Monthly Archives: October 2024

Love, to the Moon and Back

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

October 11, 2024, Manila- “If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it’s yours.If not, it was never meant to be.” I’ve paid lip service to this, especially since Penny left for a better level. I have never felt she has been far away-and I have even felt that, when I fell for someone last year, this new love had Penny’s blessing.

I have no way of knowing in what direction my current friendship is going to head. Someone dear to me said, before I left for the Philippines this time, “You could love her to the moon and back, but if the feeling is not reciprocal, it can’t be faked.” I would be willing to make the life change and move here, but if it’s not a welcome move, it’s hardly a wise one. I have safe haven at Home Base I, and no one there who sees me through apprehensive eyes.

So, I will do what is prudent, in the time I have left here. I will visit Baha’i friends in another part of the country and pay further homage to those who died in World War II Another friend said, “No one needs to get married a second time”, and she is right. I know that I love my friend here, as deeply as I loved my wife. That is a rarity, and will not change. Still, there are twists and turns that she needs to navigate-and my presence would, for the time being, only be in the way. I have left the ball strictly in her court; she knows where she stands with me.

I am well, emotionally, with the caveat: “I am learning this, too: ‘We must not only be patient with others, infinitely patient!, but also with our own poor selves, remembering that even the Prophets of God sometimes got tired and cried out in despair!’ (Shoghi Effendi) And while I am deeply sure that ‘the Prophets of God’ had far more to despair about than I do or will, this quote gives me hope that I am not wallowing in my grief, but learning the lessons it will teach me.” (Borrowed, in gratitude, from a recently departed member of my spiritual family).

NOTE: Shoghi Effendi, the eldest surviving grandson of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, served as Guardian of the Baha’i Faith from ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s death, (1921), until his own passing (1957). He provided a wealth of translation, explanation and elucidation of the Writings of al-Bab, Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha, as well as offering timeless insights into the growth and development of the Faith.

Camia Garlands and A Filipino Banquet

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, impediments, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 10, 2024, Manila- The little entrepreneur was down to his last few hand-strung garlands of sweet-smelling camia blossoms. As we sat in a group and discussed various aspects of life in Manila and the urban U.S., one of our group members purchased the rest of the garlands. One was given to each of the women in our group, and I kept one for K, in case she was able to join us later.

Koi The’ Bubble Tea Shop, One Ayala Mall, Makati

Our host, Nelson (seated to my right, with ball cap), then brought us to MESA, a Filipino restaurant, where we enjoyed a full range of regional and national culinary treats: Pork belly (Binaggongan baboy), baked scallops in shell, suahe (large shrimp, barbecued in shell), sisig (fried rice with minced pork), various chicken dishes and a flounder-like baked fish, along with various side dishes whose names I did not quite catch.

It was a fitting celebration of both Nelson’s return here (he lives in the U.S. ) and that of a revered Baha’i elder, who lives primarily in the U.K. The rest of us were honoured just to be along for the gathering.

Part of me would not mind relocating here. There is more of the universal way of thinking, a collective mindset, to which I long ago became hard-wired. It will depend on how things go in a certain friendship, so we’ll see. Nevertheless, I have bonds here, for the rest of my life-much like in Home Base I, and in a number of other places across North America, in South Korea and in Europe. I can’t ever look at life through a dark glass again.

Nampo Garcia- A Street Kid Story

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 9, 2024, Manila- (Any connection between the characters in this tale and real people is purely coincidental.)

I felt the blade at my back,as I retrieved the cash from the ATM. “Now, you will give me the due that you refused, back at the Light Rail station!”, snarled a voice at the other end of the knife. “Will I, now?”, I responded, in my best fake Irish brogue. I looked at the wad of bills, then glanced over at the small pair of hands to my right, cupped and ready.

I tossed the folded bills to a chuckling, triumphant street boy. The hapless beggar took off after Nampo, dropping his knife and momentarily forgetting about me. The boy, little more than 3’8” and 50 pounds soaking wet, ran around the floral planter that graced the front of my hostel, all the while holding the cash, in a teasing manner, as the half-addled thief continued to pursue him, like a cat chasing its own tail.

