Yesterday I saw some old friends. I was transported back almost 20 years ago and the journey took a blink of an eye. When I consider that I have been retired nearly 13 years I am a bit like Rip Van Winkle who slept for years only to find that when he awoke the world had changed around him. The clock ticks by so quickly that the days morph into weeks and the weeks years and…you get the picture…

We are looking back home. The brevity of life causes us to rush through the important things. We want to do it all…whatever that is… I see the beginning of school and I recall how I felt when I was a child.

‘The DuQuoin State Fair begins in just a few short days,’ Neva J. announced to the group. ‘I am especially looking forward to it this year as Bob Hope will be performing,’ she continued.

‘Will he have Bing Crosby with him,’ asked Jane?

‘He will have Bing with him and they will be staying at the St. Nicholas Hotel…we will go there after their show and see if we can obtain an autograph, Neva J. said with a wicked grin.

‘This year they are going to have the actual Time Machine from the movie…I hope to sit in the seat of it and have my photo snapped,’ Chet said.

‘May I sit in the Time Machine’s seat,’ asked Chet? ‘You certainly may if you will wait just a moment as Bob Hope and Bing Crosby are going to have their photo taken for Life Magazine with the original Time Machine and they would like to have a youngster photographed with them, the exhibit person said.

‘My my look at the kid in the seat…all American boy I say, ‘Bob Hope chuckled.

‘Young sir would you be so kind as to allow me and Mr. Hope to have our picture taken with you and the Time Machine,’ Bing intoned?

Just as the camera snapped a black cat ran across Chet’s lap and flipped the lever forward and the TM began to whir. ‘Where are we, asked Chet? ‘This is Vaudeville and we are on,’ Bob Hope answered.

‘Let us go kid…we will knock um dead,’ Bing sang…

Our lives are bountiful joy and abject sorrow. In another life, I preached funerals for the little church that I was a member of. There is no easy answer for grief. There is no simple solution. I would get so nervous before the funeral that I became sick to my stomach. I understood that those there would be looking to me for comfort and I had none to give unless God gave me the words.

We are so intertwined with our family and friends that when one of us leaves they do not know how they are going to live without us…and the person who passes does not know how they will have the emotional strength to leave what has been so joyful of a union.

It has been said that time heals all wounds…but not really. From the time that we make our first lusty cry…we are temporarily here. Now, we have a great gift of eternity in our soul…it seems…but no one has come back to report on the concreteness of our spiritual hope.

Faith is our comforter and hope is our companion. There is such boundless love that we have for those whom we have walked this journey with. Many folks attest to visiting with their loved ones after they have passed…I believe them. Someone asked what is the message of Jesus. I believe that it is encapsulated in one sentence. ‘Love one another as I have loved you…’

Pastor Kerry spoke yesterday regarding miracles and their occurrence in our lives without fanfare or a chapter dedicated to them in the Bible. Often we want to see Jesus walk on water when he is carrying us through the deluge each day of our lives. We seek ‘Red Sea Parting Confirmation of God’s love for us while he protects our well-being at home and work and play. In many instances, I have had confirmation of Christ’s concern for me and I have never seen a burning bush.

‘Then He said, ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ And behold the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing Elijah?’

The spectacle we love. Balloons brightly colored streamers and loud emotion-stirring music is what we expect when J.C. is involved with us. We know that he must want to be seen and recognized and applauded and praised for each and every little thing that he does for us.

Politicians have learned that the perception of what is true is often better for them than what is actually true. They tell us that certain books are bad for us and that only certain people are on their approved list. We felt a bit down regarding our accomplishments until the leaders told us that we were all right as long as we aligned our lives with their concrete Form…

Have you ever prayed that God would allow you to see your loved one before they leave this world? Have you ever been diagnosed with a frightening illness…only to discover that you do not have the malady? Have you ever been cognizant of the presence of your Guardian Angle while you were undergoing trauma?

Berl told me that I would find that no matter how old I became I would never have time to do everything that I wanted to do. His words have stayed with me for many years and they are true. A year ago we began planning a holiday in Maine this September and it is almost here. Now if you ask me what I have been doing during the past eleven months I can recall the big picture of my activities but many of the smaller things that made that time rich and gave it color and pizazz have melted into the activities of those moments.

‘I know a thing or two about a thing or two,’ Aaron said. Often people tell us things that are a bit like reading literature…the devil is in the details and comes with a hidden meaning. I discovered in my Literary Analysis University course that you have to read between the words and look behind the curtain to ascertain the author’s meaning and point. When someone is speaking to you they are telling you much more than the few words on the surface. So often while the person is talking we shake our heads in agreement and formulate our poetic response. When we take time to listen to another person then we learn about them and we discover ourselves.

