Category Archives: impediments

The Road to Diamond, Day 55: Eggs

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 22, 2025- Whilst shopping for other breakfast items yesterday, at Trader Joe’s, I encountered two store employees explaining to another shopper that they were out of eggs. It seems that the wholesale distributors have put grocery stores and some restaurants in a pool. Every establishment gets an allotment, usually on a daily or semi-weekly basis. TJ’s would have received their allotment this morning, and probably again on Friday.

Like toilet paper before it, the egg has become in short supply due to a virus. This time, it’s avian flu that is the villain. As poultry, and, for the most part, not people, are the direct victims, all we can do is wait. https://www.abc15.com/news/national/america-is-in-the-middle-of-an-egg-shortage-causing-prices-to-rise

I am not an eggs for breakfast, every morning, sort of soul. I like a plate of scrambled eggs, meat and home-fried potatoes, once or twice a week. I like an occasional omelet. Otherwise, I am not an egg aficionado. I do, however, feel for those who can’t be without the food. We are, simply put, reaping the benefits of industrialized agriculture. Viruses and bacteria thrive in environments where animals, (including humans), are crammed too close together; where hygiene is second fiddle to moving product; where hormones and chemicals are administered to the “producers” (hens), to increase output. The same disease risk faces cattle, swine and sheep. Farmed fish have their own hygiene risk factor.

The egg crisis will pass, though it may, like the TP crisis before it, force people to look at alternatives, in the event of a worst case scenario. It is not, on its face, the government’s fault, though pulling out of WHO was probably not a good idea. It is not the fault of the distributors, who are at least for now, trying to be as fair as they can to retailers and to the public. It is not the fault of the retailers, who at least for now, are tempering the law of supply and demand with the need to stay on the good side of their customers.

Let’s see what the large producers can do, on their own, to safeguard their animals-and take the long view of the matter. People will still want eggs for breakfast, 10, 20, 50 years from now. Going back to smaller flocks, with more actual free-roaming space, would seem to be one answer. Removing hormones, chemicals and antibiotics from the regimen is definitely another practice worth considering.

The Road to Diamond, Day 53: Widen the Circle

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 20, 2025- Over 400 people gathered at the modest United Methodist Church, in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Many marched from Prescott College, around the Courthouse and back to the church. Others gathered at the church, in advance of the celebration. I walked from Home Base I to the College, and caught up with the marchers as they were stopped on the west side of Courthouse Square, then went over to the Church.

The celebration itself had several moments of joy, especially a lengthy spoken word poem and address by Jeff Daverman, a progressive activist. He again stressed the need to maintain action, in pursuit of one’s goals, especially as it pertains to justice. Jeff stressed nonviolence, a key point for people across the spectrum to keep in mind, in this time of social ferment. (Is there ever a time when there isn’t social ferment?) After several songs, by Womansong, Rose-Gibbs Duo,and Prescott Interfaith Choir, another activist, Truth B. Told, took the stage and also called for a concerted effort, day to day, to bring about social justice. He also stressed nonviolence, but did not call for non-confrontation. No Black man growing up hard, in a Michigan factory town-or anywhere, for that matter, can be expected to view the world the way Whites view it.

A little girl was soloist for Prescott Interfaith Choir, on a song whose message called for widening the circle. Jeff, and Chris (aka Truth), both spoke to the dilemma faced by Whites, especially in a town with few African-Americans, itself having the past of a Sundown Town. (Except for the few who settled here, in the 1870s, Black people were not allowed to stay overnight in Prescott, until the 1970s.) The circle, in that respect, is a fair amount looser than it was back then. That was 50 years ago, though, and there is a lot more to be done, in the expansion of our diversity.

The thing is, though, diversity cannot be forced, nor can it be contrived. Each individual has the responsibility for her(his) own personal growth. Gimmicks, like DEI committees, will not, of themselves lead to the widening of the circle. Conversely, canceling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will not make the issues that led to these committees go away. Equity is not a four letter + two word. It means, simply, being impartial and fair. In that respect, it has the same cachet as equality. Inclusion means inviting those who might be marginalized into the decision-making process, especially in matters that pertain to them. Diversity may shake the comfort zones of those whose world has been homogeneous, for a very long time, but it will not shatter that world.

