and lengthy years of service are no longer important. We say that the powers that be do not like us…they do not see us…

Inflated Self-importance is a pervasive malady. Believing what you do is much more important than what the great unwashed do. Ask the servers in restaurants. The verbal abuse they receive for low wages is incredible.

We have arrived at the Fork In The Road where one sign leads to servant leaders and the other leads to submission to the ultra-wealthy. Poor working people have been voting of late for the iconic image of extreme wealth believing that the person is going to make them wealthy. As vital health care services and Social Security Medicaid Medicare and jobs for your family and friends are experiencing a wrecking ball…how is that working out for you?

It is MJ’s birthday day of celebration in these parts. I have ordered her a surprise gift—I love surprise gifts! Jennifer is joining us for card games and pizza. There will be much fun as the snow melts rapidly away. It will be in the 60s tomorrow. We are not afraid of winter now that it is almost gone. Soon we will ask what type of winter we had and reply that we do not recall.

The big events are in your own backyard. Not in Washington D.C. The life-changing events and those you will remember in your life are just down the hall. Each day is a new start. Each day is new. The regrets of the past melt like the snow.

Get out of your head and find someone who needs you. Someone you bring joy to. Look for the lonely. A smile makes their day. A blanket in the cold…a sandwich for the hungry.

We crave normalcy. We despise chaos. Building is exciting. Tearing down is depressing. Build your friends with kind words and deeds. Build your home with peels of laughter.

Events are wonderful vehicles for transporting us to happiness. The happiness ensues from our shared revelry while the event was a means to arrive…

Last night was MJ’s Birthday Dinner. We look forward to these Dinners! Jennifer joined us and made it special. For many years, we Brooks have celebrated our birthdays in installments. One of the most important things is the Birthday Dinner. We are young but the clock says we are all getting older.

My friend Jeff asked me on my first trip to Europe if I had ever dreamed when he and I were teenagers that one day we would be standing in Paris. I knew that I had not but then again a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee was a big deal to me…still is…

What a kaleidoscope of events colors feelings and happenings of life. It is like being on a carousel when you look out at the watching crowd and can not see their facial features clearly. They become the wallpaper of the moment.

I take thousands of photos in a vain attempt to capture life before it slips out the back door. A catalog of memories is in my mind.

Things change…love remains…

Two kids bought their first home. Four rooms and a bath. They were rich beyond their dreams. The young man thought that we were finally in the Game. A big home was bought. It must be a mansion or at least a McMansion he considered. Rooms and more rooms…we will never fill them all he said. It was not about rooms…it was about who was in them…

The snow is a lovely white blanket. Standing in the woods you can hear the quiet. Quiet is comfort. Quiet is rest. Quiet is the opposite of the compulsive din of daily life. The fire has so many irons, and we do not know which one is hot. Our souls become overloaded with expectations from others. Work hard then work harder they say. Our Government is fine until a new administration arrives and takes a wrecking ball to it. When asked why they respond with Orwellian Speak.

A Blue Bird scampered along the tree. He looked at me as if to say what are you doing out on such a cold day. I watched his revelry with interest. He knew what he was doing and why he was doing it. He was not burdened with the overthinking brain of humans who seek purpose amidst the chaos. Mr. Blue Jay knew why he was in the woods on a bitterly cold day.

A reset is needed. Perhaps we should unplug and then reconnect. Manic actions by leaders are a window into their minds. Retribution retaliation revenge is the weapon of petulant children.

Congress sat and mainly studied their iPhones. Some dozed as they were quite old. Others planned their next golf outing. A few flirted with their young interns. This too will pass…they said. We are rich and have need of nothing…the Prosperity Gospel has worked for us… The wall-size mirror was slowly rolled in front of the assembled wise men. Their reflection revealed that they were wretched, poor, blind, and naked.

The snow crunched underfoot. Mr. Blue Jay flew around the old man’s head. ‘I like you,’ Mr. Blue Jay said to the old man. ‘You have a settled spirit, Mr. Blue Jay continued. ‘We hear of the strife confusion and frenetic actions in your world…it is good to see it has not affected you,’ Mr. Blue Jay assured. ‘We Woods Dwellers are preparing for the coming apocalypse…there is an ill wind blowing,’ Mr. Blue Jay noted…

Significant snow has fallen. The University is closed, it closes more often than during my time at SIUC. I am glad safety has become important. It is time for a card game and a beer. Jennifer brought us some wonderful beer.