Nampo knew the drill. He ran up to the hostel’s security guard and stood still, until I came up the steps. His meal depended on not running afoul of Steven Morales, who had often graciously provided the boy, and his little sister, with one of the hostel restaurant’s signature burgers or at least one of its ample rice bowls. Tonight, though, as Steven handcuffed the foolish beggar, I took Nampo inside the cafe, and for once, the Chinese owner did not wince and start fussing in Mandarin, about “a mouse being in the house”. Nampo had a full meal and was allowed to take an order to go, for his sister, who was waiting at their makeshift cardboard and plywood hut, off Dominga Street.

“Uncle Rama”, Nampo queried, as we ate, “do you have a friend like me, back in Bengaluru?” “Actually, I have several such friends, Nampo”, I responded. “You see, not so long ago, I too was sleeping under rattan and cardboard, frequently crying myself to sleep and keeping one eye open. The street bandits back in India are not so easy to elude, as the drugged up fiends here in Manila.”

“Not all the thieves here are drugged up”, answered Nampo, “in fact, the only reason I can leave Shakira alone is because we have Auntie Jinja looking after us. Her son, Raul, is also here, visiting his mother and taking her to see a doctor, for her diabetes. Raul said that if he needs to take his mother back to his house in Sucot, we will go with them-and he will make sure we go to school every day.”

I felt relieved at this news and as I walked Nampo back to his encampment, thought of how lucky this resourceful little boy was, to have found Jinja, and by extension, Raul, in the first place. Then again, it was Nampo’s heart energy, taking care of little Shakira, and his pluckiness at cultivating a security guard and a tourist as his friends, that most appealed to my own heart. As it happened, Raul had gone to the hardware, on P. Ocampo, and purchased a few folding chairs. His mother was sitting in one, and he, in another. The dutiful son beckoned me to sit for a while. “Would you care for a cup of iced tea?” “That would be heavenly”, I replied, taking the last empty chair, as Nampo sat down on a bean bag seat, which Raul had also purchased. Shakira was asleep on a small cot, covered with a clean sheet, again provided by the dutiful son.

This night would pass safely for the makeshift family, and soon the four of them would head past the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, through Paranaque to the seaside community of Sucot. I would be heading home to Karnataka, in a few days, and thought that I would make more of an effort to help the urchins in my home city, in honour of Nampo and Shakira.

(The street children of Manila are definitely winsome and engaging. It is their sheer number that prevents meaningful individual assistance, but there are a number of organizations, such as Children International, which I use as a vehicle to help two families, and Save the Children, that can provide assistance to destitute children and their families. Nampo and Shakira are fictional characters, but there are people who fit their description all over the streets of Metro Manila-and other Philippine cities.)

They Who Shortchange….

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Posted by on in distraction issues, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

October 8, 2024, Manila-The grifter was insistent, even as I made it clear that I had his/her number, after being asked twice within twenty seconds, how I was doing today. (That is one of the brightest red flags, for an online scam artist.) The other one, of course, is being asked, on a social media site, where I’m from. Anyone with a pulse can tell where I live, by looking at my home page. AI, for some reason, hasn’t developed that capability, as yet-and part of me hopes it never does. I know to press the “delete” and “block” buttons. It was made all the easier this time, as the scammer had chosen to impersonate a well-regarded financial adviser, who lives in London. He/she claimed to be living in Dallas, and to have two small children. Said investment guru has two grown children. The red flags piling up, I silently thanked the Divine for having a solid friend and family circle of those savvy in finance-and deleted the conversation.

Those who attempt to shortchange another, especially if that other is my age and of sound mind, are only shortchanging themselves. Beggars on the street stand more of a chance of my sharing money with them, and I don’t give to beggars on the street.

I thought of these things today, as K was working on some figures, and I was sitting nearby, reading a book on the influence of geography on the history of various nations. Everyone who tries to scam others, be it financially, politically or socially, will eventually be found out, disgraced and cast out. Sometimes, that doesn’t happen until the scammer has died, but to me, posthumous reputation and good name matter as much how one is overtly regarded while still alive.

They who shortchange, only end up ripping off themselves.

Awakening Rain

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Hiking and Nature, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Uncategorized

October 7, 2024, Manila- Being on my own today, with the ladies off taking care of important business, in different directions, I chose to walk to Manila Zoo-about 3/4 mile from the hostel. It was humid, but not all that hot, and the cloud cover kept things fairly pleasant. My route went north on Pedro Ocampo Street, then veered east on Adriatico. At that point, a statue of Pedro Ocampo marked the junction.