Widening the circle depends on each of us, at least a little, every day.

The Road to Diamond, Day 50: Blessed Cinnamon

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

January 17, 2025- It was bound to happen again. I joined a group for lunch, yesterday, and though I sat away from someone who said he’d been sick for the last few days, the sickness found its way into me. I woke up this morning dragging, even after showering and getting self together. By afternoon, the chills and nausea were cues to huddle under thick blankets and a comforter. I forewent attending a matinee concert, in mid-afternoon,but it became clear that I had to knock this illness out of me, before a fairly busy weekend.

Hot cider with cinnamon came to the rescue, and attending an evening Zoom call was not at all difficult. I have found that herbs and spices, from cinnamon to chili, will knock the daylights out of any bacterial infection, even minimizing viruses, as they run their course. Besides, the herbs and spices tend to taste good. I sit here tonight, and feel nearly new.

Faith and healing keep even the harshest infections at bay. It should be a fine weekend.

The Road to Diamond, Day 49: Move Without Fear

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Posted by on in Assistance, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 16, 2025- The woman sitting across from me at lunch was unequivocal: “Asking people to vote for a woman of colour for President was a waste of time.” She went on further, looking at other races that did not go to her liking, and concluding that it is best to conserve money and energy to only run candidates in races that they have a chance of winning.

Conventional practices bring conventional results-until they don’t. I have a lifetime of “punching above my weight”, with checkered results. Looking back, though, my regrets are primarily due, not to taking on challenges, but to lack of preparation and of self-confidence. I have also been guilty of placing too much trust in those who have, in retrospect, given every indication that they had no intention of acting honestly. Following a tack of business as usual has not ended well, in such circumstances. Yet, here we are.

Elections are a basic part of life in a free society, but they are only a part. The hard work of citizenship, if it is to meet with success, has to cast the conventional out, when it no longer works. Typecasting people, by race and/or gender, is an idea that no longer works, if indeed it ever did. Limiting effort, by placing too much emphasis on money and time, especially on the former, is more a reflection of fear and fatigue than on meeting the actual needs of our society-as it exists now. Holding meetings in secret and consigning decisions to a select few is a shopworn idea, counterproductive to progressives and conservatives alike. This last would be well remembered by those who are “okay” with government by oligarchs, who by the way, may be found on both ends of the political spectrum.

Finally, there is the same hand-wringing I have heard, about “what’s wrong with the young people?”, that I’ve heard since I was a teenager myself. Heck, similar messages have been translated from hieroglyphics! What I hear from younger people is that they respect authenticity, above all else. That’s no surprise, given that the primary job of a young human is self-discovery. Fakery is lethal to someone just starting out in life. The second most important quality to youth is courage. Left, right, in -between, fearlessness is what will bring one across the finish line.

Stand tall, keep head and eyes clear and heart open. The world cannot progress, covered in yesterday’s dust.

The Road to Diamond, Day 48: Desert Rose

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Education, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 15, 2025- He was never, to my knowledge, at a loss for words. in his search for truth, he frequently spoke of a figure in his dreams, to whom he referred as “the shiny man”. I, too, dreamed of that same figure, on my first visit to Prescott, in 1979. William Sears and I had both dreamed of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Mr. Sears, who preferred to be called “Bill”, established Desert Rose Baha’i School, along with his wife, Marguerite, in 1988. It was held in various locations, in Tucson, for its first eight years. Mr. Sears passed away in 1992, but Marguerite and a small group of helpers purchased land in 1996. This became Desert Rose Baha’i Institute, occupying about half of the land that Marguerite had envisioned for the Institute. (The other half, still owned by individual Baha’is, faces an uncertain future.)

Penny and I visited DRBI last, in 2007, when we joined a gathering of musicians. The late Dan Seals was among the artists present, and is the only person who has ever persuaded me to sing in a chorus. It was not a bad experience, joining people whose voices were pleasant, in a rendition of “We Are One”. That, of course, was both Dan’s, and Penny’s, last visit to Desert Rose. He died in 2009, and she, in 2011.

