Category Archives: Inspiration

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 14

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 4, 2026- Hana listened, with rapt attention, as a home foundation specialist was explaining his observations to her mother and me. How much she retains from this sort of discourse is anyone’s guess. but it would seem to bode well for when she sits in a classroom and expected to pay attention.

My granddaughter has a very strong sense of place and is finding her way into participating in various situations. There is a canister, in which Yunhee stores yellow beans. Hana used it as a hand drum, this evening after dinner. I played a drum given me by a friend in Arizona, about eight years ago. She stopped her own drumming and started to dance a little bit.

Between her increasing vocalizations and keen awareness, I sense this Autumn is going to find a very active little girl keeping everyone busy.

HANA’S NOTE- I like drums and I am sure Papa will let me play his drum, as long as I don’t try to chew the stick.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2018 When one reaches a certain level, in personal growth, the Universe is there to put that growth to the test. This was a year for me to be tested

The first several months were quiet and peaceful enough. The Spring semester went well in the Autism Program and I made a visit to southern California, focused on Orange County alone-as Aram had been transferred to Busan, South Korea and was thus back to his roots. In June, I headed off on another lengthy cross-continental journey. Carson City was my first stop, for a three-day visit with one of my soul families. Then came places like Pioche, NV; Salida, UT; Limon, CO. Sedalia, MO; Carthsge. Il and my customary stops in Wilmette and Mishawaka.

I felt comfortable about driving in Canada, and so explored a bit of London, ON and Toronto, before stopping in Montreal for a weekend. As it happened, it was Formula 1 Racing Weekend, and the town was a madhouse. I still found a hostel in which to spend Friday night and Sunday night. Saturday would be at an Air BNB, I took in a great deal of Montreal on Saturday, and when it came time for an afternoon walkabout near McGill University, I parked Elantra on a quiet stretch of road, west of the University. 40 minutes later, I returned. My belongings, a suit to be worn at a family wedding and an anniversary gift were all in the back seat. That turned out to be a dumb arrangement. The back left window of the car had been smashed and my laptop, with my passport, was gone. Everything else was left. Once the insurance company had been called and the police had come along and processed the scene, I took Elantra to a parking garage, taped a plastic bag over the window frame and went with my bag to the Air Bnb. I was the only guest, amazingly, so the owner said I could take turns sleeping in each of the the three bedrooms. I found one to be more than sufficient. After a Sunday of exploring more of downtown, I was treated like royalty at the same hostel where I had spent Friday night. On Monday morning, I reported my lost passport to the U.S. Consulate, which alerted the border station in Champlain, NY, that I was cleared to re-enter the U.S. After getting my window replaced, I bid farewell to Montreal and drove to Plattsburgh, NY-my maternal grandmother’s hometown. Grama watched over me the rest of the way. I took in Ausable Chasm, historic sites in Scranton, and Valley Forge, over the next few days, followed by an evening visit to Oley.

Next came Philadelphia, and the wedding of my youngest niece. Aram and Yunhee, seriously dating, flew all the way from Korea for the wedding. It was an exquisite affair, and my family wholeheartedly welcomed Yunhee. The next day was Father’s Day. We all enjoyed the post-wedding brunch at the hotel where the wedding party was staying. Then the three of us bid farewell to the family and went off to explore more of Philadelphia. After an early dinner, I bid bon voyage to Aram and Yunhee, who had to head clear back to Korea on Monday morning. My destination for the evening was Baltimore. I spent the day there, including a visit to Fort McHenry-one of the places we didn’t get to visit on our journey in 2007.

The road then took me southward, with a three-day visit to eastern Virginia’s historic sites- Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. A short visit with a dear Xanga friend, in Virginia Beach, preceded the historical jaunt. I made what would be my last visit with my mother-in-law, in Spring Hill, FL, afterward, and bought a new laptop there, thus not having to depend on my phone for all communication. Driving back across the South, I visited another Xanga friend in Crossville, TN, then drove westward, taking in the Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, as well as Beale Street. Three days later, I was back in Prescott.

