I availed myself of the golden opportunity to travel to Eldorado to finish my commitment to taking photos in my second hometown… of places that might be fun to determine where they were located in the town. The 62 degrees was springlike and I knew that the opportunity for such warm weather in January in Little Egypt would be fleeting. Although it has been almost 50 years since I lived in the City of Gold…I feel perfectly at home each time that I am there. I have lost track of the number of times I have traveled to my Town but I think it is nearing 20 visits since the winter of 2022. The Christmas decorations were down…and I missed them. I am a Christmas All Year Round sort of guy.

I discovered the beautiful mural painted by Zettie Shults of ‘The coal mining industry of former years.’ Her son Steve told me of his mother being the mural painter. Eldorado has several murals throughout the town but none has moved me more than Ms. Shult’s work of art.

Coal mining is interwoven into the fabric of Eldorado. I wanted to get a job in the Coal Mines as a lad and endeavored to do so once I graduated high school. A Personnel Manager at Sahara Coal Mines discouraged me from doing so when he showed me a stack of applications about four feet tall.

As I walked the Eldorado streets and byways I was transported back to my youth. I remembered what I was thinking as a boy in the city. My aspirations and goals and dreams took me a few miles away to Carbondale and a career at Southern Illinois University. It gives me great joy when some of my former classmates enjoy the photos that I post on Facebook. When I am in Eldorado I am where it all began for us.

Eldorado and Southern Illinois has so much to offer to tourists and guests that are hungry for the nearly lost beauty of small-town life. We are all seeking a more peaceful and calmer and holistic existence. Reflection and time to think and ponder the great questions of our existence…are provided in Eldorado.

Success and fame and fortune have their own pitfalls. Accession is what we desire. More money and responsibility and people who know us and see us and listen to our musings. Indeed all of those gifts have their place…but they are not the crux of our happiness. Happiness can be found in the streets of Eldorado and the memories that are seamless in the life of a 65-year-old…

We live in a miracle and tend to forget this fact due to our having experienced a few short years of the mysterious event. The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west…and we say, ‘I have seen sunrises and sunsets before.’ Christmas comes with all of its joy and holiday pleasure and we think…’I have experienced better Christmases.’ We gain a friend…and then we lose them…and we plan on getting another. We listen to mom and dad talk in their quaint colloquial manner…and we forecast the next statement that will come out of their mouth…then their mouth is silenced and we so much would like to hear their stories…one more time. Next year we will take a trip to Europe…or we will travel to Maine to see the leaves change or we will read more and write and hike through the woods…

Identity is our core reason for living. One of us is the political leader…while the other is a leader in Academia. Another of us has given our life to the company or the university or the church…when that falls away…we have no foundation…no frame of reference for our existence.

Right and wrong are important. For many of us, God is a God of Wrath and Judgment and Furry for the evil doers…of course, we are not the Evil Doers…it is those malcontents over the fence who are guilty. Conservative is right…don’t you know…those who are not conservative are standing on the gaping maw of Hell. Liberal is right…don’t you know…and the uneducated among us and the unwashed do not have a valid reason for feeling unloved and unwanted and unseen by the powerful and the political elites and the Academy…

The brown dried leaves crunched under the feet of Billy B. He had watched almost daily the transformation of the green leaves to vibrant colors and then to brown and then to cascade to the ground. Billy B. loved the woods! He loved the solitude of the surroundings. He enjoyed hearing the woodpecker tap…tap…tap on the trees. He loved the constant changing of the clouds. Billy B. loved the movement of the Sun. After the rain…the dry creeks were full of moving water. The sound that they made was luxurious.

Christmas was two weeks ago yesterday. Our hearts were full and our spirits light. The possibilities of the New Year were endless. They still are! Or as it has often been said, ‘Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today.’ I watched a fascinating movie entitled The Menu. Needless to say, it was a wonderful example of groupthink. Many of us are waiting for someone to reveal to us the Secret of our existence on this mortal coil. We are a bit hesitant to look to the left or the right but stay focused on our leader…at all costs. I prefer the rebel. I love the person who dances to the toon of their own drummer!

