June 30th, 2024

 My dad put a CB radio in his Cadillac when it was the big craze in the mid 1970’s.

He was strict about letting me use it.

We pulled into the White Hen parking lot on a cloudy and cold Saturday afternoon. The Oldman had a weekly routine where he bought his early edition Sunday paper, a lottery ticket and a gallon of milk.

Every Saturday afternoon... same White Hen, same clerk, same parking spot, same lottery numbers and a gallon of whole milk.

Occasionally he’d mix it up and buy me a KayO or a York peppermint pattie.

Not soon after he entered the White Hen, I was on his CB radio.

Asking for radio checks, what time it was, what everyone’s twenty was and if there were any bears in the area.

I had to be careful and not let my dad see me jagging around with his CB.

The store door opened and here comes the Oldman with the Sunday Trib and SunTimes. He had a gallon of milk and a box of Entenmann’s.

When he got into the car he grumbled,

“Before you answer my question, just so you know, Omar and I have been watching you for the last five minutes.”

He lit a cigarette, started the car and asked me,

“did you jag around with the CB when I was in the White Hen?”

My dad had a knack of knowing when I was doing something stupid before I did something stupid.

Now I’m the parent and my CB radio is Facebook. Somehow my sixth grade daughter finagled her way onto this incredible social network.

This is a little more dangerous than asking some assclown on the Dan Ryan about southbound traffic.

It is more like my daughter found my diary and a stack of Playboys under my bed.

Well, here is the first Morning Chalkboard with a young Chalkhead reading from the Westside of Mannheim Road.

I can’t defriend her now and I know her mom is in the White Hen watching what I’m doing.

Half of you are scratching your head and the other half are hoping this doesn’t backfire on me.

The last Sunday of June and the weather girl drew up a fantastic day for us in the metropolitan Chicagoland area.

I’m very interested in riding my bike to a beer garden today.

There is a smile on the sun and adventures to be had.

Let’s end this month on a high note…

…be kind, be astonished and I’m ending with a big 10-4 good buddy.

June 29th, 2024

 The last weekend of June has arrived.

I don’t know if this makes sense. Autumn is my favorite season, but June is my favorite month.

June of 2024 didn’t have much going on, besides the rise and fall of the Great Cicada Invasion.

I didn’t go to a White Sox game. No trips to the pool with the Shepkids. No dates with any hot mommies or big parties with friends.

I basically went to work and fed George.

June of 2024 was low key and that is alright with me.

I’m going to head into July with the plan of spreading JumboLove wherever I go.

I’ll try and set good examples for my offsprings. I’ll go to work everyday and bust ass for my trading firm. I’ll try hard to be a considerate ex-husband. Give that helping hand to my mother-in-law when she needs it. Yeah, I have a mother-in-law. I got to keep her in the divorce.

I’m going to be a supportive fan for my friends. Pray for them when they need it. Move a couch for them if they ask. Buy them an Old Style when they walk into the tavern and give them a hug if they are feeling shitty.

Speaking of praying…

…I did a shit ton of praying in June.

I have a high school classmate that is going through a serious bout with cancer. I had a colleague that had his gallbladder removed. Another colleague that had a heart attack just a couple days after we played golf together. A cousin with a dad in a nursing home. Two cousins that don’t talk to each other. I’ve got friends with kids that are away in the military. Friends with parents that are terminally ill. People that I love going through crappy days.

The list goes on and as long as there is a list…

…my big ass will be down on my knees every morning while most Chalkheads are still nighty night.

Time to get this last Saturday of June rolling. Time to prepare for all of this JumboLove that I gots to be giving in July.

Go be astonished all you Chalkheads!

Put some meat on the grill and some love between the sheets!

June 28th, 2024

 I took George to his first movie on a cold December afternoon when he was three years old. We went and saw “The Princess and the Frog” at the matinee while baby Fritz stayed home with MomMom.

George made it through the movie that day and we still watch it together when it is on the television.

I thought about that day yesterday as George set out for a trip to Kenosha on his own. Kenosha runs old streetcars around town and George wanted to get pictures of them.

After a two hour train ride up the coast of Lake Michigan, my little boy was all alone in the State of Cheeseheads. He arrived at noon and had until 4:02pm to ride streetcars from the mid twentieth century.