When you ask a person what their plans are for vacation holiday or retirement…they will tell you all the activities that enhance their experience of the event…when the secret of happiness is enhancing other’s experience.

Time is a bit circular. It seems to come back to where it was for another bite at the apple. Perhaps we are all performers on a Stage of Life and our continued performance illustrates our transition from understudy to marquee performer…

Is not technology great? My iPhone just told me that I was doing a good job of closing my ring this morning. I felt empowered. By the way, I have been walking for health for nearly 50 years…but with little encouragement until the kind words of my pocket computer. A word of encouragement is welcome even from a smartphone.

‘Wakey…Wakey…it is time to get up,’ Dad said.

‘I have got to quit burning the candle at both ends,’ Son answered.

The helicopters buzzed over our house all night…I did not get a wink of sleep,’ Mom remarked. I simply do not know what they are looking for, she continued.

‘Uncle Bill says that they are searching for insurrectionists,’ the Son said. ‘I saw on television that the President believes that there are only a few hundred left in the country,’ he went on to say.

‘I am advised that the helicopters are in search of the last liberals…the holdouts from 2023,’ Friend advised as he sipped a Gin and Tonic. The electronic billboards admonish us every hour of the day to start thinking differently…they call it The New Truth,’ Friend continued.

‘I saw Rosie yesterday and told her that much of what the ruling political party was misquoting the Bible…the words of Jesus…and she told me that, ‘It was not that way now,’ Mom said.

‘I miss churches…they caused me to feel peace,’ Jane said. ‘Churches do not seem to be a part of The New Truth,’ Jane said in a sad voice.

‘Yes, but these electric automobiles are the cat’s pajamas,’ Dad said with a laugh. ‘You know I do like the weight reduction program…I am not fat like I used to be and I seldom get hungry any longer, he said with a quizzical stare.

‘Something is missing…indeed there is little strife or argument or suffering…but there is little of the old ways…the humanity,’ Jane said with a tear in her eye.

‘There she is…over there…bring in the doppelganger,’ Rosie commanded!

‘Jane, do you miss your books,’ Dad asked?

‘No, not really…they were a bit of a burden to my mind…they caused me to accept so many different opinions that my thoughts competed with each other…it is easier now…’

‘Night night…rest mode…plug in your power cords,’ Dad said with a robotic grin…

‘

I am looking out at my pond just now and the reflection of the trees around it is mirror-like and otherworldly. I reflect on this time of year when I was a youngster and how I knew school was imminent and the feeling that summer was slipping away like feathers in the wind. On a cooler August evening at twilight, we would be sitting on the front porch and reminiscing about what had happened and anticipating what was to come. I can hear the crickets chirping and laughing regarding taking a few last trips to Pounds Hollow before Labor Day.

Life is change and you learn that lesson when you are young. The ambulance driver remarked to his assistant the boy would not live through the drive to Evansville, Indiana. The mom told him not to say that because the boy was her son. The boy lived.

Fall is knocking…right now softly…soon with a purpose.

Twilight connects us. Our differences are no longer noticed. We remember who we are and who we want to be. We think of how summer slipped away so many times and fall is coming on as it has before. We grasp at it with both of our hands and our hearts and we determine that we shall not lose what we love…

Fall is in the air today. Seventy-six degrees feels lovely when you are accustomed to temperatures near 100. The Naked Pastor says that we should choose kindness…and I agree. Another admonition that I read today is that teachers should teach their students with love because many of them do not receive that emotion when they return home. How is it that we all respond to love, kindness, and cool temperatures…when it is our turn to pass those good feelings along to others we are otherwise occupied? Indeed we can not pass on cool physical temperatures but we can pass on a way of treating others that promulgates cooled-down temperatures of emotions and interaction with our fellow humans.

One of the first lessons that I learned when I began in supervision and later management/administration at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale was that the person that you see on the outside does not reveal the challenges that they are undergoing on the inside. The famous actor and comedian Robin Willams seemed to be joyful and unbothered in his performances. We found out differently when he sadly took his life.

When I receive kindness from another I am energized and encouraged and enlightened! We live in a world of lonely people. I am not just speaking of those who have little financially but also of many who have most of what money can offer. Politicians and preachers alike have divided us. Social media has caused us to either be envious of our friends and neighbors or to distrust them due to differences that should not matter in forging friendships.

