Pork-Pie was a happy pig! He had been the House Pig until he had become to large to sleep in bed with farmer Mike and Miss Lottie…whereupon they purchased a king size bed just for him! He watched as the other pigs were wallowing in the pig sty and that it was exceptionally muddy and that they had something called slop to eat…morning and noon and night. Pork-Pie had a stool at the kitchen table and enjoyed the same food that farmer Mike and Miss Lottie consumed… Miss Lottie had made him a sweater to wear when he was cold and a raincoat when he had to go outside to do his business. Farmer Mike kissed Pork-Pie and hugged him and told him on numerous occasions during each day that he was the greatest pig and a special pig and that there would never be another pig like him!

PP as he was known by his family loved to parade around the pig sty wearing either his hand knit sweater or his raincoat…or at times his stripped pajamas that Miss Lottie had ordered for him from Amazon. He especially enjoyed the fur lined house shoes that he had received for Christmas from farmer Mike, that were ordered from LL Bean. PP loved to watch television. In fact he spent about 8 hours per day glued to the tube. He loved Turner Classic Movies and HBO. One day PP noticed that farmer Mike smoked a pipe. He asked if he could have a puff…and Mike was more than happy to oblige his favorite creature in the world! Mike purchased a Merscham Pipe for PP and he looked dapper in his Sherlock Holmes outfit smoking his new pipe… PP began to believe his own press releases. He was convinced that he must be much better than the other pigs…although his mother and father and brother and sister were housed in the enclosed sty. He slept in air-conditioned comfort in the summer and beautiful Geo-Thermal heat in the winter. His skin was pink and soft from his daily bubble baths and he had picked up on many of the human words that Mike and Lotties spoke to each other…when they thought that he was not listening… They spoke of butchering time and the need to replenish their deep freezer.

For some time PP had been traveling with his human family to various fairs and livestock showings. He had a wall covered with blue ribbons to prove his worth and profound specialness to the family…and to the farm…and to the world! One fall morning as he and Mike and Lottie were sitting at the kitchen table he asked what the savory meat was that he was enjoying. Lottie replied, ‘Why that is country sausage, dear…would you like another link?’ PP asked, ‘Where does sausage come from?’ Lottie replied, ‘Why pigs dear…I thought that you knew that…you have been eating bacon since you were born!’

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PP had always understood that he was different from the ‘poor pigs’. Wasn’t he called and chosen and set apart from the dirty swine…family or not? He smiled a toothy smile and asked if he could have…more…

I thoroughly enjoy walking the path around campus lake! It is something that I have been doing for 42 years…and it still seems fresh and inviting to me each time I trod the familiar terrain. When I am on campus…I am at home. Earlier I received an email from the chair of the Range civil service committee asking me if I would like to be an ex officio member, and I jumped at the opportunity to take part. You see although I have been retired for almost 10 years…I am an inextricable part of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale! The thrill of being a member or such an institution for good is inspiring!

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The hope of our university is the hope for our region and a hope for our world. SIUC taught me to think for myself. That is no small feat in a world of follow the leader! I am a liberal arts guy but I have a love for science. The university taught me that there is no shame in being unlearned…but to glorify ignorance and to hold it on a pedestal of honor…is a Shanda! Southern Illinois University reveled to me the beauty of humanity in all of it’s rich diversity!

Indeed our 2020 pandemic has taught us that we are one family facing one devastating virus. Our political climate of lies and conspiracy theories and assertions that if political leaders are lying to us that it is to their advantage because we will pay closer attention to them…we have entered Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone!

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, said in a speech to the House of Commons in Parliament on May 13, 1940: ‘We are in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history…That we are in action at many points-in Norway and in Holland-, that we have to be prepared in the Mediterranean. That the air battle is continuous, and that many preparations have to be made here at home.’