Pedro Ocampo, the Resident Commissioner of the Philippines to the United States Congress. He took a moderate view of immediate independence for the Philippines, from American rule, while pressing for equanimity in trade between the U.S. and the Philippines. The placard at the base of this statue is aimed mainly at Filipinos, explaining Ocampo’s life and actions in Tagalog.

Across from the Zoo, about a quarter-mile further on Adriatico, is a Children’s Road Safety Park. Here, kids can “drive” along mock roads and learn the basics of traffic safety. Given the crowded and sometimes chaotic nature of urban Philippine roads, this novel idea may well partially account for the relative safety of navigating roads here.

As the signs indicate, this park is somewhat inspired by Rotary International.

In the zoo itself, one has any personal bags briefly checked, then a seated registration and admission payment process ensues. This is similar to other entrances to Philippine parks and museums-and accounts for setting a tone of decorum and personal safety in the facilities. I find it re-assuring.

The zoo is rather small, for a major city zoological park, but it does introduce children to both animals endemic to the archipelago and to several animals found in Africa, South America and elsewhere in Asia. The Asian elephant, though not found in the Philippines, is the statuary that greets the visitor.

Asian elephant statue
An 11-or-12-year old told his little brother, “This is a magic Horse-Zebra!” He was teasing, but it turns out he was right. These are Hebras, the offspring of a male horse and a female zebra. They are likely sterile.

Many of the animals, from a pair of capybaras, to a laconic cassowary, and the big cats, were immobile in the late morning humidity. Once a light rain came, the lions and tigers, at least came somewhat alive.

So, too, did the cassowary, a usually feisty ratite, which counts among the most dangerous of the large, flightless birds.

Cassowary at rest
and active.

The lioness posed in a dignified manner, after regarding me for a few minutes.

African lioness
Philippine deer with African zebra

The Philippines do have predatory animals-mainly reptiles.

Philippine salt-water crocodile
A Japanese macaque speaks his peace.

Finally, the great snakes have their due, in the Reptile House. The Philippines have two species of spitting cobra-One in northern Luzon and one on the island of Samar. There is also a species of reticulated python. As in Florida, however, the big kahuna is the Burmese python.

The pythons claim their own personal spaces.

The zoo is said to be in better shape than it was ten years ago. Like many small zoos, it does not have some of the animals indicated by the directional signs-but maybe in a year or so, they’ll be back.

Navigating

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 6,2024, Manila- The day started and ended with rain. Thus, the nice picnic devotional we had planned for late morning became an indoor affair. I brought chicken fillets, topped with dinakdakan sauce. Kathy and her male cousin contributed a rather good pizza. Others brought a regional variation on pancit- a generic Tagalog name for noodles. There was also a seaweed dish, brought by one of the young men. I have been a fan of seaweed since the days we lived in Jeju, Korea. It is a powerhouse of nutrients. I will describe dinakdakan, which I find tasty, upon request. (No, it is not made from insects).

The afternoon was spent in study of aspects of Huquq’u’llah, which I have discussed in earlier posts (see especially Sept. 16, 2024). It was not dry and intense-no Filipino would sit through such boredom for long, but it was done with attention and focus. Kathy knows what she’s doing, especially when it comes to academic presentation of financial matters. I was honoured to sit at her right-hand side and contribute a fair amount to the discussion. Much of it was in Tagalog, but I had everyone’s attention when offering thoughts in English.

Towards the end of the meeting, K’s cousin pressed me to extend my stay- “permanently”. She and I exchanged knowing glances, smiled and I said I would need to go back to the U.S., for six months. There are several things needing attention at Home Base, in Carson City and back East-not excluding the possibility of time in the Southeast, given this year’s sudden explosion of hurricane energy-shades of 2005. Brief visits to San Diego and Jalisco are likely in February, and I will want to get to Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, in April.

So, we have pretty much agreed on a May return. How “permanent” will be influenced by things like the birth of one or more grandchildren-still to be determined, BTW. Today, though, I learned that any mixed signals I may have sensed, over the past day or so, were mainly in my mind. This beautiful, compassionate, intelligent woman, whose friendship I am so privileged to secure, is for real.

Baccarat

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

October 5, 2024, Manila- What I was told, about yesterday’s travails, more than tugged at my heartstrings. I said as much, and sincerely want to be there, when life goes off the rails for one who has had to struggle on her own, for far too long. I said that, too.