Passing the test of losing a couple of important possessions was not all that hard. In the Fall, a well-meaning friend thought I needed female companionship. I had a good lady friend in Prescott, already, but he had “a better idea”. The person with whom he connected me was unsettled, had been abused in childhood and was quietly seething-looking for a target. She saw fit to question my very worth as a human being, essentially. After two weeks of turbulence, we agreed it was not a good idea for either of us, to continue our friendship.

Shortly after that debacle, my mother-in-law passed, after a long battle with dementia. She was feisty and opinionated, in her active life, so it was hard to see her suffer, and even harder to see her youngest daughter bear the brunt of the issues that arose from her illness. We gathered at Arlington National Cemetery, in December, and bid her farewell.

2018 ended with my self-concept and equilibrium in balance. The Red Cross was calling on me more often, I was involved in Slow Food Prescott and was becoming a regular volunteer at Prescott Farmers Market. I was almost out of harm’s way.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 13

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 3, 2026- Hana’s new idea was to see if she could climb out of the playpen. I assured her that there were no footholds high enough for such s feat, and that if there were, one of us would not permit our little daredevil to get herself hurt. When I asked her if she wanted to walk a bit, her response was “Umm, no.”, and she was content for a bit to just stand at the window sill and look out on the front yard. She changed her mind after a few minutes and I helped her walk to her Mom’s office, where she called out to a delighted Yunhee.

She has been telling us little stories, all day. Most of them seem to be about her Little Critter books. She pointed to three of them sitting on the table near our recliner, and listened contentedly, as I read each of them to her. When she went back into the playpen, her “5-Minute Little Critter Stories” anthology had to go in there with her, and she sat with it for several minutes. just touching the cover and looking at a few pages inside.

HANA’S NOTE- I wish I could climb up something. I want to be able to do something that’s a little bit hard.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2017 Three years ago, I told people at Mont St. Michel that i hoped to return to that area, this year. That did not happen. I invested a small amount of money in a community development effort in Africa, having remembered how young men from Togo and Benin were having to go to France, in order to look for meaningful work. The organizers of that project, though, were full of excuses and kept moving the goal posts for its completion. They did not accept any of my ideas and asked for more and more funds. I cut them off, after two months of back and forth. It was smelling very much like a scam.

I was doing okay, though, working with Special Needs students, full time. I finished with the ED class in May and transferred into working with Autistic students at Prescott High School, in the Fall. I felt very much drawn to them, being on the spectrum myself.

Adventure across the Southwest, and across the continent, continued. I enjoyed hiking in Spur Cross Ranch, Cave Creek; Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, in Superior, an interesting town,where I befriended a nice group of people who were operating Sun Flour Cafe and Boutique; and Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, near Silver City, NM. Summer travels took me to Massachusetts and to southern Maine, where I helped celebrate one of my paternal aunt’s 84th birthday. I enjoyed walking along the shoreline, in York, ME; visiting Green Acre Baha’i school, in Eliot and as always, spending time with Mom.

The cross country adventures included hikes in Brandywine, PA, Antietam, MD, Harpers Ferry and Charles Town, WV, the Falls of the Ohio, near Louisville and “The Hollow”, in Sedan, KS. A very moving and meaningful visit to the Museum of the American Revolution, in Philadelphia, with my brother, Dave was followed by a tour of the Museum for Art in Wood, one of the most unique features in the City of Brotherly Love. Xanga friends were welcoming in Oley, Mishawaka, Goshen(IN), Enid and Amarillo. I even took the time, after Antietam, to visit the home of Stonewall Jackson, in Lexington, VA-learning that one of the most infamous of Confederate officers had taken the trouble to surreptitiously teach his enslaved house servants to read the Bible. (That was against Virginia law at the time.)

I was gradually again becoming someone I actually liked. The year ahead would put that to the test.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 12

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

September 2, 2026- “Yeah, I got it.” Such was Hana’s response when I noted she had one of her favourite books. Mercer Mayer’s “Grandma, Grandpa and Me”, featuring his character, Little Critter. Sometimes, I think she is amused by how often we fawn over her activities. She may well already have a view of herself as an ordinary person, who hasn’t done anything special. To me, though, she will always be special-and worthy of praise.

