Category Archives: Matters of Faith

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 15

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

September 5, 2026- Hana carefully observed two visitors today. One was a fast-talking salesman, trying to drum up business for his pest control company. She smiled wanly at him, but didn’t offer her customary “Hi”. The second, a plumber, was here to look at an area of our concern. She smiled a lot more at him, and said “Hi”. My grandchild already has a sense of people.

She again talked a lot, and was glad that I sat down with her, while Mom and Dad were fixing dinner. I told her that I was glad she was using her teething ring, and she showed me the toy. Her top lateral incisors (canines) are coming in, and so she is chewing on a lot of teething rings-and a few things that aren’t.

HANA’S NOTE- I like to be able to choose my own activities. Papa lets me do that, so it’s fun to have him in the playpen.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2019 The day after the family wedding, last June, Aram asked Yunhee to marry him and she said “Yes”. They had a civil wedding in November of last year, on the island of Guam. On March 10, they had a Baha’i wedding, in Kwangju, South Korea. I was there, a few days early. The journey from Phoenix to Los Angeles was a lesson in patience (United left Phoenix two hours behind schedule), and I arrived at LAX, 90 minutes late, the result being that I was the last passenger to get on the plane for Seoul.

The wedding itself was small, by Korean standards, yet it was dignified and happy. The reception hall was full afterwards, and why not? The food was plentiful and tasty. Our family had now officially spanned the Pacific. I joined a family outing to Cheonju, a city with an interesting historic district and went with Aram and Yunhee’s father to a men’s spa. Gender-separate bath houses are very common in Korea. A day or two later, I flew back to the U.S. and my Korean family continued their Naval life.

I had cut ties with the unsettled woman, last October, after she threatened to see that I lost my job.. She nonetheless parked her RV at the park across the road from our little Quad. She never directly tried to pester me, but I knew I was being watched. That aside, I was starting to be affected by mold in my workspace; all of us-staff and students, were. It was affecting my judgment and my energy level. In late March, I threw my left knee out, taking a step down on stairs I had walked down dozens of times. It was a mild sprain, but after treatment and two weeks of P/T, I was okay again. In mid-April, though, a misunderstanding with another staff member led to my deciding to leave the Autism Program. The day that I resigned, the RV lady drove off and I have not seen her since.

In summer, I set out again on a cross-country journey- starting with a visit to an old friend in Coal Mine, AZ, then camping at Canyon de Chelly, before taking the customary northern route, through Albuquerque, Amarillo and Oklahoma, visiting with Xanga friends there. This time, though, I drove across Arkansas and Tennessee, visiting my friends in Crossville, then stopping in Chattanooga and Knoxville. I had Elantra serviced in Knoxville, then headed over to Asheville, NC, taking in that city’s elegant downtown. The road then took me to Tryon, NC, a town that I had briefly considered as a Home Base, sight unseen, in 2011. I might have been happy there, had Prescott not captivated me.

South Carolina brought satisfying visits to Columbia, Aiken, Hilton Head Island and Charleston. I took in Fort Sumter, another spot on Penny’s 2007 virtual field trip itinerary that we had not fulfilled. Back in North Carolina, I visited a Baha’i friend in Salisbury and stopped in Raleigh, to do laundry and spend time in the Capitol District. Another visit with dear Xanga friend in Virginia Beach, was followed by a drive across Chesapeake Bay to Cape Charles and Virginia’s Eastern Shore. It was fascinating top watch the ponies at Assateague, frolicking in the surf. Then came a stop in Dover, DE-the compact and delightful capital of the First State. My Oley stop followed, then up through PA to New York, and a visit to West Point-the last of the three Service Academies I’ve visited. My Dad had always wanted to go there, so I fulfilled his wish for him. Popeye Doyle (“The French Connection”) never went to Poughkeepsie-the foil in one of his throwaway lines in that movie. I spent a day or so in the town and in nearby Newburgh. Lovely area, along the Hudson River, though both cities were a tad rundown.

Going north, I decided to drive through Massachusetts’ southwest corner, stopping in the southern Berkshires, at Egremont. In Saugus, for Independence Day, saw fireworks and had quality time with Mom and my siblings. I made a return visit to Amherst, and my alma mater-University of Massachusetts, then toured Mt. Holyoke, a women’s university, south of town. Across Connecticut, I sopped in Danbury and spent time with that city’s Revolutionary War sites. The next main stops were Pittsburgh, for a Baha’i Holy Day gathering, Mishawaka, Chicago-for a night in Wrigleyville, near the Cubs Stadium, Wilmette, Wapello, IA, Kansas City and a small town named Satanta,KS. I paid respects to the fallen at Silver Creek, CO, a solemn cap to my sojourn.

Fall brought me back into substitute teaching, with a more connected sense of mission. I chose my assignments more discerningly, going forward.

