Category Archives: Inspiration

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 27

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Family, Historical, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Striving, Travel

July 18. 2026- Hana greeted the ladies who came to visit us, this afternoon. This was Yunhee’s first real house party, and five of her former co-workers came. Hana likes a small, intimate gathering, but doesn’t like too much noise, or what seems to her like a crowd. I helped her get comfortable with the idea of so many people sitting around the dining table. She understood, when I told her that all the ladies were nice and that they were there to see her, as well as her mother.

It meant a lot to her Mom, and to us men, that this afternoon went well. We enjoyed Korean-style fried chicken, Malaysian empanadas,and Filipino purple yam cake. The conversation centered on dealing with the heaviness in the logistics industry, but floated to topics of fashion, child-rearing and the anomalies that pop up in moving a household, in which two of the ladies-mother and daughter-are now engaged. A comparison between living in Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Greater Atlanta entered into discussion. We also talked of travel in east Asia-Singapore, Korea and the Philippines. It was a lovely afternoon.

When the ladies got ready to leave, Hana spoke loudly, seeming to say “Thank you for coming.” She also smilingly took part in the ladies’ group photo. This evening, it was hard for her to wind down, but after I told her that tomorrow will be another happy day, if she gets a good rest, her father put her in the crib and she rolled over to go to sleep.

HANA’S NOTE- I had fun in the playpen with the first two ladies that came and went to take a nap, after a while. When I woke up, there were three more ladies here. That confused me and at first I was upset. Mommy and Papa got me to understand what had happened. It was fun after that.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE- 1970 This year was spent keeping the mail delivery system at the Tri-Service Barracks at Fort Myer well-functioning. I was able to move into that barracks, myself, after five months. There were many weekends spent in Washington, primarily in Georgetown. I also walked-a lot, around the city, at one point going all the way to Rockville, MD and on another occasion, found myself in Coral Hills, a northeastern suburb. My co-worker, Charlie, was from southeast DC, and commuted each day. He was flabbergasted that I had walked all that way, but it is what I’m used to doing.

I took part in a couple of anti-war demonstrations, and associated with a progressive group that had set up a free university, they called “New University”. I sat in on a few of their lectures. I walked away from the demonstrations, though, after some of the participants started attacking DC police officers. I later learned that there were agents provocateurs among the crowd. My association stopped altogether, after I was directed by my Commanding Officer to join a detail that stockpiled pro-war pamphlets in a DC Public Schools warehouse. Somehow, I was photographed in fatigues at that exercise, and the photos were circulated among identified radical groups,

I met different public figures, during the year: Vice President Spiro Agnew and his wife, on a Georgetown street, with Agnew telling me he was “for the war and am anti-you”; Senator J. Strom Thurmond, who was jogging near the Capitol, and encouraged me to always stay active; Chicago 8 defendant Rennie Davis, who was nervous about being re-arrested and Abbie Hoffman, at a large anti-war event. Hoffman said, “Watch this, kid”, then turned to a TV set that featured Richard Nixon making a speech. He kicked the TV off the stage, into an empty grassy area. I was not impressed, and left right afterward.

I went back and forth from DC to Massachusetts, several times during the year. I met a few young ladies, and basically we passed through each other’s consciousness like ships in the night. In the middle of 1970, one of my neighbourhood friends from Saugus was gravely wounded in VietNam. He survived and is still alive. That, however, along with my increasing annoyance with both sides in the war debate, made me decide to go to Viet Nam and see for myself, what was going on. I asked HQ Company, U.S. Army First Sergeant Harper for help in getting re-assigned, infuriated my pacifist friends-and gave up the easy life at Fort Myer, early in 1971.

It was time for innocence to end.

Korean Onion Chicken

Filipino Purple Yam cake

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 24

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

July 15, 2026- Hana is taking on small responsibilities, with regard to getting dressed and feeding. She puts her sleeves through the body bib at lunchtime and can feed herself if someone puts food on the spoon and hands it to her. She chooses which of two outfits she wants to wear for the day and helps put the onesie or dress over her head. She also sits up straight in the plastic bath tub and is better about letting her mother wash her hair. She already likes to “wipe” the play mat, using a small bamboo cloth.

She is learning a lot by watching the three of us do different tasks. We describe what we are doing, step by step, and she listens with rapt attention. With repetition, much of this will register, as the months roll on. As I mentioned above, she has pretty much mastered sitting up. If she is tired, it helps her to have someone or something to hold onto, but otherwise, my granddaughter is on track, developmentally.