I went for my thrice a year dental check-up, this morning, after running Aram back to the house, after he dropped his car off for service. I thought I would be late for the appointment, but in fact had the hour wrong, and so, was fifty minutes early. The teeth are in good shape, as are Hana’s-with the first stages of her top lateral incisors (canines) starting to poke through.

Hana is easy to please at our adult mealtimes. All she needs are bits of fruit on her high chair tray, as she has already had lunch and dinner, by the time we three sit down. She just wants to feel like she is a part of what’s happening.

HANA’S NOTE- I was happy today, because my Daddy worked from home and I got to have lunch with him. Papa brought some food from wherever he went this morning. It was all grownup food, though.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2016 My Altima died, in Newtown, CT, after taking me clear to my mother’s house in Massachusetts and getting an oil change at the shop I have used, when in Saugus. No one there noticed anything strange. Yet, when I pulled into a gas station in Newtown, intending to simply fill up and head south towards Pennsylvania, the car started smoking. A gallon of coolant did nothing, three strong men volunteered to help me push the Altima into a parking space and the car was towed to a junkyard. A taxi dropped me, and my bags, off at a motel in Bethel-10 miles away. Thanks to my middle brother, I scored a nice Hyundai Elantra, and after three days in Bethel, I bid farewell to the Altima, and was on my way south again.

This was not a year to go to Brazil, Argentina and Chile, as I once had planned. It was a good summer for visiting Fort Sumner, joining “Christmas in July” (at a cousin’s house in Missouri), taking in Independence Day in central Indiana, visiting Bushkill Falls (where my in-laws had honeymooned, back in 1948) and making the rounds in Amarillo, Enid, Wilmette, Mishawaka, Oley and at my family’s various residences. The Elantra took me safely down to Harrisonburg, VA, Atlanta, Spring Hill, FL and across the south, eventually stopping in Boulder and Longmont, CO, then back down to Arizona.

I helped my homeless friend find a safe place to live-and to feel wanted, possibly for the first time in his long life. I saw justice done to a grifter who had tried to bilk about a hundred of us, some out of their life savings. He paid as much back as he could, went to prison and the rest of us moved on.

In the Fall, I took on work in another classroom full of special needs children, led at first by a snarky former pre-school teacher, then by a more qualified Special Needs teacher, who appreciated my efforts. 2017 looked to be a bit more promising, with a reliable car, a stable job and good standing in the community, largely due to my volunteer efforts.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 11

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, Historical, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 1, 2026- Hana made an assisted walk from the recliner in the living room to the sofa in the family room-a distance of about 75 feet. We took three short breaks, of less than a minute, along the way. She decided when the breaks would happen and when the walk would resume. As she gets taller, it is easier on my back.

My granddaughter is also answering “Yeh”, when asked if she feels good about something. “No” will come soon enough, I suppose. She continues to be very chatty, especially with her mother. The other side is that she is starting to understand when Yunhee has to tend to other things, and Hana is getting better at playing by herself.

We noticed, this evening, that she is outgrowing her little bath tub. It will soon be time to use a larger vessel, that will have to be fit inside the master bath tub, rather than inside the kitchen sink. This growth spurt is amazing-and it won’t be the last.

HANA’S NOTE- I am starting to really understand Papa’s and Daddy’s language. They call it English. I can make sense of Mama’s language, just a little. She calls it Hangu’l-mar. Papa calls it Korean. Mostly, I just know how Mama feels, by how she talks.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2015 I have remained committed to visiting the places that Penny and I had listed, but had never gotten around to seeing. Some of that was done this year. I also drove across the South, to Florida, with the aim of helping to celebrate my mother-in-law’s birthday. After visiting a Xanga friend, in Lynn Haven, near Panama City, I headed towards The Villages, where the family lived. Outside Ocala, I got a call that said, essentially, the visit was off. Dementia does hard things to its victim and to the family. I headed back to Tallahassee and spent a day or so, taking in the capital, then went up to Sylacauga, AL and spent a few hours with another Xanga friend. (Xanga, for the uninitiated, was a blogsite, to which I belonged between 2008-11. I have visited several friends-particularly in Orange County, CA; Oklahoma,, Amarillo, Portland, Washington State, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Oley, PA.)