I would say to this House as I said to those who have joined the government: ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.’ We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many long months of struggle and of suffering.’ Wikipedia

Southern Illinois University gave me an appreciation for truth and truth tellers. When our lives are on the line…nothing less than the truth will suffice! Another valuable lesson I received from my many years of association with SIUC is a love for logical thinking and rationale hypothesis. I have been a christian for over 51 years and love the stories and studies of spiritual things. I am satisfied that there is much more that we do not know about our purpose on earth and what comes next after this life. But…we live in a physical existence that is governed by certain irrefutable laws of science. Whether working in church government or management at SIUC…I am a proponent of my favorite Star Trek character, Mr. Spock, who consistently sought logical thought…

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I believe in the miracles of the possible! When you are ill…go to your physician! When you want to build a faith community…seek systematic and orderly christian hard work and planning to get it accomplished! When the American people are facing a life taking plague…tell them the truth and work feverishly to ameliorate the devastation!

Probably the most compelling element of the First Presbyterian Church is the work ethic of the congregation! When people are hungry. They work to feed them…When natural disaster strikes…the churches mission outreach is there. Prayer is wonderful and vital…but prayer without works…is dead…

Have you ever heard the saying that you can be so heavenly minded…that you are no earthly good?

I am sitting on the writing porch and it is raining a deluge! I love it! Fall is as good as here and I am wearing my new Frankenstein T shirt, a gift from Jonathon, and happiness is still in the small things…especially when you realize that life is nothing but a drive by parade of small things.

When I ponder how long it has taken me to understand the little that I do…I wonder what I did with my time for almost 63 years… We attended a Drive By Birthday Parade this morning for our friend, Carolyn’s birthday. What a lovely experience! There were so many smiling faces and the excitement of happy birthdays and balloons and colorful signs…it felt like a holiday!

MJ and I were reflecting earlier on the various decades that we have experienced together. I remarked that I remember my 40’s well. Most of that decade was spent in the ‘new house’ which in March will be 20 years old…and I still call it the ‘new house!’ When I think of my 20’s all I see is Aaron and Jonathon’s smiling faces looking up at me! Our world was a land of discovery and delight! The past 10 years has been the strange and beautiful world of retirement. Like the other parts of my life…there is no manual… It has been wonderful travel and peaceful days of reflection. It has been health scares and lengthy stays in St. Louis. For the past 6 months it has been a pandemic…and I have learned the special grace of home and hearth and love and family.

I was thinking the other day what a miracle we humans are! We are comprised of matter that we can not see with our eyes. Our substance is physical but our composition is ethereal… Life is filled with minor irritations…which when looked back upon are insignificant. The majority of the things that I worried about 10 years ago are now a distant memory.

As I saw many of my friends at the Drive By Birthday Party…I rejoiced at seeing them! There they were walking around and healthy and happy…and I was glad to be privileged to be a part of the event! I thought how connected that we are. All of the artificial walls that we have erected to keep us apart as a human family…will one day evaporate…to reveal that we are all made of he same stuff…and we really are all connected and we are all one…

Well, it is September 3rd in Little Egypt. I made my third visit to our JC Penney store that is going out of business. There are still a lot of clothes, although the store has been going out of business for several weeks. It makes me sad to see our department stores leave us… I saw the most wonderful family of deer on campus this morning. They were oblivious to human danger…but then again there were not many humans around. Each time that I watch members of the animal kingdom, accept for the human mammal, I am struck with their acceptance of life as it is and their joy in the experience!

Jonathon and I were talking earlier about the narrow parameters of our 2020 pandemic. We have been forced to look at what we call our life in a new and innovative way. We humans are meant for action. We feel stale and our energy is low when we are constricted from our common practices of fellowshipping with the other members or our species. When faced with the life changing event of covid-19 we peer through a glass darkly as the Apostle Paul said… I think the we see either murky uncertainty or a merry challenge for new pursuits and a new way of looking at our life. Do your recall the old tube televisions that had three channel reception and two of them were fuzzy? Indeed…our world is full of static! We are being told the scientific truth regarding our condition amidst the deafening clang of cymbals and the beating of the bass drum of lies and half truths. We want to gather with our friends and family. We want to worship with our fellow congregants. We want to have a beer with our buddies…or in my case a Dragon’s Milk! It has been 6 months and it appears to be getting worse… We want to vacation is Maine and travel to Edinburgh, Scotland…but the virus persists! We grieve for life as it was…that we are missing.

