Upon our first trip to Europe, I learned that it was customary to refer to your vacation as your holiday in the Old Country. Since that time it has been my custom to do so as I like the term better.

‘I think I am just about packed for Gatlinburg,’ Billy B. announced.

‘I remember our first visit to Cades Cove and reveling in the history that surrounds it,’ Neva J. replied.

‘This is my favorite time to visit…arriving the last hour of Christmas Eve and then enjoying a cup of hot cocoa as Christmas arrives,’ Jane smiled.

‘Do you ever feel that we have had this conversation before and that the next thing we are going to do is to step out onto the balcony and see the Smoky Mountains light up as if they were on fire…but it is winter…it is Christmas Eve and they are snow covered,’ Chet asked with a faraway look in his eyes?

Cades Cove was brilliantly decked out in it’s Holiday Splendor. Billy B. and Neva J. had been coming to the Cove for so many years that they had purchased a handcrafted model village of the historic buildings left in CC. Billy B.’s favorite was the Methodist Church with snow on the roof and the surrounding yard covered and a large Christmas Wreath above the welcoming front door.

‘I hope you did not forget the flasks of Moon Shine that I packed for us…you know that is my favorite part of Christmas Eve,’ Jonathon said with a hearty laugh!

‘My flask is the one labeled AB…it has just the plain Shine rather than the flavored stuff that you guys enjoy,’ Aaron said with a wink.

‘Every time I drink too much Shine I see the past,’ Uncle Brock said. Suddenly the Cades Cove settlers are here again and they are cutting wood for winter,’ he continued.

‘Greetings friends…are you here to go on the Cades Cove Hike,’ asked Reuben?

‘The path is totally grown over until it is almost dark…do you ever lose anyone on it,’ Neva J. asked with a smile as she tipped up her flask.

‘No madam…they just keep coming back,’ Reuben said slowly and with the care of a former time.

‘God help us…the bastards did it…they had to use them since they had them,’ Chet exclaimed as he and Billy B. looked out from their balcony at the Smoky Mountains…lit up with nuclear fire…

Life is full and free and sweet when you focus on the things that matter. It is the beginning of another heat wave in Little Egypt but the morning cloud cover has made it bearable. The Woods were dark and subdued upon my visit today. The trees whispered…’ Change is coming.’ I have noticed that I snap a lot of very similar photos…but they look different to me and inspire me anew each day.

The constant chase of power and prestige is a bit of a fool’s errand. Both soon evaporate in the realities of our shared humanity. It has been said that people tend to become more conservative as they age…I have become more liberal. You see we are all God’s creation and he loves us all. The environment is a powerful factor. We often think like the people that surround us. There is a false peace in refusing to change your mind. If you always believe that you are right…you are indeed wrong.

Obsessed we are with personality. The obsession clouds our judgment. We fail to think logically when confronted with the truth if it does not comport with our favorite leader. When I asked as a young man what my aunt Guelda thought of meeting the famous comedian Bob Hope and the renowned singer Bing Crosby she replied that they were simply men who put their pants on one leg at a time. Now that I am old I see the wisdom of her words.

Our greatest heroes and the wisest among us…are never seen. They seek neither fame nor fortune and do not engage in the orator’s hobby of lofty rhetoric. We all fall short of our best selves. We are made of dirt and water…we must not be too proud…mud.

Carbondale is a lovely town in Southern Illinois. With the influence of Southern Illinois University, we have an accepting attitude. You can be who you are in Carbondale.

Faith has captivated my thoughts for over 55 years. I watch with great interest as some preach Christ’s words as words of love and inclusion…while others make his words into something hateful and hurtful. Many of our fellow travelers seek solace and faith and peace in other areas outside the church…they have been hurt before. Some say that if you give your money to them you will become rich. Often these grand orators become richer…while you struggle to pay your light bill and put butter and bread on the table.

The trees are right…change is coming. The Bible says that the meek shall inherit the earth.

Summer is over a month old. It will soon be middle-aged. The heat indices have exceeded 100 degrees today. It is hot. It was an excellent day to see Oppenheimer the movie in the air-conditioned theatre. Three hours long and thirty minutes of coming attractions. When I was a youngster one of the advantages of going to the movies in the summer was being allowed to luxuriate in air-conditioned bliss. The real Oppenheimer always looked haunted to me. His eyes betrayed his conflict. He appeared to be a man who could see two worlds…

The movie is based on the book American Prometheus by authors Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. They wrote it over 25 years. ‘Prometheus is best known for defying the Olympian gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity through technology, knowledge, and more generally, civilization.’

