Category Archives: Assistance

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 16

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 6, 2026- I spent much of the day at a Red Cross Donation Center in Irving, about 40 minutes west of Plano. When I got back, Hana was waiting and wanted me to play with her for a while. So, we focused on a new set of colour-coded cloth baskets, which each hold three cloth vegetables and fruits. The green basket holds a watermelon, an avocado and a pear. The yellow basket holds an ear of corn, a banana and a pineapple. The red basket holds an apple, a tomato and a strawberry. The orange basket holds a pumpkin, a carrot and-an orange. The items are lined up on a Velcro strip, on one of the walls of the playpen. Hana has started to associate the vegetable or fruit with its coloured basket. She is especially fond of the red items.

She went with her Mom and Dad to a Japanese market, while I was at the Red Cross center. She seemed to like the place better than she did the first time we all went there, for Mother’s Day. Of course, then she was four months old. Being “twice as old” changes one’s perspective. Having had a full day, at any rate, she went to sleep before 7 p.m.

HANA’S NOTE- I like the colour game. I can even put some of the pieces in the right baskets.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2020 The meteor streaked past my home, as i arrived back from a drumming session in Sedona, around midnight. Meteors and comets often portend something momentous. Little did any of us who saw the fireball know just how impactful the event would be. Coronavirus disease 2019 was not World War III. In a way, it was far worse. COVID 19 could have easily wiped out a huge percentage of the world’s population. As it was, the number of victims, in all but six of the world’s countries and territories, was, by the pandemic’s ebb, a horrendous toll. There were a lot of deaths, and a significant number of people suffered from lingering effects of the disease. Vaccinations became available, and once school resumed, in the Fall of the year, we substitutes had to be vaccinated with two doses, two months apart. Many people distrusted the vaccines, and tried their own remedies. For the healthiest of those folks, the DIY stuff had a placebo effect. For others, like Herman Cain, a conservative podcaster, it was lethal.

I, like most people, was largely confined to home during the worst months of the pandemic. We had meetings on Zoom, an online network, which actually allowed people to communicate across the nation and the globe, visually as well as audibly.

I took hikes, around Prescott and in Sedona. I visited restaurants whose owners either were not cowed by the pandemic or who had people who were unrelated sit apart. In grocery stores-and most other places, like the post Office, masks were required and distances of 12 ft. were required. Semantics became a battleground- “physical distance” vs. “social distance” being one of the bones of contention.

Hurricanes did not take notice of the pandemic. In August, I spent two weeks with the victims of Hurricane Laura, as part of a team responding in Alexandria and Baton Rouge, Louisiana during the brunt of the storm. I was daytime floor supervisor, tending to the needs of some 86 displaced souls.

A month later, I went to Dallas, and helped many of the same people, who were now living in a hotel provided by the Red Cross. I was “bumped up” to assistant shelter supervisor, by an appreciative manager. Each family had their own room, and meals were taken in a large dining area with long tables. FEMA was present, and I was able to establish a good working relationship with that team. The two weeks passed with few serious issues. A laundry snafu, which resulted in a person’s clothes being mislabeled by the laundry service, and thus delivered to the wrong room, required some detective work on my part. Fortunately, after I had arranged for some shopping funds for the aggrieved party, her clothes were brought to us by the person who had been given them by mistake. All was thus made right. The ladies even gave each other “air hugs”.

The year ended, while the pandemic lingered. I was okay, even celebrating my 70th birthday at the family apartment in Plano-their first Texas home. We all survived.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 15

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, Historical, impediments, Inner Struggles, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 5, 2026- Hana carefully observed two visitors today. One was a fast-talking salesman, trying to drum up business for his pest control company. She smiled wanly at him, but didn’t offer her customary “Hi”. The second, a plumber, was here to look at an area of our concern. She smiled a lot more at him, and said “Hi”. My grandchild already has a sense of people.

She again talked a lot, and was glad that I sat down with her, while Mom and Dad were fixing dinner. I told her that I was glad she was using her teething ring, and she showed me the toy. Her top lateral incisors (canines) are coming in, and so she is chewing on a lot of teething rings-and a few things that aren’t.