Not to be forgotten…we still have the most precious of our commodities…life! I have two friends who have died of the virus and a member of my extended family that has contracted it. I spend a lot of my time writing. I spend a significant time reading. I relish taking photographs. I love good movies and English Murder Mystery’s. My family has never been more important to me. The fragility of this walk back to Jerusalem…has never been more apparent. I spoke with my church board colleague, Rob, yesterday and I considered what a kind and considerate christian that he is. A person who loves justice and mercy and giving the other person the benefit of the doubt. I spoke with Pastor Kerry yesterday as well. What a solid thinker with a practical application of christianity in regards to addressing the supreme challenges or our life in real time.

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‘I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.’ C.S. Lewis

‘God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.’ C.S. Lewis

We will emerge from the pandemic and we will be changed. Our generation is in the midst of a life altering event. School children will read about us 100 years from now. We are performers and players on the stage of life. I learned many years ago to seek the big picture. I daily considered what does my service to Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale mean to the betterment of the department and how will it resound to the improvement of the University. As either a member of a church congregation for 51 years or at times a member/leader of church government…how will my actions affect others. You are being watched 24/7. Your actions and your words and your veracity are being considered by all that know you… I told the Vice Chancellor for Diversity…many years ago…when he accused me of lying to him…that our meeting was over and that he could talk to my boss because nothing was more important to me than my good name… That attestation would include jobs and the money the goes with them!

So, the murkiness of our present pandemic distress will end…but we must be dedicated to what our scientist and epidemiologist and virologist tell us. Being close to other humans is bad unless you both are wearing a face mask. Social distancing is vital to the continuance of your most precious gift…your life!

gift!

It is September the 1st and the fall rains have begun. Today begins my favorite time of the year and the fastest moving time of the year! I am always so happy to see September arrive because it portends the arrival of fall which is my favorites season. MJ and I purchased groceries this afternoon and two bags of Starbucks Pumpkin Spice came home with us. I am a creature of the cooler climate and I even enjoy cold weather…as long as it does not get to cold! The all encompassing feel and ambiance of the season is a energy pill for me and my idea of the perfect life!

For over 30 years the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon hosted by the popular comedian and movie star, Jerry Lewis, was a mainstay in the Brooks home and it said to me that fall had begun, as it was shown on the Sunday before Labor Day and then conclude in the evening of Labor Day. One year, many years ago, MJ and I were staying at a Howard Johnson’s Hotel in Des Moines, Iowa and Aaron was little more than a baby and Jonathon had not arrived yet. I vividly recall the Telethon on television and the famous fried scallops in the restaurant that Howard Johnson was famous for! Many years later MJ and I were in El Paso, Texas and the hotel that we were staying at was having a live television event, as was customary for the Lewis Telethon…and I was fascinated that we were there to observe it. The Jerry Lewis Telethon was a comforting happening at the beginning of September that I took solace in when I was in unfamiliar territory.

School always seemed a little foreign to me. Especially the beginning which occurred the latter part of August. It was so hot and there were no air conditioners. Our grade school teachers would open the large windows that pulled forward into the classroom and sometimes we were fortunate enough to have a window fan…and it felt like a furnace blowing on our little necks! When the Halloween decorations went up on the bulletin boards…I knew that happier times were coming! About mid-september in the early 1960’s it had already begun to get cooler. We had a milk break in the morning…and the milk was ice cold and you held your glass up to a spout and maneuvered a large and substantial handle to dispense the wonderful product…either white or chocolate. You could even have a second glass if you could hold it. So, Halloween arrived and the costumes that we purchased at the Ben Franklin Dime Store. My buddy, Jackie Brooks, could do a perfect imitation of the robot on the Lost in Space television show. When we trick or treated we were on the prowl for popcorn balls and large candy bars.

Fall is the time for special events. The time for holiday parties and Ichabod Crane and the headless horseman…and bobbing for apples! There has been a tradition of stringing festive lights on your home for Halloween for some time now. I loved monster movies when I was a youngster. Bella Lugosi’s Dracula and Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein were staples for my fall revelry! The Wolfman and the Mummy were of significant interest as well…but not with the same weight of my two horror stars.

