October 19, 2016, Prescott-
“Rigged” is a slippery slope.
Success depends, entirely,
on saying what one believes,
and doing what one says.
“Rigged” is a slippery slope.
Blame games can be ubiquitous,
and consistent.
They bring no success,
unless one has sym-PATHETIC
judge and jury, at one’s back.
“Rigged” is a slippery slope.
Tell me, whose fault is it,
when one slides back down
to the bottom?
October 10, 2016, Chula Vista-
All Canada offers thanks,
for a successful harvest.
Canadian Thanksgiving
is a true celebration
of the farmers’ fruition.
It has ever been a rejoinder
to the Columbus Day tradition.
First Nations people, across the nation
would gather to honour the Holy People
and the Creator,
for all that was given them
to stave off deprivation.
The Europeans across the north,
tried to snuff out many traditions,
in the name of “civilization”.
What they meant by “civilized’ were things like
private property, walls, fences and speaking
one of two European languages.
Harvest, and sharing, made the cut, though.
Love is one thing, no one can long disparage.
Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!
October 9, 2016, Chula Vista-
I did a few errands and cleared out the trash and recyclables, this morning. The rest of the day revolved around binge-watching of the TV show, “Supernatural”, a throwback to the mid- 2000’s and some reading, of some Baha’i documents and a couple more chapters of “To Kill A Mockingbird”, my early Fall re-read.
I am not watching this evening’s debate. The guys are both on a group video game, and that makes for enough noise. I am fully aware, courtesy of Sirius XM, of the controversy about DJT’s vulgarities- which makes him about 1 1/2 degrees lower than a certain former President of recent vintage. I am also aware that there are all kinds of accusations about how American women love to read about crassness and sexual proclivities- “except when it involves political conservatives.”
There is way too much fear going around, and it will likely lead people, on both ends of the political spectrum, to make bad choices. The fact is, no one person is going to do much of anything to derail our Constitutional way of governance. If Congress is hog-tied, even a short-handed Supreme Court is going to step up- and we, the people, have ways- peaceful ways, mind you- of curbing executive excess. Lyndon Johnson knew this, and pulled out of a re-election battle, in January, 1968. Richard Nixon grudgingly accepted it, in August, 1974.
Fear is a healthy emotion, when it causes a person to pause, and take the measure of a situation, rather than engage in mindless cliff-jumping. It is unhealthy, when it leads to paralysis and circular firing squads, such as we are seeing on one side of the political divide, and may see across the board, yet.
I have only one thing to say, regarding vulgar treatment of others: Two wrongs, or twenty, do not make a right.
October 8, 2016, Chula Vista- It was a weekend of talk about change, and talk about commitments. On October 1, a Baha’i Unit Convention was held in Flagstaff, and a similar gathering took place the following day, at the Native American Baha’i Institute of Learning, in tiny Burntwater, AZ, about 10 miles north of Sanders, along Interstate 40.
At these gatherings, we choose a person to represent our communities at the U.S. National Convention, in the Chicago area, the following May. This is an important function, yet what is more important is that we are addressing the spiritual condition of our communities. It is not a bland spouting of platitudes, and there are sharp opinions voiced, during the consultation. Yet what we are, regardless of opinions, is respectful of one another’s value. There is no one, among the gathered friends, who is discounted or seen as lacking value. The goal, for each of us, is to extend this valuing to the entire community, not just committed members of the Baha’i Faith.
After an intense week at work, in which these principles of unity were put to the test, and which by the grace of God, I largely maintained progress, I headed out to my son’s place, in this southern suburb of America’s Hometown. He’s a bit laid up, from a fracture of one of his left foot’s metatarsals. So, my entire function, these five days in California is to help with his needs. My usual meanderings up the coast will need to wait until the week after Christmas.
I set out from Prescott, last night, after a particularly strenuous day and a lengthy, soothing dinner at the American Legion Post. The route this time took me to a very restful night at an economical motel in Blythe, then a drive through the Colorado Desert, through Brawley, to El Centro and over the Laguna Mountains to the coast.
A 20th Century cowboy, circa 1992, downtown Brawley, CA
The weekend is off to a fairly restful start, and we can tend to tasks related to Aram’s healing, on Monday and Tuesday.
October 6, 2016, Prescott
Far from here,
mothers slog through the water-logged
streets of Les Cayes and Petit-Goave,
carrying their babies,
to shacks on higher ground.
Their own shanties are now home
to snakes and vermin,
which can better thrive
in a watery place.
An American expatriate,
yesterday lay on the beach
at West End, Grand Bahama.
Today, he sits on his cot,
in a Bahamian Red Cross shelter,
wondering about his faithful dog.
A Cuban woman, dazedly wandering
the streets of Baracoa,
remembers the day
when Pope Francis blessed her.
“What is he thinking”, she wonders,
“about the most powerful storm
to hit Cuba, in decades?”