I went there today, after visiting Tohono Chul Park, in Oro Valley, near Tucson. That salubrious desert park’s Garden Bistro served up what will now be among my favourite plates: Mesquite flour pancakes, filled with Poblano peppers, topped with fresh berries. It was my second fabulous meal in a row, dinner having been a supremely savoury taco salad, at Benson’s Cafe 86, a homey local favourite, staffed by a hard working couple.

It was thus time for spiritual food to supplement the repasts. I pulled up next to a sign at Desert Rose that said “administration”. A small group was sitting outside a house next to the building. After greeting each other, I got basic directions from one of the ladies, as to the location of Mr. and Mrs. Sears’ memorial sites. (Marguerite passed in 2006, and is buried in the Institute’s Memorial Park.) After a brief stroll around the main property, I stopped at the memorial dome that is dedicated to Bill, reflecting on his life’s work, which ranged from being a sportscaster in Philadelphia to humanitarian efforts, from Mississippi to South Africa. He was ever a stalwart foe of racial segregation, but always worked within the law.

The Memorial Dome for William Sears, Desert Rose Baha’i Institute, Eloy, Arizona.

Here are a few of the other buildings that grace the property.

Round House is the dining hall and doubles as a conference center.
Musician Chris Ruhe manages this small FM radio station, which serves up both spiritual and secular programming.
Hadden Hall is the main conference center.
This is Marguerite Reimer Sears’ resting place. Several other friends are also laid to rest in the Memorial Park.

After saying several prayers there, I went back to my hosts’ house and joined them for a cup of peppermint tea. Telahoun and Brooke Molla were proprietors of an Ethiopian restaurant in Tempe, when I lived in Phoenix. We enjoyed the fare there, a few times, and became friendly with the family. It was a delightful surprise to find them living at DRBI, with their youngest child.

PROMOTION: Desert Rose is looking for energetic, sustainability-oriented xeriscapers or those trained in permaculture. The kitchen garden and a tree-planting campaign are the current foci of self-sustaining volunteers. Spiritual open-mindedness is a plus. So, too, is being able to innovate ways to deal with extended periods of high heat (Upwards of 118 F, in the height of summer.) The adobe homes do offer protection and there are two swimming pools. A large bank of solar panels helps to provide power.

https://drbi.org/facilities-and-rentals#rh

The Road to Diamond, Day 46: Copper Mountain

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

January 13, 2025, Superior, AZ- The Wolf Moon shone through my front window, keeping me company, as I read the morning paper, at Home Base I. Thirteen hours later, a sliver has darkened, and the night is quiet here, in the eastern foothills of the Superstition Mountains. The sub-range is also called Apache Tears Mountains, in reference to the gemstone that is quite common in these parts, and named for the tears of the survivors of warriors who rode their horses off a nearby cliff, rather than be captured. In reality the gems are flakes of obsidian.

I am spending the night at Copper Mountain Motel, where I stay when visiting Superior. Usually once a year, it is a joy to spend a few hours at Boyce Thompson Arboretum or a nearby wilderness area. Main Street is also worth an early morning visit, for the shops and Victorian hotel that have sprung up in recent years. These might be tomorrow morning’s agenda.

Today started with the Monday morning coffee group, which saw all regular members arrive fairly early and solve the major problems of the world. We will repeat that process next week, as for some reason, the problems just don’t stay solved. If at first you don’t succeed……

After carefully packing, and listening to a full moon meditation, I drove towards I-17, stopping to pick up a supplement and connecting to Sirius XM, so as to keep tabs on the Los Angeles fire situation. The heartbreak will be long in abating, even if not another inch should catch fire. Whilst en route here, U.S. 60 found many of us inching along, only to note that a major pile-up involving five vehicles, had taken place. I was saddened to see four or five people sitting on blankets beside the highway and looking stunned. Eight people, including an infant, had to be sent to hospital. The pain goes on. In Superior itself, I stopped at the Arizona Rest Area, only to see signs that said the waterline for the facility had broken-an oblique connection to the Los Angeles blazes. Thankfully, there is no blaze at present in this area.

A positive energy is flowing here tonight. After another nice meal at Los Hermanos, a place I first patronized in 1979, I walked back to the motel and took in another two episodes of “The Chosen”, Season 4. The series about the ministry of Jesus the Christ has its unsettling moments, yet affirms much of what I believe about the nature of faith.