At times during my life I have had the opportunity to observe the Wizard Of Oz…behind the curtain. It is not a pretty site but it is a bit informative. Ray Bradbury said, ‘If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair. We’d never go into business because we’d be cynical. Well, that’s nonsense. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.’

I identify with the intrepid traveler who takes the fork in the road…that no one is taking. The person who wears a Stetson or a Bowler hat…when everyone else is wearing a ball cap. The person who is a writer because they write…not because they desire to make money from the enterprise.

Magical is where we live. The mystery is our every breath. Unique we are among all of the untold billions that have populated this Blue Orb. Happiness is following our dreams. Failure can be fun and a marker for what not to do the next time.

Billy B. loved the Bible. He first became acquainted with it at Dr. Ferrell’s office in Eldorado where Billy B. would read and look at the marvelous drawings in the Bible Story Books that he had in his waiting room. Billy B. later purchased the entire set of Bible Story Books and has them to this day. Billy’s aunt Wanda spoke of Brother Jack and Sister Mickey and how they had a little church in Elkville near DuQuoin, Illinois. Neva J. and his aunt Wanda and aunt Vema had lived in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and attended church with Jack and Mickey. Aunt Wanda said that Bro. Jack was going to travel to Eldorado on Wednesday nights and conduct a Prayer Meeting at the home of Marion Brown and his wife and daughter and his grandson Kevin. Billy B. thought the idea was intriguing and wondered what it would entail…a Prayer Meeting…he prayed a little…; but not much…and then the only prayer that he knew…’Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep…if I should die before I wake…I pray the Lord my soul to take.’

‘Chet you must go with us to the Prayer Meeting and you as well Jane,’ Billy B. exclaimed! ‘We pray every Sunday at the Social Brethren Chruch in Parrish Addition,’ Chet said wryly. ‘Will there be refreshments,’ Jane asked with a big smile? ‘Yes, I am bringing my famous coffee cake and ham and cheese sandwiches,’ Neva J. answered. ‘We won’t have to pray out loud will we,’ Billy B. beseeched.

Marion Brown was confined to his big easy chair and could not walk. He had the face of an angel. He welcomed each of the Prayer Meeting attendees with a hug and tears in his eyes. Billy B. listened as Brother Jack read a few scriptures and talked about the love of Jesus. If faith can be felt…it felt like you could cut it with a knife it was so thick. There was hope in the words of scripture…there was love that Billy B. had not felt in his young life. ‘He is here,’ said Chet. ‘Who is here,’ asked Jane? ‘God,’ Chet answered.

The focus was on the mystery of faith and how it could affect the lives of those who sought out its magic. Billy B. pondered the story of Naaman who had leprosy and was a bit offended when the prophet Elisha told him to wash in the Jordan River and his leprosy would be cleansed. Naaman was a great man and had many who followed his every order…and he liked his own pools much better than Elisha’s suggestion of the Muddy Jordan. Yet Naaman did what the message of God was and was healed.

Often God is not in the fire or flood or big commotion…but rather a still small voice…

I took a journey to Eldorado Wednesday. I do not think that I have ever enjoyed a visit more. The Christmas decorations were still up and I was inspired. My friend Marlene had offered an idea to take photos of various spots in Eldorado and ask where the picture was in town. As I walked the streets of my childhood I reflected on how old I was and how many years ago I lived in Eldorado. Soon to be 50 years!

Cynthia of the Eldorado Museum has graciously posted several of my photos of our town on the Museum’s Website and I am more than honored. I vividly remember the Eldorado of the 60s’. I recall with great affection going to the Orpheum Theatre almost every weekend and often on Friday night as well. As my friend Debbie reminded me yesterday we called going to the Orpheum as…’Going to the show.’

I have excitedly observed the great efforts of many Eldoradians to restore our proud community. Eldorado was a town of note in Little Egypt when I was a lad in the 60s’…and it can be one again! I enjoyed some of the finest teachers during my grade school and high school years. I have carried their lessons with me to this day…and I am 65.

Good things come in small packages. This is true of Eldorado!

The Brick Streets of Eldorado inspire me! The Christmas Decorations that I saw and photographed took me back in time to when my young eyes marveled at the magic of Christmas…and of living in Eldorado…

Sixty-seven degrees on January 3rd. Incredible! 2023 is off to a good start! Giant City State Park was a special enjoyment this morning as it rained so much that the water streams were flowing heartily over the rocks. When I am in the woods I am surrounded by the miracle of life. It is easy to fall into the deep ditch of doubt in the magic of our most wonderful gift…life.

