Category Archives: Family

Wondering about Clouds

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

January 9, 2026- In my early evening time with Hana, she was gazing up at the clouds and the tree in our front yard. The big upper windows allow plenty of room for a child to look up and out, especially when wrapped in the safety of loving arms. I told her about how clouds give trees life-giving water, just like we are feeding her life-giving milk. She continued to look at the scene outside. Her pre-lingual brain is, no doubt, saving images, with repeat observation and hearing similar words with regard to what she sees.

I wonder, too, about clouds, though of a different kind. The mental clouds we use to “shield” ourselves from the reality of things outside or even from our own shadow selves-misgivings, shrill self-condemnation, lack of impulse control, can be useful in the sense of giving time to process those negative elements and let them flow out. Held on too tightly, they can be energy-sapping and unnecessarily limiting.

That is the wisdom of nature: Clouds come, drop their load of rain or snow, and move along-so long as we,in our rush to make a profit or craving to hold onto ideas that have lost their efficacy, do not continue with policies and behaviours that interrupt the water cycle. Nature ebbs and flows well enough on its own. We have the choice of learning to flow with it, as many ancient cultures did, or of acting in arrogance and trying to supersede the natural rhythm.

Drawn to the Light

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Family, impediments, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 8, 2026- Hana and I had an hour of just the two of us, this evening. The rest of the family went to an Asian market, so grandmother could select foods with which to properly make some Korean dishes, which she’s wanted to fix since coming here.

Our darling girl took in her surroundings, as she does most of the time that she’s awake and not feeding. She watched me carefully, as I told her about the world being a largely beautiful place and that there will be many good things in her life, as well as challenging things. I told her that I would be there for her for as long as I am intended. After watching me for several minutes, she began to focus on the light in the next room. Perhaps her departed grandmother made her presence known, or maybe it was just the light to which her eyes were drawn.

It is well that we are more drawn to light than darkness. The latter is something that is best faced and illuminated. While it can be fascinating, darkness is the dearth of light. Those things that are constructive and regenerative are what most merit our attention. As my granddaughter, with no understanding of language, as yet, develops her ways of communicating, eventually including language skills, I sense that her orientation will be towards proactivity and clarity. She already knows that while sometimes crying and fussing are necessary to get her needs met, there are also plenty of times when we attend to her calmer body language.

May she always turn to the light.

Thumb Rockets

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Posted by on in children, Community, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 7, 2026- “Let me show you a trick that your granddaughter will think is the stupidest thing she ever saw”, the new friend from McKinney said over lunch at a local deli. He proceeded to have me wrap a piece of paper around my thumb, and twist it to make a little “hat” for the thumb. He’s right; I think Hana would roll her eyes at that part, when she is about eight or nine. He then had me make an OK sign with my other thumb and forefinger, put it around my wrapped thumb and pull the thumb out of the paper, but in such a way that it made the paper go up and out- a thumb rocket.

D is an interesting man who has not had an easy life. That puts him in good company with a number of people I’ve known over the years. The difference is, he’s made mostly good choices, from the time he was a child. Growing up in the north of this Metroplex, when it was a long ways from being a Metroplex, he’s seen it all happen. Still, as I watched, the farmer in him caught a small rat by the tail and disposed if it in a way that a man who has plowed through hard knocks for eight decades would do without batting an eyelash. (No, that was NOT in the deli).

Time with a good ole boy is spent in a way similar to how time is spent with a First Nations person, a nomad of the Negev, or a campesino anywhere in the Southwest or Mexico. The watch stays hidden, because schedules don’t matter. D told stories of his childhood and his large family. A lot of his experiences mirror those of my male elders. Farm life is a great connector. After the nearly ninety-minute lunch, I drove around the area a bit, to ponder all that I had heard.

I will see D., and other local Baha’is, on a regular basis, so perhaps I will earn other “tricks” that will make my granddaughter alternately giggle and groan.

Two Platesful

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, children, Community, Family, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 6,2026- Sportage is now a Texan. In this state, a vehicle is to have a license plate i front and one in back. The rear plate is easy to attach. The front will take a bit of professional installation, in a few days. In the meantime, there is, for good measure, a registration tag that sits inside the front windshield. Sportage will soon be two platesful. I will get my Texas driver’s license at the end of the month. Same with my voter ID.