“Do Not miss that fucking four-o-two George or you’ll be in a shit ton of trouble son!”

I was getting updates during the day and the occasional video or picture of lighthouses and streetcars.

…and then just before four o’clock I received a text from my little baby boy.

“Dad…. I’m stuck in an elevator and I might miss the train! The fire department is on the way!”

“NO… NO…. NO…. NO!”

The little boy that made it through ninety-five minutes of a Louisiana Disney Princess movie got himself trapped in an elevator at the Kenosha fucking train station!

No way am I climbing into Betty the Green Blazer and hauling ass to Wisconsin.

The good news is… Metra held the train for the dipshit stuck in the elevator and Kenosha has a decent fire department.

The train arrived at the Northwestern Station in Chicago and “Elevator Boy” made it home with an adventure from his first solo trip to Wisconsin.

George got back to Riverside about seven-thirty and for the next half an hour I heard about the twenty minutes trapped in an elevator story.

…. “And, oh yeah! The streetcar is amazing dad!”

The little boy that I buckled into a car seat in the movie theater parking lot fifteen years ago, took the train seventy miles away and got locked in an elevator.

For the rest of my life I will remind Big George that his first show at the theater was a Disney Princess movie.

…And his first adventure on the UP-North route ended with an emergency call to the Kenosha fire department.

I’m tired this morning because I did what I told everyone not to do on yesterday’s Morning Chalkboard.

I watched that debacle between two senior citizens last night.

The world isn’t going to end in January when the next presidential term begins. I’m still going to pay taxes and worry about my family. It doesn’t matter who the Assclown is that is sitting in The Oval Office. My life as an aging divorced dad will still have the usual ups and downs.

Have a glorious day and if you see Big George…

...ask him what floor the Choo Choo train is on.

June 27th, 2024

 I wanted to write about buying my first copy of “Purple Rain” on this day in 1984. Instead I’m going to roll back over and enjoy the moonlight shining across the bed.

It’s going to be a gorgeous day, don’t ruin it tonight watching CNN.
                    Do something that makes you happy instead.
                     Go get an ice cream!

June 26th, 2024

 I’m supposed to be getting up and making sure a bouquet of flowers is positioned properly on the dresser at the foot of the bed.

That wasn’t how it worked out though.

Today is the Shepkids’ Mom’s birthday and instead of rolling over and wishing her a happy birthday, I’m reading the text from last night’s argument.

Things don’t work out the way we want most of the time during our lives.

No birthday candles, just eggshells and land mines.

Today’s quote is a perfect reminder for today. This is the rule to live by if you don’t get along with your ex wife.

Silence can avoid many problems and a smile can solve many problems.

Easier said than done.

If you see the former Mrs. Shepley, wish her a happy birthday. If you know Terri, say a prayer for her.

Happy Birthday Bergsy, brighter days are down the road…

Today is the National Day of Joy. Why is this a National Holiday and not a worldwide celebration?

That is the task at hand for Wednesday, June 26th.

Spread Joy wherever you go today!

Even with the guy who doesn’t use his turn signal or the millennial that doesn’t stand to the side when the elevator opens.

We got to give joy a boost today and learn to smile and keep our mouths shut.

Jesus Christ… that’s a lot to ask for on a humpday!

At least make your bed, that’s a good start.

June 25th, 2024

   I worked with a kid on the trading floor that had really happy days and really sad days. You didn’t know if you were going to get the nicest guy in the world or the meanest prick.

On the good days, he was the smartest guy in the pit. He was our own Cliff Clavin. He could talk about books, music, movies and he always had great jokes.

On the bad days, he was the nastiest guy in the pit. Let’s just say, he wasn't fun to work with on those days.

My best memory of this guy was attending the Opening Day game in 1993, White Sox versus the Yankees. It was the first game back for Bo Jackson after hip replacement surgery. Bo hit a home run into the right field bleachers on his first trip to the plate. My work colleague and I were filled with excitement in section 119. We went to high five each other, but we missed clapping hands and bounced forearms instead.

That was the day we invented a new high five, at the Bo Jackson game.

Through the years my colleague and I lost contact. Earlier this year he passed away.

Yesterday I went to the library to drop off a book. The Riverside Library has a shelf with new arrivals, one shelf for fiction and one for nonfiction.

