Thawing Out

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 28, 2026 in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving

January 27, 2026-

The space heater got turned off, I bought a floor scraper that doubles, nicely, as an ice scooper and the essential surfaces are now clear of ice and snow. The floor scraper, made by Marshalltown of Iowa, is the kind of solid steel mechanism that my Dad had around when I was a kid. It made clearing the driveway and walks a relative piece of cake.

Hana responded to the improving weather by being more mellow, not acting like she had a splitting headache. I swear that babies and toddlers take it on the chin when the barometer drops.

She is assertive, and we always know if she is happy or upset. Isolating her cries helps in solving the problem and she is happy again, giving the person holding her a world class smile.

The thaw will come soon to many areas that Fern visited after leaving the southern Plains. My prayers and positive thoughts, though,to all facing the coming Nor’easter.

Then, there is the slight ICE melt in the Twin Cities. It took the death of a Federal employee, at the hands of other Federal employees, to bring about, but there seems to be some degree of sanity in the air today.

Remember, in small matters and great, we are all in this together.

Breakthrough

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 27, 2026 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving

January 26, 2026-

The cold water came on at 11:15. That capped the internal recovery from Fern. There will be one more cold night from that storm, with other below- freezing nights sure to come between now and April..

Outside, we made serious progress on clearing the driveway and front walk. Hard ice remains , in both areas, but I have an idea as to what tool to get, tomorrow, and will deal with it then.

Aram was able to move one of the cars around front, but generally speaking, Plano’s response to the storm, with regard to clearing the roads, has been negligible. There win’t be mail delivery until and least Wednesday and other delivery services are not looking to fulfill orders until the weekend.

I am certain this is the case, or worse, in many areas of the nation as well. Take it one step at a time and stay safe.

Fern the Frozen

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 25, 2026 in Community, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Personal Values, Striving

January 24, 2026-

She gave plenty if warning, slowly but inexorably moving out of the Four Corners region, dropping snow and ice as she went.winter Storm Fern came to us today and will hang around until Monday, while extending her reach to New Hampshire and Maine.

She left a sheen of ice, then dumped snow on too of it. I cleared our little driveway and front steps/walk, then repeated the process five hours later.

As I look out, this evening, though, Fern is dropping more snow on Plano, even as its front end is blasting through Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia.

The jury is out, on whether we will lose power and water before sunrise. Many others, across the South, already have.

Mental Acuity

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 22, 2026 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.

Inclusion

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 20, 2026 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

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 19, 2026 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.

Sanctuary

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 13, 2026 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

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 12, 2026 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.

Hoblitzelle Afternoon

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 11, 2026 in Assistance, children, Community, Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social

January 11, 2026- Sunday brings with it a commitment to clean my bathroom(done) and do my laundry (after I write this post). Hana time was plentiful today, but as any grandparent of a newborn knows, it could have been more. There is no task that is “not my job”, when it comes to our little girl’s well-being.

With the baby fed and asleep, and my personal space in order, I took some time, this afternoon,. to visit the western edge of our neighbourhood park: Hoblitzelle. The park was named for Karl and Esther Hoblitzelle, philanthropists in the Dallas area during the 1940s and ’50s. It has a short set of trails, on either side of Alma Road, in east Plano. Most of the trails are paved, and being a Great Plains environment, mostly flat.

Still, the sense of nature is quite fulfilling, and I will be glad to bring Hana there, frequently, once she is ambulatory and can enjoy playgrounds and the views of Russell Creek.That’s a year or two off, so, in the meantime, this will be one of the places I frequent, in order to get in some hikes.

Mirror images, in Russell Creek, Hoblitzelle Park

Limestone and tree debris, Russell Creek

Small fishing pond, south end of Hoblitzelle Park

So went my first of many visits to Plano area parks.

Edith Renfrow Smith

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 10, 2026 in collaborating, Community, Historical, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 10, 2026- She largely minded her own business, focusing on getting an education-even in the aftermath of Plessy vs.Ferguson, and then on educating others, for over forty years, and being vindicated by the decision in Brown vs. Board of Education. Edith Renfrow Smith was a product of small town Iowa, and in fact was the only African-American at her school in Grinnell and the first at its highly-regarded college, which she graduated in 1937. Edith died yesterday, in her adopted home of Chicago. She was 111.

Mrs. Smith was a mentor to the great jazz pianist, Herbie Hancock, who was her neighbour in Chicago. She gently encouraged him to attend Grinnell College, which he did, turning a dual interest in engineering and music into a career of innovation in piano jazz. She also met several prominent Black-Americans, from Gwendolyn Brooks to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during her years in Chicago.

I look at the lives of people like Mrs. Smith, who welcomed guests into her home, almost until the day she passed, as examples of how one can live life to the full, through a mix of civic engagement and maintaining a modicum of privacy. As the granddaughter of a runaway slave who himself built a new life in the free state of Iowa, she found a love for education and self-improvement were instilled in her. She passed those on to her two daughters and to her grandchildren. She also passed along the philosophy of greeting everyone with a smile. It was important to her that this small act was the basis for making the world a better place.

The balance set forth by Mrs. Smith is as fine a model to follow into advanced age, as any I have seen.