The little Southern Illinois and former coal mining town was resplendent in Holiday Decorations. The parking along the town was striped for diagonal parking. The brilliantly lit Christmas wreaths were stretched across the road and secured on either side by the telephone poles. For a small town as all of Little Egypt’s towns were…it was dazzling. There was a humongous Santa Claus statue near the bank, accentuating the uptown Quadrangle. The little town was of faith and many churches dotted its blocks.

The Orpheum Theatre marquee was ablaze with cascading lights. Lanny gave Billy B a drive to the Christmas Movie. A fifth of Peppermint Schnapps sat next to the happy driver and he offered Billy B a drink if he so chose. Billy B thirstily drank not 1 drink but 3 or 4 and suddenly felt very much in the yuletide mood. ‘Are you sure you are alright to go to the movie,’ asked Lanny?

‘I have never felt better if I may be so bold…I must have some more Schnapps soon,’ Billy B said with red-cheeked and watery-eyed joy! ‘I must confess that is the best Peppermint Schnapps that I have ever tasted,’ Billy B proclaimed!

The Orpheum was full of Holiday Cheer. Billy B stumbled to his seat…he was 9 years old. He fell asleep before the opening credits of It’s A Wonderful Life…

As Billy B left the Theatre he noticed Christmas Cookies Divinity and Holiday Punch for sale along the sidewalk the Orpheum set on. Where was the Ben Franklin Dime Store and Carter and Choisser’s Drug Store? Several people were wearing top hats and an English Bobby was standing next to him. A horse-drawn carriage pulled up to where he was standing and the driver asked if would like a ride…and he rode with joy. In the large circle of the connecting streets of the Quadrangle where many special events were held… was a group of young women dancing to the most compelling tune. Their graceful movements were swan-like and it was obvious that they had practiced for some time. Christmas arts and crafts were in every widow and hanging from all lampposts.

Eldorado was different but it was beautiful… Everyone was happy and full of the Spirit of Christmas…and Billy B awoke in 1966…

Derrick brought the Spirit of Christmas to our house. He is our Pest Control Technician. Derrick and his wife have a new baby. He is over the moon regarding the miracle of the New Life in his home. He shared with MJ and me several photos of his pride and joy and in one the baby had a little sock hat on and I immediately was reminded of Aaron and Jonathon. Derrick has two more stops to make and then he must rush home and get mother and baby for a Christmas Party…

The Advent of New Life is precious and always worthy of a celebration. The profound excitement of being in the world and a part of all of its sights, sounds, and mysteries is exhilarating to experience and exciting for those who drink the cup of life with you. Whether it is your first Christmas or your 66th…life is new every morning.

A bit jaded we are by some repetition. I was watching the movie…The Square…which illustrates the vagaries of what is considered art and who assigns the value. In the film, the main character is engrossed in the nuances of art and his promoting of it. At the same time, there are homeless all around him on the streets outside his museum. Although he turns his head and pretends not to notice them he does answer a poor woman that he does not have cash for her request but that he would buy her something to eat. She responds immediately with a food order. When she complains that he got an item of the request wrong he looks on with some disgust.

‘I must get the kitty cats’ food ready…they like the cereal that I cook for them,’ Neva J said with a twinkle in her eye. ‘They wait for me each morning and come running when I bring the big pot that has the warm food in it…there were just a few of them but the group has grown to 10 or more over the years,’ she continued. ‘If it was not for me…they would starve.’

‘I love to watch the Christmas Eve Service from the Vatican,’ Chet remarked. ‘The pageantry and vibrant colors and the statue of the Baby Jesus in the manger inspires me,’ he mentioned. ‘The humility of Pope Francis captivates my imagination,’ he continued. ‘He seems to love those who lack love and who have been forgotten by society, Chet said softly.

‘How is it that you noticed me when no one else did…when I walked down the sidewalk many looked the other way or crossed the street to not have to encounter me,’ Abigail with one eye asked?