My drive back gave me time to check out the five missions of the Alamo, and to take in the Trans-Pecos region, between Uvalde and El Paso. Marfa was a town that I found most interesting.

Back in Prescott, I had drawn the attention of a homeless man, who had not experienced such a kind life. I took him places that he needed to go and let him shower in the apartment, every so many days. He himself ran afoul of some rather rough people in town, and when they spotted him in my KIA Optima, there was retribution. On the Saturday before Easter, as I was driving back from a hike in the Payson area, my brakes snapped and I ended up in a ditch. The Optima was toast, and while I was assessed a Defensive Driving class, the attendant at the police impound yard noted that the brake lines had been cut. I left the matter to the police to investigate. I was physically okay, got adjusted by my chiropractor and went about getting another vehicle.

The Nissan Altima had significant issues with its transmission, after about three weeks. I got what seemed to be a fix, then bid my homeless friend adieu and headed north for few weeks. I got as far as Hawthorne, NV, had a hard time with the vehicle, and had visions of being in the town of one auto repair shop through Memorial Day weekend, until God knew when. I got one of those spirit messages that come every so often: “We’re going to get you to Reno.” The car started, and by the grace of God, through my late, beloved wife, her father, and most likely my own dear dad, I got to a Casino parking lot, in Sparks, and had the Altima towed the rest of the way to Reno. A good transmission shop had the car back in tip top shape, after a week. I had a nice visit with my friends in Reno and Carson City, in the meantime.

Then came Alaska. I drove through northern California, Oregon and Washington, leaving the Altima in a secure lot in Bellingham. The ferry took me to Wrangell, Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan. I found magic in each of those places, and would gladly return, though so far it hasn’t been to be in the cards. On the way back, I went up to Vancouver for a day or so, then drove over to Anacortes, WA and hopped on another ferry, this one going to Sidney, BC, and from there to Victoria. It was National Aboriginal Day there, so I joined the festivities and took a tour led by a member of the Songhees First Nation. A huge amount of Aboriginal history was imparted that afternoon.

I observed Father’s Day in Monroe, WA, enjoying a fine Italian meal, and stayed in a nice little cabin by the river. The days ahead took me through eastern Washington, western Idaho, and back through Oregon’s “Outback”, another stop in Reno and back, safely, to Prescott.

The rest of the year was fairly peaceful. I covered a third grade class, in a charter school, for a few months and successfully taught the kids to sing “Winter Wonderland”, in choral style. Some of those children remained close to me, even until their graduation from high school, nine years later.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 10

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

August 31, 2026- Hana knows that her Papa is hurting a bit right now. My best friend in Prescott is dealing with a life-threatening disease. The person who did the work of ten people is now sidelined. It is a gut punch for me. I can only imagine what it must be like for her children and grandchildren.

My granddaughter has been trying to make me feel better, even as she has no knowledge of suffering, let alone the likelihood of death. I want to keep it that way, for as long as possible. So, we went on our stroller walk, this morning and I did a solo jaunt this evening, after dinner. Hana talked to me during our morning walk, looking happily at the trees and rocks around Russell Creek, and the solid bridge that pases over it.

That brings me to the other shockers- The flash floods that ravaged opposite parts of the world. Nepal and Tibet have been devastated by glacial breakage that led to multiple villages, on both sides of the border, being wiped off the face of the Earth. Thousands have been killed. There is likely more to come. At the bottom of the Grand Canyon, every bridge that crossed Bright Angel Creek was swept away by a torrent. 2 are dead and 15 people remain missing, Two tragedies, one almost unfathomable and one painfully symbolic.

