Southern Illinois is comprised of small towns and villages. Many of the towns that surround Carbondale which is the home of Southern Illinois University have a group of people who truly know each other. When they see someone who is not from their town…they know it. Many years ago MJ and I were having dinner with some friends and it was not in Carbondale. In the little restaurant, we sat down with them and everyone in the place looked at us. Ray stood up and introduced us and mentioned that we were from Carbondale and then they slowly went back to their food.

I passed an African American gentleman this morning as I was visiting Cobden and he looked to be of senior status. When he saw me he said, ‘Hot enough for you?’ I answered that it was and he laughed because we were both in on the inside joke. Little towns and hamlets are nice. There is room to grow and explore and develop a sense of place and self.

Our good friend Emily from Vermont visited us this week. She mentioned that Vermont is one of the smallest population states in the Union. When folks think of Illiois they automatically think of Chicago where I was born. However much of Illinois is rural and dotted with people here and there. If anything Carbondale seems to be getting smaller. Business are closing on a regular basis and restaurants are having a difficult time staying afloat. Our University Mall which was once a booming enterprise is now a shadow of its former self. Tom’s Place which was one of only two five star restaurants in our region closed on July 1st. SIUC is less than half the population of when I was working there. Yet Little Egypt is a picturesque place to live. Indeed people that move here often never leave. The feeling is a bit like living in another century. Good and hard working people who mind their own business and who will lend a helping hand when needed.

Stress is lessened in Little Egypt. Giant City State Park is in our backyard. Southern Illinis University has woods on the campus. We are much like the noted butter…Land Of Lakes. Students from Chicago come the Carbondale to experience an alternate life style that often becomes their life.

‘Well, are you ready to buy your new school clothes,’ Neva J. asked Billy B. with a laugh? It is July 5th and not long until school begins…you know that after the 4th we will soon be putting on our Halloween Costumes,’ she continued. ‘I heard that we must not wish our lives away,’ Chet said with a wry smile. ‘I have observed that whether you wish or not…it goes quickly,’ Neve J. answered. ‘One year I thought about Christmas every day and discovered that a year is really not a long period of time,’ Jane offered. ‘At our house, we put a large bag over the Christmas Tree and place it in the corner of the storage room so as to not have to put it together…seemingly…every few days,’ Chet laughed.

‘Hold Billy B. up so he can put the Angel on the top of the tree,’ Neva J. said. ‘Neva J., he is growing so fast and always has a grin,’ Ivy said. ‘He loves Christmas…we got him this Laughing Santa he takes it everywhere with him… every time you crank his back he laughs the most unique laugh,’ Neva J. said with a laugh of her own. ‘He sounds like a 57′ Chevy on a cold morning,’ Bill B. said with a wink. ‘Steve and Susie are coming over to put on their puppet show for Billy B…this year they have a Santa Claus Marionette and Mrs. Claus and Rudolph as well,’ Ivy said as she lit another Camel Cigarette.

‘Billy B. said he can not wait until he is old and has accomplished all of his work…so that he can enjoy the fruits of his labors and reflect on the past,’ Neva J. said with her eyebrows raised…

‘Here is Laughing Santa, Dad,’ Jonathon said with a grin. ‘I brought the Marionettes with me and I was careful to handle the Santa Claus and Rudolph Vintage puppets with care,’ Aaron said. ‘Crank him up and let us hear his Christmas Laugh,’ Billy B. said as he thought about recently becoming 66…just like the famous Route…

The Sun was hot and the sweet tea was cool. ‘What a glorious 4th said Neva J. ‘I don’t think that it is as hot as last year,’ said Aunt Guelda. ‘Well it is never too hot that a cigarette does not taste mighty fine,’ Aunt Vema remarked. ‘You know that you would not cough so much if you quit those Salems…don’t you,’ Aunt Wanda asked Vema? ‘I can’t quit the Cigs kid…I have tried but I always go back…they calm my nerves,’ Vema answered. ‘If you had a television you would have seen Jackie give a tour of the White House.’ Neva J. remarked. ‘Hellavison is not for us,’ said Grandma A. ‘Is everyone ready for Fetch to start the ice cream,’ Wanda asked?

‘How are your photography classes going Neva J.,’ asked Vema? ‘Oh, I love them…I worked in the Darkroom yesterday and the prints came out good,’ she said. ‘I have a Photography book that I brought you…it has photos of female nudes posing,’ said Vema. ‘Nude women…you say,’ Uncle Gene remarked with a crooked grin. ‘What time do we eat,’ Junior asked? ‘Is it time to put the hamburgers on the grill,’ Uncle Bill asked? ‘Here it is…ground beef from the Food Center and Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs,’ Cousin Brenda said with a laugh.