Today, we sat by the window and watched the cement truck pour concrete into the forms for the new sidewalk and landing. After a few minutes, she became more interested in feeling the curtain, but went back to watching the cement pouring after that. We stayed in today, because of the work being done, especially as there was really no room for a stroller anywhere in our immediate front walk.

HANA’S NOTE- I took my medicine tablet by myself, when Papa gave it to me, and I made it dissolve in my mouth. After another little while, I put my arms in the big bib. I like to be helpful.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE- 1967 (I am writing this part, so that Hana may read these reflections, when she gets old enough, and will understand things that happened to her Grandfather.) Junior year saw me break a few rules and set myself on a path with some bad choices. I never got in trouble with the Law, fortunately, but I know my use of alcohol hurt my parents’ hearts and it did me no favours, in the long run. I went to work at Star Market, shortly after I turned 16. As it was three miles from my home, I got rides for the first few months. Then, thanks to the long-suffering, but fastidious, Coach Wall, I earned my Driver’s License. I learned to scan the road on both sides of me, very quickly, and managed to not have an accident, for nearly 47 years-and then, only because someone tampered with the brakes of my car. As for my work at Star, I was diligent, but also maddeningly slow in going about my work. It would have helped, had I listened to my supervisors, but the 16-year-old Gary was not so ready to do that.

The first part of my Senior year saw a budding interest in writing gain support from our English teacher, Mrs. Vande. That course was probably one of the most rewarding classes I’ve had. It’s largely why I am here now. Mr. Quinlan took us through Algebra II. I had two history classes: Latin American History, very rewarding and Asian History, which was fascinating, but for the incompetence of the teacher, proved annoying. Business Law, taught by our then-State Representative, was one of the most useful classes I’ve ever had. Coach Wall and Mr. Bly are two of the reasons I’ve kept out of trouble. Bob Powers, at Star Market, would have been a third, had I listened to the poor man.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 20

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Historical, Inspiration, Personal Values, service, Social, Striving

July 11, 2026- Hana was in her glory, this morning, as she had her Mommy to herself. She delights in my presence, yet, as one might expect, Mother is supreme. While they played and Yunhee fed her lunch, I went on a few errands-at Plano Farmers Market and H.E.B. Gas is a bit cheaper at the latter place than anywhere other than Costco-which is on the southwest end of town. My errands were on the northwest. I got lobster rolls for the three of us adults, as there was a food truck out of Dallas that offered wild-caught lobster, from the Gulf of Maine. That is a once-in-a great-while treat, as you might imagine.

Once back, I played with Hana for a while, showing her again about sitting with both buttocks on the floor. She managed to do that, for several seconds, and began to hop a bit. During the course of the day, and for the past few days, Hana has been vocalizing a lot more also. The cadence of her sounds suggests a message, an urgency, that is also reflected in her face. When we appear to understand that she is serious about the matter, she is pleased and we go through the anticipated needs she may have-food, milk, a clean diaper, exercise-or just someone to be with her. My granddaughter is a social being, much like her father and grandmother.

HANA’S NOTE- Of all the stories that Papa reads me, I like the princess stories the best, especially if the girls have to actually do something. I won’t be a lazy girl. That would be boring.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE, 1963- The first half of this year was not at all bad. I had a generally good experience in the rest of Grade 7. We spent a lot of time at the ocean (Lynn Beach) and at a pond (Breakheart). I had a good summer with the Boy Scouts also-a fair amount of camping. I left, though, at the end of summer-feeling hamstrung by my poor swimming ability. Aquatic skills are required for higher ranks in the Scouts.

Eighth Grade, though, brought hardship. A few bullies made a big deal about my autism, which was not really yet a diagnosed thing back then. I was just “weird”, in their view. I managed to do fairly well, academically, except for Math, where we were set to learn the binary system. The first quarter was terrible,but with tutoring from a next door neighbour, I made it back to ‘B’s and C’s’, the rest of the year. The Math teacher backed me up, when I stood up to the bullies. After that, things were okay for me, personally. For the school as a whole, though, it was one disaster after another. Someone set the old Junior High on fire. It burned to the ground, for the most part, leaving only a small section-which was renovated and became an elementary school. We were sent to the East Wing of the High School. There, we did double sessions, sharing with the freshman high school students. We went during the morning and the 9th graders went in the afternoon. The East Wing would itself later be destroyed by arson. While we were still there, though, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, TX, by a still indeterminate number of shooters. I have, on balance, a sad remembrance of 1963.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 19

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Historical, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Striving

July 10, 2026- Today was the Commemoration of the Martyrdom of al-Bab, a Baha’i Holy Day. On this day, in 1850, al-Bab, the Herald of the Baha’i Dispensation, was executed by firing squad, along with a personal assistant. Baha’is generally gather to say prayers and readings associated with al-Bab, Whose name means “The Gate”, in English. His Teachings were the gate to understanding those of Baha’ullah, Who came after Him.