HANA’S NOTE- I like to be able to choose my own activities. Papa lets me do that, so it’s fun to have him in the playpen.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2019 The day after the family wedding, last June, Aram asked Yunhee to marry him and she said “Yes”. They had a civil wedding in November of last year, on the island of Guam. On March 10, they had a Baha’i wedding, in Kwangju, South Korea. I was there, a few days early. The journey from Phoenix to Los Angeles was a lesson in patience (United left Phoenix two hours behind schedule), and I arrived at LAX, 90 minutes late, the result being that I was the last passenger to get on the plane for Seoul.

The wedding itself was small, by Korean standards, yet it was dignified and happy. The reception hall was full afterwards, and why not? The food was plentiful and tasty. Our family had now officially spanned the Pacific. I joined a family outing to Cheonju, a city with an interesting historic district and went with Aram and Yunhee’s father to a men’s spa. Gender-separate bath houses are very common in Korea. A day or two later, I flew back to the U.S. and my Korean family continued their Naval life.

I had cut ties with the unsettled woman, last October, after she threatened to see that I lost my job.. She nonetheless parked her RV at the park across the road from our little Quad. She never directly tried to pester me, but I knew I was being watched. That aside, I was starting to be affected by mold in my workspace; all of us-staff and students, were. It was affecting my judgment and my energy level. In late March, I threw my left knee out, taking a step down on stairs I had walked down dozens of times. It was a mild sprain, but after treatment and two weeks of P/T, I was okay again. In mid-April, though, a misunderstanding with another staff member led to my deciding to leave the Autism Program. The day that I resigned, the RV lady drove off and I have not seen her since.

In summer, I set out again on a cross-country journey- starting with a visit to an old friend in Coal Mine, AZ, then camping at Canyon de Chelly, before taking the customary northern route, through Albuquerque, Amarillo and Oklahoma, visiting with Xanga friends there. This time, though, I drove across Arkansas and Tennessee, visiting my friends in Crossville, then stopping in Chattanooga and Knoxville. I had Elantra serviced in Knoxville, then headed over to Asheville, NC, taking in that city’s elegant downtown. The road then took me to Tryon, NC, a town that I had briefly considered as a Home Base, sight unseen, in 2011. I might have been happy there, had Prescott not captivated me.

South Carolina brought satisfying visits to Columbia, Aiken, Hilton Head Island and Charleston. I took in Fort Sumter, another spot on Penny’s 2007 virtual field trip itinerary that we had not fulfilled. Back in North Carolina, I visited a Baha’i friend in Salisbury and stopped in Raleigh, to do laundry and spend time in the Capitol District. Another visit with dear Xanga friend in Virginia Beach, was followed by a drive across Chesapeake Bay to Cape Charles and Virginia’s Eastern Shore. It was fascinating top watch the ponies at Assateague, frolicking in the surf. Then came a stop in Dover, DE-the compact and delightful capital of the First State. My Oley stop followed, then up through PA to New York, and a visit to West Point-the last of the three Service Academies I’ve visited. My Dad had always wanted to go there, so I fulfilled his wish for him. Popeye Doyle (“The French Connection”) never went to Poughkeepsie-the foil in one of his throwaway lines in that movie. I spent a day or so in the town and in nearby Newburgh. Lovely area, along the Hudson River, though both cities were a tad rundown.

Going north, I decided to drive through Massachusetts’ southwest corner, stopping in the southern Berkshires, at Egremont. In Saugus, for Independence Day, saw fireworks and had quality time with Mom and my siblings. I made a return visit to Amherst, and my alma mater-University of Massachusetts, then toured Mt. Holyoke, a women’s university, south of town. Across Connecticut, I sopped in Danbury and spent time with that city’s Revolutionary War sites. The next main stops were Pittsburgh, for a Baha’i Holy Day gathering, Mishawaka, Chicago-for a night in Wrigleyville, near the Cubs Stadium, Wilmette, Wapello, IA, Kansas City and a small town named Satanta,KS. I paid respects to the fallen at Silver Creek, CO, a solemn cap to my sojourn.