I came across a book about the Blues Brothers. I pulled it off of the shelf and opened it up. Inside was a sticker that said that THIS book was dedicated to a patron who was a friend of the library.

The name on the inside cover was that of my colleague who lived his life with the really sad days and the really happy days. The guy who invented the awkward home run high five with me.

It was fitting that the book dedicated to him was about Jake and Elwood Blues and the phenomenon they built off of an improv skit on Saturday Night Live.

I checked this book out immediately. I had an overwhelming connection with it.

I was walking home from the library. A train was stopped at the station, so I sat down and waited for it to pull away.

It was at that time when I felt one of those tingling sensations. The feeling you get when your parents are thinking about you. Like a brisk of air slamming against your body that lets you know your place in the world.

It was my former colleague sending me a message from heaven. He was telling me that he was alright. That he didn’t have the pain and depression that he had when we worked together. The hurt and suffering that he hid when the Pinwheels lit up at Comiskey Park.

The train pulled out of the station and I continued my walk home. The rest of the way knowing that I just experienced another mystery of my faith.

That book… that book was dedicated to a guy I knew. A thousand books on that shelf and I pulled that book.

You see Chalkheads.....

There are signs out there that show us that something, somewhere, someday will bring us eternal peace.

I found that sign in a library book on a warm Monday afternoon in late June.

Keep the Faith and always be astonished.

Today is Anthony Bourdain Day. He was just like my former colleague. A beautiful sole held down by the shackles of depression. Two men who left the world too soon, but are now in a safe place.

Do yourself a favor tonight and stream Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: Season 7, Episode 2. It takes place in Chicago and he nails our hometown with his beautiful words.

Time to start my Tuesday…

… look for a miracle today and make something fun for dinner tonight.

June 24th, 2024

 It has never gotten any easier.

Every other Sunday I have to ship the Shepkids back to the other side of Mannheim Road.

The first couple years, I would come home and start balling. These days, I have that lump in my throat and a heavy heart.

It isn’t as bad after the two redheads are gone because I still have Big George and he’s right on top of me…

“What’s for dinner?"

"What’s for dinner? Are you making something or did you get Culver’s?”

I always figured, as they got older, it would get easier, but it still sucks ass.

Enough with being melancholy on a Monday morning.

Speaking of sucking ass….

I made jalapeño poppers yesterday. I cored out six jalapeños and stuffed them with scallions, pepper jack cheese and a dash of siracha sauce.

I ate all six of them!

My big booty is going to be on fire today! GoldBond isn’t going to help, I’m going to need a shit ton of DudeWipes!

Happy Monday Chalkheads! You now know what is going on with my digestive system today.

At least I got to sleep in my own bed last night!

Many of you asked me to record my singing to Betty the Green Blazer routine. I mentioned how I sing Hazel’s lullabies to Betty when we drive out to the OakBrook Terrace Board of Trade.

Let me see how Betty is feeling and maybe we can arrange that for your Monday morning entertainment.

Like I said, it is Monday morning. It is the final week of June. Last week had the longest day of the year and a full moon. How do we top that?

Take your shadow for a walk and spread kindness…

… and enjoy that we survived the Great Cicada invasion of 2024.

June 23rd, 2024

 Part two of the Princess in the King's bed.

I had to get something from my room last night around 7:30. I walked down the hallway and arrived at a locked door.

Fortunately, George hasn’t installed the advanced biometric technology on my bedroom door.

I popped the lock and found my princess sprawled on my bed,

“I’m on a call dad!”

“Just need to grab something Love.”

and that is when my baby girl told her BFF that her dad was weird.

Sooooooo……. Before I left my little princess and her conference call with the cool chicks in sixth grade…

“You should've been gone,

knowing how I made you feel!

and I should've been gone,

after all your words of steel!

That’s right! I busted into “Oh, Sherrie.”

I wanted the Sixth Grade Council of Cool Kids to know Hazel’s dad isn’t weird, he’s crazy!

I couldn’t wait to bring crazy back at 8:15 and let Hazel know the party is over.

“Hey Siri, set an alarm for 8:15 please.”

8:15 comes around, I punch in the code, the password, the second password and pop the lock open.

“It is time for the Princess to take her bubble bath and have her hair brushed by her royal servant.”

“DAD! Please, I’m still on my call!”