Perplexing it is to think that there are so many divisions by class in our society when our final destination is equal. Certain religious sects teach their followers that if they follow all of the intricate precepts of their doctrine they will be rulers in the next life. Money is suggested as a foolproof way to buy your way into a preferred placement in Heaven. Faith is coopted into an investment program that is better than the bank or stock market. If you give enough of your hard-earned money you will receive the place nearer God’s Throne and the better assignments of mansions that are in the gated community named Golden Streets.

Jesus loved the seemingly unloveable. His people were the outcasts. He preached to and was a friend to the unheard and the unseen. The forgotten of society were Jesus’ friends and confidants. The Losers as perceived by the world…were the Winners with Christ.

When this life is over…the pretty golf clothing of the elite will be uncommon and of little use. The clannish behavior of the rich as they surround the campfire of their wealth…or as well as the nationalist and separatist and America for Americans…when for the life of me I do not understand who they deem worthy of their Club?

Kindness is a rare consideration that I promise we will all need before we leave this journey.

There were not as many children at Giant City today…school began yesterday. I do not recall school ever beginning so early. Mid-August perhaps…but August 7th must be a new record. That is a short summer vacation.

‘Well they went and did it…they began school on August 7th just like the Board of Education suggested that they do,’ Billy B. said with a smirk.

‘I think we should play hooky,’ Chet observed. ‘We must claim at least a day of our stolen summer holiday,’ he continued.

‘Let us go to Pounds Hollow on Wednesday,’ Jane exulted! ‘They are planning on school being out Thursday and Friday for Teacher’s Workshop and our leaving tomorrow at lunch will not be noticed,’ Jane said with a wink.

Pounds Hollow was especially rich and joyful in light of the avarice of our Eldorado confederates. There was the Banker and Chair of the Board of Education…and the Social Studies teacher…basking in the summer early August Sun…

‘Hey, Chet…I did not know you enjoy swimming,’ said a scantily clad Ms. Jennings. ‘I brought my van out here to camp over my long weekend and told several interested people that if, ‘This Van is Rockin…Don’t You Come Knockin’,’ Ms. Jennings said!

‘Schools In…Schools In…The teacher brought the Monkeys Back,’ called out Mr. Seagraves the Junior High Principal.

‘Asleep already,’ said Mrs. Gray? ‘It is your turn at the chalkboard to write out the 12’s of our Times Table, she added as the reality of Billy B.’s circumstances took hold of him…school had indeed begun…

As is my custom I snapped some photos at Anna, Illinois this morning. Jonathon recommended Kiki’s Coffeehouse for a good cup of joe! He was so right. Did you ever enter a business establishment and feel the kind atmosphere? That is Kiki’s! Great coffee and I noticed an area where apparently live music is performed. They also have wonderful little chairs for children and coloring books. There were several gnomes in the front of the store and when I saw them I was hooked…I like gnomes!

Anna is the largest town in Union County.

I am well into my second year of photographing the little towns and villages and hamlets of Southern Illinois. Everywhere I go I meet friendly people with a ready smile and hard work as their history.

As I was snapping these photos I wondered what the people were thinking who erected these old buildings. When they were building them they were at the zenith of their powers and the shining buildings were a testament to the strength and determination of the folks who built them. Old churches intrigue me. There is so much handiwork and craftsmanship in the churches of Little Egypt. Faith can be found in the intricacies of the stonework and the bell towers.

I have lived in three separate towns in Southern Illinois. Each had its own personality. Just a few miles separating one town from another can be like entering another world…

I sit here on the Writing Porch anxiously awaiting our dear friends Laura and Jim. I remember our many wonderful fellowships together. Jim and I customarily enjoyed a holiday wine at the Mississippi Flyway in the days leading up to Christmas. I swear our friends had the best Christmas decorations that I have ever seen…and multiple Christmas Trees!

Our friends provide a mirror for us as to what we are all going through and our shared struggles. As the great philosopher Forrest Gump’s mother once said…Life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you are going to get.

Faith is abstract to me until I see it in my friends and fellow members of the human family. Often I see hope in the eyes of a child and peace in the eyes of the aged.

The dynamic of friends brings a quickening of spirit and a surety of purpose.

My best friends Steve and Susie in Chicago loved to put on a Marionette Show for me and my peers. Steve and Susie were a bit older than I. The Marionettes fascinated me and I often was caught up in the peculiar puppet world of actors on strings. Thunderbirds was a popular television show in 1965 and 66. All of the performers were marionettes. I found a couple of marionettes at the Cricket And Red Brick Antique Mall on Friday. Suddenly I was transported to Sauk Village Steve and Susie’s house and the Marionettee Show. Susie was my girlfriend…in my mind…and they were taking time to perform a show that delighted their audience…was friendship.