Category Archives: Assistance

The Road to Diamond, Day 228: Simple Gets Complex

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 14,2025- It was a sign that the day was going to see routine matters become complicated. The road scheme, in the neighbourhood where friend’s house is located, is under repavement, which means it is being dug up and will gradually get new layers of asphalt. As with any repavement in a close neighbourhood, there needs to be close cooperation and communication between the workers and motorists. I take care to make sure that there are no misunderstandings, so while a three-minute drive to feed the cats became seven, all was smooth.

Later in the day, I found that Soup Kitchen was laid out more like the Luby’s Cafeteria of old. There was twice the amount of fare available tonight, which was a fine midsummer’s treat for the guests: Three kinds of pizza, angel hair pasta with two kinds of sauce, two types of squash, two salads and a variety of desserts. I was the pasta and sauce person. The cleanup took a bit longer than usual, but the diners were most pleased. The line manager doesn’t always remember my name, yet she does know what I do, and is glad that I show up most weeks.

Back to feeding the cats, after Soup Kitchen, I found that the road work was winding down for the day, but it was still necessary to go slowly around heavy equipment that was being brought into position for tomorrow’s resumption of the work. Mundane tasks can become complex, at any time. It’s a good way to hone the skills of patience and humility.

The Road to Diamond, Day 227: Thoughts While at Rest

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 13, 2025- Today was an auspicious day. It is the birthday of my twin sisters-in-law. It is the anniversary of the beginning of a thankfully brief journey down a dark rabbit hole. It is also the anniversary of the passing of a good friend. In brief, July 13 is a mixed bag.

Today here in Prescott and at Bellemont was a peaceful day. The third day of camp was, by all accounts, splendid and people worked together to get the camp broken down and deep-cleaned. Here, I took care of the cats and did scant else, regrouping after yesterday’s full schedule and looking carefully at the fire reports from the North Rim of Grand Canyon. The news was terrifying: Grand Canyon Lodge, the North Rim Visitor’s Center, staff lodging and various cabins were destroyed. Fortunately, all workers and guests had been evacuated before the fire hit.

I never stayed in the Lodge, but enjoyed its lobby’s art and wandering around the neo-Victorian structure. The hotel was a rebuilt version of the original, itself lost in a fire in 1937. It will take time, but the likelihood is that the Lodge will be rebuilt.

I thought a lot today about where I am in the world. How much good am I actually doing? A project I had sponsored in the Philippines, in the first area I visited in that country, has fallen victim to thieves, who took building materials that were intended to improve a children’s school. So many people in this world look back on their own childhood, tell themselves that they were deprived and therefore, it’s okay for them to steal from the children of today.

I was raised to take the bitter with the sweet and to not expect to be put above anyone else. This is not a lesson that is universally taught, and thus we are in a hard place, as a species. Those who place themselves above the rest should not be at all surprised, when in the end, deprivation rears its head and takes back from them what was never due them in the first place. That is just a general observation on the way things tend to transpire.

It has been largely a restful day, but also one that has been bittersweet.

The Road to Diamond, Day 225: Dust and Fuss

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 11, 2025- Cat # 1 uttered a mild hiss, as I got between her and Cat # 2’s food dish. Somehow, though, when I’m not there, he gets his food and water. It is also hot, and even with AC, the atmospheric doldrums affect animals, making them more sluggish and more testy. Dog Days aren’t just for dogs anymore. So Cat # 1 was fussy. Her housemate was merely listless and content to lie still.

This was my second day of going straight from there to Bellemont. We finished setting up camp and with the campers & crew helping, the process was pretty much done by 2 p.m. I left the operation in my successor’s capable hands and will just check in with him tomorrow. Saturday is a full day, but it is all local activities. It is also a lot less dusty here than at camp. The dust is much thinner than in the past three camp seasons, so there’s that.