HANA’S NOTE- I don’t know what dying means,but Papa looked sad when he talked with Daddy about his friend. I don’t want Papa to be sad.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2014 I wasn’t completely ready to travel overseas, but I went anyway. I promised my ailing father-in-law that I would travel to Normandy, for the 70th anniversary of D-Day and I did. He passed away, three weeks before that, and I did a boomerang journey to attend his funeral in New Jersey, return to Prescott for two weeks then go back to Newark, to catch a plane to Frankfurt-by way of Montreal and Ottawa. Four days in Paris preceded the D-Day events. I took in the Louvre, Versailles and Trocadero. I fended off some Roma “goldsmiths” and twice as many trinket vendors, most of them recent arrivals from French-speaking parts of Africa. A visit to Rouen brought me to the ruins of a church, where my ancestors had been baptized-right next to the spot where Joan of Arc had been burned at the stake. I spent some time in the dungeon where she had been held. Then came D-Day observances, of which I took in the daytime events and passed on a late night recreation of the landing.

Rennes, Mont St.Michel, Amiens, Lille, Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Bastogne, Luxembourg and Frankfurt followed. Lastly, came Berga, where my father-in-law had been held as a prisoner-of-war, for the last six months of World War Ii. He was a Jew, and yet made it out alive, with American troops coming into the camp, right after the German troops had left. The area around the camp had a harrowing ambiance, still. Berga town, and nearby Jera, had the air of cities in recovery, having been part of the former East Germany, until 1989.

In October, I flew to Honolulu and met Aram and his ship, then took my place on what was billed a “Tiger Cruise”. Family members of crew joined the return to San Diego. I spent most of the time with Aram at his station and enjoyed the peacefulness of the open ocean. Whales and dolphins appeared alongside the ship, a few times.

I still had a way to go, in reaching stability, but I held my own on these long journeys. I also sold the house in Prescott, on behalf of my mother-in-law, sent her the proceeds, and moved into a one-bedroom apartment. The year ahead would be even more restorative.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 2

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

August 23, 2026- With her feet firmly planted on the ground, Hana held onto the re-organized wall of the playpen for nearly ten minutes. When she decided to sit down, she looked down at the mat and planned out her breaking of the fall, using both hands and both feet to make for a soft landing.

I was largely absent today, working an 11-3 shift at a Red Cross Blood Donation Center, in Irving, about a 30-minute drive from here. The family went on a shopping trip, before I left, so I didn’t see them again until nearly 4 p.m. Hana was asleep, when I first came home, but hearing me talking with her father, she called out and wanted to be taken out of the crib. In short order, she was back to pulling herself up, standing for several minutes, letting herself back down and starting over again. The calisthenics can last for thirty minutes at a time.

She also likes to be seated at the table when we are gathered there, even when she has already had her meal. It is just a sign of how important family time is to the little girl. We give her teething toys and cardboard books that she can hold and focus on the covers, which she likes to touch and study. Being included gives her much more stability and security.

HANA’S NOTE- Daddy changed where the playpen is, so now I can’t grab the curtains. Shucks!

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2006 Penny fell asleep in a faculty meeting. For this, she received a letter of reprimand form the principal. When this matter came to the attention of the Human Resources Director, Penny was offered a generous disability package and enhanced insurance. She was allowed to retire. This came about, just as she was adjusting to being wheelchair bound. Other physical challenges also presented a problem. It was just time to focus all our efforts on make life least stressful for her as possible.

Still, in all this, she began studying for her third Master’s Degree, this time in Educational Technology. at Arizona State University-West Campus. As Aram was finishing his senior year in high school, there was his mother, forging ahead in another area of knowledge. I was supplementing income, over the summer, by working at Washington Inventory Service, and was soon joined there by my son. I worked for them for three years, along with substituting in Dysart and Glendale Union. With all this, Aram and I managed to meet Penny’s needs at home.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 7, Day 30

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

August 20, 2026- Hana spoke clearly-“Papa, you can do this.”, as I struggled with the safety straps on her newly-installed car seat, this morning. In the end, I needed some reminders from Aram, over the phone, but she was right, I did a thing-I got her safely strapped in and off we went to my chiropractor’s office for my semi-monthly adjustment. Hana was along for the ride, and was quiet, while I was adjusted and afterward, while I paid the tab. I got her safely strapped in for the ride home and the rest of the day was quiet.