‘I miss Dutch on the 4th,’ Grandma A. said with a tear in her eye. ‘I lost many friends in WW II,’ Junior said. ‘My best friend Jack was killed next to me in a foxhole in Germany,’ Uncle Bill said as he ran his tongue between the gap in his lower teeth. ‘I heard a knock at the front door,’ Neva J. said.

As Neva J. opened the door she saw a shadow of a man underneath the oak tree in the front yard…and on the porch was a package addressed to Grandma A. The package contained Dutch’s wallet and dog tags and a little pen knife that his mom, Grandma A., had given him when he was a boy, and a note that said I miss you Mom and I will see you soon…’

Another House Cleaning Day success! MJ and I have been having good folk clean our house for the past 22 years and more. Months ago we decided we could do it with Jonathon’s assistance. We each receive $50 per cleaning session and we are subsequently highly motivated. We purchased some nice cleaning tools for old folks and have become technicians. I often feel accomplished and it is a bit like going to work…a little.

After church yesterday I was thinking about our Pastor Kerry. He is a gentle soul. Gentle is good! We seem to live in a society where abrasive behaviors are praised and fill the false narrative of courage and wisdom. ‘He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arms and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ Isaiah 40:11 KJ21

Leadership Games are what so many of us have become accustomed to. Over my 32-year career at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale, I was amazed at how many people equated overbearing supervisors and managers, and administrators with effective and strong wise leaders. I have witnessed many people weep at the shoddy and abusive treatment that they were receiving from their Boss. People became ill and the goals of the organization suffered while the king or queen on their make-believe throne felt powerful and removed from the precious humans that they were blessed to work with.

Gentle is captivating. Hope for tomorrow springs from being treated in a gentle manner. Since the Pandemic, many people have lost touch with friends or are seeking other humans to bond with. Why must we focus on what others are doing wrong or how we would like to change them and instead focus on what they are doing right and how we would like to emulate them.

Gentle create harmony where there was disharmony. Many marriages have been lost to divorce when only if the participants could seek gentleness instead of harsh words of wrongs done.

Gentle is the road marker to understanding. The kinder that you are to me…the more I listen to your thoughts and plans and hopes and dreams. A dynamic work of cooperation is the fruit of being gentle. Change is the direct result of gentle interaction with each other.

As I sat in church this morning I considered how much better I felt after I attended. Church is the bright spot and the place of rest for the weary soul. Church keeps me on track and reminds me of my Christian Walk for over 50 years.

Faith is a lifetime thing… no retirement. It has been a compass for me and a light that Hank Williams sang about when he sang,’ I saw the light…I saw the light…no more darkness no more night. Now I am so happy not trouble in sight…praise the Lord I saw the light.’

Hope and Faith are more deeply felt when they are shared with others. To hear the voices of your fellow travelers singing and sharing their faith is a special gift. We are not alone…we have never been alone…a comfort in a lonely world.

Religious Freedom is not free. It cost the ultimate sacrifice of many people. This morning Carlyn sang America The Beautiful and I reflected on the 4th of July…Independence Day means to me. The freedom to worship as we please is a tremendous freedom!

What does Independence Day mean to African Americans? Brought to this country against their will as slaves in the hold of massive sailing ships. Owned as property and beaten and raped and abused in every fashion…and yet they love the United States.

What does Independence Day mean to the Gay Community? Hidden for who they are and who they love…for generations…and yet they love the United States.

What doe Independence Day mean to the Native Americans who welcomed us Europeans and helped us and kept us alive and fed us…and we repaid them by taking their land and slaughtering their people…and yet they love the United States.

What does Independence Day mean to the Poor Whites…of which there are many. People who can not catch a break in our Capitalist Economy which has heavy locks on the entrance doors to the Great Unwashed and unlearned and unheard and marginalized and those who are unseen even though we have to step over them to enjoy our Independence Day Holiday…

2023 is middle age today. I recall when he was just a baby. I have forgotten my New Year’s Resolutions…and I am just as happy. Hail hit nearby last evening and broke out car windows. It was baseball size and beyond. That size of hail can be deadly. This is the 4th of July Weekend…or as Ratty said to Mole, ‘Believe me my young friend, there is nothing-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.’

