People were everywhere at Giant City this morning. They know it is the first day of fall. Many of them were hiking and exploring and even a young man in a Park Service uniform was present. The leaves have begun to change color and several are already falling. Many folks were walking their dogs and some of them two at a time. We, humans, enjoy many similar things. When you think about it the most pleasant aspect of living on Earth is the Earth. I love collectibles and art but they are at their best mere representations of the natural beauty and supreme splendor of our home.

Having recently returned from our Maine Holiday I noted that we relished the house that we stayed in that had been built before the Civil War and our search for the best seafood was exciting…nothing compared with the abundant beauty that was all around us. When I immerse myself in the truth of the woods and the ocean I wonder, as the parking attendant told me in Philadelphia when I did not want to leave the keys to our rental car in the driver’s seat and the windows down, ‘What you crying about Mon?’

‘Let us go hiking at Giant City State Park,’ Billy B. exclaimed!

‘After all, it is the first day of Autumn…and the leaves are changing colors,’ Chet replied.

‘Are the snakes in their dens or wherever it is that they stay,’ Jane asked with fright?

‘I will pack some Merlot as I read that they do not like the smell of red wine,’ Neva J. said with a giggle.

‘This trail is the most dense and winding that I have ever been on,’ Billy B. remarked. ‘It is as if it doubles back on itself and we never seem to reach the end of it although it said that it was 1 mile we have been walking for over 2 hours,’ said Billy B.

‘Ahead it a clearing and I think that it high time for a wine and hot dog break…and I have some cheese as well, said Neva J.

‘You know that in the early days, glaciers flattened the land in most of Illinois and that is why Little Egypt is so different than the rest of Illinois. You do realize that glaciers swept across most of the land in Illinois the Illinoan glacier went as far as Carbondale in Southern Illinois,’
Chet said with a wink.

‘Is that why the topography is so different in the southern part of the state as compared to the rest of it,’ Jane asked?

‘Indeed it is…we live in a very unique region and that is why tourists love our area of the country so much, Chet smiled.

A Neva J. poured everyone another glass of Merlot and handed out the Oscar Mayer Weiners Chet said that he would like his fresh from the plastic.

‘I think I see a clearing from the trail just ahead,’ Jane called out.

‘Good day, my friends…I am Louis Jolliet and my partner is Jacques Marquette…we are a bit lost…could you direct us back to our camp,’ asked Louis?

As I was puttering around this morning I thought that I felt a bit better than usual and then it dawned on me the Elixr Of Fall. MJ and I were in St. Louis for the past couple of days and we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Bartilinos thus I changed my birthday plans for the third and final time to Bartilinos. A perfect birthday celebration for me is a movie at the Landmark Theatre at Frontenac and a dinner at Bartilinos.

I am amazed at how fast September is getting away from us! The first of my four favorite months will soon be over. I have been photographing the first leaf color changes and soon the trees will be resplendent in their coats of many colors. MJ says that she would like to see the Northern Lights…I am ready to go.

I retired and I considered that I had the good possibility of a few choice years of early retirement… But, the retirement years go by more rapidly than the work years…and they were like the blink of an eye.

While I was in Eldorado last Saturday I reminisced what it looked like over 50 years ago. There was quite a bit of commerce and bustling about. I enjoyed buying my Halloween Costume from the Ben Franklin Dime Store. I loved horror and science fiction movies. My cousin Billy and I made our own 8-millimeter film of the Creature From The Black Lagoon. I played the Creature and wore Billy’s Creature mask which was compelling. I also wore the Creature From The Black Lagoon’s Creature Hands. It was a scary sight! In those halcyon days, we trick-or-treated without our parents accompanying us. Everyone knew everyone in Eldorado. I relished the plastic pumpkin that I collected my booty in. No paper bag for me… Neva J. seemed to take as much joy in my ill-gotten gains as I did. Once when I asked her who the devil was she said that she was and gave a wicked grin.