My granddaughter is going through a growth spurt, both physically and mentally. She is nearly 30″ tall and almost 19 pounds. Her vocalizations are ever more understandable. She can project her voice quite well-and not just when she is upset. She also likes to get into mischief, and so has had some clear boundaries drawn, which she is slowly accepting without a whole lot of fuss. “No playing with food, or eating utensils” is my mantra at lunch and dinner.

HANA’S NOTE- I thought it was funny to open my mouth and let food fall out. Papa didn’t think so, and it was put right back on my spoon and back into my mouth. Oh, well, at least he plays around with me in the playpen.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2003 I had a steady job for the 2002-03 Academic Year-as an elementary school counselor for a small group of Special Needs students. It was only for a year, but it gave me a chance to do what I do best, professionally.

That was about the only thing that approached normality in this most jarring of years. In late April, Penny felt faint, while waiting for a Memorial Service to start, in a treeless cemetery, in east Phoenix. She fell backwards and her head hit a cinder block. She said she felt fine afterwards, but we got her checked at an ER for good measure. Not much out of the ordinary showed on the brain scan.

Two weeks later, as she was prepping for an unrelated procedure, she again lost her balance and fell into a bathtub, hitting her head against the wall tiles. This triggered a long-dormant neurological disease. Gradually, she went from walking more slowly on her own, to needing a cane, By October, she needed to use a walker.

We moved out of Sierra Pines, in early September, having purchased a nice, cozy one-story house, in a fairly quiet neighbourhood, in midtown Phoenix, on the near west side. Moving was accomplished over Labor Day weekend. By then, I had secured a job as a mathematics teacher, at a middle school, three blocks north of the house. I could walk to work. Penny still worked at El Mirage, but had moved into a Special Education position. Aram was a sophomore at Cortez, despite having moved out of its attendance area.

My choice of jobs was another bad move. Though I got along with most of the students, and both of my female co-teachers, relations with the Team Lead and with the administrators were not good. Their thinly-veiled disdain for my disabled wife made things that much worse.

One bright spot, though, was a 75th birthday celebration for my mother, who had never had a celebration in her honour, alone, in all my years, anyway.. Most of her surviving siblings were there, along with a few of my Dad’s siblings and the oldest of her grandchildren. We spent the next day in Boston, taking in some of her favourite sites, riding around on a “jump on and off” bus. We ended the weekend with a large gathering in her backyard, with all the grandchildren present. Family can be healing.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 7, Day 29

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

August 19, 2026-Hana finally had enough of a dry chicken tender and tipped her plate over, onto the high chair tray. I put everything back onto the plate, and after she had composed herself again (after about ten minutes), heated the meat in a slight water base. She finished all the vegetables and grains-and ate about half of the chicken, then pushed the plate away- There was nothing rude about the last action; she was just not a fan of what was probably a tasteless item. I think this girl will be happy when her pediatrician gives the go-ahead for adding herbs and spices to her diet. She is, generally speaking, a plate cleaner, not a plate dumper.

My granddaughter is on a larger mission. She can already stand, for ten minutes, with just one hand holding onto a bar of the playpen. She can take 4-5 steps, if someone is supporting her. Her speech has the appropriate cadence, intonation reflective of her mood and even a questioning inflection, when she wants to know something. I can usually interpret what she is saying, based on context.

There was good news, when her mother got home this evening. Yunhee will have next week off. Hana will turn eight months old on Saturday, and have her mother’s company for the week. She seemed to get a bit of what her mother was saying-and smiled at the three of us, one at a time.