My birthday is October 24th. I love my birthday! Each year I am grateful to have achieved another milestone in the life of Bradley Jay Brooks. I had two weeks of birthday celebrations for many years…but as I have now become an old man…a week seems sufficient! Cunetto’s House of Pasta is my favorite restaurant! We have dined at Cunetto’s for well over 20 years. We spend most of my birthday dinners at Cunetto’s on the Hill in St. Louis. I relish tradition! Continuity makes me happy. In my mind my life is one long progression of challenges and subsequent happiness. I dwell on the happiness! This year I will be 63 and my father died at 60. I am pleased that I have made it a little longer that dear old dad.

Autumn signifies good things to me! We began attending First Presbyterian Church in Carbondale, Illinois in the autumn. We were invited by two of MJ’s colleagues, Lee Holland a Carol Phemister…and I fell in love with the little church and its wonderful worship service…the first time that we attended! Everything about the people and the service and the magnificent building…suited me to the tee! MJ was shocked! She was fearful that I would not like a very traditional denomination. On the contrary…it was exactly what I was looking for! There was an order and a governance that I found tremendously appealing. The polity of First Presbyterian U.S.A. is unparalleled. We not only were made welcome the first Sunday service that we attended but a wonderful elderly couple drove to our little house in Elkville, Illinois and brought us homemade Cookies! They were Evelyn and Harold Engilking…and when someone drive 20 miles to bring you cookies…you will remember them too!

A wonderful and enlightening time is now at our doorstep. We have been locked in and masked and social distanced…but not forever! Life is marching on and we are in the midst of it…with all of its glory and all of its challenges and all of its pain! We must hold tightly on to our lodestones and our life markers as we do not want to lose our way in the dark of doubt and confusion. I often told a good friend of mine that I do not change…if I am your friend in the good times…I am your fried in the bad times! I have not allegiance to situational friendships or service to others. Glorious fall is coming and we should rejoice that we are still a vial part of the human story…

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It had been an unusually peaceful night. Billy Bump had slept like a baby. In fact he could not remember waking up one time from the time that he lay his head on his new Polar Nights Ultimate 20% cooler pillow! Billy was accustomed to waking up every hour on the hours since he had turned 60. He reflected on his youth when he slept the sleep of the dead for as long as 10 to 12 hours and that the night was just a momentary interlude between 2 days. As he arose from his bed he marveled that he had no arthritis pain or discomfort. He noted that the turmeric must be working… Billy knew that he must scurry as he and his best friend, Carl, had a 9:00A:M: meeting at the university and he did not want to be late. Brody stood next to him as he shaved and then suddenly jumped on to his bed…in one graceful leap. Billy wondered if Brody had been dipping into the turmeric?

Carl was in his usual good spirits. He had prepared his part of the presentation to the new chancellor and was cracking his usual mildly funny jokes. As Carl quipped, ‘how many university administrators does it take to change a lightbulb,’ and Billy asked how many…to which Carl replied, ‘one chancellor or 10 assistant chancellors!’ Billy asked Carl where his glasses were and Carl replied that he had forgotten them but that he was seeing fine. Now Billy had been friends with Carl for over 50 years…since the 1st grade…and Carl had always worn glasses with coke bottle lenses…

Playing on the wall mounted television in the corner of the university conference room was a totally grey haired president Obama. Billy did a double take as he knew that when he went to bed last night Donald Trump was the president of the United States and he had just concluded the Republican National Convention with a 71 minute speech…which was the second longest speech ever given after his acceptance speech four years ago in 2016. Billy asked Carl what was going on. Carl insisted that he did not know what he was talking about as president Obama was in his 3rd term as president after the 22nd amendment had been changed.

Billy wondered if he was dreaming. He knew that he had slept well…but where did he wake up. Carl laughed and remarked that perhaps Billy had consumed more Dirty Martinis than his usual quota of two! Billy reflected on his getting into his Honda earlier that morning and that it was red and his Camry, sitting next to the Honda in this two car garage, was white…just the opposite of what they had been yesterday.

Carl asked Billy if he had seen the fall enrollment figures for SIUC and Billy said that he did not realize that they were already published. Carl responded that they were just over thirty- thousand students on the Carbondale Campus and the chancellor had announced that additional dormitories would have to be built to house the addition of five thousand students enrolling in all disciplines, but especially the premed program. Since the the 2020 pandemic there had been a tidal wave of students enrolling in all forms of science and medicine to enlist, as in the armed services, against the danger of another virus! Billy protested that it was still 2020 and Donald Trump was the president and that we were in the midst of covid-19! ‘Oh no,’ Carl replied…it is 2030 and Donald Trump is living in Russia…under house arrest. The coronavirus had finally taken over 3 million American lives and had changed many elements of society. Face masks are still a requirement when you leave your home as is daily testing for new strains of the illness. President Obama had agreed to come out of his long retirement in 2028 after the second civil war had bought the country to its knees! After 8 years of the Trump presidency and his America first agenda…most of our allies had decide to leave us alone and allow us to fin for ourselves.

