MJ and I talked with our favorite Vet Dr. Brandy Doggett. She told us of her recent vacation and made us want to follow in her footsteps. Mylo enjoyed the conversation as well.

I thought as Dr. Doggett was talking and her animation in explaining her recent holiday that she made my day just by vicariously experiencing her joy.

I love to refer to the famous play Waiting For Godot. We seek him here we seek him there and yet he is with us and we do not realize it.

I saw my old friend Brent yesterday. I was employed by Brent in the vocation of carpet laying when I was 20 years old just before I was hired at SIUC. He was so nice to me. I had at that time never worked for a kinder boss. When we talked a bit yesterday I could only see Brent of 46 years ago. Brent exemplified how a good boss acts.

At times we desire others to comply with our restrictive mold of how we think they should be. Shame on us for putting people in a box. We are unique. We seek others who will see us for who we are and not their pigeonhole portrait of us.

Perhaps God will tap us on the shoulder. Maybe he will reveal himself to us in a burning bush. Could he be in the gold of our cathedrals? Does he have a special message for us that we are to share with the world?

We are a bit broken. We want the big event. Cymbals are in order as is the bass drum. Trumpets shall peel their resounding call to arms and the Heavenly Choir will join in with the old hymn Onward Christian Soldiers.

We seek the elusive imprimatur of God when he is standing next to us in line at the grocery store.

Look into the eyes of the person next to you and you will see God…

Never bemoan your age as it beats the alternative. Grandma A said that if you live to be 100 life is short. With age comes wisdom we hope. With age comes experiences some good and some instructive.

Age brings self-actualization. Your eyes fail but you can see more clearly. What we have been dithering with and playing trivial pursuit now we value and cherish.

‘Welcome to your beginning, He said. ‘You have made it through the door and now comes the fun part,’ He continued. ‘At the next station She will provide you with a Welcome Pack of all the necessary items you will need for the next stage of your journey,’ He smiled as He patted Baby on his back.

‘Burp,’ Baby uttered with a satisfied sigh. ‘Oh my goodness excuse me I do not know where my manners are,’ Baby apologized.

‘Not at all it is a common occurrence upon arrival at this stage of the journey,’ She said with a look of benevolence. ‘We have been waiting for you for some time and now your big day is here,’ She continued.

‘I noticed that you call me Baby no one has called me Baby since I was born and that was 90 years ago,’ Baby observed. I was a mover and a shaker as they say somewhere,’ Baby said with a look of accomplishment. ‘I commanded men and held high office I even have the title of President,’ Baby said with a wink.

‘As I mentioned this is your big day you have made it through the door you have friends here that are longing to see you,’ He said. ‘It is all in the Welcome Packet it takes some adjustment to become accustomed to the change but you will,’ He noted. ‘The contemplation of the never-ending vastness of God is intriguing, He said.

‘You keep saying that I have made it through the door, ‘Burp…Yawn,’ and what is the door,’ Baby asked?

‘All that you have done was done in the foyer you were not yet in the House and now you are inside…it is all in the Manual,’ She said with steady joy.

The wind is blowing a cool breeze. We have had a lot of wind lately. With wind comes change. I wrote of The Wizard Of Oz the other day and you will remember the tornado that carried Dorothy to the Land Of Oz. They were ‘not in Kansas anymore.’

Change surrounds us in our little corner of the world. Restaurants and businesses seem to close regularly. Our mall is a ghost town as retail struggles to operate a brick-and-mortar store in our online economy. Churches are shrinking. Politics/religion has replaced traditional faith venues. Power and money are lauded as supreme accomplishments while the poor beg for bread.

Change is a bit like the Kansas Tornado that Dorothy and Toto experienced. It is difficult to keep your balance. So what do we do? Do we hide our heads in the sand in the Ostrich fashion? Or shall we work to make our society better?

Lonely people are all around us. Make a friend. Bring them to Church as a social event. They might like it. Do not talk about it but rather illustrate Christ’s gospel.

Don’t focus on your friend’s favorite political candidate but rather on what politics was designed to do by our founding fathers. There is a separation of church and state for a reason. Politics does not belong in the church and religion has no place in politics.

Support small businesses. They are the backbone of your community.

Age is change. The pitfall of we Golden Years folks is the inability to adjust to our new reality.

I spend almost every day in the woods. My appreciation for our Earth grows exponentially. An observation from my years of empirical study has illustrated that humans are the species that are out of sync with our home. Our artificial life in the name of progress and money has given us a skewed opinion of what is important.