HANA’S NOTE- Papa can be stubborn, and I guess I can be, also. He is not mean, though, and when I lose my temper, he just keeps calm. I need that.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2002 This seemed to be a year for the abductions of girls, on a more open scale than in the past. There was the case of Elizabeth Smart, taken from her home, in June. She would be held captive until March, 2003. There was Erica Pratt, kidnapped near her home in Philadelphia, held in a house and able to escape, the next day, by chewing through the duct tape that bound her wrists and smashing a window. Some nearby children helped her get out of the house and alerted police. Other girls were not as fortunate; and some were killed, While the number of victimized girls was probably not any larger than the all too great number of such cases, every year, the media finally was getting sensitive to the phenomenon, in part because of the work of John Walsh and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The nation was also still dealing with the aftermath of September 11, and November 12, 2001-as well as the “Shoe Bomber”, who attempted to set of an explosive in his shoe, while on a Transatlantic flight, in December of the the previous year. A botched attempt to fly a plane into a bank headquarters, in Tampa and attacks on a Jewish pre-sschool in Los Angeles, in March, served only to keep fears raw. Then, in October, came the mass murders in Bali, 202 people being killed. We saw the Transportation safety Agency established=primarily at airports, but also at ferry terminals and at railway stations.

Through all this, Penny, Aram and I kept steady. I contented myself with substitute teaching, in two Phoenix school districts, and was able to offer continuity. Penny kept on as a second grade teacher, at El Mirage Elementary. Aram finished middle school and began his freshman year at Cortez High school, near our apartment. We had to deal with incompetent managers, after the man who had negotiated our lease left. Mold issues persisted, until I obtained the business phone number of the investment banker who owned the complex and called him to explain our situation. He sent his own crew out, from San Diego, and both our apartment and the next door neighbour’s unit were successfully relieved of mold. That sort of cooperation doesn’t happen very often, according to the attorney who helped us out on another issue. (Charges being added on, in mid-year.)

It was a fairly normal year for us, ahead of some doozies.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 7, Day 26

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, service, Social, Striving

August 16, 2026- Both Aram and I have told Hana the story of the boy who cried wolf. She has adopted the practice of crying every time her parents tell her “No” or make her wait for something. When I told her the story, this evening, she listened with rapt attention-and decided that crying about every little thing is not such a useful idea. Mental processing precedes the ability to speak.

We made a family outing to Carrollton, this afternoon, enjoying Korean noodles and a couple of dessert items: Three of us shared a piece of ice cream cake, then shared a Korean “Snowflake” bowl, which has fruit, ice cream and shaved ice. We mixed the three together, to make a fun treat. Hana watched all this, with a good nature, though her face said “Where’s mine?”

In the early evening, I went to a fund-raising bazaar, at the Plano Baha’i Center, and picked up about a dozen books for Hana, Some of them are mini-books that she can easily look at, for several minutes at a time. She was delighted, when I showed her the books.

HANA’S NOTE- When my Daddy tells me to stop doing something, using his Daddy voice, I have to listen. When Papa tells me about somebody being naughty, I listen to him also.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-1999 The bottom fell out in Chilchinbeto, in April. I turned down a request by a Governing Board member for reimbursement, on an item that would have been double dipping. Between that, and the ongoing suspicion regarding the deceased Paraprofessional, I was terminated, effective June 30. I told the Board that perhaps a Dineh would be more to their liking. They did hire a qualified Navajo educator. (As it happened, they fired him, too, after a year.) I was able to upgrade the professional development of the teaching staff, send the eighth grade class to Hawai’i and to an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game and hire a competent financial services team. We would have continued on an upward arc, but for the insecurity of five people.

I continued to take Penny to see a neurologist, in Flagstaff, during the Spring and Summer. Eventually, we also began seeing an acupuncturist,and another neurologist, in Phoenix. Between all those services, her brain health stabilized. Aram went on a Tae Kwon Do tournament in South Korea,, and was able to visit his birthplace, Jeju, again. While he was away, we left Jeddito, and the Navajo Nation.