This is where I could have politely told her that she needed to end her phone conversation with the girls west of Mannheim, but I didn’t.

It was time for more Steve Perry.

“Oh Hazel, our love, holds on, holds on… Oh Hazel, our love Holds on, holds on!”

That is when the call ended abruptly and I received an OMG. I don’t think I’ll ever receive an MBE from the King of England. So I will settle with the OMG from my baby girl.

The night settled down. Hazel finished her shower and I tucked her in with no hard feelings. I turned off the light, closed the door to my bedroom and as I walked down the hall towards the kitchen….

“Oh, I want to let go. You'll go on hurtin' me. You'd be better off alone, If I'm not who you thought I'd be!”

...and for a final measure from the living room,

“Oh, Hazel, our love

Holds on, holds on

Oh, Hazel, our love

Holds on, holds on!”

Fritz comes out of his room and asks what all the racket is about.

George comes out of his room and tells me the lyrics should be “Oh, Sherrie,” not “Oh, Hazel.”

Only George would be able to pull that one out of his pocket.

The kicker…

Sometime in the middle of the night. Daddy’s little girl brought her blanko and joined me in the dungeon. She pushed the ottoman up to the chair and fell asleep with her Big Old Ogre.

The End

Today is Sunday Funday! The temperatures are coming off of the highs and we are going to watch minor league baseball.

Nope…. We aren’t going to a Sox game. We are going to Joliet to watch the Joliet Slammers.

Get it?

Slammers?

Joliet Prison?

Play on words?

Maybe Jake and Elwood will be at the ballpark?

Anyway…. It has to be better baseball than what is being played in Bridgeport.

Let’s finish this last full week of June with kindness and astonishment.

Happy Sunday you Chalkheads!

June 22nd, 2024

 I woke up on the couch this morning.

Not because I passed out last night from martinis and definitely not because I’m in the doghouse.

The lovely Ms. Hazel is visiting this weekend from her kingdom west of Mannheim Road. Her brother, the witty middle child joined her on a weekend visit to the town nestled in the woods along the river.

Three bedrooms, four beds and the king of the castle sleeps on the couch. I love my couch, but it isn’t from Walter E. Smithe. It is perfect for watching a ballgame or sharing a bottle of wine with a hot mom.

Not so good if you want a comfortable night sleep.

Fritz has two beds in his room. One for him and one for his baby sister.

“We don’t have to share a bedroom at mom’s house!”

Upon hearing this infamous quote, the Oldman started sleeping on the sofa during visitation weekend.

And what makes it even worse is the process it takes if I need to get anything out of MY room during nighttime hours.

I need a code, a secret handshake, a password and a second code. I won’t be surprised if Hazel shows up with a fingerprint door latch sooner than later.

“Hey George? I need you to install this security system on dad’s bedroom door.”

I don’t know what is worse for me?

Not being able to grab my wallet that I left on the dresser or becoming an Old Gross Ogre?

Being an ogre means that I’ve lost being able to do daddy’s bedtime chores.

No more back rubs.

No more bedtime stories.

… but worse of all!

I don’t get to sing “MoonRiver,” “Rainbow Connection” and “Time after Time” (Tony Bennett not Cindy Lauper) to my daughter anymore.

I sing these songs to Betty the Green Blazer every morning on the drive to work….

…Just so I remember the words and I won’t sing off key on that day when my daughter might want to get the band back together?!?!

The couch really isn’t that bad.

There is a night lite for the late trip to the pisser. The television is there if I want to watch an old episode of “The Honeymooners” and it gives me a perch to see who gets up in the middle of the night to raid my icebox…

…George!!!

Oh and if George sees me on the couch, he thinks it’s a night time information booth.

“Hey dad? Are you awake? It’s a Friday night… can I stay up late? Are you awake?” at 10:11pm

“Can I have some popcorn?” at 11:37pm

“Dad, when was the last time we went to the train museum?” at 12:51am

“Can I have the last Klondike Bar?” at 1:27am

and finally around 1:57 in the morning…

“Dad? Dad? Dad? Hey dad, I can’t sleep, where is the melatonin?”

Someday, someday soon in their young lives. Their dad won’t be sleeping on the couch.

Dad sleeping on the couch will be a distant memory of comfort and security.

A memory I don’t have. A memory that I don’t have because Don Shepley sure as fuck never slept on a couch for me!