There are fires in the area around the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and its market town, Jacob Lake. Our team is keeping watch on that, through app.watchduty.org, which shows major fires in the contiguous United States, west of the Mississippi River. If a shelter is requested, there will no doubt be some of us involved. I will stay close to Home Base until Wednesday, but will guide anyone who does go to serve.

I found myself a lot calmer and more centered today, than had been the case earlier this week. Kerrville/San Angelo had a lot to do with the agitation. It appears there is more closure for the families, but some victims may not be found for some time yet, if at all. For some, the closure will never be total; everyone mourns in their own way and to none is given the right to question their state of being. I continue to send waves of loving energy to those communities, and to Ruidoso, the earthquake-torn areas of Guatemala, the flood-ravaged areas of Nepal and Pakistan-we are all one people.

The Road to Diamond, Day 222: Standing Alone

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

July 8, 2025- The clever cat waited for her food, then moved away from it-thinking that she might help herself to the food I was about to set out for her male fellow feline. After psspssing her away a couple of times, I brought her over to her dish, from which she ate a bit, then moved away. It was time for me to go to another appointment, so it was up to male cat to get up and eat. Cats tend to be loners and I will see how the feeding process has gone, when I return for more pet watching, tomorrow morning.

Earlier in the afternoon, I found myself the sole person left out of small groups, during a Shelter Manager class, instead having brief conversations with each of the moderators. We were thus able to touch on a few esoteric matters, as well as a couple of the questions posed to some of the small groups. The relationships that Shelter Managers have with those above and below them came up. Managers tend to be well-regarded by shelter staff, clients and regional brass alike, provided we devote ourselves to the well-being of those being sheltered and those tending to them. There are a few, typically special event staff and some facility security, who tend to regard a Red Cross shelter as an intrusion. These are the ones who are best handled with kid gloves, though never to the extent that those being sheltered are accosted or bothered in any way by those with agendas that are at odds with the Red Cross mission.

The course of this week, laden with service activities that overlap in places, still finds me standing (or driving) alone, frequently. It’s fine-as I can take the time necessary to do paperwork, whilst in an online meeting; get up early and tend to friend’s cats ( a fifteen-minute drive), returning for round two in the evening-of course, in between both long-distance and local engagements. I need to take time alone to do things about which I lack confidence. There were too many people, in my earlier days, who reveled in seeing me, and others, make a mess of things. I won’t give them the satisfaction, anymore, of seeing me blow it. Mom taught me to be comfortable in my own skin, and here I stand.

The Road to Diamond, Day 221: Prince Among Dragons

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

July 7, 2025- Thirty seven years ago, when that was also my age, a little boy was brought into the world, in the midst of a Year of the Dragon (Chinese zodiacal figuring). Since we were living in South Korea at the time, there was much ribbing from my colleagues about this being the outcome of a “dragon dream”, all the more auspicious because of the year we were in.

People born in that year are said “to be ambitious, confident and charismatic. They possess an abundance of energy and enthusiasm while also displaying exceptional intelligence and power. They are naturally lucky and gifted, often accomplishing their endeavours with exceptional standards of excellence.” Son certainly has grown into embracing all of these traits, and has kept a high bar for himself, especially over the past twelve years.

Soon, he will assume the role of fatherhood. I hope he leaves me in the dust, in that department, and in just about every other facet of life. A mutual friend commented, yesterday, that wanting a child to excel over the accomplishments of parents is the hallmark of parental love. That certainly is an admirable goal. Here’s this grandfather’s take: Let the child absolutely soar. Son wants the same for his daughter-and for any other child who may come along.

For now, he is focused on doing the best possible job, in each facet of his life. That is all I can ever ask. He is indeed a prince among “dragons”.

The Road to Diamond, Day 220: Second Thoughts

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

July 6, 2025- The somber air, across the country, has many wondering whether the slashing of disaster response programs at the Federal level was done in haste. It’s not surprising; indeed, it was only a matter of time. That the horror should have struck in the heart of Texas, on one of the two most significant national holiday weekends, is breathtaking, but it, too, is not surprising. The sheer scale, and speed, of the flood would have overwhelmed even the most state-of-the-art warning systems. Only a 24/7 monitoring of the state’s, indeed the nation’s, many river systems can hope to prevent a repeat of the damage caused by the rampaging Guadalupe. The DOGE cuts to FEMA only proved to be salt in the wound. The funds that were cut would not, in and of themselves, have saved the 82 people who died in the flooding.