As Hana is too young to attend such events, I said my own Tablet of Visitation here at the house. Hana sat in the playpen, right in front of me, and listened quietly as I prayed. She does the same when I say my daily morning prayers, each day. I sense that this practice is having an orienting influence on her.

This evening, Yunhee remarked that Hana is much more composed now. She sleeps through the night and only gets irritable when she is hungry. While Yunhee is at work, Hana and I have the feeding routine pretty much down. If she is napping before her medication, she wakes herself on time to receive it. Her lunch meal and bottle feeding are on schedule, as she is awake then and happily watches me prepare the items. I also have her watch me prepare the mid-afternoo0n bottle. After Yunhee gives her the evening feeding, she is ready for a good night’s sleep.

HANA’S NOTE- Papa and I watched some workers take our old sidewalk from in front of the house. Papa says they will put a new one in, next week. Since we also saw them putting in new sidewalks at the end of the street, I know he’s right.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE- 1962 It was a year of transition. I finished Grade 6. Boys began teasing one another about things of which I had no idea. One of the “faster” kids in my neighbourhood noticed my naivete and talked to me about some of it. My father also gave me “The Talk”, before I entered Grade 7.

I had my share of friends in my immediate neighbourhood. Eddie and Allan were the closest, of the boys. After Ellen moved, I would go by her old house and hang out with the Geotis kids, whose father let me stomp grapes for his homemade wine. I got a glass or two of grape juice, that their mother set aside from the batch that was to be fermented. A group of us boys played touch football, in the middle of the street. Some men driving home from work would go around us. Others demanded we stop and make a hole for them. I was probably the worst of the players, but some of the boys felt it was a good thing to include even a klutz like me.

Grade 7, Junior High School, brought the concept of rotating between classes. I had a good Math teacher, Mr. Anzalone, a large man with a booming voice and quick temper, who also had a keen sense of humour and a heart of gold. My Social Studies and Science teachers were also competent. Mr. Anzalone talked with us about current affairs, during our home room time. This was the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and President Kennedy took a firm stance with the Soviet Union. We froze our missiles in Turkey and they, their missiles in Cuba. Thus, did cool heads walk back from the brink of nuclear war.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 17

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

July 8, 2026– “AMPA!!” My granddaughter called to me, while she was in the playpen and I was in another room. She keeps close tabs on loved ones.

These things also happened today: A spammer called me and left a voice mail: “Gary, can you hear me?” I deleted the call and the voice mail. I do not answer anyone who hides behind a number.

Aram dealt very well with a private matter that was making him nervous. He handled it himself, as I knew he could.

Hana fed herself some of the beef and spinach that could be easily picked up with her fingers. I told her I was proud of her. I, of course, fed her the rest of the meal.

We went out for our walk, before the temperature got too hot, just before her lunch. The sidewalks are being replaced at the cul-de-sac corners, so the first part of our walk involved sharing the cul-de-sac with a couple of vehicles. We had enough room to pull off to the side, until they went by. The rest of the sidewalk was open.

After her lunch, I brought Hana into the kitchen, while I fixed mine. When she saw the container of sliced watermelon, she said “watermelon!”, in a hopeful manner. I told her I’d have to ask her mother first. Yunhee said, this evening, that she thinks watermelon is too sweet for Hana right now. The girl was sitting there and more or less shrugged her shoulders.

HANA’S NOTE- So many yummy-looking things in this house. I get a few of them. Mommy says NO to sugar and salt. Those must be not good for me. I would eat them anyway, so I am glad my grownups keep me safe.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE, 1960- Grade 4 ended, with me knowing all multiplication and division tables, cold, as well as the steps for long division. Mrs. Kimball, it turned out, had been dealing with a serious health issue. She would only teach a few more years,

My second brother, Glenn, came along, right after school was out for summer. All three of us boys were in one bedroom, after he reached six month, and was in a crib. That was while I was in Grade 5. Miss Hanlon, our teacher, told us that a man and a woman working together can accomplish a lot more than two men or two women. I saw this in action, with my parents, especially once Dad went back to day shift. Miss Hanlon taught us more about kickball, which the previous two teachers had started letting us play. I was never very good in sports, but I could at least kick the ball to the outfield and catch it fairly well.

John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States. We were all proud because he was from Massachusetts and was fairly young.

