Category Archives: Assistance

The Road to Diamond, Day 192: Own Inner Voice Speaks

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

June 8, 2025- The message was crystal clear, this morning: “You need no coffee right now. Water is more urgent.” It was certainly a no-brainer; it’s hot, for the next several days. This, however, is a long-term notion. I can, and will, drastically cut back on coffee consumption (no more 3-4 cups a day), and when visiting lovely cafes, can order items such as “Golden Milk”, fruity coolers or chai, especially during our lengthy heat cycle. (It’s not just here in Arizona. Both places that are potentially alternate residences-North Texas and the Philippines, lend themselves well to consumption of cool beverages. Europe (September) will also have a plethora of healthy beverages, besides great coffee-and tea.

I have often relied on spirit guides, and the loving advice of friends and family, in both health-related matters and planning activities or travel. In planning changes to my diet, the past day or so, my own inner voice took charge. So, cool water or shakes will be at my side, while I read the morning paper.

Meals are always smaller in the summer. Breakfast, except for the Post on Sunday, is fairly small. Lunch is a plateful of nuts and crunchy (the traditional meaning of the word) mini-pretzels. Dinner is a modest portion of something healthful, though not often vegetarian or vegan. There is no going back to heavy.

I owe it to my little family, to someone else who I love very much and to so many, both here and across the globe, who have been so kind and devoted to my well-being, to cultivate and listen to the inner voice that wants me to stay the course, for another 25 years at least.

Raise a glass of cucumber or melon water, or a cup of coolness, to the faithful inner voice!

The Road to Diamond, Day 191: Staying Dry

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

June 7, 2025- I did not immerse myself in the swimming pool at a Red Cross colleague’s gathering, this evening. The main issue was the blazing sun-which I have pledged to avoid directly, as much as possible, in situations where sunscreen is not permitted. The compound does not mix well in swimming pools, though some protection is certainly needed.

It was, overall, a lovely event, with uplifting conversations and great food, including one of the best home-made hamburgers I’ve had in the last thirty years. It was a fine cap to a busy, but satisfying day. Helping the Farmers Market set-up crew, with the last parts of their work, early this morning, got things rolling in the right direction. I went, a few hours later, to a Baha’i session, where a delegate to our National Convention, in April, presented the highlights of his visit. I will have more to say on some aspects of that gathering, periodically throughout the summer.

Baha’ullah refers to “being dry in the ocean”. This generally means to not be unduly affected by the changes and chances of this world, while working to keep self and others safe and focused on what matters. I can most closely adhere to this by taking stock of my actions, day by day-and paying close attention to the words and sentiments of my loved ones. There is no need to change, willy-nilly, in the face of anyone’s demands, but one must be fair and unselfish.

I was glad to have been able to pace myself and accomplish all that was presented throughout the day-and to feel the support of the Divine.

The Road to Diamond, Day 190: Ever Connected

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

June 6, 2025- As I sat this morning, contemplating what to do, as a hiking plan was interrupted by unforeseen circumstances, messages came to me from the single most important soul in my life, thus far. I was to firm up both short-term and long-range plans, for service in Prescott and Bellemont and for visiting friends in Europe, come September.

Forty-three years have gone by, since Penny and I committed to each other. That commitment endured a number of challenges, most seriously her hereditary disease, which dogged her all her life, but came on strongest in the 2000s, and eventually took her life. Those close to me know that she and I went through this hellish time together-and I did not flinch.

A friend of Kathy’s and mine, who also lives in the Philippines, wrote that the need of any woman is for her man to stand by her, and not use her as a plaything. Nothing is truer. My primary interest in Kathy is that she realizes her dreams and her own life plan. We both must tend to our respective families first, and if it comes to pass that we have time together, that will be gravy.

Getting back to the promptings of the spirit mentioned above, I have a few days at the turnover between June and July to devote to a group at Bellemont. There will be a lot of Red Cross work, both in person and online, the next two weeks. Slow Food, the Farmers Market and Solid Rock soup kitchen will continue to figure in the mix, throughout the summer.

