Category Archives: Inspiration

Pledges and Promises

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

March 15, 2026- Hana looked at me with concern in her eyes, as I was next to her, while she was busy pumping her legs in the balloon exercise that I described a few days ago. It seemed she was wondering what I was thinking, as my face was serious. I told her that I wanted her to go after whatever dreams she might have, as long as they help her and other people. She likely has only a very limited understanding of what I was talking about, but a smile returned to her face.

I finished reading “Nobody’s Girl”, by Virginia Giuffre, who was prominent in getting the Epstein Files top of mind, for so many people. She died last year, under murky circumstances, with even one of her own collaborators casting doubt on her mental stability and the status of her marriage. Any of the insinuations, or none of them, could be true. The woman had more health issues in her last years of life than most people have to even momentarily face. It may have been impossible for her and her husband to stay together, though she ends her narrative on a positive note, in that regard. (The collaborator makes a veiled reference to the couple being “estranged”, in the opening pages of the book and a Wikipedia article on Virginia casts her husband as an abusive brute. That same article says that the FBI doesn’t believe a word she said about a sex trafficking network headed by Jeffrey Epstein.)

The drivel in parentheses is one of the reasons that I take official accounts of abuse of women and children with several grains of salt. When I was a counselor, and a young person, usually a girl, came to me and said s(he) had been abused, only once was it untrue-and that fabulist came to me on her own and admitted she had made the whole thing up. I was far more skeptical of people in high places-or journalists, who took the side of the accused. There was always money or power behind their counterclaims. Generally speaking, I found that children should be seen, heard and believed.

I’ve said it before, and will maintain as long as I have all my faculties and senses about me-no one hurts my granddaughter-ever. That was what was on my mind, when she looked at me, with such probing eyes.

Baby Planks

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

March 13, 2026- Hana held her head up, while prone, for over three minutes, this evening. She has been working very hard at this prerequisite to crawling and has been frustrated with herself, up to now. Each time, we have told her that we are proud of her for trying and to not give up. She is internalizing our encouragement, smiling each time we offer it. Tonight was a big advance for her.This skill is, roughly speaking, the infant’s equivalent of a plank, which of course is an adult holding self up on elbows and extended toes, for 1-3 minutes. Babies are hardwired to want to develop mobility skills, just as they want to build language skills.

Speaking of which, Hana is making clearly thought out sounds, in a sentence-like cadence, and is happy when we maintain eye contact, while she is speaking. We generally get a sense of what she is saying, by reading her facial expression and deciphering her tone of voice. A soft voice indicates she is happy or peaceful. A serious tone means she needs cleaning or that she is getting tired. A loud tone means she is frustrated or feels ignored. This last will be followed by crying, if we don’t pick up on it right away.

She is also paying close attention to what her mother needs her to do. When bathing, for example, when Yunhee goes to wash under Hana’s arms, the baby lifts her arms straight up. When she goes to change Hana into night clothes, the child will take her own arms out of the day outfit’s sleeves. She is also very much into cleanliness and neatness. This seems in keeping with what has been noticed about Capricorns, (Hana was born on the December Solstice).

Early development of physical skills could be followed by backsliding, if we make too much of the matter and up the ante. That said, we are proud of what our girl is doing, at just under three months of age.

International Women’s Day

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

March 8, 2026- I had the best of intentions, ordering a lox and tomato bagel for my daughter-in-law , for International Women’s Day, especially as it was part of the local bagel shop’s fundraiser for prevention of violence against women and girls. Saved By The Bagel is a take-off on a popular 1980s sitcom, “Saved by the Bell”. Yunhee is on a dairy-free diet, for Hana’s sake, until mid-April. I forgot that bagel shops almost always add a shmear (cream cheese), so when I got the sandwich home, she contented herself with the tomato, onion and lettuce on the part of the bagel that had no shmear. She said she also doesn’t eat lox. It meant more to her that I honestly loved the beef stew she had made, three days ago. I had four bowls of it, two on the night it was made. I also spent the afternoon with Hana, so that Yunhee could have a few hours to go shopping for items she wanted, or the house needed.