In light and darkness, energy is often what you make it to be.

The Road to Diamond, Day 44: Ring of Fire

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

January 11,2025- The views from north Los Angeles County have been dispiriting, as views of mass destruction always are. There seems to be no end to burned-out shells of what used to be homes, businesses, institutions of culture; no end to scenes of forest gone, and dead wildlife lying on the forest floor. There is, also, it seems, no end to the finger-pointing back and forth, between people who didn’t like each other, before the fires, and won’t like one another even after some of them are dead. This last accomplishes nothing, as the well-to-do and the homeless, alike, find themselves on the street and too many are wondering where their next meal might be found.

Los Angeles proper is not free and clear, yet. No place within a thirty mile radius of the Palisades or Eaton fires is. The Santa Ana winds are that strong. Prayers are going up, all over the world, that next week’s tempests will not exacerbate the current fires, or spark new ones, along the State Highway 15, I-5 or Highway 101 corridors. Solutions are being devised, to the water accessibility issues, and in the United States Senate, where a conservative Republican (Montana’s Tim Sheehy) ,who is also a wildland firefighter, has reached out to Senator Schiff, of California and Senator Kim, of New Jersey-which has also had recent wildfire woes. The Federal strategy should prove proactive and its necessity is beyond argument, given that FEMA ends up with the tab for much of the costs of recovery. The piper can set the stage before playing the tune.

Too often, in times of disaster, from Pearl Harbor, through September 11, 2001 and on through all manner of hurricanes, tornadoes, chemical explosions, mass shootings, and wildfires, naysayers have to some extent deflected the public’s awareness of the actual causes of a tragic event and been allowed to interfere with the process of recovery. The public weal calls for us to shut off the noise and focus on actual causes of a disaster. Usually, those causes are far more complex than the fast track news cycle allows for analysis. Addressing only surface issues serves merely to guarantee that the same problems will be faced, the next time, regardless of the locale.

I live in a fire prone area. There is no daylight between the suffering of a conservative rancher or that of his neo-hippy artist neighbour. We have learned to see the needs of both as equally worthy of consideration, and it is highly likely that the one would come to the aid of the other, without hesitation, judging by the reactions to our own last big blaze, in 2013, when 19 wildland firefighters died in a firestorm. Conservatives and progressives spoke with one voice, when misfits came out of the woodwork, after the blaze had been extinguished and threatened the very lives of other firefighters, Go Fund Me,should there be a future fire, in a ludicrous claim of “speaking for freedom”. Everyone of sound mind stood together and helped both those who lost their homes and the families of the fallen Hot Shots.

That last is already happening, in Altadena, in Sylmar and in what remains of Pacific Palisades and south Malibu. Several nonagenarians were carried out of harm’s way, by their neighbours. Go Fund Me campaigns are in place for assistance to large families who have been displaced. A network of recovery is being established, across Los Angeles County and across the nation and the world. Fire teams from Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Montana,Texas, the Navajo Nation, Canada and Mexico are on the ground, rendering assistance. World Central Kitchens, Project Rubicon and the American Red Cross are also in a full court press, across the County.

When disaster strikes, the greater fire of community strength rises. May it ever be thus.

The Road to Diamond, Day 42: I (We) Also Served

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 9, 2025- The teacher was effusive, in thanking me for having served as a postal worker, while in the United States Army from 1969-72. He himself had been a medical technician, and while remaining stateside, he did have his share of trauma, by working with those who came back from the First Gulf War with horrific third degree burns. Even stateside, he needed contact with family and friends at home-and mail was a key part of that. He was also, however, thanking me on behalf of all those who barely made it back-and some who never recovered.

A rather high percentage of those who serve in the Armed Forces-Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard and the inchoate Space Force, do so in a noncombatant capacity. They (we) certainly have been trained in the essentials of the combat arms. Every postal clerk, medic, chaplain, cook, motor pool mechanic, musician, computer technician, orderly room clerk and financial specialist knows how to assemble, fire, disassemble and clean a firearm. Their (our) essential duties, though, are in support of the infantry and artillery units, the fighter pilots and crews of destroyers and attack submarines.