I will fulfill promises made in 2016 and again last year, to visit friends in Sweden, Croatia and Great Britain, in September, with an initial stop in Iceland. There may be other places during and right after these visits. I have been told to stick to a one-day-at-a-time mentality, and so it will be.

In the end, today was a re-assuring day and a fair number of things were resolved-just no hike. I am ever grateful to all the people in my life, especially to the women, both living and in the ethereal world.

The Road to Diamond, Day 189: The Jacket

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

June 5, 2025- Over the past decade + of my work with the Red Cross, I have had the pleasure-and sometimes the challenge, of working with an often intense but generally loving man, a few years my senior. He has enjoyed covering the night shift at shelters, as long as his wife of 50 years has been by his side. He has enjoyed farm vacations, in his native state, in the upper Midwest. Most of all, he has enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing terrified, disconsolate people feel safe, while they are away from their homes during a disaster.

J has had to bow out of the work we have been doing together, these past twelve years, due to a slowly consuming disease. He is at the stage of looking back on his exemplary life, has had quality time with each of his children and some of those in his home state, whom he has known since they were kids. He and his wife have celebrated their wedding anniversary, with a chauffeured ride to/from a fine dining establishment. He is at peace.

When my time comes, I can only hope to have half as many memories as J has, and be at a modicum of the peace he seems to feel. I will, of course, be at his, and his wife’s disposal, during the rest of his earthly life, as will several of our co-workers, the members of our Red Cross family. Most importantly, though, I will wear the jacket he gave me a while back, and will wear the wisdom he imparted to me, inside.

The Road to Diamond, Day 188: Soaked

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

June 4, 2025- The rain came down three times today. This is not usual for June, one of the driest months in our area. We have now had three days of healthy showers, with the prospect of three weeks of dry weather to follow, before the start of the monsoon season. It’s fine by me, as those of us charged with helping the communities of northern Arizona through wildfire season can use whatever help nature wants to offer.

The roads were a bit on the saturated side, though flowing shallowly enough that those of us with errands to run could manage. I got a print job done, despite my own HP being dry of ink. Thanks, Office Max, for the flash drives and copier. It was in-between showers, when I went across town to co-host Baha’i Feast, and not too bad when I had to run to a provider, to give necessary information before tomorrow’s co-pay is due.

By the time I was up for a walk downtown, this evening, the sun was back out. It will likely stay that way until after July 4. That gives us the imperative to organize teams that can gather to set up shelters, in the event of wildfires, both before and during monsoon season. The rains also bring the challenge of flooding. Thankfully, the soil was too dry to repel the moisture of the past three days.

Our second such meeting, relative to sheltering plans, will be tomorrow-in the Verde Valley, which trends 15 degrees warmer than here in Prescott. There will be several other gatherings, over the next week or so, as well as online communication and logistical stockpiling. I hope that this model will persist, for many years to come.

The Road to Diamond, Day 186: Free and Discerning

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

June 2, 2025- For much of my life, I have resisted ad hoc authority and sought to chart my own course. In later years, it’s been easier to hold my tongue, look at what the officious ones might be trying to accomplish, and only resist them when my inner voice says that their actions will not achieve any wider good.

I viewed a four-part story about a king of the Frisian people, who live in the northern Netherlands. He was Redbad, who lived in the seventh and early eighth centuries AD/CE. In the series, he was a contemporary of the usurper Charles Martel, ruler of the Franks, who himself had gained power by apparently murdering his father, Pepin and brother, Drogo. Redbad and Charles locked horns several times, with the latter being defeated on the banks of the Rhine, at Koln. Charles outlived Redbad, and went on to rule a large area of western Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Baltic Sea. He is also known for defeating the Moorish army at Tours, in 732. Redbad’s legacy, though, was to affirm the independent spirit of his people and to teach the arrogant Charles a few things about observing and honouring the strengths of one’s rivals. It was another interesting story from modern Europe’s formative centuries.