Fall brought me back into substitute teaching, with a more connected sense of mission. I chose my assignments more discerningly, going forward.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 13

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 3, 2026- Hana’s new idea was to see if she could climb out of the playpen. I assured her that there were no footholds high enough for such s feat, and that if there were, one of us would not permit our little daredevil to get herself hurt. When I asked her if she wanted to walk a bit, her response was “Umm, no.”, and she was content for a bit to just stand at the window sill and look out on the front yard. She changed her mind after a few minutes and I helped her walk to her Mom’s office, where she called out to a delighted Yunhee.

She has been telling us little stories, all day. Most of them seem to be about her Little Critter books. She pointed to three of them sitting on the table near our recliner, and listened contentedly, as I read each of them to her. When she went back into the playpen, her “5-Minute Little Critter Stories” anthology had to go in there with her, and she sat with it for several minutes. just touching the cover and looking at a few pages inside.

HANA’S NOTE- I wish I could climb up something. I want to be able to do something that’s a little bit hard.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2017 Three years ago, I told people at Mont St. Michel that i hoped to return to that area, this year. That did not happen. I invested a small amount of money in a community development effort in Africa, having remembered how young men from Togo and Benin were having to go to France, in order to look for meaningful work. The organizers of that project, though, were full of excuses and kept moving the goal posts for its completion. They did not accept any of my ideas and asked for more and more funds. I cut them off, after two months of back and forth. It was smelling very much like a scam.

I was doing okay, though, working with Special Needs students, full time. I finished with the ED class in May and transferred into working with Autistic students at Prescott High School, in the Fall. I felt very much drawn to them, being on the spectrum myself.

Adventure across the Southwest, and across the continent, continued. I enjoyed hiking in Spur Cross Ranch, Cave Creek; Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, in Superior, an interesting town,where I befriended a nice group of people who were operating Sun Flour Cafe and Boutique; and Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, near Silver City, NM. Summer travels took me to Massachusetts and to southern Maine, where I helped celebrate one of my paternal aunt’s 84th birthday. I enjoyed walking along the shoreline, in York, ME; visiting Green Acre Baha’i school, in Eliot and as always, spending time with Mom.

The cross country adventures included hikes in Brandywine, PA, Antietam, MD, Harpers Ferry and Charles Town, WV, the Falls of the Ohio, near Louisville and “The Hollow”, in Sedan, KS. A very moving and meaningful visit to the Museum of the American Revolution, in Philadelphia, with my brother, Dave was followed by a tour of the Museum for Art in Wood, one of the most unique features in the City of Brotherly Love. Xanga friends were welcoming in Oley, Mishawaka, Goshen(IN), Enid and Amarillo. I even took the time, after Antietam, to visit the home of Stonewall Jackson, in Lexington, VA-learning that one of the most infamous of Confederate officers had taken the trouble to surreptitiously teach his enslaved house servants to read the Bible. (That was against Virginia law at the time.)

I was gradually again becoming someone I actually liked. The year ahead would put that to the test.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 12

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, Historical, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 2, 2026- “Yeah, I got it.” Such was Hana’s response when I noted she had one of her favourite books. Mercer Mayer’s “Grandma, Grandpa and Me”, featuring his character, Little Critter. Sometimes, I think she is amused by how often we fawn over her activities. She may well already have a view of herself as an ordinary person, who hasn’t done anything special. To me, though, she will always be special-and worthy of praise.

I went for my thrice a year dental check-up, this morning, after running Aram back to the house, after he dropped his car off for service. I thought I would be late for the appointment, but in fact had the hour wrong, and so, was fifty minutes early. The teeth are in good shape, as are Hana’s-with the first stages of her top lateral incisors (canines) starting to poke through.

Hana is easy to please at our adult mealtimes. All she needs are bits of fruit on her high chair tray, as she has already had lunch and dinner, by the time we three sit down. She just wants to feel like she is a part of what’s happening.