I was, personally, glad to have spent time in the mail room at Fort Myer, the accountable mail cages in Long Binh and Cholon, and to pitch in when it came time to unload the Sealand trailer, with its bulk mail. I pulled perimeter guard duty, about five times at Long Binh- and while I never saw any suspicious movement in the field of surveillance, just being there in case of that one possible incident was important to me. I had, and have, my reservations about the regime that our military was supporting, but that did not get in the way of how I went about any assigned task. None of my tasks involved killing anyone, so that made it easier. I’m not sure how I would be today, had it been necessary to kill or maim, in the line of duty. As it was, though, I (we) also served.

The Road to Diamond,Day 41: Unpredictable

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

January 8, 2025- The ongoing saga of people settling in and around Los Angeles, for either a life of leisure or for pursuit of a fine, active regimen, and finding that Mother Nature has other ideas, has reached crisis proportions even more dire than in any past year. Perhaps it is due to the increased density of population, from even the 1990s-2010s, or just a consequence of rising global temperatures, but it seems worse.

Here at Home Base I, there was a brief period of snow, in the higher elevations, southwest of town and in the Santa Marias, to our northwest, but here in the downtown area, just a few sprinkles fell, late last night. We, like, California, are facing a Big Dry-at least until March. There is, of course, plenty of water-on paper, but I digress. The ultimate test of hydration for a community is if the taps start to trickle. Who knows if and when that will happen.

Life on the ground here remains fairly predictable, but on the larger scale, we may be seeing seismic changes, in short order, and it feels at times like the news cycle is whipsawing, back and forth. I have learned, though, that as long as the markets are open and there are no manufactured crises hitting too close to home, that we can each do our civic duty, show kindness to others-especially those most vulnerable and continue to speak our peace.

These things came to mind, this afternoon, as we considered another strange and unsettling time in our recent past: September, 2001. The teacher recalled his own experiences during that time, as a security guard in Phoenix. His wife was working in the tallest building in the city, at that time. He made a beeline to get her home, as soon as he saw what had happened in New York and at the Pentagon. In my case, I had no work that day, but heard over the radio about the first tower strike and also headed straight home, being glued to the TV screen most of the day. Penny and Aram went to their respective schools, which were let out early, as many parents were beside themselves, with “what ifs” and doomsday scenarios. I was just as glad they came home.

Stay aware, friends, and stay close to those you love-in California, in the frigid eastern half of the country and anywhere else that may be suffering in this winter of heightened challenge.

The Road to Diamond, Day 33: It Wasn’t a Rainbow That Ended

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

December 31, 2024- When I was around nine or ten, Fad would amuse us, on car trips, by going fast up a hill and over the crest, which would lead to an excited sensation on the way down. The roller coaster-like feeling was something that made my sister and I encourage him to keep doing it. He did, for a while, and then resumed being an adult, showing us that there is a time to be jovial and a time to be focused.

Life has been that way each year since. 2024 was a year of consummate gladness-My son finishing his baccalaureate studies and preparing to re-enter the work force; my being able to spend time with family in Massachusetts, Maine, Pennsylvania and Texas; visiting friends in California, Nevada, Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon; making new connections in St. Pierre & Miquelon and in each of the aforementioned places; and making deeper friendships in the Philippines.

There was a lot of loss this year, as well: My mother, our family’s rock for so many decades, rejoined her husband, parents, siblings and youngest son, marking an end to her physical chapter of 95 years, 9 months and 20 days. Three strong women of faith- Marcia Brehmer, Michele Smith and Lynne Elliott, also went back to their Lord, after doing their level best to teach their families and friends to love one another-and to love humanity, without exception. Four men- Joe Landrigan, Verne Rupright, Johnny Murphy and Lennie Maes, seminal figures from my youth, who served their country and went on to live lives of quiet distinction, answered their final call of duty. The nation, and the world, said goodbye to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, to freedom fighter Alexei Navalny and to artists Donald Sutherland, Melanie Safka, Nikki Giovanni, James Earl Jones, Chita Rivera, Dame Maggie Smith, Kris Kristofferson, Toby Keith and Quincy Jones.

Our rainbows soared, and came back to their bases, this past year. I gained the ability to more firmly navigate these peaks and valleys, knowing that there is so much more to do, so many questions left to be answered and so many challenges that may yet arise. The year now ending has brought me strength.