I had a full day of service, going to a Red Cross Blood Drive, right after Monday’s coffee klatsch. I helped train a new Donor Ambassador, while abiding the presence of an officious trainer, for whom the main focus was a mobile phone application. It has its place, but wrestling with passwords during a civic service activity is not something on which I needed to focus. Ad hoc officials can often be helpful, and I will take the time to learn the application; just not today.

More cogent and useful was a self-appointed health monitor, whose focus was keeping trays in the hands of servers, as they were passed along the food line. That practice, at least, is mandated by Arizona law. It’s a fairly reliable way of keeping food sanitary and diners safe from being contaminated.

Each activity, it seems, has its challenges and it s blessings. Keeping a free spirit has to be balanced with an open, discerning mind.

The Road to Diamond, Day 185: Heads or Tails?

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Posted by on in Assistance, Community, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

June 1, 2025- I received a notice from the airline that I’ve been using most often ,these past four years, that my accumulated miles will expire in six months. I have plans to use them, and to add to them, three months from now. Where exactly will depend on a couple of family-related matters that will take clearer shape, in the next month or two. I may be needed at that point in time, or the matter will wait until later in the Fall.

There is an energy in June that says: “Hold off; rest; take care of small, procedural matters and day-to-day interactions. This month, you probably won’t need to go far afield. ” I like that, actually. It will be enough to stand my ground, regarding July, and others’ demands and expectations for that month. It will be enough to plan a bit for September and October. It will be more than enough, still, to resolve the important, when the most important looms over it.

Much of what goes on in life is a flip of the coin. I can only hope that those for whom the toss does not go in their favour will understand that this is not personal. Family is most important; then come those extended family who deeply touch my heart; then comes the community that I have carefully chosen to serve. I realize this is all rather nebulous, but here we are. A lot of moving pieces need to be helped to find their places.

The Road to Diamond, Day 183: Standing Tall

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

May 30, 2025- The smug administrator showed the two adolescent friends who was boss, by turning them against one another. This was one of the plot twists in a film “Out of My Mind”, a recent film that charts a few months in the life of a 12-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. Melody can not talk, but has a photographic memory. She is determined to succeed in school, despite the lowered expectations and “cringy” attitude of the adults in the school, which get transferred to most of the other students.

On a visit to a planetarium, with her parents and a few classmates, Melody gets bored and wanders into an auditorium, where Dr. Stephen Hawking is presenting, via video. Her father finds her, and notices Dr. Hawking’s Augmentative and Alternative Communication device. Her parents manage to obtain an AAC device, with help from Melody’s advocate at a nearby university. This leads to a chain of events that elevate Melody’s self-concept.

After a day of light activity, including attending the 50th anniversary of Prescott’s Central Library, I was moved to take my director’s chair over to the Community Film, an open-air event across the street. There, I was pleasantly surprised to see a former co-worker present a brief PSA featuring his younger sister, who has non-speaking autism and uses an AAC device. The above-mentioned film was then introduced,as the feature presentation. It was worth every minute, to see the love that the family, their next door neighbour, Melody’s advocate and, eventually, several of her peers, had for this extraordinary child.

Although Melody is wheelchair-bound, she stands taller than her detractors-a fact of life for all too many who “fall outside the box”, and end up shoved aside by those who can’t think outside their boxes. She alludes to this, in a final monologue to her teacher and classmates. Having been through a milder version of this in my younger days, I see the value of the long game, as well as knowing when to stand one’s ground. The latter presents itself more often than some may think.

Melody is a genuine hero.

The Road to Diamond, Day 182: Heaviness

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

May 29, 2025- It was hard, somehow, to maintain focus during a meeting I attended this morning and through the noon hour. It wasn’t the fault of the presenter, or of the subject matter. The air was cool, so it was not that, either. There was just a heaviness today, that stayed with me, requiring a more concerted effort to get what I needed from the Red Cross training session-for which I was an assistant commentator, to boot. It lingered, even as I purchased a dinner item from a nearby pizzeria, for evening consumption, and as I later exercised on a recumbent bike at Planet Fitness. It wasn’t a physical issue-my blood pressure read normal and I was breathing easily. There had to be some deeper cause.