I remember my youth in Eldorado. There were so many possibilities that I did not know which envelope to open first. Hours spent in the Orpheum Theatre caused me to see worlds that I was not a part of and adventures that would take me several lifetimes to pursue. The little former coal mining town was peaceful and yet exciting. Some of my teachers took an interest in me and I rallied to fulfill their confidence. Mrs. Barton and Mr. Feazel advised me that I had a talent for writing and I never forgot their words. Mrs. Bramlet loved my speeches in her speech class. While those who might have encouraged me had better things to occupy their time…others stepped up and caused me to seek an exciting and fulfilling life.

When MJ put her little hand in my big mitt…I could not believe my good fortune. As the song says, I was just a poor boy from a poor family…’ The births of Aaron and Jonathon continue to be the preeminent miracles in my life!

I sat in the back pew of our church on Christmas Eve and reflected on the wonderful people that I have witnessed sitting in the same pew over the past 25 years. People who I looked up to and admired and who built our little church through much toil and faith in the future. I reflected on the miracle of being a part of such a lovely group and heard the voices of those who have gone on to discover the Secret…’Do not let our church die for lack of attention.’

Neva June believed in people who many did not believe in. If you were hungry she fed you. If you had no clothes she bought you some. If you had difficulty paying your heating bill…she gave you money for it. She was a walking miracle among many who were unseen and unheard and unwanted.

From my first day as a member of the Southern Illinois University Community I received encouragement and mentoring. I soon believed that I could become a success.

Kindness is a miracle. When a fellow traveller on this bumpy road of life extends a word of greeting and fellowship and love…you are experiencing something that is more valuable than the ‘Gold of Ophir’ that the Bible speaks of. When you are lonely or depressed or feel that no one cares…the person that listens to you and sits just hearing and not offering easy answers but instead offers their time and care…is a miracle.

I watched the most interesting movie about time travel last night. It was one of the best that I have seen on the mind bending subject. It was Predestination with Ethan Hawke. It offered food for thought as to how we got here…and who we are.

It feels like autumn in Little Egypt. Nearly 60 degrees. It is 2023! I remember 1963… Time flies when you are having fun. New Year resolutions are easily made and difficult to keep. The secret is that you are the same person you were last night when you were ringing in the New Year and enjoying adult beverages and copious leftover Christmas Sweets! Today I am committed to losing weight and writing a book. I have written enough blogs to fill several books…and I eat less than ever. But…I have never published a book and my weight remains high probably due to carbohydrates. January 1, 2023, affords each of us a good beginning and a mental trick to convince us that now is the time and we are in the place to improve and change and become what we fully know we can evolve and be who we were meant to be!

Resolutions are realized. Each of us really can change. Change involves a bit of willpower and the trading of one habit for another. I have heard that it takes 21 days to change a habit. I decided in 2014 that I was going to become serious about being a writer and henceforth write almost every day. If I do not write I do not feel right… Years ago I decided that I was going to walk daily for my health. I walk every day. Around 20 years ago I decided that I was going to lose weight. I lost 95 pounds.

We carry a lot of baggage on our sore backs. Our assumptions often rule our actions. We think that people are judging us or thinking about us in negative ways when in reality we probably are not entering their minds and if we do their thoughts of us are kind and they are indeed fond of us. Life is as open to possibilities at any age as we are. The Naked Pastor said in his end-of-year newsletter that he had turned 65 in October and that he had several improvement goals for 2023. This resonated with me as I too turned 65 in October…I thought if NP can do it…so can I!

Focus is the key. My friend Jo Ann told me years ago that she had the ability to focus on the tasks in front of her with laser-like detail. To make a positive change we must have it in front of us and not easily ignored or forgotten. There is a bit of pain with change. If it was easy everyone would be doing it.