Winerys are the Go-To places for fun in the summer in our neck of the woods. Southern Illinois has a reputation for fine wineries. There are limousine services that will take you to the many and varied wineries and you can drink to your heart’s content and not have to drive. Having been at a Winery and observing the occupants of one of the Limos Wine Trail participants come into the facility I can attest that they are exceedingly happy and a bit unaware of their surroundings.

Whiskey is good…especially when it is in an Old Fashioned. We had a Bar that we very much enjoyed visiting on Saturdays prior to the Pandemic. It reminded me of the old television show Cheers…where everybody knows your name. A drink or two was fun and the fellowship of Aaron and Jonathon…and once in a while, MJ…was even better! Giant City Lodge has a wonderful and rustic little Bar. It is a bit secluded and you are surrounded by stuffed wildlife and good conversation. The Half-Way marker of today seems like just the time to try it out.

We mark our time on Earth in years…but what if we marked the journey in half years? Just think…I could boast of being on this side of the dirt for 130 half years. Or how about Christmas every six months? Or New Year’s Resolutions that you only had to commit to for half as long…

A little drink for those who like it is a nice adult pastime. However, Holiday Happiness does not come in a can or a bottle. I listened to a gentleman who has the goal to walk across all the countries of the Earth and he has been walking for 10 years. When asked about the various places that he had seen and the cities and environments he answered that he…walks toward people and that people were his entire motivation to keep walking…

‘I am excited regarding seeing Granpa Askew at the 4th of July Picnic,’ Billy B. exclaimed! ‘I did not realize that you had a Grandpa Askew…I have never heard anything about him until I heard the plans for the Picnic,’ Chet said. ‘Does he live in Mt. Vernon as Grandma A. did for many years,’ Jane asked? ‘He is a bit of a rolling stone,’ laughed Neva J. ‘He would be gone for long periods of time and when he returned he regaled us kids with stories of faraway lands and strange customs,’ Neva J. continued. ‘He walks with a golden walking stick and has a Bowler Hat nattily placed upon his head,’ Billy B. noted.

‘What do you say Banger, called out Neva J.? ‘Nevie Navie No…I am glad to see you,’ Wanda said. Wanda and Neva J. had been close since childhood. When they saw each other their eyes glistened and they reverted to the nicknames of their youth and most definitely the mindset. Charles Askew was an enigma. He possessed several different birth certificates and they were not only from different times…but different centuries. Neva J. had not seen him in 20 years yet she said that he looked the same and not a day older. Of late his son and Neva J.’s and Wanda’s brother Gene had been his caretaker and worked under the term Conservator. Gene was tasked with looking out for Grandpa A.’s financial welfare and endeavoring to ensure that he did not get into mischief. Grandpa A. had a wicked grin on his face as he sipped a Bullet Rye Whiskey. ‘Come and sit on your old Grandpa’s lap,’ he said with a wink to Billy B. ‘Would you like to have a gift, Grandpa asked Billy B.? ‘No sir but thank you,’ Billy B. said…because this is what Neva J. had told him to say. He pulled from his watch pocket a solid gold piece dated 1849 and handed it to his grandson. ‘Where did you get the gold piece Grandpa A.,’ asked Billy B.? ‘Why I was the first to stake a claim at Sutter’s Mill in 1848, Grandpa A. said with a wink.

‘Is there any more Rye Whiskey left…I have a powerful thirst,’ Grandpa A. said with a chuckle. Billy B. brought him another glass and Grandpa A. gave him a healthy sip…or three…

‘I wonder what I will do when I grow up,’ said Billy B. to his Grandpa. ‘You will do well and have many people work with you…you will be a great father…I bragged on you many times,’ Grandpa A. said to Billy B. ‘I was there…I called myself Jim A. and told you how mannerly Aaron and Jonathon were and how nice that you had them outfitted and I gave you $50 every Christmas,’ Grandpa A. said with a faraway look in his eyes.