Saddest of all, though, we lost our Grandma. She was the one who kept Cheryl and me feeling secure, when both of our parents had to go grocery shopping on Saturday mornings, when we lived on Central Street. She would come to visit us on Adams Avenue, taking the bus to the corner and walking up the street, always wearing a full dress. I missed her terribly.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 15

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

July 6, 2026- After a fitful sleep last night, my granddaughter slept much of the day, and still had no trouble drifting off to sleep this evening. She doesn’t seem sick at all. She is highly intuitive, though, and like her grandmother, is jolted awake by what appear to be intense dreams. She can’t tell us what they are about, so all her parents can do is hold her until she feels safe again.

It is just as well that she needed so much rest. The folks drove off with the stroller, as we’d used it for yesterday’s outing, and just forgot to bring it back inside. So, Hana and I were stuck inside for the day. She can only sit and listen to stories for so long, and the play pen gets old after a few hours. She does like sitting and watching me take care of certain tasks,cleaning the kitchen or folding her clothes. I explain what I’m doing, so she can put words to actions. She indicates understanding by saying “Yeah” or “okay”.

HANA’S NOTE: I don’t know what to call it, but there was a scary thing that made me scream in my sleep, last night. Daddy was there to make me feel safe. I felt better during the day, since Papa was also there to protect me, in case the scary thing was real.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-1958 During the second half of Grade 2, we started more study of science. Mr. Eddy, the Superintendent of Schools, came by a few times and told us that the United States would have a Space Program and would also be sending rockets into space. We also started having air raid drills. Some of us thought Mrs. McCarrier had said earache drills, but we got under our desks anyway, when the siren went off. I never had earaches, so it struck me as just a few minutes of pretending I was hiding in a fort.

Grade 3 brought us under the tutelage of Miss Nugent, a young, very pretty woman. She was , more importantly, an excellent teacher of multiplication and I had Tables 1-6, 8 and 10 mastered by December. Mom made me practice my cursive writing at home Between Mom and Miss Nugent, I also made progress in reading and was at Fifth Grade level by December. I realized one other thing- I was definitely drawn to pretty girls and having a lovely teacher didn’t hurt.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 11

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

July 2, 2026- Hana and I figured a way for her to actually enjoy beef. I tenderized the meat, more than what the food processor was doing, by heating it in a saucepan, with a little water and what was left of the cabbage. This made a mid-afternoon snack, as she was too tired to finish her lunch, and took a two-hour nap.

She is constantly on the move, inside her play pen, thus she gets tired after about ninety minutes of crawling around and doing pushups, as a means of readying herself for sitting upright. I help her to sit back, and she can keep that posture for about two minutes, without support. After her snack and 3 p.m. feeding, she went for another such round of exercise, then fell asleep in my arms, around 5:15. As soon as her parents walked in the door, home from work, she woke up and was happy to see them.

Her favourite plush toys remain Rion the Lion and Pompompurin. The little golden retriever is in the crib with her. The lion rules the play pen. She likes to lie on it, when taking a breather. Her favourite story book, at the moment is “365 Stories and Rhymes”, which has a number of g-rated fairy tales and nursery rhymes. “Four and Twenty Blackbirds”, for example, has snipped the part about the blackbird snipping off the cook’s nose. I appreciate the clean-up. Kids will experience enough hardness, soon enough in their lives.

HANA’S NOTE- I speak up for myself. When I am tired, I let Papa know it. He is good about not pushing me past my limit.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE- 1954 I made a few friends in the Lynnhurst neighbourhood. One of them liked to sneak things. I told him I would share with him if he would only ask for something. We were only three, but I already knew better. I didn’t know, though, that I was supposed to ask before just walking up to my Grandma’s, which involved crossing a street. I did look both ways before crossing, but not telling Mom where I was going, got me a hair brush to my rear end, when my uncle had to come and get me from Grandma’s.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 10

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

July 1, 2026- Hana can claim Canada as an ancestral home, along with Korea (her mother’s side); Ireland, Germany, France and the Penobscot Nation (on my side); Scotland, England, Lithuania and Romania (on Penny’s side). The Canadian ties are also on my side of the equation. My paternal grandfather’s forebears hailed from Montreal and Shediac, NB. Nana’s ancestors stopped for several years in Prince Edward Island, before heading “down the turnpike for New England, sweet New England.”-*

Canadians celebrate their National Day today. I’ve been in the country on July 1, once-years ago, in the border town of St. Stephen, NB. There, I saw a joyful parade go by, and I recall picking up a Canadian flag that had been dropped on the sidewalk, and propping it against a shop window. I’ve also been in the country on June 30, and having had to not stick around until the next day, because of the need to get to an American bank on July 1. There are all the other times that I’ve been north of the border, and had fabulous stays-in each of the ten provinces. I wish the Canadian people a grand Canada Day. It has, from my perspective, been a good year to be Canadian.