‘When I see you I see Jesus…when I see you…I see love and New Life,’ Neva J answered…

I met a lot of good people. It is a destructive myth that the world is full of bad and dishonest folk. In fact, the evil-doers are still in the minority. Everywhere I look I find goodwill and help for the asking. I recall beginning at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale 45 years ago. I was but a lad and the night supervisor even referred to me as ‘Lad.’ I knew little although I thought I had the corner of life’s knowledge and wisdom. I was amazed at the colleagues who showed me the ropes of working in Building Services and for the University. I felt like I had found a family…

When I attend our church…First Presbyterian in Carbondale…I feel the love of grounded Christians and the bedrock assurance that they desire my success. I am always pleased to see Rev. Judy Beyler who never fails to greet me and who remembers me although many years have passed since she was my pastor. Belonging is a blessing and a Balm of Gilead for the lonely soul.

Life can be scary. I recall texting and communicating with Rev. Janice West when MJ was diagnosed with breast cancer. I can feel today how frightened I was and how comforting Rev. West’s words were to me. Although MJ and I were in St. Louis for medical treatments…Janice was there because of modern technology and it meant a lot to both of us.

Alone on the stormy sea is scary. Believing that no one cares is devastating. Christmas is the time to change those depressing feelings. If I have learned anything in my 45 years of being a Christian it is that love for our fellow man is the teaching of the gospel of Christ. Not our fidelity to our doctrine or our desire to be Biblically correct at the expense of those whom we disagree with.

Tonight a young woman will take a hit of fentanyl and hope for oblivion from her loneliness and suffering. An upper-middle-class couple will have a Christmas Party with all of the best flavors of Ordevours and Grey Goose Vodka and the finest of bourbons. Laughter will ensue and shared projections for the future of the Stock Market will be enjoyed. After it is over they will seek some solace in additional pharmaceuticals and reveal the face of sadness that they only display when no one is looking…

A young girl sits on one of the heating grates of your city. Her mom and dad cast her out because she did not comply with their fundamentalist beliefs. They told her to come back when she decided that she wanted to serve Jesus.

Mary and Joseph make the arduous trek to Bethlehem. Mary is great with child. The trip is hard dusty and long. No one notices the young couple…they are not on the radar of the elite or the religious members of the day. They feel like they must be on Earth II. How could what the angel said be correct.

Billy B and MJ were traversing the cobblestone sidewalks of St Charles. Most people seemed very happy. Christmas is a happy time of year. The holiday decorations were resplendent. The wind was cold but their hearts were warm. Giant Nutcrackers were guarding the doors of the shops and their regular toothy grin was plastered on their faces. Everyone smiled more broadly as the holiday season lends itself to smiles. The Santa Claus and Dickens characters were absent as they did not appear on Tuesday. However, Billy B saw them in his mind’s eye. They walked the length of the historic Missouri town. At the end of the first leg of the walk was their favorite store. They always found something special in their Christmas Store. The Big Laddro Santa that MJ got for Billy B when he turned 50 held a special place in their hearts.

Billy B thought it a bit unusual that MJ was shopping with some determination and he wondered to himself if she was a girl on a mission.

Christmas Trees…the small decorative variety captured her imagination. And then there was the handpainted and handmade Nutcracker ornaments in a wonderful wooden box that were on sale for 50% off. Folks were talkative with strangers and spoke of their Christmas Dreams and their hope for the future.

As Billy B and MJ walked to their restaurant for lunch of Reuben Sandwiches and Grand Marnier a young woman stopped them and asked MJ for her opinion on the wedding ring that she had just purchased for her beloved. The ring was beautiful but the look of love in her eyes was mesmerizing. She indicated that her betrothed was a woman and quickly commented that we would…’ Tread lightly on that subject…’ MJ and Billy B told her that was wonderful and congratulated her…whereupon her eyes glistened and she wished them Merry Christmas and pronounced God’s blessing upon them. The Ringbearer and person unequivocally in love said, ‘It is about love and nothing more.’

Broadway is bright with the lights of the holiday season. There is a feeling of Christmas in the air. Each patron greets and smiles at their fellow as they enter under the flashing Marquee. The holiday decorations are beautiful and have an old-world Victorian charm. We feel as if we have time traveled back to the time of Dickens and Tiny Time and Bob Cratchit.

The Curtain is rising above the stage. The band is playing a snappy Christmas tune. On stage are the Holiday Players and their singing voices are in the theatrical range. Our hearts swell with emotion and we are filled with love for our fellow man and woman and boy and girl. We wonder why we do not feel this passion all year through. The Christmas audience is resplendent in their yuletide best. The brightness and the panoply of sounds, sights, and smells are overwhelming. The wise men enter from the back of the House. One sings in a profound and resonant bass voice. Things will be different we think…after this Christmas Moment we are changed.