I have been watching the Larry Sanders Show which began in 1992. What a difference over 30 years makes. The show is rated in the top 50 television shows of all time. It reminded me of what I was doing and thinking in the early 90s. Aaron and Jonathon were pre-teens. I was concerned that we needed a larger home. I was in my 6th year as the Assistant Superintendent of Building Services. We were members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

The mid-30s were good years. I was seeking the Secret…I still am…

Happy times were in our little house. After not owning a television we purchased a lovely counsel model. In those days TVs were furniture. The one we had in the early 90s came from Sears. We had cable TV. Berle and Fernie came over to watch Christmas Vacation on HBO. They being holiness people of the Nazarene Church I muted when Chevy Chase uttered a profound expletive. The close caption revealed it for all to read.

So we look back on what seemed like living a long life in reality whisked by… We asked others why we were there? They had many different answers. Some said to make money. Others espoused education art and enlightenment. I saw those around me belittle people different than them. Faith-based on elitism did not make sense. Hungry people were not lazy or cursed. The bastardization of Christ’s message drove my quest for meaning beyond self. How can you hurt and hate others and proclaim your Christianity…

Southern Illinois University opened my horizon. Working and learning among people from over 70 nations was enlightening. We have a common humanity. What was believed in our Tribe was not taught in another…we are all waiting for Godot…

Garry Shandling who portrayed Larry Sanders on the show he wrote was a seeker. Since the death of his brother Barry in their childhood he sought to be his authentic self. Authenticity is no small goal. We seek to be like our leaders. We have our work mask and church mask…our performance before our audience…

‘And away we go,’ Jackie Gleason said on his variety show of the 1960s. He also did a soft shoe with his expected proclamation to emphasize the point. Such is the case with our expected ‘Big Snow.’ I was in Kroger today…twice…and the shelves were bare. People stood in line three deep waiting on the rotisserie chicken. Coffee creamer usually only allowed during the Christmas holidays was on sale. There was a Devil-May-Care attitude in the air. ‘We ain’t afraid of no ghosts,’ the Ghostbusters said…

Aaron and I watched a truly creepy movie called Longlegs this afternoon. Beware of pancake makeup… Some visuals stay with you.

Winter has been a bit of a trial this year. It is as if we are experiencing real winter instead of the faux type of many years. Ice Storm last month with trees and limbs everywhere. Many cold and slick white icy winter walks in my Woods. Have you looked at winter clouds…they are elaborate.

I espouse the Keep Moving theory. As long as I am moving the Grim Reaper has not caught me. Such is life with the increasingly thoughtless challenges to the welfare of people in our nation. I heard that money talks and bullshit walks…but I did not realize that it was arm-in-arm.

Time to buy a new show shovel. Snow melt would be appropriate. Cinders to scatter on the icy ground so poor people can get traction and not slip and break a leg…or three ribs.

The difference between upright and healthy to fallen and broken is only one slip away…

‘I want what I want when I want it,’ Fernie said. I think she was speaking for all of us. We are beyond McDonald’s slogan, ‘We do it all for you.’ Now, we want retail without leaving the house. Hertz was proud of putting us in the Driver’s Seat. Now, we want a leader to drive for us. All of the turgid laws we have require study to understand…our brains hurt… easy to have a leader tell us what we need to know. No muss no fuss just results…that does not negatively affect us. The newscaster informs us what news is fake and what is real. No need for research. Give it to me quick like fast food. Please include my preferred condiments of conspiracy salt and deep-state pepper. Do not neglect to put tomato of scandal on people who can not defend themselves.

The preacher tells us to trust him. The working poor are waiting to be shown the money that was promised. Their paycheck does not cover the month. Eggs are still expensive but they were promised not to be so. ‘Give me your ten percent and then 10% more and you will be rich…church informs. Get rich on the gospel.

‘We were for eliminating racist and misogynist posts on social media…the check did not clear…we have chosen the ‘More Masculine’ approach. We sat on the Innaguraton Stage…in the front row…it was fun!

John Wayne and Jesus were twin brothers…weren’t they? JW and JC don’t take no shit…smack the people down that are not like them. Watch the cursed poor from the tinted windows of the Cadillac…

I viewed a movie called Omni Loop last night. It had an interesting slant on time travel. The lead character woke up to the news that she had a week to live. She enjoyed time with her family and a trip to the beach…ending with her 55th birthday celebration two weeks early. Then her nose began to bleed signifying her imminent demise. At this point, she took a pill and was transported back to the hospital bed that she was in at the beginning of the week. The process began anew with all of the same occurrences of the prior week. It turns out she had been living her untold long life with these pills. At one point she and a college student were endeavoring to break down the components of the pills to crack the time travel efficacy of them. As this occurred repeatedly, much as in the movie Groundhog Day, she asked her assistant if she did not feel they had been together for a lifetime. The assistant agreed.

So it goes with our seemingly short days on Earth. Have we walked these paths before? If you say no…how do you know? Einstein said the distinction between past, present, and future is ‘Only a stubbornly persistent illusion.’