One of those items was an electric chainsaw. She got a deal on it, and proudly presented it to me, knowing that I wanted to tend to the bough that was 80% severed from the oak tree in the front yard. I got the chain on the wand, but had to consult my neighbour on the corner, as to the finer points of tightening the chain. This led to his coming down to the yard and essentially cutting the bough and its branches, as the saw is one of his favourite tools. His son-in-law was along, to help me keep the ground around him free on fallen branches. There is nothing more dangerous than someone who gets carried away with a power tool. We three managed to get the job done in less than an hour. I offered them the better pieces of cut wood, but they declined. I got in my exercise by moving the debris to the back, by the alley, where I will cut the longer branches down to smaller units tomorrow.

That part had nothing to do with IWD, other than getting the men out of the house. International Women’s Day is never about men giving things. It is more about women empowering themselves. The notion that female humans are inherently worthwhile, and don’t need men to complete them, is oddly enough, only fairly recently a widespread concept. There have always been women who have stood on their own two feet, for life. Some have married; others just forged their own successful paths. Some have raised children; others found fostering animals more fulfilling; still others found the nurturing of ideas and creating products more to their liking.

On this International Women’s Day, I recall the lives of my grandmothers, who raised twenty children, between them; of my mother, who raised five of us and was the glue for her extended family; of my sister, who remains a matriarchal figure for her children and grandchildren; of my late wife, who earned three Master’s Degrees, the last while in declining health. There are women whose memorials I have visited: Civil Rights icons-Coretta Scott King, Fannie Lou Hamer, Nina Simone; Holocaust victim Hana Reiner, and astrophysicist Eleanor “Glo” Helin, whose asteroid research is celebrated at her place of work, Palomar Mountain. There are the women friends who work wonders, every single day, in fields from astrology to auto mechanics to home renovation.

Mostly, though, I look ahead, to all that my daughter-in-law has left to achieve and to all that my granddaughter can choose. My grandnieces, likewise, have an infinite realm of possibilities in front of them, because of the work that their mothers and grandmothers have put into having their strengths, ideas and dreams recognized and appreciated.

We’re all better off because of what women have done.

Small Havoc

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

March 7, 2026- A heavy rain fell, and there was a fair amount of thunder and lightning, into the mid-morning hours. A branch of one of our trees is partially severed from the main trunk and is now partially covering our front sidewalk. That gives me something to work on tomorrow, when the weather is expected to be nicer. My goal is to at least clear the sidewalk. Working from the outermost edge towards the thick part of the branch, I should be able to get a fair amount of the debris cleared and hauled back to the alley. The larger part of the branch will take a bit longer to clear. Son won’t be back for another two weeks, so I will carefully get what I can done rather than leaving it all for him.

There was a warning of possible tornadoes last night, but none materialized this far south. Our safe zone is a windowless bathroom on the first floor. Strangely, there is no community shelter, but there are plenty of “tornado shelter companies” willing to sell shelters to individual families. I guess the idea that this is an individual endeavour strikes me as odd. The only times that I have been near a tornado, in Missouri and in Ohio, there was an active effort at getting people together in community shelters. Fortunately, we were spared, this time. My condolences to those people in eastern Oklahoma and southeast Michigan who were not so fortunate.

Every part of the world has its drawbacks, either in terms of natural phenomena or of being in the crosshairs of some conflict. There are always innocent victims, in any event. My job now is making sure that my granddaughter isn’t one of them. Not everyone thinks I have her best interests at heart. I guess they will just have to find out. Suffice it to say that no one will hurt her, as long as I am of sound mind and body.

First Laugh

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

March 6, 2026- Hana laughed just before her mother and I had lunch, this noon. It marked the first time either of us had witnessed her chuckling. She is very happy, when we bring her to the bouncy chair at our mealtimes. The sense of being included has already been integrated in her 2 1/2 month old mind. It is a tradition of sorts- Penny and I always had Aram with us at breakfast and dinner. (I didn’t always get back for lunch, but when I did, he was with us then, also.) I initiated having her at table for dinner, and her parents were quick to affirm.