The little girl holds her tattered coat closed about her freezing body. She sits on the cold metal steps in the dirty alley at the back of the glittering theatre.

Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday that I was rejoicing in my favorite months of the year…the ‘Ber’ months and now they are all completed but one. September was our annual Maine Holiday and then October brought my 66th birthday November Aaron’s 42nd birthday and then Thanksgiving. Christmastime has arrived…

I just finished another fascinating Stephen King novel entitled Holly. Two of its main characters were retired professors and I identified with them as during my career I was friends with many professors and developed a bit of a feel for the academic community. I also am retired and in my golden years. Rather than reveal the premise of the book away although it is revealed soon into the reading…it caused me to think of the old adage…what goes on behind closed doors…

We blue-collar folks and those of us who have experienced the other side of the tracks…have a bit of a hero worship for the elite of our society. As I heard an acolyte of a former President say, ‘He is the leader and so he gets to do whatever he wants.’ We are certain that our betters know what is best for us. Or as a good friend told MJ many years ago they really did not want to chart their own path and enjoyed a leader doing their thinking for them.

The irony of our society having more information at our fingertips and less understanding of facts is compelling. We all have been provided our megaphone and work daily to see who can speak the loudest.

MJ and I saw the most spirit-lifting short Christmas Special, Hannah Waddingham’s Home For Christmas on Apple TV+. I look for an event or if I am lucky two that renew the Spirit of Christmas in my heart…this show has done the trick and then some. Hannah’s wonderful voice and the passion with which she sings are inspirational!

O Little Town of Bethlehem calls us to see each other as brothers and sisters on the same journey. The Star in the east is leading us to where the baby lay in a manger with no crib for a bed. The story of Christmas is the story of the equality of humankind. None better than others nor none less than their neighbors.

Few will remember what we knew how much money we had or how fine our home and car were…they will remember how we made them feel…

Our smile is long remembered when given with love to our fellow man and woman and when we offer our heartfelt smile to those who receive few…it is indelible in their memory.

When we leave…our smile will remain…

So many of our days blend together into a melange of bitter and sweet. When asked what we had for dinner last night we may not be able to recount our delicacies. But holidays we remember.

‘I can not wait to taste your mom’s Famous Coffee Cake, Steve said. ‘She makes me feel so welcome that I often feel that she is my mom too,’ he continued.

‘Neva J is just that way,’ Chet chimed in. ‘She has been treating me like a member of the B family for as long as I can remember, he smiled.

‘No matter how lonely I feel like I am part of the family when Neva J is with me,’ Jane said with a laugh. ‘And she has the best Merlot Wine to quicken our Holiday Happiness,’ she added.

‘Neva J is a practitioner of the old adage that Life is for the Living and as long as we are drawing breath we are in the contest,’ Billy B noted. ‘She heard that Mrs. Westbrook had nowhere to go for Christmas dinner and she quickly invited her to dine with us,’ Billy B added.

‘Not only did she invite her for Christmas dinner but she purchased a brand new holiday dress and ensemble and ordered her a food order to be delivered each month of the New Year,’ Jane said. ‘Neva J told her that she must take Sunday dinner with us from now on and we are all going to the movies at the Orpheum Theatre the day after Christmas,’ Jane continued with tears in her eyes.

Knock…knock…knock came on the front door of the little house in Eldorado. At the door was an old man with a long white beard to ask if Neva J was home. When she came to the door she and the old man spoke for some time and she laughed heartily and hugged him before he left.

‘What did the Old Prophet tell you,’ Chet asked?

‘He thanked me for keeping the Lord’s commandments of loving others as he had loved us…’ she answered.

‘Where is she…have you seen her…she was just here,’ asked Jane?

‘There seems to be nothing left but her smile,’ Chet answered with a wistful gaze…

As Ripley would say in days gone by…’ Believe it or not…’ Christmastime Is Coming. ‘LeRoy Robert Ripley (February 22, 1890 – May 27, 1949) was an American cartoonist, entrepreneur, and amateur anthropologist, who is known for creating the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! newspaper panel series, television shows, and radio show, which features odd facts from around the world.’ Wikipedia

We mark our years with our holidays. Christmas is a significant marker. It is the year’s end. It is hope for the new year. Christmas is more about how it makes people feel than their individual religious affiliations. It is a bit about our shared humanity.