Just after the end of the Cold War our politicians and pundits pontificated on their belief that nuclear warheads from the former Soviet Union need no longer be feared. The Bomb Race was over. Why now we could convert our backyard bomb shelters into potato bins and storage units and clubhouses. I grew up fearing the bomb. Our school had regular Bomb Drills where an alarm blared out and we would ‘Duck And Cover!’ We were on the brink of Nuclear War during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Of late Russia’s leader Putin says that he may use nuclear warheads in his battle to take the Ukraine.

There was some pretty tasty candy in the Civil Defense Sealed Tins in the tunnels under the Engineering And Technology building on the Campus of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale when I worked there in 1980. It was a bit surreal to see the boxes of crackers tins of candy and other survival items for use in the event of a nuclear war.

Oppenheimer feared that once the atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and a few days later on Nagasaki…all countries would want the Bomb. There was a fear that the detonation of the atomic bomb had the potential to destroy the planet. Over two hundred thousand people died as a result of the bombs…’Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man.’

It seems we seek the deliverance of Peace through the atomic fires of death. Oppenheimer said that Hindu scripture ran through his mind at the sight of the explosion. ‘Now I am become Death the destroyer of worlds.’

The movie asks the question that we have lived with since the carnage of Hiroshima and Nagasaki…’ Perhaps the fear is realized that the dropping of the atomic bombs…will destroy the world…’

Excitement is in the air! Anticipation energy and a spring in our step…in summer and it is the order of the day. Sunday is a special day. It is the first day of the week…you know.

Do you remember your first kiss? Do you recall the joy mystery and magic of raising your children? Do you reminisce about the expectation that came each morning? Well…life has not given up on being an elixir of joy peace and hope. As I gazed up into the sky above the Forest this morning I was reminded of the majesty of God’s creation.

‘You shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands…’ Isaiah 55:12

As a young man, I traveled from Eldorado to Elkville for church. Often I took the Gulf Transport Bus to Carbondale and friends would pick me up. I was as the kids say…pumped! The hope of the love of Christ and the time I spent with my friends was music to my ears. The Bible enthralled me and captivated my heart. Joy became my constant companion.

Each day I enjoy my travels with what I am sure… my Guardian Angel. I am always looking for the next happy surprise…as Kramer said during the celebration of George Costanza’s family derivative of Christmas…’Another Festivus Miracle!’

‘Can I dress as Bozo The Clown this Halloween,’ Billy B. asked Neva J.? ‘Yes I bought you a Bozo Costume when we went to see Lady And The Tramp with Steve Susie and Ivy,’ Neva J. answered. ‘I am excited about my plastic pumpkin collecting receptacle for all of the candy that I will be receiving…I have not seen one so nice with any of my friends,’ Billy B. exclaimed! ‘Ivy told me that Susy is going as Lady and Steve has a coutume of Tramp,’ Neva J. laughed. ‘Are you still going as Jackie Kennedy,’ Billy B. asked with a wide smile…as he understood how much Neva J. admired the First Lady. ‘Who will be JFK,’ asked Billy B.? ‘Why Ivy has taken the assignment…and she has purchased a suit and cut her hair short and actually she looks quite a bit like the President,’ Neva J. exulted.

‘There are a lot of ghosts and goblins out tonight…as well as bad clowns,’ said Billy B. ‘Do you mean the costumes are bad,’ asked Chet who was portraying Robbie the Robot. ‘No…I mean that they are a bit scary…they are from a different branch of the clown family than Bozo,’ bemoaned Billy B. ‘You know that Rosemary’s Baby will be screened later in the 60s,’ Chet said with a wink. It is taken from the Ira Levin bestseller,’ Chet continued. ‘I swear Chet how do you know the future so well,’ Neva J. or Jackie Kennedy if you prefer…asked? ‘May I have this dance,’ President Kennedy asked Jackie?

‘You are meaner than the devil,’ a faceless voice said to Billy B. in the dark of his bedroom in Sauk Village…and he awoke from his Halloween Dream…

There are not many better occurences in life than good news. The word ‘Fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.’ We go about our days with little change in our routine until good news comes. Then we rejoice in the sweet mystery of life and all of the beauty that it brings. The climate this week has been just to my liking. Rain has been the order of the day and cooler temperatures. MJ and I thought about new windows for 12 years and now we have them installed. At times we ponder things a bit. Maine is on our horizon and we will be with Brock and Marcy. Brock and Marcy have been a profound blessing to my life as well as MJ and Aaron and Jonathon!