‘I like our Sauk Village Home…at least we have a nice home this time,’ Billy B thought in his 3-year-old brain. ‘I remember Oxford and the lovely campus,’ Billy B mused. ‘My rooms at University were next to C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien…many nights we hoisted a pint at the Bird and Baby Pub,’ Billy B reminisced.

The house was larger on the inside than the out. An anomaly that could not be explained by builders. Within its walls were mysteries. Chet found when he entered the cavernous basement John F. Kennedy was no longer the President and Donald Trump was. Upon climbing the circular stairs he was once again in 1963. Jane and Billy B were children upstairs but old people in the basement. Chet enjoyed comparing and contrasting the generations.

‘Signs and wonders surround us,’ Preacher said. ‘Trust only me…I hear directly from God…I have prayerfully determined what we Chosen must do, ‘Preacher passionately proclaimed. ‘Nuclear War will weed out the chaff…we the wheat will be spared,’ Preacher shouted midst many hallelujahs from the congregation.

‘The Soviet Union has removed the missiles from Cuba,’ Neva J said. ‘We came within a gnat’s whisker of Nuclear War,’ Neva J said with tears. ‘President Kennedy is my hero,’ Neva J proclaimed…

‘Hit the deck you rubber neck…time to get ready for school,’ Neva J joyfully said! Begin again…

It is easy to succumb to the doldrums in the deep midwinter with water like a stone. The merry heart of Christmas is obscured by the dark days and thoughts. We are like the Energizer Bunny needing a new battery. Although the winter days are grey they are valuable. Time to reflect on our path. We travel a rocky road often without rest stops. Life reversals such as the poor Federal Civil Service employees are experiencing are life-changing. We live in a Country that recognizes the legal protection that Civil Service afforded them. I spent my career as a Civil Servant. Work in the Civil Service is for less money but good benefits and some protection. The modern Civil Service replaced the old patronage system where a political leader fired all Civil Servants of the opposing party and placed his supporters in open positions with no recourse by the fired staff. Contrary to recent political belief most Civil Servants are hard-working people with families to support. If we swear we are for the working class the Civil Service is the Working Class.

There is a reason that there are not more poor among us than there are. Laws protecting working people and unions are vital to the upward mobility of the 12-hour work days and tenement housing of our recent past. I served for 9 years as Southern Illinois University @ Carbondales representative to the Merit Board governing University Civil Service. I was the president of the Civil Service Council at SIUC for 5 years. Firing people for no reason or for spite is illegal…

When the richest man in the world can cavalierly fire on a whim…we are all in danger…

My greatest honor was working with the dedicated Civil Service staff of Building Services. These housekeeping professionals loved Southern Illinois University. They fed hungry students on their crews. They invited them into their homes for the holidays. They cooked a massive Thanksgiving Dinner for our 200 + student staff. Civil Service Housekeepers were the face of SIUC to our students. When Our University fell on hard times regarding the recruitment and retention of our precious students…we redoubled our efforts to assist.

As a candidate for Chancellor described Civil Service Staff…’ They are the salt of the Earth.’

‘It is going to be a dinner for the history books,’ Chet said. ‘Jane has bought a new dress and has a Valentine’s Gift for me,’ Chet grinned. ‘I am going to buy a new sports coat and shoes for the epic event,’ Chet laughed.

‘Have you asked her yet,’ Billy B inquired? ‘She may have other plans,’ Billy B noted. ‘She went to the Valentine Dance with you but may be booked for the V Dinner,’ Billy B warned.

‘She told me she was planning on the V Dinner and is waiting for you to ask her,’ Neva J cautioned. ‘She did purchase a new dress and has you a wonderful gift…but don’t be shy…ask her,’ Neva J smiled. The basketball captain has asked her and she declined to wait on your invitation,’ Neva J informed.

‘She is so special and I could not believe she accepted my invitation to the V Dance…surely she will not be so kind to me if I ask again,’ Chet mused. ‘How could she like Fat Man Chet,’ Chet said with sadness. ‘I have always been an introvert…I watch from the back of the room…most people pass me by,’ Chet commented.

‘Hi Chet…you look like a Champ,’ Jane said. ‘What are you doing for the V Dance,’ Jane asked? ‘Would you like to go with me,’ Jane asked? ‘You are my sweetheart…you are the Bees Knees…my one and only,’ Jane winked as she took Chet’s hand.

‘Have you ever seen me do the Irish Jig,’ Chet asked Jane? ‘I have been practicing…I am pretty good…

‘I have a gift for you that I will give you now…and after you open the box you may give it to me…if you want,’ Jane said with tears in her eyes…