She chuckled periodically, throughout the day-and as I fed her a nightcap bottle, she was thinking about something funny and let the amusement process, laughing quietly before starting to take her nourishment. As the days roll by and she has more experiences in her memory, I fully expect she will find something to joyfully recall. When she develops language, I’m sure she will share them with us.

Dineh people have a tradition, where the first person to make a baby laugh gets to throw a laughing party for the family. I did so once, for a little boy who is now 39 years of age. In Korean tradition, a baby is honoured on the 100th day after birth. Aram, as we were living in Jeju, Korea in the days of his babyhood, was given a 100 Day Party and wore a hanbok, the garb of a baby on the hundredth day. He was also given a tiny ring, which we probably still have in the jewelry box.

Hana will have a hundredth day party. We will also honour her laughter, as well as any other milestones she passes before then. She is likely to have several things to “say” about this. Her cooing and babbling are quite frequent now. We engage her in conversation, to encourage these.

Proactive

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

March 3, 2026- There was a time when I procrastinated, and sloppily put things together at the last minute. I was in eighth grade. and found myself getting further behind, even failing in the “New Math”, which was en vogue at the time. I got myself together, just a bit, and managed to raise my grades to acceptable levels. Grade 9 saw a repeat of the process, with me telling self that four of my six teachers were incompetent. They were, but I didn’t help matters any. Things got better for the last three years of high school. I did well, even in the one class that had an incompetent instructor. The first year of college, or should I say first semester, was a wash. I had not integrated the work habits that a successful run demands.

In the military, I found that the only way to survive in anything is to carefully plan things out. That snapped the losing streak and taught me proactivity. As time has gone on, being proactive has made all the difference between sink and swim. Everything from arranging travel to carefully meeting the needs of my grandchild has to be planned out and have my full attention. This all sounds quite run-of-the-mill, but the fact is that many people talk about and idealize achieving success. Unless the concept of proactivity is integrated, however, old bad habits die hard, and will resurface.

There are three things on my calendar for this week. The first was to take Aram to the airport, for a business trip. That had to be carefully planned out, so that all aspects of the drive, and who does what around the house, in his absence, were understood and integrated into daily schedules. Next is getting my tax return done. Although that is set for tomorrow evening, all the documents were photocopied in advance and the list gone over again, to make sure nothing is left out. The third thing is voting. I went over and cast my vote in one of the primaries, this afternoon. Being a recent registrant, I found that my name had not made it to the rolls, and that therefore, I have to have my provisional ballot “cured”, at the County Elections Office. That, too, could be done tomorrow-or Thursday.

I used to not be present for a lot of what went on in my life. I like it much better, being proactive and attentive.

Iran

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

February 28, 2026- So, the Iranian regime has been upended, partially, by the intense bombing campaign. Whether the retaliation, by the part of the regime that is still intact, will amount to much, remains to be seen. As a member of the Baha’i Faith, I can only hope that the reign of terror that my fellows in Faith in that country have been enduring for nearly 182 years will be mitigated by the reshuffling of the Iranian power deck.

The playing cards analogy is only partly apt. The Islamic Republic is no house of cards. Their security apparatus will need to be reckoned with for some time to come. Even if the IRGC is removed from power, it will splinter into guerilla units, which may well harass the U.S. and other countries for years to come, the way al-Qaeda and IS have been, since the 1990s. It will have Russian help and perhaps Chinese acquiescence.

That said, it is good for the Iranian people, as a whole, that there will be changes made, if not immediately, then in fairly short order. The route of repression has never paid off, anywhere, in the long run. Tyrants from Nero to Pinochet and Ceaucescu have paid a heavy price for brutalizing their people. The Islamic Republic is now beginning to pay for its savagery. Those in other countries who are holding their people down would do well to take note. Those who are tempted to engage in repression should also take heed.

This is not a time for elites and oligarchs to do anything other than exercise humility.