Still and all, it is time to have second thoughts as a nation, with regard to planning for disaster response. The lives of innocents, especially of children, cannot be sacrificed for the sake of anyone’s financial portfolio or for the sake of bigger, more powerful weapons. No foreign adversary is going to come into the United States and find a docile populace. No well-heeled American is going to go broke, anytime soon. Mother Nature, however, is in an escalating state of turmoil -and disasters like Kerrville, or the January fires in the Los Angeles area, will only require more of our national resources.

Congress and the President have had their “Big Beautiful” moment. They have shown us their power. Now, let’s see that power used for the safeguarding of communities, and the healing of hearts that have once again been devastated by nature’s ravages. I recommend establishment of a National Endowment for Protection and Recovery. That would help build systems designed to fend off fires and floods, as well as being the funding basis for FEMA.

The Road to Diamond, Day 218: What Price, Independence?

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

July 4, 2025- “I’m surrounded!”, the little girl said to her older sister, when called back to the family spot, at this evening’s fireworks watching gathering. She was referring to the tall weeds that were on three sides of her. I was sitting on the fourth side. Going around my folding chair was her easy way out, and back to their gathering place she went.

It is a tough Independence Day for many people. A complicated, and widely-reviled, Federal budget has been put in motion. Fear, on all sides, has people figuratively circling around one another. Like the child mentioned above, the fearful panic, without seeing the whole picture, which does present equitable solutions. The short term solution has ever been centering oneself, then learning to listen- to really hear-what those in our communities have to say. The longer-term answers will then present themselves.

What is the price of independence? I have mentioned, in the past, the economist Thomas Sowell’s truism that “Everything is a trade-off.” Permanent solutions would only work if there were permanent circumstances. The Universe, and everything in it, is not static. So it is with independence. It is an opportunity for an individual to establish oneself and make one’s own decisions. Teenagers and young adults seek, and can thrive, on independence. Once established, however, strict independence needs enhancement.

The next level of social evolution, therefore, is interdependence. People seek partners, and then to be part of communities, as they get older. A strong marriage is 100/100. A strong community draws on the strengths of all its members. A wiser community welcomes new members, with skill sets that enhance the established order, and help it adapt to changing circumstances. Gradually, there is more diversity in a community that is not stagnating.

You’ve also read here that “freedom is not free”. Those who relegate decision-making to louder, more insistent voices should not be surprised to find themselves under the thumbs of grifters, dogmatists and tyrants-and a lot sooner than they might expect. It’s happened in small towns, states and nations. Invariably, this happens when a critical mass of citizens choose to not exercise their duty to take part in the affairs of the community. Then, there comes governance by plurality. This has happened to conservative populaces and to communities where the majority are of a progressive bent. Dogmatism and self-interest are not exclusive to one or another ideology.

Each of us is given free will and the wherewithal to make informed, quality decisions. Putting these to use is the only guarantee that we have, as a nation, to retain the Republic that Benjamin Franklin told us we have the responsibility to keep.

The Road to Diamond, Day 217: Fulfillment

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

July 3, 2025- It was not as hard as I thought it could have been. Getting beds of pine needles off several roofs at Bellemont Baha’i School was a two-person operation, with a third helping to rake up and bag the piles. I did not have to climb ladders, this time. The man who will take my place as camp manager, the week after next, was glad to take ladder duty. I was able to do a fair amount of needle removal from the ground level, thanks to our fashioning a tool consisting of a leaf rake inserted into a hollow aluminum pole. The tool also worked from the ladder, and he was able to carefully manipulate it, so as to remove small beds of needles from higher points on two of the roofs.