In this late hour, I am reminded that today would have been the 61st birthday of my late youngest brother, Brian, who died in 1994, just shy of his 30th. He would have been proud of my service to the community, albeit at a very rudimentary level, as his disabilities made communication difficult. Nonetheless, there was a very basic love about the child, and later, the man. It was in our interactions with him that each of his four siblings developed a compassion for those less fortunate. That has informed our social and community behaviours, as much as any experiences we each have had over six or seven decades.

Those who have left us will communicate in various ways. I think now that the spirit of my baby brother was reminding me that sometimes, life takes a gargantuan effort, just to get through an ordinary day. The heaviness lifted, as I sat and read some pages of a book on the ancient Mediterranean world. Brian liked to pretend to read aloud. He would surely have approved.

The Road to Diamond, Day 180: The Self in Protected Mode

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

May 27, 2025- The words came, tersely, out of the mouths of two dining companions: “The (others) are just evil.” This is a fill-in-the blanks statement, all too common these days. In this instance, and in a good many others, the castigation has come as the result of feeling that a force somehow greater than oneself is invested in controlling everyone. The other is viewed as mining data, particularly financial information. Thus, the self goes into fight mode. The solution is seen as keeping information private-use cash, not credit, debit or phone-based transfer. That works for a while-until the very entities which one sees as saviours start to do the same thing. Data mining is, it turns out, the latest outlet for filthy lucre-along with the other cyber-mining: Cryptocurrency.
These two know no ideology, because they have no moral base. The sole foundation of cyber-mining is to amass financial wealth. That data mining will eventually become the grounds for investigation, both criminal and civil, is on the mental back-burners of those who think it merely depends on who’s doing the mining. ‘Gathering of personal information by ultraconservatives can’t hurt’, goes the reasoning, ‘because they hold to the same tried and true dicta that have held this nation together, for so long.’ On the other hand, ‘Gathering of personal information by progressives can’t hurt, because they will uncover nefarious plots by the Far Right to shrink the citizenship base’

There are morally sound people, all across the political spectrum. Donald Trump’s 2017 comment about “good people on both sides” was not altogether wrong, though it was horribly ill-timed. I have friends who honestly believe that a Ten Commandments-based society would result in the end of civil unrest. I have others who hold that a multitude of religious viewpoints, and non-religious ideas, are likely to make for a stronger society.

Each group, in turn, is joined by extremists and unsettled people, whose shrieking, verbal bomb-throwing and acts of violence distend the shape of those in their groups who are actual voices of reason-and who have no desire to actively silence opposing voices. The disquiet soul who wantonly murdered two employees of the Israeli government, last week, is no better than the Klansman who killed the peaceful protestor in Charlottesville, in 2017.

Tending the fire that inflames these violent people are the ideologues-the Stephen Millers on one side and the coterie of far-left university professors on the other, who are no better than those involved in cyber mining. Some may actually be in league with the others, as the whole idea is the amassing of power. It would not surprise me in the least, were it to be discovered that extremists are being essentially funded by cyber-crimes, including crypto schemes. Data mining, in turn, may become the basis for extortion and blackmail.

So, what is the most secure means of getting oneself in protected mode? I would say, “Start by thinking for yourself.” Then, look at all angles. Cash can be king, on many occasions. Secure use of credit and debit cards is largely possible. So, surprisingly, is phone app payment. The latter three can’t be done in full view of other people’s phone cameras or other data-gathering devices, so I recommend noting if skimming devices might be present, as well as blocking overhead or sideways views of a transaction.

Nothing is 100% foolproof, in a one-step ahead world, but reducing risk is always worth the effort.