Maybe because she has a need to do things on her own, to struggle and see things through, my comments were met with a shrug. It’s hard to say; after all, I can only be here, this time, for three more weeks. Then I have to return to North America, to at the very least meet obligations, and at the very most finish up what I started, before I met her. While I am back at Home Base, and elsewhere on the continent where I have spent most of my life, K will be here, carrying on and relying on her own abilities and talents. I will be offering moral support, from a distance, and that’s all.

In the game of Baccarat, a player holds two hands and a dealer, one. The player may bet for or against either hand, or against the dealer’s. In life, one can show confidence in the figurative hand one has been dealt or plan against it-or may challenge the hand held by the person in control.

So, I can move forward with confidence, make plans to return here next May, with or without any guarantee that I will initially be welcomed again. I can “bet against my own hand”, put it down and stay put in Home Base, being thankful for even having had time with K, at all. I can bet against the dictates of conventional wisdom, and come here with a greater purpose: To do, in the Philippines and southeast Asia what a core group are doing in the Phoenix area. None of these options depends on the strength of a relationship with a specific person-and that is most likely what would actually save it. Independence reassures-and draws people in.

It’s easy, in some ways, to get young people here involved in the building of an equitable society. They are more likely to bring their friends along to a gathering and to take leadership roles, without being prodded. There is no residue of “Children should be seen and not heard”; no noxious after-scent from the Victorian Era. For their part, youth are more prone to thinking before acting or speaking. A good part of that has to do with numbers: People under the age of 30 constituted 60 % of the Philippine population, in the 2020 Census. The percentage of youth in the United States population, according to the same census, is 28.6 %.

Youth in developing nations, like the Philippines, are more likely to be in the driver’s seat, so to speak than their peers are in the developed countries, whose populations are both aging out and much more in a state of time consciousness. There is much that we can learn from countries like the Philippines, in terms of youth engagement.

I hope, thus, to pick up some of those lessons, in the next three weeks-and trust that the right course of action in 2025 will make itself known.

More Transition

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

October 4,2024, Manila- She was long a champion of civil rights, for racial minorities and women. “Sexual minorities” were a bit harder for her, but she was trying to understand. Michele was, nonetheless, a compassionate friend of 35 years.

It was she, and her late husband, Tom, who talked me into taking a road trip to San Francisco-Oakland, in 2012; of course, swinging by their then-home in Reno and caravanning to the Bay Area. From there, I headed north, after three days of commemorating ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s 1912 visit to that area. After Tom passed away, in 2013, I continued to visit Michele and her family, which I came to regard as an extension of my own. Her eldest granddaughter became a surrogate grand-niece, followed, seven years later, by her little brother.

Sis has been getting weaker, these past few years, though she did not lose any of her feistiness. On my last visit, three months ago, she stood strongly against what she regarded as a general moral laxity. She cautioned me, on a different note, against up and leaving the United States, for what she regarded as a pipe dream of living abroad again. I think she felt the hourglass was running out. Last night, it did. Michele Le Boutellier Smith passed away, at the age of 75.

Michele may yet turn out to have been right. I have pretty much hit a plateau, in several aspects, as to what I can accomplish in Manila, and after giving it a few more days, will likely move on to the provinces for a couple of weeks. It is encouraging to me, though, that a well-educated, savvy gentleman is stepping up as a moving and shaking force for the Baha’i Faith in the capital area. Today, at lunch, he articulated some solid practical ideas for making the Regional Baha’i Center a true locus for the betterment of the community. It is the local residents who must achieve the true greatness of a place. Visitors like me, no matter how loving or well-intentioned, wear out our welcomes after so many days.

Transitions have been at flood tide, in a number of respects, in this Eight Universal Year, which always seems to bring about drastic change. The number of close family and friends who have left my life, either through death or attrition in the past nine months, is jarring. It is also not entirely unexpected. The year is not over yet, by a long shot, so I hang on and continue to work for the best.

Somewhere, in the great energy field to which we all go, at some point, all my relations and extended family of friends are sending the energy that will guide me aright, as long as I pay attention. I will probably be walking that path largely alone, but that is okay. I can do this.

Notes On The Filipino Road-and Other Elements

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 3, 2024, Manila- Today was one of those days when the executive dysfunction of some friends led to long periods of sitting around, waiting for things to happen. K was doing a lot, as was the renovation crew who are working on the Baha’i Center. She, and they, were doing fine without me, so I offered to help another friend, and waited, and waited. In the end, the day went by with plans unfulfilled-for several reasons.

