Monthly Archives: January 2026

Mental Acuity

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Literary criticism, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 21, 2026- in my going around Collin County, I dovetail between using Apple Maps and relying on my memory and general sense of direction. Today, for example, I used the GOS to get to the Plano Costco and memory got me back to the house.

I generally don’t have trouble finding my way, though in younger days, I let social pressure get me rattled and confused. Now, I follow my sense of direction and common courtesy guide my driving. The person at an intersection ahead of me comes first and the one behind me can just wait.

There is a lot of concern about senescence and dementia, in people between the ages of 65-100+. This is a risk we all take, but there are principles of diet, rest and mental exercises that reduce the chances of mental decline.

Shakespeare wrote King Lear as a cautionary tale in that regard, and we have seen many films, read many books and heard a few songs dealing with the matter. It follows that the greater a person’s responsibilities are, the more crucial it is that a trusted team of advisers be in place, to make sure the responsibilities entrusted to the person are carried out in a coherent manner.

As a contemporary of the President of the United States, I understand the risks he is facing. As a citizen, I expect that his advisers take their responsibilities towards the nation and the world more seriously.

Crowded Houses

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Posted by on in Uncategorized

January 20, 2026-

I walked into the VA medical clinic in Plano, just before noon and found a full waiting room.

I then learned the clinic was at capacity and was given a list of other VA medical facilities in north Texas. I called Garland and will get confirmation from that medical facility in a few days.

We are planning, as a family, for this weekend’s anticipated storm. This evening, I bought a bag of Icy Melt, for the sidewalks and driveway, plus a scraper with brush for each car. Ee will be ready with plenty of food, water and power source alternatives for a 3-4 day period, if it comes to that.

The Prime Minister of Canada gave a well- thought out address at the Davos Economic Forum, earlier today. He did not mince words about the need for a truly equitable trade system and about acknowledging that all countries have baggage, when it comes to systems that feed greed and corruption. A crowded global house needs to truly consult all its members, and not revert to a system that mainly rewards its elites, who as we are seeing, go beyond the best practices of well-run business and install that which feeds their portfolios and their egos.

A crowded house safeguards its denizens and involves each of them in the decision-making, the work of the house and the rewards emanating from the success of that work.

This is as true of a family of nations as it is of a nuclear family.

Inclusion

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

January 19, 2026-

We have come too far, as a nation and as a species, to go back to a world in which fever dreams of a “Master Race” or favoured status of one group over another can dictate policy or social coda.

I say this on a day when many people honour the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. it is not a liberal or conservative matter. One of Dr. King’s lieutenants was Ralph Abernathy, a social conservative and sometime Republican, who also. Did not wish to be relegated to second-class status. Another was a noted progressive, Jesse Jackson, who has spearheaded the movement towards full inclusion.

Two years ago, when I was still in Prescott, for MLK Day, a presenter spoke of the concept that “All means all”. She said that conservatives are part of the mix. She also said that no one group should be allowed to limit any other.

That arrangement allows even extremists to speak freely, while putting a check on their ability to act against the rights of those they seek to dominate.

That, to me, is the basis for social inclusion.

First Thing

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Posted by on in children, Community, Family, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 18, 2026-

I was glad to be invited to a Baha’i Feast this evening. I didn’t attend because my kids took Yunhee’s Mom out to dinner and found themselves waiting in line for an hour.

Hana and I held down the fort at home. We just looked at a big plush toy with valentine heart eyes and felt its softness. I told her about the need to sometimes be patient and how so many things that her soul wants will take time to happen.

She will understand this and much else, in less time than we might imagine. She sees things that adults can’t and seems comforted by them. She also knows, on a very basic level, that her safety and well-being are the most important things to us.

So, if I am asked to be somewhere and my grandchild needs me, I will take a rain check on the invitation.

Passages

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Family, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual

January 17, 2026-

Hana will never know seven of her great grandparents. Five of them, including my Dad and Penny’s parents, passed some time ago. My Mom has been gone for 1 1/2 years. Yunhee’s maternal grandfather bid farewell this evening.

I recall stories about my own maternal grandfather. He was, by all accounts, a hard- working man, who warned anyone who would listen about the rise of Fascism. That was in the Boston of the late 1920s and early ‘30s.

My maternal grandmother was a bright light of my early years. She would walk down the hill to visit, when we lived less than a mile away. After we moved to our own house, she would take the bus to our corner and walk down Adams Avenue. Either way, she was a reliable presence, until she became ill and passed on, in 1960.

My paternal grandparents were also endearing people. Grampy underwent an experimental heart bypass, in 1955 and didn’t make it through. Nana was more of an enduring presence, living to see and enjoy 49 grandchildren, then 10 great grands. she, too, would take the bus from her neighbourhood in nearby Lynn and one of us would pick her up at Saugus Center.

Hana will know them, and her grandmother, Penny, through stories and pictures. It will be a while, hopefully, before she encounters death as a part of life. Her maternal grandparents and I will keep ourselves active and healthy, and hopefully the impermanence of life will come to be understood in a positive context. I will teach her about spiritual energy, when she is old enough to understand such matters.