The joy of living is dependent on our home. Without Earth, we are lost and undone.

My carefree summers were spent at Pounds Hollow Lake. It was there that my love of nature first appeared. I learned that nature did not judge or condemn but was a loving presence.

MJ and I took two Alaskan Cruises and marveled at the Calving of the Glaciers and what that meant for our future. Soon the Glaciers will be gone.

We come from the Earth and to it we will return.

Earth Day is not just for young people. All of us have a manifest stake in our little blue orb.

Earth is our Diamond. We should polish it and cherish it. We will never get another…

Whimsy is whimsical. It brightens our lives. Without it, we might slide into the Follower camp.

‘Come with us we are the Followers, membership forms are at the desk and we even have our own buttons and hats,’ Cracky announced with a wide toothy grin.

‘What are the precepts of The Followers,’ asked Chet? ‘It appears that you have your own club and what then are the dues for joining and the goals of the organization,’ Chet continued.

‘Our motto is Don’t Make Waves and fidelity to mediocrity,’ Cracky explained. ‘Whatever worked in the past will certainly be good enough for now and in the future,’ he noted.

‘We have our own club and we call it Whimsy,’ Jane said. ‘We like to have fun and not take ourselves too seriously,’ she explained. ‘We are playful and unpredictable we seek to drink the juice of each day and let the overflow run down our chins,’ Jane laughed.

‘Of course, being a member of Whimsy does not make us irresponsible as that is the point, we have much responsibility and need a counterbalance to our worries and woes that we find in Whimsy,’ Billy B said.

‘We Followers do what the leader tells us and that saves us much worry and doubt as we do not have to concern ourselves with what we want but only what the Boss wants,’ Cracky said. ‘If the Great Leader told me to jump off of a cliff I would do it without thought,’ he continued.

‘Thoughts and opinions and research is the backbone of we Whimsical and propels us into a thorough enjoyment of fantasy when we get the opportunity,’ Chet noted. ‘At times being whimsical has been equated to frivolous when in fact Story and Poem and Play fuels our serious endeavours, Chet said with a satisfied gaze.

My goodness, it appears there is a serious discussion transpiring, SC said. ‘Can you help me unload my Subaru as I have brought out-of-season toys for all of the children of Eldorado,’ SC continued.

‘But it is only April,’ Cracky said with some wonder in his voice!

‘What better time to be surprised by Christmas gifts than April, I have a special one for you,’ SC said with a wink and a nod…

The Wizard Of Oz was a perennial favorite of my youth. Dorothy Scarecrow Tinman and the Cowardly Lion’s search for the Wizard was a quest that involved the yellow brick road and good and bad witches not to mention flying monkeys. The story had it all.

Wizard Of Oz had all of the answers to life’s persistent questions but he was unattainable and ensconced in his castle away from the little people. He was a massive big head that must be obeyed without question. His assistants demanded obeisance shown for Mr. Wizard. The marvelous appearance of his big knowing head and fiery rhetoric ensured he had all the answers. He was the leader.

As I watched the movie Civil War one of the characters who was a veteran reporter for What was Left of the New York Times told a new reporter that once you meet the human who is the leader it is usually disappointing as they were not the great leader that they portrayed themselves to be. The final scene of the movie illustrates this.

The Emporer loved his new clothes. All his sycophants agreed that he had the most luxurious royal garments. The Emporer was naked.

It is possible to look behind the Wizard Of Oz’s Curtain. Ignore the self-serving comments and bloviating. Look and see if what the Wizard says matches what he or she does. Measure if love is the motivation of the Wiz…or lust. Power is a compelling aphrodisiac.

Is the Wiz a leader for good or a sleepy old man with a child mind and the instincts of the schoolyard bully?

Brock Aaron Jonathon and I remember actor Charlie Sheen saying that people were jealous of him because he had tiger blood and was winning. Sadly in those halcyon days of Mr. Sheen, he was in a world of his own making, and to the casual observer, he certainly was not winning.

Waiting for Godot is tiring. While waiting, we seek our object of enlightenment in the company of those who share our frustrations and worldviews. If we were raised rough we seek others who had the same experience. If we are misunderstood we misunderstand others who are a bit different than we are. Godot is elusive.

Our affinity to join a group that reflects our experiences is powerful. Acceptance is the prize as we want to proclaim…Winning!

‘I wonder why Sally sits alone each day at lunch,’ Jane said. ‘She seems to have no friends and Julia makes fun of her clothing and how her hair looks,’ she continued.