Don DeLillo’s classic White Noise has been made into a movie that can be seen on Netflix. The movie examines our preoccupation with the plethora of distractions that command much of our cerebral attention. At one point in the film, the central family is eating an elaborate dinner while their neighbors are evacuating a toxic cloud event from an exploded tanker truck. Suddenly the increase of the sirens and the observance of their neighbors running for their lives…spurs them to evacuate also. We have so many competing interests for our precious time that we have difficulty focusing on any of them to completion.

Multi-Tasking is a popular illusion. Our hurry-up world requires Multi-Tasking from time to time…but none of the tasks are done well. The perceived compliment that she/he is so busy all of the time…does not necessarily mean that they are productive. Sisyphus was busily rolling the stone up the hill…only for it to return to the bottom for him to begin the process again.

Satisfying it is when at the conclusion of 2023 we can look back and say…I did it!

Fifty-nine degrees in Little Egypt…while it had been below zero just last week. It was a bit difficult to know how to dress for this peculiar winter. Two days left until the New Year and the decision of how Billy B. wanted to conduct himself in this New Year and his new world. He thought of his dad a lot and wondered how he was and where he was. Billy B. had a mental photograph of dad with his motorcycle hat on and his leather jacket and a Pall Mall cigarette hanging from his lips. Dad was a bit of a tough guy and had a little Al Capone in his genes. He was not a tall man but he cast an imposing figure. He carried a concealed handgun before they were in vogue and he did not have a license to carry. Billy B.’s dad’s passion was his Harley Davidson Motorcycle. Dad seemed to always have a wallet full of cash and he was generous with it. The last time that Billy B. saw him he was driving an old Cadillac that had silver dollars affixed to the trunk. He dislodged the silver dollars and handed them to Billy B. and he drove off into the sunset…

‘I have been looking at the Sears and Roebuck magazine and I want a motorized bicycle,’ Chet announced. ‘They are $159 dollars and mom told me to wait for New Year…for a New Year Suprise,’ Chet explained. ‘Chet, if you had one of those you could easily ride from your house in Parrish Addition to my house on Sixth Street and then we could go to the Orpheum to see more movies, Billy B. commented. ‘You know…Chet…we will all want one of those motorized bicycles if you get one on New Year’s Day…gosh we could ride to Broughton and Wasson and even Muddy…on the back roads’ Jane exclaimed!

‘Your dad loved his Harley Davidson Motorcycle…do you remember riding between him and me all over the country…and even a trip from Chicago to Eldorado,’ asked Neva J.? ‘I not only remember the Harley trips but I remember dad telling me that he would buy me a motorcycle when I got older and bigger,’ Billy B. answered. ‘I can not think of a more happy and complete memory of dad than when he was riding his Harley,’ Billy B. added.

1964 is going to be an interesting year with Johnson as our new president and the war in Vietnam raging…I fear that both you and Chet will be drafted one day and sent to fight in the jungles of Vietnam,’ Neva J. lamented with a tear in her eye. ‘Your cousin Gene received his Draft Notice and he is endeavoring to go as a Conscientious Objector, Jane said. ‘What does that mean…Conscientious Objector,’ asked Chet? ‘It essentially means that he refused to carry a weapon because he does not believe in killing,’ Billy B. said. ‘What if someone shoots him and he does not have a gun to defend himself,’ asked Jane? ‘Then he is dead as a doornail…I think that I would want some protection if I was in a war zone,’ Billy B. answered with a serious expression on his young face. ‘A lot of young men are moving to Canada to Dodge the Draft…they will be prosecuted when they return to the United States,’ Neva J. remarked. ‘I hear Walter Cronkite tell how many Americans were killed in Vietnam each evening on the Evening News With Walter Cronkite…and he announces how many Vietnamese

were killed as well,’ Chet said in a whisper.

‘McLintock is on at the Orpheum with John Wayne,’ said Billy B. ‘If John Wayne was in Vietnam fighting for us…the war would be over in a few days,’ said Jane.

‘Mom this is just what I wanted…a bicycle with a motor on it,’ announced Chet! ‘Well you must be careful Chet and only ride it on country roads…and do not forget your hand signals that Carol taught you before he died,’ Thelma said with a slight smile. ‘I believe that Billy B. and Jane are both getting the same thing…which was originally for Christmas…but was delayed due to Western Auto not being able to receive them from their manufacturer in time for December 25th,’ Thelma added.