‘Dad…what stories are you filling Billy B.’s head with,’ Neva J. asked? ‘Only the stories of an old man’s travels,’ Grandpa A. said. ‘Soon we will return to our youth again…I promise to be a better Dad this time…’

Billy B. turned the gold piece between his fingers that Jim A. had given him when he heard the story of how Billy B. had been forced to cash the 1849 Gold Coin in for groceries during a difficult financial downturn when his kids were young. Jim A.’s widow had given the Gold Piece to Billy B. after Jim’s passing…with the instruction to tell Billy B. how proud he was of him…

It currently feels like 107 degrees in Little Egypt and there is a promise of hotter temperatures to come. The air smells like smoke…and not the good kind. Earlier I witnessed a few drops of rain on my windshield and felt encouraged…and then it stopped. For a person who enjoys dark and rain, I am a bit like a fish out of water. I can not decide if it is hotter than it was in my youth or if an old man just can not take it like he did at one time. Our Ecosystem is precarious and I have taken it for granted for the majority of my life. Most of the planets that we are aware of do not have remotely an environment that can support human life. A fire in Canada can crown Chicago, Illinois with the title of the worst air quality on Earth.

Earl was terrified of tornadoes. He would wake me and Neva J. in the middle of the night and announce that we were going to the car to endeavor to outrun the tornado that he was certain was bearing down on us. Today it would be difficult to outrun modern tornadoes which often are over a mile wide at their base.

Acclimated we are to the devasting changes that are occurring. For some time prior to the dropping of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people gathered to watch the bombs being tested in the New Mexico Desert. The mushroom cloud was quite a unique show of human ingenuity.

We tend to get hung up on the trivial pursuit of politics/religion while the house is on fire. We want our candidate to win…we want our issues addressed…as we paint the living room while the kitchen is ablaze!

Dark is comforting if you are not afraid. Having spent the bulk of my career at SIUC on either the evening or the night shift…I became accustomed to the dark. Few people are around. Ample opportunity to think and ponder lives greatest questions. Several pots of coffee are needed…

The therapeutic sound of rain landing on my roof or against my windows is a delight to me. Life in the summer is a milieu of sounds and voices and lights and firecrackers. Rain subdues the savage beast.

Dark and Rain cause us to reflect on the Sunshine that we have experienced and the bright future in front of us…

‘The 4th is next Tuesday and we have not made a plan yet,’ Neva J. said quizzically. ‘I thought that we would go out to Grandma A.’s and watch the Fireworks Show that Eldorado puts on at the Starlight Drive-Inn,’ said Billy B. ‘You know they really are front row seats and no people jostling for a better viewing position,’ Chet added. ‘I lip read a little and sometimes can understand what the actors are saying in the movies on the big screen,’ Jane laughed. ‘The Attack Of The Fifty-Foot Woman is going to play on The 4th,’ Chet said with a wink. ‘I wonder how she got so tall,’ Neva J. ruminated. ‘I think it was One A Day Vitamins,’ Jane smiled. ‘Perhaps she is drinking a glass of your morning Egg-Nog,’ Billy B. guffawed.

The booms and pops and sizzles could be heard all over Eldorado. In the country, the folks were shooting off their shotguns into the air. Nellie came over and offered Neva J. a cigar and they both lit them up in celebration of Independence Day. Nellie gave Billy B. and Chet a stogie as well and they began to puff with great pleasure! The Fifty Foot Woman seemed to be upset. I suppose having your height magnified 10 times…would be a bit disconcerting. She was smashing cars at a Drive-Inn on the Big Screen when suddenly she stepped out of the screen and began beating the cars in the Starlight Drive-Inn Parking lot. ‘Now if everyone will just calm down we will begin our Eldorado Annual Fireworks Show,’ the Mayor said. ‘Is the Big Girl part of the show,’ Junior called out?

Suddenly 50 Foot Girl began taking massive strides toward Grandma A.’s house and toward the Fireworks Box Seat Audience. ‘Why sit down young lady…I will get you a glass of sweet tea,’ said Grandma A. ‘Oh I love sweet tea…I am from the south…I have been a bit upset when I discovered that none of my clothes fit any longer,’ She said. Now…never mind about that…I will sew you up something really nice once the Show is over…do you like cookies,’ Grandma asked? ‘I simply love cookies…and they are oatmeal as well…which is my favorite,’50 Foot Girl replied.

Could I have one of the sparklers,’ 50 Foot Girl asked? ‘Dad will help you in the morning with the antidote to the elixir that made you grow so tall…he said that it will reduce you to seven feet,’ Daryl said with a smile. ‘I have a feather bed that will fit you just right,’ said Grandma A. ‘You can stay with me and I will be your Grandma and help you,’ Grandma A. said with a kind smile.

One by one Billy B. and Chet and Jane and Darryl and Neva J. took turns being hoisted onto Abigail’s shoulders to see the Fireworks Display a bit better…and they laughed at their good fortune…