‘I saw her crying yesterday in the cloakroom,’ Billy B mentioned. ‘Her Mom passed away at the beginning of the school year and she must now care for her little brother while her Dad works nights,’ Billy B continued.

‘Have you seen her art, it is exciting,’ Chet offered. ‘Sally paints in the Van Gough style,’ Chet said with a broad smile. ‘It seems that she is friendless due to Julia and her entourage deciding that she was an outcast,’ Chet said with a downcast look.

‘Hi Sally, may we join you for lunch,’ Jane asked? ‘Chet was telling us about your fine art and we would like for you to show your pieces in our local Art Show later this month,’ Jane said as she put her arm on her shoulder.

‘I did not know anyone knew about my painting, I do it in the evening while I am watching Jimmy my little brother,’ Sally said with a tear in her eye. ‘Painting makes me feel accepted, I miss my Mom so much,’ she continued.

‘First prize is awarded to Sally S for her painting…Waiting For Godot,’ the Judge said…

Enjoy the moment. Billions of moments make up our lives. We seek the big event and it is in front of our faces. Moments are the snapshots of our time here on Earth.

I saw the movie Civil War yesterday and it was jarring. The idea of our Good And Pleasant Land being torn apart was difficult to watch. Americans are accustomed to peace and tranquility, we do what we want and act as we please. We assume that everyone is enjoying life as we do. Our favorite restaurant welcomes us and holidays are a basic tenant of our yearly calendar. We worship where we choose, stay at home, or visit the woods for spiritual nourishment.

Constructive criticism is our birthright we exercise it daily.

The sudden report and crack of a semiautomatic weapon is frightening.

I sit on the Writing Porch and feel like I am in Maine. The birds are singing. The Great White Heron is fishing. I have returned from the woods where no one interfered with my daily walk and photography session. I pulled into Aldi’s grocery and the nice lady brought my groceries to my car. Surrounded by peace in a land of many strifes. When these strifes boil over we are surprised and dismayed. Why are there so many unhappy people?

Who is winning? Why must life be a zero-sum game? When you are hungry there is no peace. Persecution brings no peace. Marginalization and prejudice make it difficult to see the Good And Pleasant Land from your blanket that is next to your shopping cart holding all of your earthly possessions.

Live vicariously through our good fortune we say to the poor and the hungry those who have no voice.

We are proud Americans fighting and dying for our brothers and sisters from Missouri, Kentucky, California, and Texas. If you look like the image we see in our mirror and you sound like us you are us.

Who are all of these people who make up the Melting Pot of America? We did not live next door to them nor know their mama or dad. Did we play stickball with them or were they at our high school prom?

We just had our boil water order lifted but our nation is boiling, we all want to partake of the Good And Pleasant Land…

It seems that only yesterday 2024 was a baby in the stroller. Soon she will be middle-aged. Kids grow up quick. Or as Jonathon’s Aunt Marcy told him over the weekend she remembered rolling him in his stroller and it seems like yesterday and now he is 40.

So life passes too fast. ‘Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today because tomorrow may never come.’ As I grow older I learn each day that I do not have the answers to life’s persistent questions. I am humbled by my lack of knowledge. Most communication should be listening and talking is overrated.

We are all fragile. We are all needy. We are all lonely. We live in our heads most of the time. Our life is in front of our eyes and we search for it on one of our bevy of screens.

We are changing. Talk about a pluralistic society but our understanding is limited. Talk solves little unless the words come from our hearts.

Folks have been hidden for too long. They want to be accepted. We all want to be seen. We want a seat at the table.

‘Come home come home it’s suppertime the shadows lengthen fast. Come home come home it’s suppertime were going home at last.’ Ferlin Husky

It has been a warm and pleasant Sunday. The conclusion of Jonathon’s 40th Birthday Weekend with a wonderful visit from Marcy and Brock to put the cherry on top!

A marvelous dinner last night and let me say that the crab cakes were king. When Brock and Marcy come to see us the time flies by so quickly it seems like a few minutes. However, this time afforded us some extra exciting plans. We will proceed with a writing project we first discussed in Maine last fall. The feeling of joyful anticipation was palpable as we brainstormed on the Writing Porch! There will be upcoming illustration collaborations and even media events on YouTube… It will be a Family Affair and will be a life-changing event. Every now and then the Muse sits on our shoulders. You experience clarity as to the next steps a few times in life, and this is one of those times.

Be on the lookout for something completely different and profoundly original.