In the meantime, I will just be backing her up with prayers, and by holding her close, in a reassuring manner.

Evened Out

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Family, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Technical stuff

January 16, 2026-

We had a long conversation, my granddaughter and I- I talked and she cooed and babbled. Our eyes were locked on each other, except when she gazed up at the trees outside. The wind was causing the leaves and branches to move. So I told her about wind and what it does.

She then was “treated by her maternal grandmother to a fifty-minute loop of someone singing a tune, whose signature line was “Welcome to the kitchen”. The singer was a woman, so I know it was not by Labrinth.

The time will come when Hana will revel in watching and listening to the same thing over and over, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

The connectivity matter is starting to even out- on my end at least. I have added passwords to a few more sites and let correspondents know to touch base with me using the new e-mail address.

This process will take a few more days. I have asked Word Press‘s parent company to help, so maybe by Monday or Tuesday things will start getting back to normal.

Loop de Loop

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, distraction issues, Family, impediments, Personal Values, service, Social, Striving, Technical stuff

January 15, 2026-

I spent most of today going around and around with the AI of G-Mail and Word Press. This site’s schtick was: “We need you to provide proof of original site purchase, before restoring your account. To do that, though, you have to change your password, which of course you can’t do on the phone app.”

G-mail is not a whole lot different. So, here I am writing my blog on the phone and cannot share on Facebook, because that requires entering my Word Press password.

I am able to pull my friends, family and Substack subscriptions onto my new G-mail address, so there’s that. Eventually, the address with the lost password will fade into irrelevance.

Around the house, though, I pulled a mess of weeds out of the backyard and got a few smiles from Hana, when she awoke and mine was the first face she saw. She is taking in more of the first floor and looking outside the window more.

Limbo

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Family, impediments, Personal Values, Social

January 14,2026-

This post, and probably the next few, will be brief. I can only post from my phone for the time being, due to an issue between my laptop and wordpress.com. The site will not recognize any password I enter, even if it initially says the password is okay. Also, this blogsite cannot be accessed on the computer. I am instead directed to two or three AI-generated free sites.

As for the family, we are all doing well. Hana is keeping us all busy, even just being a mellow little girl. I am re-learning skills I had back in the day, along with all the new infant care gadgets that are quite helpful. The basics of holding baby close and supporting head and back, are still first and foremost.

Sanctuary

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 13, 2026- Granddaughter had a tough day today. Our little Capricorn had to take not one, but two, trips in the car, so being in the car seat-one of her least favourite activities-was just part of the agenda. The other stuff was more of a personal nature-the normal ups and downs of being a newborn. This house, though, is her sanctuary-and Grandfather’s arms are a bower. None of us here will let anything wreck her day, and if she has, as her father occasionally had, a tough time, I will set anything else aside and just hold and rock her.

When Hana is upset, and I have her with me, she will look me in the eye while crying, almost as if hoping to see and feel being understood. That, she is, and the group of us will figure out what is bothering her, either from her physical cues or by noting anything that has happened, during feeding or elimination, that might be causing her distress.

Every human being deserves sanctuary. The sanctuary for the innocent is protection from harm. The sanctuary for the criminal is due process. In 2016, Donald Trump asked one fair question: “Where was the sanctuary for Kate Steinle?” She was the young lady who was killed by a violent man who was in the United States illegally. Kate Steinle was in a place for people on holiday. She, and everyone else there, deserved a safe environment.

The same is true for every other person who has been killed or assaulted by someone filled with rage. They deserved a safe place. Think about that, before commenting on whether anyone going about their business deserved death or injury, for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Fire Blankets and Urban Walking

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Posted by on in children, Community, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 12, 2026- My order of three fire suppression blankets came today. These blankets offer considerable protection in the event of a house fire, so we have one on each floor and a third in the laundry room, next to the garage. They are easier to use than a fire extinguisher, though hopefully we won’t need to use them at all.

I spent a good part of this afternoon in the nearby city of McKinney, which is our county seat, and the location of a KIA dealership. I first caught a Lyft to downtown, not being sure just how far it was, or how difficult it might be to get there from the dealer. Finding the main bookstore closed, I walked around the interesting downtown, and settled in at Collective Coffee, which reminds me, favourably, of Prescott’s Wild Iris or Century Lounge. I can see myself frequenting Collective, when in McKinney on one errand or another.

After indulging in a latte and slice of coffee cake, I checked the distance back to the dealership. It was 1.5 miles, mostly along a pleasant residential street, so I made the walk. The houses are largely of Victorian vintage, many with turrets. There are a few businesses in midtown, but the mini-malls wait until closer to U.S. 75. I am accustomed to navigating walking paths near major thoroughfares, though, and this area has crosswalks that allow for safe passage over highway approaches, just shy of the actual on-ramps. I was back at the dealership in less than a half-hour.

The service department caught up with a few recalls and gave me a schedule for maintenance. It’s good to be at a KIA dealer, after four years of winging it.

Back home, all were glad to see me. Hana relaxed her head on my shoulder and let out a big sigh, as I helped her into sleep mode tonight. Grandpa will not let her down.