If you see me today and I’m walking down the boulevard with a crooked gait… just say hello and don’t ask me if I’m injured.

Today is chocolate éclair day!

I’ve talked about my love for pies, my love for coffee cake, my love for donuts and my love for cannoli's,

But by far, my favorite dessert is an éclair. Éclair is French for “Flash of light.” Probably because once you take that first bite, the rest is gone in a flash of light.

Oak Park Bakery has my favorite chocolate éclair. One, because it is damn good. Two, because a Chocolate Éclair from Oak Park Bakery holds fond memories.

Treat yourself to an éclair today. Buy an extra one and drop it off at a friend’s house.

Nothing makes a day brighter than having a friend stop by unexpectedly to hand you a small box wrapped with string.

I love doing shit like that for my people!

Anyway…. It’s the first weekend of summer. It’s going to be another hot somabitch and it’s a perfect day to be astonished!

Powder your thighs and have a glorious Saturday.

June 21st, 2024

 I just topped a golf ball sitting in the middle of the seventh fairway. My phone was in the pocket of my golf bag. It started buzzing and flashing, so I went to check and see who was calling.

It was my phone telling me summer started at 3:51.

Summer has officially started.

….and it’s Friday!

I’m going to cut this one short because the tinnitus is banging away in my ears and my mouth tastes like Cuban smoke.

A cigar on a school night after a round of golf wreaked havoc on a perfectly good sleep.

But I started my summer out with fun and that is all that matters…

Go kick the shit out of the first weekend of summer and be astonished…

…the sun has a smile and even though that is our goal in life…

…to put a smile on the sun, I could go for a day with an overcast sky and cooler temperatures.

Just one day.

My hip hop thighs need a break from the GoldBond.

June 20th, 2024

 The longest day of the year has arrived. I’m not Nostradumus, but these next six months are going to be filled with biblical events that could change the course of history.

Mad Max and the Terminator might be the final outcome on that first Tuesday of November. Leading up to that day we might see many changes to the plots we know right now.

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to watch the fate of the world as it teeters upon continued division and destruction.

Until that happens, I’m going to keep on loving you. Because that is the only thing I want to do.

Go be astonished and if you are scared, find Lenny Bruce, he is not afraid.

June 19th, 2024

 I woke up this morning with nothing to do. I’m thrown off of my routine and I feel like I’m wondering in a field waiting for the Italian Prime Minister to correct my path.

Enjoy the day off America. You really don't deserve it!

Today is National Martini Day. I’m a gin guy myself. Stirred, with a small dash of vermouth and a blue cheese olive.

Be astonished

June 18th, 2024

 Six months from now it will be dark at four o’clock in the afternoon and brutally cold. Think about that later today and please…. No photographs of the thermometer in your Subaru!

I woke up from a dream….

….I was riding on the Congress L heading to Oak Park from the city. All I was wearing was a swimsuit and a girl had her hand on my booty. A friend of my dad’s was on the train and I was worried that he will tell my dad that I didn’t have a shirt on.

That is how my Tuesday is getting started. Before someone asks, I had some tortilla chips and guacamole for dinner. No booze… Sun tea with a splash of Costco lemonade.

There was also a song playing on the train. Today’s quote comes from that song. When you figure out the song, you’ll realize how intense the dream really was.

I remember a Saturday morning when it was already eighty-four degrees at seven in the morning.

The Oldman wanted to go down to Maxwell Street to find a birthday present for my step-mother. Real romantic fucking guy.

I can’t remember what Old Romeo ended up getting for his wife, but I remember the Maxwell Street Polish for breakfast was incredible.

I ended up buying a Paul Butterfield cassette and a velvet Jimi Hendrix picture.

The guy buying a birthday present for his wife told me that I was wasting my money?!?!

I ended up getting introduced to a new blues musician that day and Mr. “Chinese Pots and Pans” was calling me out for wasting money!

I beat the shit out of that tape and ended up throwing the framed picture of Hendrix out when I moved into an apartment with Amy Weaver.

Amy ended up making me frame a poster from the 1989 Blues Fest. I still have it hanging over my stereo to this day.

I sure miss the Maxwell Street market and live Chicago Blues on a hot weekend morning. I don’t know if that was when America was supposedly great.

It was great for me!