While waiting, though, my mind went over several things I’ve noticed have changed about Philippine traffic, since last year: 1.There are, for pedestrians, a signal that tells both how long until they may cross again (red numbers) and how long they have to cross (green numbers). There is still, for unregulated intersections, the tradition of crossing when traffic slows down. 2. There are several more directional signs for outlying areas than I recall from last year. 3. Directions for places of interest are more commonly posted, both in Metro Manila and in the smaller cities. 4. Cautionary signs, regarding speeding and littering, are more common-especially in smaller neighbourhoods. 5. I have seen fewer instances of gridlock than I saw last year.

Coffee shops and juice bars have sprung up in areas where they were lacking-always a sign of a trend towards a more peaceful camaraderie and health consciousness.

There aren’t as many beggars, and there is markedly less trash on the streets, even in more “rundown” neighbourhoods. (There are many more wheeled trash bins around.) More kids are in school than are wandering the streets. I see more people who look like they are on a mission. I see more couples showing affection, though rarely in an unseemly manner. Life in “the Phils”, to my eyes, seems to be getting better.

My relative downtime gave me a chance to completely catch up on things that had accumulated, so now I can focus on remaining goals, over the next 3.5 weeks. I am keeping abreast of events in the U.S. and in western Asia. Hurricane Helene was the worst cyclone in my homeland since Katrina. There are no words to describe my sorrow at the devastation in places like Perry (FL), Asheville, Boone, Aiken, Greenville (SC), Tryon, Valdosta, Damascus and Newport (TN). I have been to most of those places and have friends in several of them. Claytor Lake State Park, in southwest Virginia, was a place of refuge for me, in August, 2011, when I was at the lowest ebb, emotionally. It is now at its lowest ebb, physically, and will do well by the Federal aid that has been secured for several states in the southeast. Remember our small towns. They will live on and largely recover, but right now, many are in agony.

Extended Stay

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 2, 2024, Manila– Kathy was still off doing the practical work of the Divine, so I decided to get my own small contribution to the greater effort done. It took three hours, mostly of waiting, but I extended my visa by two weeks-and will thus be able to consult with her, and the rest of the team, as to how that time can best be put to use. As gruff as the clerks are,(probably because they’re paid a pittance), the lady at the last station entered two weeks beyond what I needed, as the expiration date. I still need to get back to Arizona by Oct. 28, but it’s nice to have that buffer period, just in case.

During the final hour of waiting, between the payment part and the confirmation part, I went over Jones Bridge to Binondo, the oldest of Manila’s Chinatowns. There are a couple of arches that set the mood.

Pasig River, with old financial district across from Intramuros.
Gateway to Quiapo Chinese Commercial Area, Binondo.
Filipino-Chinese Friendship Arch, Binondo
Four hundred years of ties between the Philippines and Mexico are also a point of pride, along the Pasig.
Jones Bridge, close-up
Mural, west of Jones Bridge

After taking this photo, I was approached by a pedicab driver, who said he could take me to a dozen fascinating sites. I asked him to take me to the National Museum of Fine Arts, only. This turned out to be more than enough for the poor soul, and I paid him a fair wage for his effort. These men represent a dying art, but don’t need to die on the job. Ironically, right after he let me off, a horse-drawn cart came down the street on the opposite side. I felt just as bad for the poor horse, as for the pedicab driver.

Here is the National Museum of Fine Arts.

I managed to take in the second floor and half of the third.
Manuel Roxas, the fifth President of the Philippines. His is the first likeness to greet the visitor to Fine Arts.
“Angel”, by Guillermo E. Tolentino is right behind President Roxas.
Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo was one of the Philippines’ greatest painters of the 19th Century. Here is his “El Gobernador y El Obispo” (1896), based on an imaginary historical encounter.
Hidalgo (right) is featured here with his contemporary, Juan Luna.
“Dr. Jose A. Rizal”, by Felix Gonzales (1962). This piece is one of many depictions of the National Hero of the Philippines, in an honorarium gallery. It is Gonzales’ only work, in the National Museum.
A retablo (altar piece), from the Church of San Nicolas de Tolentino, Dimiao, Bohol.

There are a pair of long murals, which feature the length of Filipino history, but which I’d rather cite after a visit to the National Museum of Anthropology.

This second solo venture was a full day.