Yesterday, a team delivered supplies from the Red Cross to Navajo Nation officials who are managing two shelters for people and one for animals, in response to a wildfire that is about 13% contained. The importance of inter-agency teams in this sort of situation cannot be understated.

With the Federal government stepping back from several aspects of meeting the needs of destitute or under-privileged people, the importance of such co-operation across social institutions is sure to skyrocket. Problems do not disappear, by dint of official proclamations. They still need to be addressed, by people interacting in a co-operative manner. Thus, will promises continue to be fulfilled.

It was because people of means from France, the Netherlands and Germany kept their vows that the desire of British colonists to forge an independent country was fulfilled. It was not a perfect nation, by any means, and still isn’t-but 249 years ago tomorrow, the idea of a nation making a stab at a government based on the will of its people was born in earnest.

We have yet to fulfill the rest of the promise, but the work goes on.

The Road to Diamond, Day 214: Proactive

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Family, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 30,2025- A year ago, I was sitting aside the woman who gave me life, as she took her last breath. The moment was a bookend. She had worked very hard to make sure that I survived a rough birth, and that I overcame many obstacles, some self-imposed, in order to at least enjoy a long and fairly well-lived life. Her overriding instructions were “Don’t take yourself too seriously” and “Stay ahead of the game”. Mom’s approval mattered far more than either of us sometimes realized, and the struggles I had with self and others, over the year, largely were brought to a close when I reverted to what she had tried to instill, so often and so selflessly, over the decades.

I can never think of a time when her rejoinder “Poor baby” was callous or misplaced. A child of the Depression, who lost her father to cancer in its midst, and saw her four oldest brothers off to war, in the 1940s, and her younger brother as well, in the Korean conflict, was nonetheless shaken when I headed off to VietNam, for what was a mercifully non-troubling ten months of rear echelon duty. She was a paragon of persistence.

In a generally love-filled marriage, that lasted 37 years, she would often find herself facing her fears about her youngest son, alone. It took some constant communication to get her loved ones to understand just how much she wanted for the little boy, who became a disabled man. We each grew into compassionate adults, who would ourselves fight for the well-being of the least among us-and who would give anything for our children and, in my siblings’ cases, grandchildren. I know the latter now, anticipating a grandchild’s birth with a heart that is bursting with love.

Mom is now with so many of the souls she loved, and is looking out for the rest of us. I can count several times, in the past year, when there has been that one extra push to get me over the threshold. It has made some rather tall orders shrink down to hurdle level.

I only hope I have continued to make her proud. God knows, a reciprocal pride has welled in me, for as long as I can remember.

The Road to Diamond, Day 213: Triage

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

June 29,2025- As I was about to leave for a long-scheduled Baha’i gathering of youth and other community members, at a local Clubhouse, the phone rang with an urgent message from the Red Cross, requesting immediate action. As I had been told my presence at the gathering was needed a half hour prior to the start time, I let the caller know that I could tend to the other matter in two hours’ time. The caller said the matter would be handled by others, in the meantime.

As it happened, the matter, which was a contingency plan in case a wildfire evacuation gets more intense and needs Red Cross intervention, was handled by the caller. A standby team was assembled and I was able to connect digitally with all concerned, after the gathering ended. The wildfire evacuation is being handled by other agencies at this point, anyway. I will keep watch on the situation, over the next few days.

This week is likely to be full of several synchronous events, as we segue into the second half of this riotous calendar year. We mere mortals will have to prioritize, and use triage. Matters which are brought to my attention, with great fanfare, hubris and warnings will get a careful hearing, but if they come in the face of prior commitments to more vulnerable people, I will ask, as I did today, for the matter to fall to someone else. It’ll be amazing how well the matters are handled. I am just past the point in my life where anything, other than family emergencies, will rattle my cage.

The gathering at the clubhouse was spirited, uplifting and well worth the two hours. I can say the same for every other activity that has been fulfilled, even in the face of competing or synchronous demands for my attention. Commitment brings rewards.