Billy…suddenly woke-up! There was Brody…barely able to stand and looking forlorn. Billy wondered if what he had just experienced had been a dream…or was he dreaming now… Was a Reality Television star really the president of the United States… He looked outside his bedroom window at the large blue orb sitting in the eastern sky…

Have you ever encountered a magnetic person? Another human that you would like to know what they are doing that seems to bring joy to their soul and happiness to their face. This individual seems to, ‘suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,’ with a bit more grace and humility than the rest of the maddening crowd.

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Calmness in the storm is a hallmark of a christian. Our current society has co-opted the title of christian and trumped it far and wide to promulgate their hate speech and personal views. Jesus did not preach an us against them message. Christ did not choose a popular political side to align his ministry with. He chose love and forgiveness and healing.

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I remember when I became a christian in the halcyon days of 1969, how the quiet compassion that I observed and felt from members of the congregation of the little church in Elkville, Illinois. I rode the Gulf Transport bus from Eldorado to Carbondale on Saturday morning and someone from the church would come to pick me up and drive me to Elkville. Often I would stay with a family and they would treat me as if I were a member of their household.

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I had a pastor in the early 90’s named John Summers. His quiet and unassuming life for Christ was compelling. He neither pushed himself on others nor did he often offer opinions in church board meetings that we were engaged in. However when he did speak it was genuine and the substance of his words stayed with me…up unto this day.

I watched a leader at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale who had a gift that I had seldom witnessed. Chancellor Jo Ann Argersinger simply drew people to her. I was hosting her open forum as a candidate for chancellor in the student center. Having been a member of the university community for nearly 20 years I understood my place in the hierarchy and yet this petite woman with the powerful personality insisted, 3 times, that I call her Jo Ann…rather than Dr. Argersinger. Jo Ann was noted for trudging out into a field that was being mowed by a member of the Grounds staff…to say hello and to tell the person how much that she needed them and how important that their contribution to the university was.

Magnetic people cause those with whom they interact to become connected to a church or a university. We are all seeking love and understanding and a connection that is not based on politics or money or power. The old saying that our actions speak louder than our words. Do you believe that during our short time as players on this stage of life…God is vitally interested in how much wealth that we can accumulate and how that we can ensure that only our tribe has it? Then, the Holy Father is going to reward us with even greater mansions and golden streets in heaven…

Where are the homeless in your community? Who are the destitute among you? Jesus may be bunking with them tonight…waiting to see who will come by…

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The bullfrogs are singing night melodies. The usual panoramic view from my writing porch has devolved into pitch blackness. The rhythms of the day have tucked in their efforts and yielded to the song of the night. Whatever knotty problem or inextricable conundrum that plagued the world of light…has hidden in the shadows. The perplexities of the passions that perpetrate our daytime thoughts have become commingled with our dreams and it becomes increasingly difficult to extricate one from another. Our love for system and order and clear directions on curvy paths mingles with the wind and rain and the dimness of our human sight. We see a specter out of the corner of our eye and wonder if it was a bat or a human or another creature of the night. Being alone in the sunlight is simple enough. You can see your neighbors. Work and play come easily. There is golf and exercise and illuminated plans for the future. The blackness brings the companionship of your thoughts.

I worked 20 of my 32 year career at night. I regularly walked the campus of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale in the dark. In the early days of my sojourn I was accustomed to encountering students jogging…in the middle of the night. It was a health conscious time. I cut through camps woods under the dim lamps or with no light at all. It was common to hear a plethora of unidentified noises just off of the path that I trod. Often I believed that I was the only person around only to come upon another human who emerged from the shadows. In those halcyon days…I had no fear. I enjoyed the quiet and the absence of distraction of the almost empty campus buildings…which are much easier to clean and to inspect for cleanliness. Focus and clear thinking without interruption was a nice benefit of housekeeping work.