HANA’S NOTE- I was happy today, because my Daddy worked from home and I got to have lunch with him. Papa brought some food from wherever he went this morning. It was all grownup food, though.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2016 My Altima died, in Newtown, CT, after taking me clear to my mother’s house in Massachusetts and getting an oil change at the shop I have used, when in Saugus. No one there noticed anything strange. Yet, when I pulled into a gas station in Newtown, intending to simply fill up and head south towards Pennsylvania, the car started smoking. A gallon of coolant did nothing, three strong men volunteered to help me push the Altima into a parking space and the car was towed to a junkyard. A taxi dropped me, and my bags, off at a motel in Bethel-10 miles away. Thanks to my middle brother, I scored a nice Hyundai Elantra, and after three days in Bethel, I bid farewell to the Altima, and was on my way south again.

This was not a year to go to Brazil, Argentina and Chile, as I once had planned. It was a good summer for visiting Fort Sumner, joining “Christmas in July” (at a cousin’s house in Missouri), taking in Independence Day in central Indiana, visiting Bushkill Falls (where my in-laws had honeymooned, back in 1948) and making the rounds in Amarillo, Enid, Wilmette, Mishawaka, Oley and at my family’s various residences. The Elantra took me safely down to Harrisonburg, VA, Atlanta, Spring Hill, FL and across the south, eventually stopping in Boulder and Longmont, CO, then back down to Arizona.

I helped my homeless friend find a safe place to live-and to feel wanted, possibly for the first time in his long life. I saw justice done to a grifter who had tried to bilk about a hundred of us, some out of their life savings. He paid as much back as he could, went to prison and the rest of us moved on.

In the Fall, I took on work in another classroom full of special needs children, led at first by a snarky former pre-school teacher, then by a more qualified Special Needs teacher, who appreciated my efforts. 2017 looked to be a bit more promising, with a reliable car, a stable job and good standing in the community, largely due to my volunteer efforts.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 8

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

August 29, 2026- Hana reveled in going to a Brunch establishment, Sunrise Cafe, in Allen, about five miles north of here. Though she already had her lunch, she was happy to sit in a high chair and tap on the table, looking around at the different people coming in and out, as well as at the large conduits hanging from the ceiling. We enjoyed our brunch items and I found my Tex-Mex omelet comparable to the ones I enjoyed at Zeke’s, in Prescott.

She also was intrigued later in the afternoon, when we were filling boxes with items for return. That activity had the side effect of my emptying two large boxes, so that they could be used for the returns. It thus made my common space upstairs a bit tidier. Hana likes to watch processes take place, especially when these are involving her mother.

HANA’S NOTE- I like going to different places now. I didn’t so much before I could sit in a high chair. It is fun to look around.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2012 I began to have a sense of equilibrium again, after eight years of feeling buffeted. I was again substitute teaching, this time in the three major districts of western Yavapai County: Prescott, Humboldt (Prescott Valley) and Chino Valley. I was more selective about which classes I would cover. Most of the time, the days went successfully. I also joined the American Legion, began volunteering with the American Red Cross and connected with a group called Slow Food.

I began to get out on the hiking trails of the Prescott area and other parts of northern Arizona, during the school year. One memorable event was the “Longest Day Challenge” (6/21), in which I hiked the Grand Canyon, from the South Rim to the Colorado River and back, using the Bright Angel Trail-which had water stations every 1-1.5 miles. Devil’s Corkscrew was the hottest and most challenging part. On the way back, I encountered a woman about my age telling the young Park Rangers that she would walk up and out of the Canyon as she saw fit. She was stumbling about and seemed disoriented, so some of us prevailed on her to follow the Rangers’ instructions. She got into the helicopter. The rest of the way, I hiked with three young Mexicans. The girls were a bit overwhelmed by how “difficult” it seemed, but we took it slowly and got back to the Rim around 9 p.m.