I am again in the practice of eating three meals a day-each with one plateful. Our family is doing fairly well, and food is plentiful. I just don’t want my torso to become too plentiful.

Hana is now getting a bit more active, and wanting to stay awake more during the day. She wants to be with us during dinner, so one of us will start eating late and whoever finishes first will take over snuggling honours. She can see a shadowy figure of someone talking to her from the upstairs landing, as she is held by her grandmother on the downstairs couch.

There is a small garden plot, that Yunhee’s mother has cleared in the backyard. We can plant things like turnips and spinach, and I will need to build a fence that will keep the squirrels out, once the seeds are planted. We want to fill our bellies, not theirs. They have plenty of acorns.

That’s the news of the day from our cul-de-sac.

Communication

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Family, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 5,2026- Hana doesn’t like the smell of peppermint oil. When I had it on my breath, after lunch, she put her hand up to her nose. That is one of the messages the little lady sends to those who are paying attention. It’s not all squalling and fussing. Her eye contact is minimal, yet, but she does follow the sound of noise in the room and has started looking up at me when I speak to her. Smiles are mostly for her father, but I have received a few.Cooing shows a general state of contentment.

We have reached a level of communication in our house that I only wish government would follow. If the reasonable wishes of a two-week old infant can be noted and respected by adults in the house, then how is it that the reasonable thoughts and opinions of a citizenry are seen as little more than an impediment to the important affairs of a nation-or even a community (Austin, TX comes to mind, as does Surprise, AZ, in terms of executive hubris towards the public). There are many other examples, from top to bottom.

Hana will speak her mind, with increasing eloquence, as the years progress. She may be off base at times, and one of us will correct her, but she will never be told that she is out of order and needs to be silent. Communication goes two ways, which is something that so often gets forgotten, by those at the top of their respective heap.

A Little Bottle

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Posted by on in children, Community, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 4, 2026- It was my turn to feed Hana her “lunch” bottle of pumped milk. The focus is in developing her posture and promoting good digestion, so I supported her in an upright position. At the halfway point, she let up and we walked around a bit, while I burped her and told her about all the good things that will be outside, when she gets old enough to go out in a stroller, and afterward. A few minutes later, we sat back down and she finished the bottle.

She has started to look around, especially trying to find her maternal grandmother, who has been the strongest presence in her life, besides her parents. Of course, at two weeks, she can see mostly large figures and bright colours. The voices, though, are what are the easiest to identify. Those little eyes, though, have started to search.

I will be an increasing presence in Hana’s life, especially after Halmoni goes back to Korea, at month’s end. There are other things to do in the interim, mostly getting my vehicle registered in Texas and changing my driver’s license to the Lone Star state as well. Planet Fitness is a mile from here, so I just have to convince them to accept the same e-mail that I used at the Prescott club. It seems silly to have to have a special e-mail, solely for a gym membership, but technology can be ludicrous at times. Other aspects-Red Cross, Farmers Market, American Legion and the Baha’i Center, will need to be visited this week. The bank, the VA and chiropractic will round things off.

The little girl, and her little bottle, will be the most important parts of my life, for months to come.

Time to Stay Put

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

January 3, 2026- It is a fine thing,sobremesa, the practice of sititng at the dinner table after a meal and having deep conversation. I’ve missed that, for the most part, over the past several years, only spending time in such a manner when with friends at restaurants. Now, this promises to be a nightly occurrence.

This evening’s talk touched briefly on the implications for the military, and its reserves, of today’s action in Venezuela, and possible other drastic moves in the weeks and months ahead. It also affects my intended visit to the Philippines. That is now postponed, indefinitely. My family’s sensibilities and the wider world’s instability have converged. There is, quite frankly, too much that is new: Hana, the house and her parents returning to work-albeit from home. I would be neither comfortable nor present being away from any of it.

There will again be a time when I will feel good about traveling, especially with family, domestically, and even going abroad, a few years hence. Now, though, my sense of adventure and equilibrium are focused on helping close to home and ensuring that a precious little girl gets off to a good start in life.

There is a lot one learns about oneself only when going through a novel situation.