Powder up Chalkheads, it’s going to be a hot somabitch again today.

July 17th, 2024

 I’m not sure what normal means. A normal family, a normal person, a normal career, a normal life.

Who lives that way?

I like today’s Chalkboard quote. I took it from someone that you probably wouldn’t associate me with, Maya Angelou.

It’s not normal for a conservative Catholic kid to read something by a woman who was a civil rights activist.

That isn’t normal.

Maybe I do it to attract the liberal chicks? Liberal chicks are really kinky and I think it’s normal to be kinky every once in awhile.

Anyway….

We are officially in the back end of June. Today is National Root Beer Day. I’m a Barqs guy myself.

The summer equinox is this week. Friday is the Strawberry full moon and Wednesday the markets are closed.

I can’t push it enough…

Stay hydrated, stay calm and use your GoldBond this week.

Don’t let the heat keep you from being astonished and kind…

…and definitely try not to be normal!

June 16th, 2024

Today might be a rough day for a couple of you Chalkheads.

Someone won’t be playing golf with their dad this morning. There will be a family barbecue without a grill master this afternoon. A brunch table with one less guest. A boat on the lake without the usual fish tales. There will be a ballgame with one less fan that remembers Wrigley without lights and Comiskey when it was on the northside of 35th street.

There was a time when our dads lost their dads, but we were too young to recognize the fragility of life. That foreshadowed where many of us are now….

… celebrating Father’s Day without a father.

I hate to be morbid, but that day will come when our own children will celebrate today without a father.

GO..... book that tee time, fire up the grill, reserve a table for brunch, pull your fishing rods out of the attic and get a pencil and scorecard before the first pitch.

Today is an opportunity to make great memories with your children. Make sure to tell your kids a couple stories about your dad. Share the memories of your dad with his grandchildren. Give them that family foundation that they will continue to build upon when we are gone.

I know this wasn’t a lollipop and unicorn chalkboard for Father’s Day.

My point is….

…. our time together isn’t as long as we think.

Today we remember the gusto that our fathers once had and show our children the gusto that we still possess.

….and make sure to powder up with the GoldBond today.

In fact, you better have a good supply in your medicine cabinet. This week is going to be a scorcher.

I love you Dad.

June 15th, 2024

 Today is the Ides of June, the December of Summer. The summer solstice will occur on Thursday and we will quietly slide into shorter days.

I don’t know what it is about June?

June probably became my favorite month at an early age. School is over, pools are open, baseball is in full swing and ice cream tastes the best in June.

Rain is starting to develop that smell that comes to its greatness in August. Leaves still have that elasticity of newness that sounds fresh when the wind blows across them.

June was the month my Gramma’s yard started to explode with roses. Her yard on Indianola in Broad Ripple was covered with “her” rose bushes and they were spectacular. Even as a little boy I could recognize the beauty. She painstakingly took care of them every year.

One June before I moved down, I was visiting from Chicago. My Gramma and I sat on old webbed lawn chairs sipping lemonade. The yard decorated with blooming roses, the smell filled the air.

My gramma leaned over and told her sad grandson that roses bloom in June to announce the birthday for John Stephen. Roses blooming in her yard were a reminder that her daughter Cecilia’s only son has a birthday coming up.

…and God planned it that way.

That might have been the only time in my life when that old stoic German lady made me feel special. Her timing was impeccable, coming at a time when my parents were divorcing.

June is a trip to the lake. June is a picnic in the forest preserve. June is a field trip to Comiskey or Wrigley. June is camping in a tent in the backyard. June is sitting at the pool staring at lifeguards. June is a root beer float on the bench outside the TasteeFreeze.

June ushers in the summer and becomes an instant memory by the Fourth of July. June is Jack Brickhouse, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin and WLS on a transistor.

June is an old beat to shit pair of gym shoes. For us Catholic school kids, June meant no uniforms for seventy-five days.

Today is the halfway point for this glorious month. So much to do, so many places to go, so many souls to search.

I declare the Ides of June a day to do something special that defines June for YOU!

Take the time to use your senses today. Feel June with the grip of gusto and don’t let go. Hold it long enough to filter June into your heart.

Get dirty today, get laid today, get your tummy full today, get your skin red with sunlight today, get your hair wet today and get yourself a root beer float today.

Go be astonished and remember that kindness shines longer in June.