I secured a one-year appointment as Principal of Salome High School, in the desert west of Phoenix. I worked under a former professor of mine, who served as Superintendent. We got along, for the most part. My assistant principal was also in training to become the principal, the following year. At times, I felt like I was sandwich filling. At least, the Superintendent was mostly supportive of my efforts, save when I trod on his turf.

Penny worked as the lone Special Education Teacher, as we had but eighty students in the high school. She bonded well with them. Aram had a rough first semester, in the Sixth Grade of the Elementary School. He gradually, with professional help, managed to recover his equilibrium.

My outreach included a visit to each of the feeder schools, once each semester, as well as evening town meetings with parents in each of the communities sending students to the high school. These visits were well received. I got along well with the teachers and with the majority of the students. Keeping peace between the Hispanic and Anglo students required active mediation and conflict resolution sessions. I also brought in a program called “Responsible Thinking’, which Penny had studied in one of her classes at NAU. It was seen by some in the community as mumbo jumbo, and didn’t really get much traction.

We approached Y2K with a sense that there would not be as drastic a change as some were expecting.

The Hana Chronicles, Month 7, Day 25

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

August 15, 2026- Hana marches to her own drummer. Her father, for reasons of his own, is rather prescriptive. He is learning, though, to let her do her own thing. I feel that she knows what she is doing, in the macro sense. Her mission is to master standing up and then set to learning to walk. Hana’s mother also has her notions of what is needed by her child, but she is less authoritative and is more concerned with Hana’s health and hygiene, than with how Hana spends her time.

Along those lines, Hana had her first breakfast this morning-a small bowl of oatmeal, followed by apple in yogurt. We explained to her that breakfast is most often a lighter meal than are lunch or dinner. She was fairly content with what was served. It was enough, that she was in her high chair for breakfast, rather than down in a bouncy seat, looking up at us.

Much of my afternoon was spent going through a box or two-lots of bungee cords; Aram’s second grade drawings and his “Story of Me”, from third grade; Penny’s graduation cap, from her third and final Master’s Graduation-the only one she ever attended, because I was there and wanted to make a big deal of it; her Tae Kwon Do certificate, which I want to show to Hana, when she is old enough to know waht the martial art is. Hana’s afternoon was divided between pushing herself to stand and crawl with her torso lifted, and napping.

HANA’S NOTE- I am going to do things my own way, as much as I can.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-1998 Although I still enjoyed being a counselor, I had invested a fair amount of time and energy into getting my Administrative Certificate. I had covered for the Principal and Assistant Principal at Jeddito, often enough, that even with contrived situations that one of my rivals had set up to try and embarrass me, my management of the school had basically gone well. Penny believed in me, and so, when I was told of an opening in a Community School, at Chilchinbeto, I put in my application. I was hired by the Athletic Director, who, oddly enough, became my Assistant Principal.

I left Jeddito in August, though Penny stayed there for another year. We were therefore a weekend couple, something that oour coworkers in Jeddito understood, but which raised the hackles of several people in Chilchinbeto. I was Principal, in a school of 200 students, with an Executive Director above me, in the same office. There was a core of influential people in the small community,who wanted to see a Dineh person in the Principalship. They tolerated me, with the quiet belief that I would be gone in a year. On Halloween, I had taken Aram, who lived with me and was in Fifth Grade, to Jeddito. When we came back, i was told that one of the Paraprofessionals, a leader of the skeptics, had died in a one car accident. There were those who believed I had something to do with her death, even though I was 150 miles away at the time. God knows, I would never have brought harm to anyone, regardless of political differences. Still, this was a superstitious community at that time, and there was an undercurrent of suspicion, for the rest of the academic year. The teachers and I were united, though, and we carried on our best, on behalf of the students.

Penny’s year at Jeddito, under an unstable administration, was not much better. We were in contact by phone, and I spent weekends with her, so our marriage didn’t suffer.At the end of the year, however, while we were in Prescott, visiting her parents, she tripped and fell over their large family dog, hitting her head against a door.

The last year of the Twentieth Century would see us facing a serious health matter.