Day 9
Picnics at Fort
Charters
I
reckon Nanny got much more than she bargained for: three “kids” instead of two
children and a mature, supportive husband. Well!---Gee!---Some people just never grow up!
It
was just way too much fun for a Hedonist-type to morph into---yuk!...adulthood.
When the kids came along I was already twenty and “set”, as they say, in my
ways. “Good-time” Charlie!
And,
just like an immature, irresponsible, this “kid” seldom had much jingle in his
worn pockets. Oh! I guess we did alright, sometimes, even better than okay;
accumulating money seemed an abstract vacancy not worthy of serious
consideration.
Thus:
Some people never grow up! My values were intentional; my purpose---simple…Fun!
But,
we were far from destitute; most of the time, anyway.
One
fine July we banked nearly $18k; after taxes and expenses: free and clear! Not
too shabby for a poor boy from the country with ambitions for “Happiness”!
In
the following month my commission check came to a whopping---$12.50! WOW!
Then,
intelligence dawned: Money is only good for keeping score! If that is important
to you!
Somehow,
I realized that I had always known that factoid; now, it glared at me.
I
am an extreme Independent-Individual,
always have been, always will be; that reality forms my life-foundation,
everything else stems from that certainty. For a few years, I believed,
erroneously, but, by self-delusion, convinced myself that I worked for---money! What I actually sought in that
endeavor, and, in all other undertakings, was the ultimate prize…Freedom!
And,
I’ve enjoyed sacred success in that pursuit. I know, because I am---Happily satiated.
Nothing
changed in that two month period; we lived the same, ate the same, loved the
same.
My
fortieth year, the time of our Z. Tyler’s birth, I put those sacred held
beliefs into practiced reality: I quit my corporate job! Lady Candice supported
my decision. (She is an angel!)
That
celebration of our grandson’s birth opened a vista of immeasurable Freedom! (And, for you “counters” out
there, we made more money after taking up that “gauntlet” than ever before!)
Simple! That little
word provides solutions to all of
mankind’s challenges: Keep it simple,
Stupid! (KISS) If you doubt it or deny it as truth, I invite you to just
give it a try---I dare you!
Got
problems? Issues? They are self-inflicted. Just tell the “Truth”! Stand before
a clean mirror and view the cause of the trepidation---and…the solution! You! Voila!
So,
Fort Charters and the picnic regimen?
The
State of Illinois park is the preserved site of the French Fort de Chartre
established around 1748 as the imperialists explore the “New World” to conquer
and exploit the resources.
As
a history buff, I love the old fort with its skeletal remains and modern
reclamations; wraths and spirits inhabit the historic site where moderns
frequent for picnics and escape to the past.
The
foundations of soldiers’ barracks and other buildings are preserved along with
a stone powder magazine building, officers’ quarters and three feet in height
of the fortress perimeter wall. Guard towers protect the grand stone entry way
secured with huge wooden gates. The drive to the entrance gate is lined with
grand, old shade trees on either side/ Where French soldiers were cadenced
drilled, we played “fun” softball on the green quadrangle. A few miles to the
east of the fort stands a limestone bluff from where the forts stones were
quarried and wagon-hauled to the site; good thing those soldiers had “nothing”
but time on their hands.
Quite
a place for a “kid” with wild imagination to visit. My parents and grandparents,
aunts, uncles, cousins and friends frequented the site from the time of my
earliest memories.
Ah!
Wonderment! Sweet memories! Indeed!
So,
being the “child”-mental with a brood of my own, we introduced the kids to Fort
Charters. Grand times in subsequent years, a lifetime, brought joy and love to
the forefront of our lives. We enjoyed fried chicken picnic lunches and clamored
across the distant history of stone foundations “ghosting” a once vibrant
military installation.
Ah!
Values! And, virtues! Found! Worthy Quality! Voila! Amen!
I
am most pleased to hear how much the treasure impacted my wards; me, too!
Thank
you! Grand old Fort de Chartre!
Another treasured awesome adventure-sweet
memory!. Amen!Plus:
Christmas!
Quite cold be the night with
darkness gathered ’round
Clandestine cacophony of silence
disturbs not a sound
’Tis quiet now, in sacred rustic
stable yonder
Where rests newborn Who be
mankind’s wonder
Adored by Joseph and Mary as the
Child does sleep
Honored by cattle, oxen with
white fleecy sheep
Three kings prophesy foretold
will visit from afar
Led to heavenly Host by
bright-light guiding star
His coming prophesied has come
and has been
Now celebrated longer than a
double millennium
Offering His people holy Truth
which they sought
His life and times
redemption-promise He bought
Innkeeper kind offer rough stable
sheltered two
Would I do better if I could
claim I knew?
Confuse not heaven with apology
for earthly sin
Brave confession cleanse souls of
Christian men
Comes now the dawn-promise of one
holy chance
The risen Son my spiritual life
please embrace
Crisp blizzard snow challenge
perceptive senses goal
Christmas Day radiant-clear as
bronze church bells toll
Traverse heavens cerulean-eternity
infinitely deep blue
Baptize Thy faithful with dawn’s
cool damps and soft due
Amen!
Merry Christmas!
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