January 1st, 1964 contained the joy of the late Christmas presents and freedom that they brought…while also holding the winds of change. The war in Vietnam went on throughout 1964 and escalated until 50 thousand Americans lost their lives in the conflict. Billy B. moved away from Eldorado and Chet stayed to care for his mother. John Wayne continued to portray courageous American heroes who never lost a battle.

The snow is melting. It is forecast to be 60 degrees on New Year’s Eve. The Old Year is exiting our view and the New Year is waving at us as it approaches us with a smile and an extended hand of friendship. I listen carefully when I hear people exclaim that they are glad the year is ending and hope the New Year is better. The years fly by like a weaver’s shuttle…each one represents a significant chapter of our lives. Although each of us experiences difficult times there is always the opportunity to find roses among the thorns.

Last evening I was watching a documentary regarding our obsession with ‘Keeping up with the Joneses,’ or who has the most possessions and money. We endeavor to focus on our own life…but our eyes wander to consider what our colleagues have. Sadly we have not escaped the Class System. Money has become so intertwined and interwoven with all facets of society including the church. ‘Love Jesus and get rich…,’ is the proclamation of many religious groups.

2023 is full of possibilities! The greatest among these is the expansion of your world. Make a point of having lunch with someone of a different race or nationality or ethnicity or religious affiliation…than you are. Search for the marginalized and the forgotten and those who are not seen…and see them and befriend them and help them.

Guard your dignity and let no one convince you that you are lesser than or not equal to them. Do not let anyone…as the great quote from the movie Dirty Dancing…’ No one puts Baby in the corner,’ put you in the corner!

Find the good in people. Be a good finder. If you look… you will see something that you like and respect in most folks that you encounter.

Get out of your own head! Take an interest in someone other than your own wants and needs and inner thought life.

Stop listening to your assumptions. Quit judging others by negative thoughts that you make concrete in your reality. As a popular Seinfeld episode extolled us regarding a Black & White Cookie…’ Look to the Cookie!’

A new Congressman has been found to have grossly lied on his resume. Never feel the need to obfuscate or mislead where you have been or what you have done…or who you are. During every day of 2023…You Are You…not who others want you to be or expect you to comply with. Authenticity is refreshing.

Curious it is to see people around you as they carefully stay within their lines of demarcation according to religion and wealth and prestige and perceived power. The author G.K. Chesterton said, ‘We are all in the same boat in a stormy sea…and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.’

This has been a good Christmas. Christmas Eve began with a trip to Cape Girardeau, Missouri for a great lunch. Not only was lunch delicious but I was able to park directly next to Mary Jane’s Restaurant, which I have never been able to accomplish on our numerous visits. Christmas Eve Church Service is a perennial favorite for us. I swear that some Old England Magic is contained in the observance. Each person has a bit of a glow about them and some Christmas Etheral Vibes ensue from wishing each other…Merry Christmas…

It has been bitter cold over the past few days with a light snow cover. Or as someone said Christmas Day…this is what we have been singing about and dreaming of. I continue to be in awe of the magnificent Fleeman Family. Tara and Mike and Paige and Tyler are a joy to be around and an uplift to my holiday! Ron and Ira Kay graciously hosted us for Christmas Dinner and it was delicious.

Jonathon showed me a photo that Paige had taken of him while he was enjoying a Christmas Nap. I thought that his face looked unique and about that time she told him that she had used a filter on the image. The filter transformed his face as well as his uncle Ron’s face into a humorous caricature. I subsequently joined Snapchat to endeavor to find the coveted filter.

The pursuit of happiness continues. Pastor Kerry preached a timely Homily on Christmas Eve. Kerry spoke of Jesus’ ministry to the poor and the primary focus of his ministry focusing on the marginalized and on those who have. no voice…the invisible of his day. Pope Francis’s Christmas Eve message focused on the poor and the homeless as well. I was inspired to hear the words of hope commemorating the birth of Christ…to be the message that he came to the world to deliver and the foundation of the Christian Faith.

Christ’s message was not about the flashiest or the wealthiest nor who gives the most money to the church. It has always been about the widow and her mite…

‘Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she gave out of her poverty, put in everything…all she had to live on.’ Mark 12: 41-44