We have a lot of darkness in our world…Christmas is a time for light peace and love for our fellow humans who are on the same journey that we are on.

Money provides a temporary false security. As I heard a commentator on television say when discussing the end of the world…’ the end of the world is going to come for each of us in a matter of a few decades.’

So we struggle with our identity and our mission in life and at times we become a bit sidetracked by signposts along our journey that say ‘This Way To Success’…or we see…’ Follow the Arrow Toward a Happy Life’. when indeed we were already on the road to a happy life, the profound secret is that happiness comes from within and no one holds the key to our happiness.

Alcohol nor drugs prescribed or not, create a worry-free and stress-free life. Happiness comes one day at a time. It comes with the smallest joys and the peace of staying on track. Happiness comes quietly and with the solemn beauty of a lit candle and a tinkling bell and
Christmastime is coming again…Believe It Or Not…

‘The Woods are lovely dark and deep,’ Robert Frost told us…and they are cold today. I remember enjoying the woods in the cold because the frigid temperatures produce a quiet environment. I did not remember how cold feels when you are not used to it. I wonder where the colorful leaves have gone that were everywhere a month ago.

The 2023 Christmas Tree is up and all of the usual suspects of Christmas decorations are in their prescribed places. Carpets of leaves cover the ground. I am enjoying a White Russian that is doing quite well warming my old bones.

Black Friday morning we shopped at Kohl Department Store. It was jam-packed and full of people and I remembered years gone by when our University Mall’s parking lots were all full and it was difficult to find a parking place.

Blue Sky Winery was busy on Friday and they had live music. One of the singers looked familiar and MJ thought that the gentlemen looked like they might have performed with the Rolling Stones. Their music had a well-traveled feel and their faces revealed a lot of life lived.

Yesterday on Small Business Saturday Jonathon and I visited Cricket & Red Brick Antique Store and I purchased a vintage doll…yes, I am an old man and I bought an Old Doll. The box she was in was original packaging yellowed and fragile with age.

‘I love antiques,’ said Neva J. ‘I found three more glass dolls to add to the collection,’ she continued.

‘Did you see the antique full-length mirror in the back room of the store,’ Jane asked with a wink and a smile? ‘As I was peering at myself in the mirror I saw a scene behind me which was not the Antique Store,’ she mentioned with a slight shudder.

‘My goodness we are in the woods and it is cold,’ said Chet with a perplexed look in his eyes. ‘I see the Antique Store at the end of a long tunnel…and there is snow on the ground…and a carriage coming upon us,’ Chet continued…

‘Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.’

‘My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake.’

‘The darkest evening of the year.’

‘He gives his harvest bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.’

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.’ Robert Frost

Thanksgiving was coming from afar as we looked down the track and saw its smoke…now it has whisked by and the Polar Express is visible on our horizon. We put up the Christmas Tree this morning, and all Brooks except Mylo participated. Yesterday we shopped local and Aaron bought me a Hallmark Christmas ornament of Chevy Chase playing Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation. The movie’s premiere seems like yesterday but it was 34 years ago. Chevy Chase recently turned 80… MJ and I saw it in the theatre and it was a Christmas that we indeed ‘needed a little Christmas!’

Christmas is my favorite time of year and has been so since I was a wee lad. Laughing Santa took center stage in my youth and he does once again with an exact replica of my childhood friend that Jonathon gave me for Christmas a few years ago. He has a joyful countenance on his rubber face and a crank on his back that when turned utters…’ hee…hooo…haa…unintelligible noise akin to a dying duck in a hail storm… The Laughing Santa that I had in the ’60s’ sounded the same way…after a little egg nog.

Aluminum Christmas Trees were all the rage in the 1960s. Then you had to purchase a light to shine on the tree that either changed colors as it rotated or was a stationary light that was usually blue. This may have been the Christmas Tree in Elvis Presley’s home when he sang Blue Christmas…

Jonathon and I are off to Cricket & Red Brick Antique Store in Cartervile to ascertain if they have any Vintage Christmas Treasures that we can not live without…