I branched out, traveling around the state of Texas, in May, then going to Massachusetts, by way of Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. This became a yearly itinerary, thereafter. In September, we Baha’is commemorated the centenary of a visit by ‘Abdu’l-Baha to North America. I was planning to go with three ladies from the Prescott area, but one by one, they canceled. I drove instead to visit the Smiths, Baha’i friends who lived in Reno, and the three of us went to San Francisco and Oakland, where events were held throughout the weekend. I then drove along the Coast, through northern California, Oregon and Washington, re-visiting Portland and seeing Seattle for the first time. When a fire threatened Wenatchee, in central Washington, I went there, rather than stay in Seattle, and joined several Baha’is in prayer for protection. I went back to Reno for a bit, then drove to Salt Lake City and Glenwood Springs, CO, for other commemorative events.

Southern California also became a focus, as Aram was stationed in San Diego and a friend in Orange County was one of my regular correspondents, so I got to enjoy quality seafood and take in a lovely beach town, each time I visited.

I will be focusing more on each of the states, provinces and countries I’ve visited, after this series on Years in Remembrance is finished.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 5

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

August 26,2026- Hana was able to stand upright, without support, for four seconds. She is also able to scoot, along the bars of the playpen, for about five steps at a time, and is able to transition from one section of the bars to its perpendicular neighbour.. She is on a rather systematic mission to master all the prerequisites of walking.

My grandchild has associated my being with her, with her parents’ absence. So, she was trying to figure out why I still rock her to sleep for her afternoon nap, when she knows her mother is in the house. I explained that “Mommy needs a nap, herself.” She then relaxed and went to sleep on my shoulder, seeming to understand that it would be hard for either of them to sleep, as Hana likes to play with Yunhee, when they are in the playpen or on the bed,

Hana has her grandmother’s single-mindedness, and will surely master anything to which she sets her mind. The rub is that she will need to learn when to defer her mission, so that things her parents need her to do can take precedence. This will later transfer to her school life. The willfulness can work, once that balance is reached.

HANA’S NOTE- I like to have just a small snack, like bits of fruit or cucumber, when my grownups eat their big meals. I have my meals earlier, but I still want to sit with them and be part of things.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2009 I was starting to get overwhelmed by trying to hold down a job, at the same time as the long hours needed to care for Penny, as she became increasingly unstable. She could no longer drive. That came to an end in 2007, when she admitted to being scared to even try driving in an empty parking lot. She could manage her motorized scooter, but wanted me to be with her, when she was anywhere other than the ASU West campus.

I left WIS, in March, and went to work for a mental health agency, whose motto was “New Ways of Thinking”. Those turned out to be “The boss is always right” and “We are here to serve the insurance industry.” In fairness, I was running on fumes a good part of the time I was serving clients, and even more so when sitting in training sessions or in meetings. I was let go, at the end of the 3-month probation period, but was not replaced. A co-worker I met by chance, afterward, told me they were trying to cut costs-and that was the real reason I was terminated.

I attended Penny’s graduation from ASU West, a few weeks later. There, we met Nancy Pelosi, the singer Alice Cooper and President Barack Obama, who gave the graduation address. Penny had opted out of attending all her other graduation ceremonies, over the years. The meaning of this one made up for all those.

We made one last road trip across the country, to attend my second eldest nephew’s wedding, in New Jersey. As it was, by chance, not far from the Fellmans’ house, we stayed there, though Penny’s parents were in Arizona. Her younger sister was there, though. The wedding was lovely, but the trip had a finality to it, that I could not completely grasp. One silver lining was that all the work we had done, the past six years, to get access to restrooms for disabled people and their opposite sex caregivers, was starting to pay off. In four states along the way, we found facilities that had “family” restrooms-one seaters that could be locked from the inside. Other times, we still had to prevail on kind souls to stand guard outside, while we tended to nature’s call.

Lady, our family dog for the past fourteen years, passed away in September. She was 17 and had severe arthritis, unable to move without screaming in pain. It almost felt like she was going on, to prepare a place for Penny-but we were far from ready to give up the fight. I went back to substitute teaching and she busied herself with looking for positions in Technology Education.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 4

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

August 25,2026- Hana had another good day with her mother being around. She was again very active and vocal, calling up to me, every so often,as I spent much of the day clearing out boxes and hauling a couple of them to Goodwill.