The 28th Amendment

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

February 26, 2026- I have been asked to copy and paste a pass-around from a friend on social media. As a rule, I do not do copy and paste, no matter how important it may be to someone. This is for security reasons. The content of the pass-around, though, addresses an issue that has been important to me for a long time. Below, is the content of a proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

“1.The Congressional Reform Act of 2017 1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office. And, no more perks go with them.

2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress must purchase their own retirement plan, just as ALL Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people (i.e. NO MORE INSIDER TRADING!!!).

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congress made all these contracts by and for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor and privilege, NOT a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work … not get all kinds of freebies.”

This has been proposed before. I can remember hearing an otherwise estimable member of the Unites States Senate, who is now deceased, complain that, under the proposal, he would have to give up his second and third residences. My response at the time: “I know several people who can barely put food on the table for their two children, and struggle to make rent and pay for utilities- in their two-bedroom apartment!”

Let’s get serious about the matter this time around. I was asked to send this to twenty people on Facebook. Well, this is going on that platform-and on Substack. It might even make it to LinkedIn. Far more than twenty should therefore see it.

In other news, Hana lifted her head today and crawled about two inches. That’s something worth cheering. She also has figured out how to amuse herself by making the bouncy chair go up and down.

Cautions

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

February 25, 2026- As I brought Hana downstairs, after her bath this evening, I stopped on the last step before the living room floor. She looked at me and babbled a loud caution-perhaps wondering if I was about to stumble. Little ones have more intuition than we might imagine. No worries, though; I just stepped carefully and all was well.

Earlier today, I brought my Sportage up to the dealer for several items of maintenance. A recall that had been put off for several months was also addressed. It turns out that the ignition switch was plastic-as in “gone in 30 seconds” plastic. It was replaced by a metal switch-which is much harder to pop out.

I spent my wait time during the service call enjoyably, by walking to and from downtown McKinney-a 2.2 mile walk, each way. Reasonable caution is needed, as not all of the route features paved sidewalks. There are, however, nice grassy paths in the unpaved areas, and one just needs to find ways around a couple of construction sites. Once past that, Texas is very good about making sure there are metered crosswalks, at every major intersection. There is a three or four block commercial district, on the other side of US 75, then one gets to walk through a mile-long residential district, a peaceful place of stately homes.

We then come to McKinney’s historic downtown (There are few downtowns that are not regarded as historic, but I digress.) This area is a pedestrian’s delight, with a goodly number of shops and restaurants. For lunch, I chose a breakfast and lunch place called Spoons. A hot, if mild, cup of chicken tortilla soup went well with a meatloaf sandwich. Christina and her team take good care of everyone. I went on to Neighbor Books, ordering a couple of child development volumes by Michael Gurian and Sean Kullman and finally picking up a copy of “Nobody’s Girl”, by Virginia Giuffre. Caution, for a grandparent, especially for the grandfather of a girl, means being completely informed.

No child, no human being, should be viewed as the means to an end.

Observant

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

February 22, 2026- Hana enjoys sitting and watching her mother do simple household tasks. She is very intent while Yunhee folds clothes or cleans countertops. Of course, when Mommy is putting a small piece of furniture together, that brings a smile to Hana’s face. It’s almost as if, the more complicated the task, the more it captivates her. I can see that once she starts walking, Hana will be her mother’s shadow and will probably want to help in small ways.

Babies, being pre-lingual, can learn best by such observation. How ironic it is that so many of those with the power of utterance forget to be observant. There is a seeming disconnect between the five senses and speech. We are at a stage where, for too many, my late father-in-law’s wry comment “In the brain, out the mouth” is a rule of thumb. Pop would have liked Hana, just quietly watching everything that goes on, and only fussing when her initial cues of discomfort are not noticed by her grown-ups.

She has only one standing request, to be included in the life of the family, no matter how quotidian the course of events. It means the world to Hana to be sitting on the lap of one of us at the dinner table-again watching how we eat, listening to our conversations and seeing how we care for one another by passing food around the table and sharing everything.

We could all stand to remember what it’s like to not yet be mobile, and yet so observant, drinking in all the practical skills that will be needed later.