Day Two in Plano

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

January 2, 2026- Hana cried in the night and got the care she needed. I was exhausted from the long day of unloading and carrying boxes/bags upstairs, so I deferred to everyone else in the house. At 6:30, the little girl was fast asleep but I was up and so prepared to go with Aram and return the Penske truck. No fuss, no muss, the move was in the rear view mirror-pun intended.

Back at the house, my day was spent unloading Sportage and putting things away. Change of address was sent to financial institutions and a few vendors. The main point of the day, in fact the past two days, is how well my son and I work together, as men equal in stature. This is the realization of my fatherhood-and seeing him take on fatherhood of his own with clarity and commitment is even more heartening.

He has long been a doer-the Navy brought that out in him, and to see him as a homesteader, confidently taking on each task that presents itself, from snuggling his squalling daughter into comfort and peace, to putting together furniture,paying careful attention to detail, is breathtaking. I am here to help when he calls for it, or at least when it is obvious that one man can’t be expected to lift, carry or push something into place. That was a lesson I learned from my father, so long ago. Back then, the brothers-in-law backed each other up and were on hand for everything from re-tiling a roof or painting the peaks of a two-or-three storey house to getting a car started on a cold, clear January night.

Women never moved away from that camaraderie. Men did. It’s nice to see it back.

The Penske Chronicles, Day 6

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

December 31, 2025, Memphis, TX- I woke this morning, no longer being an actual resident of Arizona-for the first time since March 1, 1992. It does not feel strange, or saddening, or melancholic. Most likely, it’s all the circumstances of this move. Being a grandfather is an amazing feeling-as those who have arrived here before me know all too well.

After a light breakfast at Red Roof Inn, I checked the bed of the moving van and found nothing amiss, after yesterday’s drive from Prescott to Gallup. I drove to Grants, bought some ice for the two coolers, and again found nothing out of order. My chock-a-block packing job is working-keeping everything low to the floor saves items toppling onto one another.

A lunch and refueling stop in Moriarty brought a satisfying meal served by a cheerful young lady named Hope. Her demeanour contrasted with that of the dour, petulant gas counter clerk, but one can’t have all sweetness and light.

The rest of the drive across New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle was serene, and I arrived here, in a town named for a mistaken address. A letter intended for Memphis, TN was sent to Texas. When a clergyman living in the area saw it, he decided to recommend that the locality actually be named Memphis. The idea was accepted, enthusiastically by a majority of the residents, and Memphis, Texas was born.

So, I am seeing 2025 out the door, in this quiet little namesake of a musical powerhouse. Rock Inn Cafe, where I had dinner this evening, was showing a montage of New Year’s Eve music fests-including New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, which gave the establishment its name. There were few people in the restaurant, but the food was good. I will likely go back there tomorrow, for breakfast, before heading off to the Metroplex and Home Base.

Happy New Year, Asia, Oceania, Australia, Africa, Europe, South America and the eastern third of North America! We will all catch up with you, shortly.

The Penske Chronicles, Day 5

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

December 30, 2025- Everything happens according to a blend of the needs and wants of those involved. I had a lot of downtime today, but while I waited for the DAV furniture crew, necessary calls to utilities were made, and I cleaned out the long-ignored storage shed in the carport. Lesson learned: Don’t let stuff from ten or fifteen years ago just sit, unattended. Most of it was in fairly good condition. Some was given to my dear friend, Melissa. Other items were happily claimed by my landlord, and a few things went to recycling or to the landfill.

The cleaning lady came on time and worked in the back, as it was cleared out. The furniture to be donated to Disabled American Veterans sat in the front room with me, while waiting for the movers to pick up. Melissa came in mid-afternoon, selected what she could use, and as she was ready to leave, lo and behold-there were Mo and Grant, ready to roll out the items the DAV could sell, and graciously take the other items to the dump-for a slight fee. Robert and I took care of the rest.

I had to forego both lunch with my hiking buddy and Feast at two Baha’i friends’ home, but this clear-out is done. I do not feel any wistfulness or sadness, leaving Prescott. Life is going forward, and I with it. The most precious beings in my life wait in Plano, my new Home Base and the place where I will settle by the end of this week. 2025 is coming to a close, but first, I will get to Gallup for the night.