Edgar Allen Poe was my favorite author. I gave oral book reports on some of his stories and portrayed all of the parts. I watched the original version of The Haunting which was taken from the Shirley Jackson book The Haunting Of Hill House. It was and still is the scariest movie that I have ever seen. In one scene two of the female characters are sharing a bedroom in the haunted house and are sleeping in twin beds that are on either wall of the massive room. The Haunting never shows a ghost or monster but rather the house is the malevolent entity. After one of the women is awakened by some extreme knocking and bizarre house noises she asks her friend to not hold her hand so tightly. She repeats this entreaty until she has awoken the other woman, who I learned years later was romantically interested in her, and the woman says that she is not holding her hand. She turns the lights on to reveal her arm and hand are draped outside the bed… To this day I will not drape my arm and hand outside my bed…

Fall brings us the closing of botanical life for the year. Trees and flowers appear to die…but they return in the Spring… Fall assures us that we are loved. Life slows down a bit and hope ties it’s platform shoes. It is time to have some fun chills and some thankfulness and to turn our attention to helping others.

Just over two weeks ago we began our wonderful visit to Maine. We had anticipated the journey for over a year. Finally Wednesday evening after a long day of hurry up and wait we were there. Our accommodations were built before the Civil War and were one of the most interesting homes that I have ever stayed in. As we unloaded the luggage and began taking the suitcases into the old and large home we heard a woman’s voice call out, ‘Hello…Hello,’ and I assumed that someone must be in the residence. Calling in response brought no answer…there was no one there.

Screech…was the sound that woke us and I found it a bit disconcerting until I realized that it was a bald eagle. Soon the Screech was music to my ears. On our first night, we had lively and fun discussions as to whether or not we should leave the doors unlocked and the windows open on the ground floor due to there being no air conditioning other than in the bedroom that MJ and I slept in. I enjoyed telling some spontaneous ghost stories which had added effect after the unexplained Hello. The incredible home was secluded and the rustic environment was enticing…until darkness fell.

There was a strange and mysterious staircase as well. Where the stairs led to we can not say as they were complicated to traverse. I wondered if the Hello Woman lived at the bottom. Our discussions over cards led us to ruminate as to all of the people who had lived in the house. What lives had been seen and experienced and what deaths had sadly transpired.

If the house in Maine could only talk…or perhaps it did…

Autumn contains the quiet times. Our world slows down a bit. Reflection and thought are more easily accessible. Hope is turned to more frequently. Pumpkins and Pumpkin Spice haunt our dreams and we think of loved ones who have passed from us. The joy that they brought us and the seeming assurance that it was always going to be as it was in our most splendid times together.

Some have money and plenty of it. They tell us to do as they have done and act as they act and we too will be rich. Others have power and authority and know that they are God’s gift…they assume. Still, others preach to us and demand that we believe their doctrine and respect their arduous study and their personal pipeline to heaven.

We yearn to understand. We feel the hope of the unseen. Peace is our welcome companion. Our ‘Betters’ say to us, ‘Follow me and I will lead you…you know that you require a leader,’ while we hear an inner voice that is a still small wind and it comforts us in our distress.

Detective is our profession and mystery is our vocation. What is beyond the veil? Is death simply God’s Other Door and when we walk through it…we will understand the Secret?

There is a lovely fall breeze blowing through the writing room. I have seen my first leaves changing colors. My Fall Spirits are lifted. Last week was simply a wonderful time in Maine. We sailed and hunted for lighthouses and ate Red’s Lobster Roll. It is cooler today in Southern Illinois than it was in Maine for most of our stay. There was even a Bald Eagle’s nest on a little island just off Graywoods and it screeched a memorable cry. When we arrived at the empty house MJ and I distinctly heard a woman’s voice call out, ‘Hello…Hello,’ and try as we might we attempted to answer her but she did not reply.

So, I heard a quote from a book on the life of Edgar Cayce where he referred to ‘God’s Other Door,’ and I liked the sound of it. One thing is for certain…we are uncertain about life after death. The great actress Betty White said before she died that we soon find out what the secret is.

Life is the greatest mystery. Have you ever seen an automobile wreck and thought that if you had been a few seconds ahead of your location on the road it could have been you? Seemingly minor or inconsequential choices make for major life changes. I began my career at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale as a Building Service Worker I but spent the majority of my time there as a member of management/administration.

Ghost stories make a chill go up our spine. We are entering the time of year when they will be prolific. When we moved to Eldorado from Chicago in the fall of 1963 we truly moved into a haunted house. I was 5 years old and my world had been turned upside down. I slept on a cot in the utility room. The house creaked and groaned and I heard whispering. On one occasion I heard a voice proclaim that I was meaner than the devil…when I asked in what way…silence.

So what is the Secret that Betty White spoke of? Is it a narrow view of the afterlife that our church dogma has taught us…or is it as big as God…

‘I think that this visit to Maine has been my most enjoyable,’ Billy B. said with a wink.