Her newest attempt is to try and climb, but there is no foothold in the playpen-so fortunately, this is not something that rings alarm bells, yet. We are actively planning out which cabinets and drawers will get the zip ties, where the gates will go and which currently accessible cords and plugs need to be moved. We have about two months to get that all arranged.

Hana’s favourite book, right now, is “Love, Monster”. When she looks at the rather innocuous hairy beast on the cover, she growls “Raaaah”. Then she opens the book and gives the monster a kiss. She likes the ending, in which the red-haired monster falls in love with a brown-haired female monster.

HANA’S NOTE- I am tired today, after a strange dream just before I woke up. I am glad that Mommy and Papa are here, so I am safe.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2008 We spent a lot of our nest egg on an inchoate stem cell treatment. We were just willing to try anything to counteract Polyglucosan Body Disease. Penny spent most of the time that she wasn’t working on her Masters Program researching the disease and any possible treatments. She found an American-run clinic in Tijuana that looked about as promising as anything available in the U.S. It didn’t have much effect and follow-up treatments were beyond our means.

Then, the housing bubble burst, and we were on the ropes with our mortgage, which we had been paying down fairly well up to this point. As autumn turned to winter, I was still working for WIS and at the two school districts (Dysart and Glendale Union). Penny was still getting her retirement and SSDI. Aram worked for WIS, a while longer, then was mostly covering for me, while I was at work.

The bottom would drop out, in the year ahead, and family would be our saving grace.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 3

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, Community, Education, Family, Historical, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 24, 2026- Hana is now trying to stand, just momentarily, without holding onto the bar, whilst in the play pen. She managed for a split second, then reached and grabbed the bar, to steady herself. Most of her practice involves holding onto the bar, though more and more, she is using her right hand only to steady herself, whilst upright.

She has her mother largely to herself this week, and maybe next, as Yunhee transitions into a another position. So, I used the time to empty my storage unit and clean out a few boxes, once I had everything upstairs. Gradually, the mess that I once let sprawl out in my apartment will be sent to a new life somewhere else or will be recycled.

Hana talked almost constantly, much of the day. She called out to her mother: “Oma!” or to me: “Papa!”, Her father was called, also, almost as soon as he walked in the door, this evening: “Daddy!” She seems to be telling us how important her practicing is. We all agree.

HANA’S NOTE- I have a lot on my mind, so I have to share it.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2007 Even with Penny being wheelchair bound, we still made it across country to several of the family weddings. We went to our eldest niece’s wedding, in New Hampshire, last Fall. This summer, with a Graduate School “Virtual Field Trip” project woven into the itinerary, we attended our eldest nephew’s wedding, in the Atlanta area. The ceremonies were both lofely, though I admit that I was a bit worn down from caring for Penny.

We had flown to/from New Hampshire, last year. This time, we flew to Atlanta and rented a car to drive along the East Coast, after the wedding. Our stops, mainly for taking footage to be included in Penny’s project, were: Savannah; Hilton Head Island (where we were nearly flooded out of our motel room); Charleston (SC); Wilmington (NC); Fredericksburg and Mount Vernon (VA); Washington, DC (where we took in part of the National Mall, before being sheltered in the White House Visitor Center, with 100 other travelers, due to the heavy rain); King of Prussia (PA) and the Old City of Philadelphia; a pit stop, each way, at the Fellmans’, in Bedminster,(NJ); and the North Shore (MA), where we were treated to a 25th Anniversary seafood dinner, at Woodman’s, in Esssex, courtesy of my brother and sister-in-law (Glenn and Barbie).

All the way, Penny’s rickety wheelchair hung in there, with emergency repairs done by our brother-in-law, Buck, in New Jersey. We stopped in Greensboro, NC, on the way back to Atlanta, then drove through the rain to a motel near the Georgia capital, the next day. We were nearly hit by a student driver, but I managed to see her swerving and moved to the next lane. She was in tears, mouthing “I’m sorry”, as I passed her a mile or so further. I was no prize, at that age, so I just smiled and kept on. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time and headed back to Phoenix, rickety wheelchair and all.