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Steve and Faye and MJ and I along with our young sons, Aaron and Jonathon, were scheduled to take a vacation to Tennessee early the morning following our last second shift, that ended at 1:00 A:M: Steve and I decided to begin the driving adventure as soon as we could arrive at our homes in Elkville, Illinois. All of us thought that this was a grand idea as there would be less traffic and the children could sleep until the break of day! This was a common occurrence for me as I loved to drive at night.

I vividly recall two profound sensory experiences in Europe that happened under the cover of darkness. We were staying near embassy row in Rome. Each morning of our week long stay I was awakened by the sound of vocal cheerful Romans as they began their work and their day…just under my open hotel window. Although I do not have a command of the Italian language…I knew that Rome was waking up! The other aural night remembrance was when we stayed in Nice, France with our dear friends, Jeff and Margo. Their flat was over a restaurant and very near the Mediterranean Ocean. At about 11:00 P:M: the restarauntures began washing the dishes. It sounded to my ears that they were in the flat with us. The first night of our visit I had retired early due to jet lag and was awakened by the happy banter and the clatter of pots and pans…and I thought I must arise and go help my friends in the kitchen! Each night I looked forward to the unique experience of being so close to the life of a French bistro!

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The night holds mystery and half remembered dreams and the balance that brings the next day…

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The morning had been a bit stormy, with a torrential rain falling dropping 5 inches of water. Flash flooding had occurred in some low lying areas. Alvin and Amy had enjoyed the Wednesday night church service where Brother Bannon had preached regarding the end times that were soon to come to the earth. Alvin and Amy had grown up in their little church called the Assembly of Faith…as had their mothers and fathers before them. Brother Lloyd had told the congregation of 100 members that the end of days were upon them. He explained that the entire world lay in darkness and that their little fellowship represented God’s chosen people. The group understood that their calling was special and that they were part of an elite remnant that God had set aside for himself and that most of the inhabitants of the world would be destroyed when Jesus returned to set up his kingdom on the earth. The book of Revelation said that the blood would flow to the horses bridle during the time of Armageddon! But, Gods chosen would be raptured into heaven before the seven last plagues of the wrath of God were bestowed on the inhabitants of the earth…much like the plagues of Egypt in the Old Testament where Moses pleaded for Pharaoh to let my people go…but God had hardened his heart. And so there were locusts, and the water turned to blood, and all of the first born being killed by the angel of the Lord…unless you had blood applied to your lintel and doorposts! Alvin and Amy had been taught for all of their lives that God would send a John the Baptist as the forerunner of the return of Jesus to the earth to set up his physical earthly kingdom in Jerusalem on the site of the Dome of the Rock.

So…they despaired as their government persisted in emphasizing the importance of diversity and inclusivity and that democracy included all people from around the world. When it came to accepting other religions that did not preach the doctrine that they had been reared to understand was God’s word…they were incensed. Their spiritual revelation was that Jesus loved those that obeyed his word…and they were the possessors of that sacred word…while those that were not drawn to their fellowship…were lost… And the idea that anyone could be the president of the United States that did not prescribe to their narrow vision of faith…was abhorrent! This group did not accept divergence from the message of the Man of God. You see the teachings of this fundamentalist group were that God did not speak to regular folks but only to his chosen mouthpiece and that others must accept the word of Jesus from their leader. Now Alvin and Amy studied the scriptures much as the Hasidic Jews study the Torah…several hours per day. They attended church on Wednesday and Saturday night and Sunday morning and Sunday night. They made no major decisions without discussing them with their pastor before they proceeded. If the pastor did not want them to do what they had been thinking about…they simply did not do it! The pastor required financial fidelity! Ten precent of their gross income was the Lord’s…but he took care of the handling fees! Offerings were taken up on a regular basis and they were expected to contribute deeply…until it hurt…was the ministers admonishment! There was an old teaching in their fellowship that there would be only 144 thousand members off the Bride of Christ and that to attain this lofty and elite position…you would have to abstain from marital relationship with your spouse. Alvin and Amy had been endeavoring to be a part of the 144 thousand for many years…with some failures… The assembly was captivated by the story of king David of the Old Testament. They read with amazement that according to the scriptures he was a man after God’s own heart! Yet David had observed Bathsheba as she bathed on the roof of her dwelling and had lusted after her and subsequently had her husband put in the forefront of the battle and killed in order that he could posses her! This was an object lesson that they would not forget when their chosen president the United States was elected.