I will tell Hana lots of stories about my travels, as she gets older-and hopefully will be able to include her in a few that are yet to come. Right now, our jaunts are along neighbouring streets and Hoblitzelle Park; any place that can be accessed by a stroller. I want her to become very familiar with the neighbourhood, so that by the time she is of pre-school and kindergarten age, she will be able to find her way home, in a pinch. (The occasions when that would be necessary are likely to be few and far between, but it can’t hurt to have that knowledge.

HANA’S NOTE: I mostly fall asleep in the stroller, these days. Papa takes me out in the morning, before it gets too hot, but I still get lulled by the motion of the stroller.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE: 1952- Cheryl came to be with us. We moved to Central Street, Saugus. (1951, and ’53, are ciphers. I can’t think of anything that stood out in my life, those years.)

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 8

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

June 29, 2026- Hana likes plain yogurt, both as a light supper and as facial make-up. She managed to get some of it into her belly, tonight, but a good part of it covered her face and hands. It was a safe item to use for giving her a chance to try to feed herself, so that’s what happened.

We usually take 40 minutes to an hour for her lunch. She can only eat half a spoonful at a time, even of pureed foods. I take a very leisurely pace, with my main goals being getting her to enjoy eating and to derive the greatest nutritional value from what her mother has plated for her.

This afternoon, a workman made a brief call, to tend to something small in the master bedroom. As Hana was napping in her crib, he and I were extra quiet. She pooped her head up, anyway. wanting to see what was going on. The little girl is a light sleeper, like her paternal grandmother-not a storm snoozer, like her father. I got her out of the crib and she watched the rest of the proceedings. Of course, she needed more sleep after he left, so I let her sleep in my arms, while we sat in the recliner.

An advance gift came today-her ear muffs for the Independence Day fireworks. Her little ears don’t need to endure the bangs and booms that are certain to go off, in Hoblitzelle Park-probably Thursday night (There is always a purist, who points out that the Founding Fathers wanted to go with July 2, originally), as well as Friday and Saturday nights. She will most likely be asleep by the time the light shows start, but one can’t be too careful.

HANA’S NOTE: Papa can’t put anything by me. I sleep with one eye open.

The Hana Chronicles, Month 6, Day 7

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, Family, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual

June 28, 2026- Hi, everyone! It’s Hana, Papa’s favourite girl. Since my grandfather is at the Red Cross Donor Center this morning, I am taking the reins of the blog site-since it’s in my name.

I just want to let you all know how I see things. My family is pretty tight. When I cry or call out, all three of them are at my side in a flash. I sense that not every kid has that kind of family devotion. I’ve heard Papa talk about people who yell at children. I’m glad no one yells at me-at least not yet.. My grown-ups hold me to a few rules, but nothing that is not fair to where I am as a person.

I am mostly a happy baby. My plush toys comfort me, when the Bigs are all doing something around the house. Usually, though, someone is either in the play pen with me or sitting in the recliner nearby. Papa reads a bunch of what he calls his morning prayers, every weekday morning, before we do anything else. I hear him upstairs, on weekends, doing the same thing. He and I go on walks every weekday that it isn’t raining. Now that it is the hot and dry season, we will go outside in the early morning, right after prayers. At least that’s the plan for now. The four of us go outside on weekends, before it gets too hot.

Let me tell you about my plush toy friends. They all come from Japanese cartoons: Pompompurin ( a dog); Ryon (a lion); Hello Kitty (yep, she’s a cat) and Tottoro ( a giant rabbit). I also have Sonya ( a plastiic female hedgehog) and Renata (a colourful wooden Mexican girl doll). Mommy says I need to be careful with Renata, but she seems pretty solid.

You know what’s the neatest new thing? I get to sit in my high chair for all the family meals! I used to sit in a bouncy chair, behind my Mom, and had to talk loudly so no one would forget I was there. It got lonesome, especially when the Bigs would all be talking about stuff at my parents’ jobs or things about the house or yard. Now, I can listen and offer my own opinions. Like when my Daddy hurt himself, yesterday, while Papa was upstairs. When he came down to see what had happened, I told him all about it! Of course, Daddy spoke for himself too. It is what he calls “agency”. I guess I will find out more about that. Papa says I should speak up for myself-and believe me, I do!

Well, that’s it for now. Papa is coming home and he says he’s bringing sandwiches from a deli. My parents are happy at that news. I’m okay with it, even though there’s no sandwich for me. I am going to eat part of a banana. I like bananas. They’re sweet-and they’re fun to play with! Have a Happy Sunday, everybody!