Aaliyah has come into Jonathon’s life and we could not be more pleased. So far we have only seen her picture…she is beautiful! We are set to have pizza on Sunday and watch a Stephen King movie…Needful Things.

I never thought about my health…until I did. Every time I receive a good report I feel that I have a new lease on life. What a Wonderful Life it is!

‘The most dreaded words of summer…Back To School Sale,’ bemoaned Billy B. ‘It is only July 19th…I swear that the summer gets shorter and shorter each year,’ Jane said. ‘The first day of classes is less than a month from now,’ Neva J. agreed. ‘We have yet to ride our bicycles from Eldorado to Harrisburg by way of the backroads,’ Chet advised. ‘I have heard that the backroads have mysterious things along their trail that most folks have never seen,’ Daryl said with a wink. ‘Mom told me that there is a deserted church and a cemetery that has broken gravestones along the road,’ Jane said with a look of expectancy.

‘We will want to take plenty of sweet ice tea to drink and some Merlot and…a picnic basket full of Oscar Mayer Weiners,’ said Chet. ‘How are we going to carry all of that on our bicycles,’ Jane asked? ‘I am riding with Neva J. in the 57′ and we will follow the bicycle caravan,’ Chet noted with a laugh! ‘Be careful because Neva J. is going to let me drive…while she enjoys a bit of Red,’ Chet smiled. ‘We will picnic at the old church and cemetery,’ said Neva J.

‘I see the steeple, Jane exclaimed! ‘The front door is standing open… let us enter,’ Neva J. laughed the laugh of a school girl. ‘Chet and I were right behind you guys when you suddenly disappeared…then when we drove into the cemetery lot you were all at the old church…what hidden back road did you take,’ Neva J. asked? ‘We saw a dirt path covered by trees and rode down it for just a short way where we saw the church on our right,’ Billy B. said. ‘We drove the 57′ about 5 miles,’ Chet said. ‘We rode our bikes less than a mile and we were here,’ Jane said. ‘Now that is a shortcut,’ Daryl proclaimed!

‘Welcome,’ said Parson Bump. ‘You folks are from Eldorado…I presume,’ PB continued. ‘Many members of our congregation are Eldoradoians,’ PB noted. ‘We thought that your church was deserted,’ Neva J. said with a surprised look on her face. ‘You and I have the same last name,’ Billy B. said with a curious look in his eyes. ‘I am you Billy B…we are the same…

The Heavens opened last night and early this morning. Our pond is higher than it has been in some time. Mylo slept the sleep of the innocent…but the storm awakened me. The weather app on my iPhone is extraordinary compared to the weather prognostication of my youth. I almost feel like a weatherman.

Our weather has become like an episode of Stranger Things. The rules no longer apply. I recall hearing how aerosols were damaging the ozone in the 1980s. Also, gasoline engines were contributing to global warming. In those days it seemed so far away…now it is here to stay…it causes me to long for yesterday.

Tomorrow we say…things will be better tomorrow. We will fill our barns to their rooftops and we will eat and drink and be merry…why work says the grasshopper to the ant…I much prefer fiddling…and the iPhone says lightning has struck a mile from you…

As a lad, I watched with some amazement and wonder the cartoon called The Jetsons. After all, they had flying cars! This was during the 60s and the vision of the future was inspiring and a bit unbelievable. I felt the same way when I saw the Comic Detective Dick Tracy talk to his team on his wristwatch. These popular cartoons were about the progression of and upward mobility of society. After all, we were the victors in World War II and had moved to the suburbs, and the Baby Boom Generation was born…of which I am a card-carrying member. With the advent of color television and soon to be the opening of Disney World in Florida where they even had animatronics of the presidents that arose from their seats and spoke to the audience…nothing could stop us. But…there was the Vietnam War the struggle of the Civil Rights Movement and the marginalization of women. Our President was assassinated and then Dr. Martin Luther King…and Bobby…

Gay folks were persecuted in the times of The Jetsons and often had to hide their love for each other. ‘We Came A Long Way, Baby,’ Virginia Slims Cigarettes commercials assured us in the years to come. Yet now our Supreme Court looks back to the happy times of the insular and privileged youth. A time of bigotry and hate and the supposed ‘Separate but Equal,’

Freedom of religion does not mean freedom of your religion…it means freedom of all religions. There have always been haters…but they must not rule our laws and government. How can people with inordinate power make the decisions for the people that they represent through their narrow prism of right and wrong and good and evil and influenced by their misogynist bastardization of the faith called Christian…

We still do not have flying cars…and the same struggles for human rights continue…