Fall and winter were more WIS, International and substituting at both Glendale Union and Dysart, while Penny plugged away at her third Masters and volunteered with a campus environmental group. She also dabbled in the Melaleuca Company, a nutritional supplement firm, based in Idaho, and got me involved with Ameriplan USA, a multilevel marketing company. I stuck with that for a couple of years, then distanced myself-the majority of the people involved were rather difficult to be around. We volunteered a bit with Phoenix Childrens Hospital and Childhelp USA, an abuse and neglect prevention organization. Penny was able to get a motorized scooter, in mid-September, which made things a lot easier. I had the Saturn outfitted with a retractable platform,which secured the scooter.

Slowly, though, we were moving towards a time of reckoning.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 2

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving

August 23, 2026- With her feet firmly planted on the ground, Hana held onto the re-organized wall of the playpen for nearly ten minutes. When she decided to sit down, she looked down at the mat and planned out her breaking of the fall, using both hands and both feet to make for a soft landing.

I was largely absent today, working an 11-3 shift at a Red Cross Blood Donation Center, in Irving, about a 30-minute drive from here. The family went on a shopping trip, before I left, so I didn’t see them again until nearly 4 p.m. Hana was asleep, when I first came home, but hearing me talking with her father, she called out and wanted to be taken out of the crib. In short order, she was back to pulling herself up, standing for several minutes, letting herself back down and starting over again. The calisthenics can last for thirty minutes at a time.

She also likes to be seated at the table when we are gathered there, even when she has already had her meal. It is just a sign of how important family time is to the little girl. We give her teething toys and cardboard books that she can hold and focus on the covers, which she likes to touch and study. Being included gives her much more stability and security.

HANA’S NOTE- Daddy changed where the playpen is, so now I can’t grab the curtains. Shucks!

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2006 Penny fell asleep in a faculty meeting. For this, she received a letter of reprimand form the principal. When this matter came to the attention of the Human Resources Director, Penny was offered a generous disability package and enhanced insurance. She was allowed to retire. This came about, just as she was adjusting to being wheelchair bound. Other physical challenges also presented a problem. It was just time to focus all our efforts on make life least stressful for her as possible.

Still, in all this, she began studying for her third Master’s Degree, this time in Educational Technology. at Arizona State University-West Campus. As Aram was finishing his senior year in high school, there was his mother, forging ahead in another area of knowledge. I was supplementing income, over the summer, by working at Washington Inventory Service, and was soon joined there by my son. I worked for them for three years, along with substituting in Dysart and Glendale Union. With all this, Aram and I managed to meet Penny’s needs at home.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 7, Day 31

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

August 21, 2026- This was one of the quieter days. Hana slept for an hour in mid-morning and for two hours in the afternoon. These naps don’t interfere with her night’s sleep, so I think this is more evidence of a growth spurt.

When she wasn’t napping, we took our stroller walk, made more enjoyable by the cloud cover,which later burned off. (This is still the dry season.) She also did plenty of standing and took a couple of scooting steps, each time, along the bars of the playpen. This evening, we all came to consensus about Hana’s meals. When she is full, she keeps her mouth closed and will not take any more bites. That is okay with her grownups.

HANA’S NOTE- I am so glad everyone understands me. It is hard not to have words all the time, but I’m getting there.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2004- Penny went from cane to walker, in the Fall of 2003. She toughed this year out, saying she had no intention of going into a wheelchair. She would also not cut herself any slack. When there was a Baha’i devotional on the second floor of an apartment building, she insisted on going up, one step at a time, on her own.

I worked through the second semester at Palo Verde Middle School, with a modicum of support from the administration. I was not holding things together, though, and resigned at the end of the year,rather than drag everyone through the gathering mess. It was actually a relief, and the Fall found me substitute teaching at Glendale Union High School District-and doing well. As it happened, the three individuals who worked to keep me off balance, in the previous school district, didn’t change their ways and were arrested for a couple of other transgressions, the following school year. I was not surprised.

Life has a way of balancing things out, even when it looks darkest.