The new president said the right things according to their fundamentalist teachings. He spoke of locking the borders to America…and ignored the cry of Emma Lazarus poem that is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty which exhorts us to…’Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masse yearning to breath free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’ He spoke against religions that were not christian. He railed against people who were not white. He demeaned and denigrated women who were not subservient to their husbands. He called nations of color…’shit hole countries!’ He specifically order the separation and lock up of minor children from their immigrant parents…as a methodology of fear for their families seeking sanctuary in the United States which is know as the melting pot of the world! Their ‘chosen one’ and their John the Baptist was making the path clear for the return of ‘their messiah!’ He recognized that the God that they understood was not interested in democracy or inclusivity or ‘Jesus loves the little children…all the little children of the world…red, yellow, black, and white…all are precious in his sight…Jesus loves the little children of the world…’ Alvin and Amy had been waiting on a Theocracy…not a Democracy! They had not sought an African American president and had been incensed when one held the office of the presidency for 8 years.

There are a large group of people in American that do not participate in the vision of the founding fathers. They believe that being Gay is a sin…yet many of them are Gay. They know that alcoholic beverages are wrong…yet many are alcoholics! They have never set down to break bead with a person from another race…yet they admire many black sport stars! They seek the approval of their religious leaders and their faith community peers…and yet do not really like or appreciate either… They seek a theocratic kingdom on he earth and our current president is the harbinger of their long awaited dream…

Jonathon and I enjoyed a corn beef hash brunch at a local restaurant that is closing, perhaps for good, tomorrow.  We dined al fresco and socially distanced.  It was delicious.  Accompanied by a spiked Arnold Palmer…it was to die for!  The majority of folks were wearing face masks…until it was time to eat and drink.  Our server was a hard working and consistently pleasant young woman who also works as a server at Harbaugh’s Cafe…which is just down the block.  The restaurant was busier than I had ever seen it as there were many returning SIU students and their parents.  Classes begin on Monday. 

I was reflecting on the days that I had to represent my department of  350 – 400 people and in the latter years of my career, the Civil Service Council which had 2 thousand members of the university staff.  

In those days, as is today, there was a school of thought that if you wanted the redress of grievances for your membership or additional consideration for their needs that you should proceed with sword in hand and shield and buckler.  Shine the light on their leadership failure to address their employees and fear not their feelings or the repercussions of the truth!  However I learned as a young man…perhaps even a teenager…that words matter.  When I was speaking with a leader their humanity was in the forefront of my thoughts at all times.  My colleague and good friend Jerry Raney, who was the business agent for the local S.E.I.U. was a wonderful example of walking the tightrope of seeking benefits for his union membership and ensuring the oil of communication between campus leaders and himself always flowed smoothly…  Everyone was always glad to see

Jerry!

 

I chatted with chancellors and presidents and directors and Board of Trustee members…and their door was always open for me to return to visit with them.  I never personalized my disagreements with campus managers and administrators.  At times my stomach was tied in knots…and I could not sleep…but I refused to allow my discouragement and nerves and righteous indignation to obscure my vision of my friends in power.  Often those with authority understand that they have made a poor decision concerning those who work for them.  A gentle reminder…with ample time to think about their mistake may solve the problem.  

For 25 years I was a leader of a large housekeeping department.  Kind words and humility expressed by my colleagues…touched me more than fiery rhetoric.  Heartfelt communications and the realization that my friends understood that I was flawed and far from perfect…drove me to do better…

I had a chancellor tell me to, ‘leave me the hell alone,’ when all that I had said to him was that the president was looking for him at a dinner that the Council was sponsoring for campus leaders and the Board of Trustees.  Instead of angrily replying…I reminded him that he was the guest of honor…

I was afraid every time that I had to meet with a powerful campus leader…but there is a reason that their doors were always open to me and that I could obtain a meeting with them the same day that I requested one.  

I enjoyed many successes for the people that I represented…and I never lost a friend…