In Fort Lauderdale,
the image of the Governor
appears on a TV screen.
“Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate”,
he says, as the storm of the century,
plods on- over Lake Wales and Apopka.
In Virginia’s Tidewater,
a young mother gathers her family’s
necessities, for the third time this year.
Matthew has brought water, debris and mud,
change agent that he is.
October 5, 2016, Prescott-
A large rally took place, yesterday, in nearby Prescott Valley. It was the biggest show ever to hit Yavapai County’s largest city. I wonder about something, and not just because of a recent Facebook post.
How close, in actuality, are the two dominant candidates for President?
(This is a short post, but the thoughts generated will be of long-lasting import, methinks)
October 1, 2016, Flagstaff-
A Jill of all trades has been
working tirelessly,
for nearly a decade,
to keep her children on track.
A long-lost friend
surfaced today, to give
a scholarly presentation.
He and I will be
at another location,
tomorrow.
Feast or famine,
with certain friends.
What seemed like
a rivalry between
two institutions
for which I care deeply,
is more a matter
of systemic transition.
These are things I learned, today.
September 19, 2016, Prescott-
The child had had enough.
He stood and told off a surreptitious bully,
who of course denied having said,
what I heard him say,
under his breath,
from across the room.
The intended target of abuse
does not have to suffer,
for the colour of his hair.
I think red, to be a fine hue
for a coiffure.
All colours of hair are good.
A certain public figure
voiced the opinion
that some, who hold views
contrary to hers,
are deplorable.
Have we not had enough
of tossing human beings
into one scrap heap,
or another.
Outmoded or disreputable viewpoints
can be deplorable.
People are not;
regardless of their opinions,
or their physical attributes,
or their life experiences.
People are worthy of being treated
with dignity,
even when they don’t carry themselves so.
Children are always worthy of dignity,
because they are still works in progress.
September 11, 2016, Yarnell- I read, in this morning’s paper, about a Port Authority policeman, his experiences on September 11, 2001 and his wrenching aftermath- a life no one should have to live. He spoke of being knocked to the ground, after the second plane hit, the tower fell, and “souls passed through me.”
I believe the last part, having experienced my wife’s soul filling our bedroom, as she prepared to leave for the next life, 5 1/2 years ago. I know much of the rest: The buildings were physically hit by two airplanes; implosion devices, already in place since the towers were repaired after 1993, were triggered and brought the towers straight down; dozens of people jumped to their deaths, to avoid being immolated; there are over a thousand for whom there has never been any identification or accounting, as to their fates.
Fifteen years does not erase the horror anyone felt that day. Most, like me, watched incredulously, on television, as the engineers’ devices went off, automatically, saving tens of thousands more people from dying- as would have happened, had the buildings EXPLODED outward. Just as those who were alive during the attack on Pearl Harbor still have nightmares, on occasion; just as walking through Gettysburg, Auschwitz, Valley Forge in winter, can still give the average soul and eerie feeling, so I was off to a shaky start, just from reading a post by a friend who was in the first (1993) World Trade Center bombing.
My resolution was to go to this serene town, 25 miles southwest of Prescott, and itself the scene of one of our state’s worst nightmares, on June 30, 2013, when 19 wildland firefighters died in the Yarnell Hill Fire. I went to St. Joseph’s Mission and Retreat, and walked up the Stations of the Cross trail, revisiting another of history’s greatest horrors- the Martyrdom of Jesus the Christ. This place brings peace, because the love I feel for Christ, and for His Father, is primally soothing. As always, the walk brought me to a centered place, as I recited some Baha’i prayers, words which Jesus Himself would have given His followers, had they been ready to receive.
Terrible things will ever plague humanity, in a harsh world. Nonetheless, the Sacred Teachers are with us, and having felt Their presence, along this replica of Via Dolorosa, I am able to return to Prescott, and later, to Chino Valley- observing the birthday of a good friend.
September 8, 2016, Prescott- I have been contributing heavily to the classroom’s instructional day- basically running the Social Studies lesson, in a pinch. Next week, I will be in training for two days, so hopefully the others will not run out of their own ideas.
Random thoughts- Has anyone read Jerzy Kosinski’s “Being There”? It is a tale of a novice running for President, and being elected. Sound familiar? My preferred candidate asked a news analyst, “What’s Aleppo?” I am disappointed. I knew what Aleppo was, and where it was, when I was 11. This candidate needs a crash course in geography. We must not be content to “all go into the garden.”
The people who thought that another candidate would be the poster child for the resurgence of ignorance, are finding out that he senses an actual chance of winning the Presidency, and is thus refining his efforts. Whether this will work for him is anyone’s guess. Many feel that a leopard does not change its spots.
I am opposed to people acting out of ignorance. When I have so lapsed, the reaction has been swift and brutal. Take the time to enlighten yourself, before, as Abraham Lincoln once said, “opening your mouth, and removing all doubt” ,(about being thought a fool).
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