‘Could it have been the Lobster Roll from Red’s Eats in Wiscasset,’ Jane asked?

‘I think my favorite part was the Maine Beach,’ Brock announced!

‘My favorite was the ghost of the old pre-civil war house,’ Marcy said with a shudder.

‘Well, the sailboat excursion was my fave with the opportunity to talk with the Captain for most of the two hours that we were on the ocean,’ Aaron said.

‘I like my Lighthouse Tatoo very much,’ Billy B. grinned.

I wrote in my Travel Journal and sweet Emily came to visit me once again,’ Jonathon mused.

‘I thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast at the little cafe in Bath and the Bakery that is next door has the most spectacular pastries that I have ever tasted,’ Jane said.

‘The Lighthouses were unparalled and the granite dock was treacherous,’ Brock noted.

‘Big Girl and Puddin made the trip delightfully funny and exciting. The stories of their many adventures were amazing,’ Billy B. said with a hearty laugh!

‘We had a Fecking wicked time,’ said Brock.

‘I can still hear the bald eagle screech,’ Aaron said.

‘I still taste the fried oysters that we had in Camden…and my o my what delicious Dirty Martinis,’ Billy B. exulted!

Suddenly came a knock at the front door. ‘Who could it be on a quiet Sunday afternoon, Marcy asked?

‘My lord help us…it is Puddin and Big Girl,’ Brock said with a wicked grin.

Today I was in Eldorado and I saw the Town & Country Parade. Town & Country Days were a big celebration when I was a youngster in Eldorado 60 years ago. I vividly recall the preparation of converting the town square into a Carnivale Pavillion. The Cake Walk was one of my favorite pastimes…once I won a cake. As I looked among the joyful faces I sought a face that I recognized. Then it occurred to me that it had been 48 years since I resided in Eldorado and that if there were still people I had once known they might think…who is that old fellow?

The passion and beauty of a small town is unparalleled. While those who perceive themselves to be a bit urbane the reality of our planet is that many of us come from rural areas, villages, and hamlets. Communal celebrations are vital to us. Our kids all know each other and our parents are bound by the cords of community.

Living in Eldorado was to be a part of something bigger than myself. It had the feel of the big city and my backyard at the same time. Folks did not have money as their prime motivator. There were times like the Town & Country Days when everyone from Eldorado knew what they were all about. Heart and home and church and family. As well as the joy of all kids…free candy…

This year in Maine or last week…we had the unique experience of sailing for a two-hour tour. I do not believe that any of us had ever been on a sailboat previously. We set out from Booth Bay Harbor. It was an evening sail which made it all of the nicer.

A different world is sailing on the sea. I soon forgot my cares of the land lover. The gentle swaying of the schooner and the hoisting of the massive sails caused me to feel a bit of what the sailors of old felt as they made their home on the water. The culture is different than ours for the sailboat crew. The words are different and when spoken are heeded quickly. All of the crew were barefoot and with good reason…how are you going to climb the rigging with shoes on?

Artificial melts away. There is hope and peace and contentment on the water. The petty cares of who has the most money or possessions are lost in the grandeur of the majestic experience…

We have just returned from a wonderful Maine Holiday. Having Brock and Marcy join us this year made it the most special of our six visits to the Pine Tree State in the past 14 years. We stayed at Graywoods just about a mile from Bath. Graywoods has majestic scenery and a sense of peace and isolation. The beauty of the manor was unparalleled and we felt the love and laughter that had been and I am sure still is being enjoyed in its confines.

The most memorable adventure was our excursion on a sailboat. The Captain was from Illinois. The adventure was infectious. The memories are endearing.

Our dear friend Emily joined us once again and made our visit all the more special. She has such a lovely and winning personality and she picks up card games quick. Maine teaches me what I should be and how to not take myself or life so seriously. There is a beat to Maine and it is regular and measured and symphonic.

‘I like bells, ‘Puddin said.

‘I like bells too, replied Big Girl.

‘What a splendid bell this is,’ Puddin exclaimed!

‘At home, Mother will never allow me to ring the dinner bell which she calls a cowbell,’ Big Girl sighed…

‘Do you think some cows would come if we rang this bell, Puddin asked with a slight smile?

Clang…Clang…Clang peeled the large iron bell over looking at the ocean.

‘That was super fun Big Girl said, as the massive bell rang over the woods and ocean.

Moo…said the cow as he lazily walked up to Puddin and Big Girl…