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 8

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

August 29, 2026- Hana reveled in going to a Brunch establishment, Sunrise Cafe, in Allen, about five miles north of here. Though she already had her lunch, she was happy to sit in a high chair and tap on the table, looking around at the different people coming in and out, as well as at the large conduits hanging from the ceiling. We enjoyed our brunch items and I found my Tex-Mex omelet comparable to the ones I enjoyed at Zeke’s, in Prescott.

She also was intrigued later in the afternoon, when we were filling boxes with items for return. That activity had the side effect of my emptying two large boxes, so that they could be used for the returns. It thus made my common space upstairs a bit tidier. Hana likes to watch processes take place, especially when these are involving her mother.

HANA’S NOTE- I like going to different places now. I didn’t so much before I could sit in a high chair. It is fun to look around.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2012 I began to have a sense of equilibrium again, after eight years of feeling buffeted. I was again substitute teaching, this time in the three major districts of western Yavapai County: Prescott, Humboldt (Prescott Valley) and Chino Valley. I was more selective about which classes I would cover. Most of the time, the days went successfully. I also joined the American Legion, began volunteering with the American Red Cross and connected with a group called Slow Food.

I began to get out on the hiking trails of the Prescott area and other parts of northern Arizona, during the school year. One memorable event was the “Longest Day Challenge” (6/21), in which I hiked the Grand Canyon, from the South Rim to the Colorado River and back, using the Bright Angel Trail-which had water stations every 1-1.5 miles. Devil’s Corkscrew was the hottest and most challenging part. On the way back, I encountered a woman about my age telling the young Park Rangers that she would walk up and out of the Canyon as she saw fit. She was stumbling about and seemed disoriented, so some of us prevailed on her to follow the Rangers’ instructions. She got into the helicopter. The rest of the way, I hiked with three young Mexicans. The girls were a bit overwhelmed by how “difficult” it seemed, but we took it slowly and got back to the Rim around 9 p.m.

I branched out, traveling around the state of Texas, in May, then going to Massachusetts, by way of Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. This became a yearly itinerary, thereafter. In September, we Baha’is commemorated the centenary of a visit by ‘Abdu’l-Baha to North America. I was planning to go with three ladies from the Prescott area, but one by one, they canceled. I drove instead to visit the Smiths, Baha’i friends who lived in Reno, and the three of us went to San Francisco and Oakland, where events were held throughout the weekend. I then drove along the Coast, through northern California, Oregon and Washington, re-visiting Portland and seeing Seattle for the first time. When a fire threatened Wenatchee, in central Washington, I went there, rather than stay in Seattle, and joined several Baha’is in prayer for protection. I went back to Reno for a bit, then drove to Salt Lake City and Glenwood Springs, CO, for other commemorative events.

Southern California also became a focus, as Aram was stationed in San Diego and a friend in Orange County was one of my regular correspondents, so I got to enjoy quality seafood and take in a lovely beach town, each time I visited.

I will be focusing more on each of the states, provinces and countries I’ve visited, after this series on Years in Remembrance is finished.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 6

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

August 27,2026- My granddaughter has started joking around, in her way, telling me a fair amount of babbling, then giggling. I then get a hug around the neck. She will also shout :”Hey”, from the playpen, to see who answers. She has been sleeping more soundly at night, though she gets up at 5 a.m., probably a bit too soon for her parents. Sometimes, Hana will see that they are sleeping, and lie back down, herself.

Hana is also getting more confident in her standing. She is listening better to her parents and making an effort to not try to stand up, when in the dining high chair. That was starting to make us more than a little nervous. She loves our early morning walks in the stroller, occasionally singing little tunes, as we go along.

HANA’S NOTE- Is something happening in the sky? It seems like some people are acting strange. I’m glad my grownups are not.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2010 Penny began sleeping more, in February. I kept watch on her, but when she was awake, she seemed lucid. I taught a class at the same Community College where Penny had studied in 2000. It went so/so. My teaching was not altogether focused and a rather pedantic delivery, much of the time, didn’t help. I substituted in the two districts, on days when I wasn’t in class. My son and a couple of young people who were living with us helped tend to Penny, while I was putting food on the table and keeping the utilities on.

Our finances had collapsed, though, and we faced foreclosure. An arrangement was worked out, where we were able to short sell the home, and the investor who bought it let us live there, for as long as Penny was able to stay with us. I did what I could to renovate: Painting the exterior, replacing the carpet and painting the major rooms.

By June, Penny needed surgery on her back and was officially diagnosed with Polyglucosan Body Disease. Following the fairly successful surgery, though, she needed to be in rehabilitation, in a specialty hospital. She was treated fairly well there, and had the serendipity of her breathing therapist being a young lady who we knew as a baby in Tuba City, nearly twenty five years earlier. The girl only made the connection when she told her mother, also a nurse, about her work with Penny, and her mother remembered us.

We continued with my working, Penny remaining in the specialty hospital and Aram going through his semester at a community college, until November, when the insurance ran out. Penny was then deemed ready for hybrid hospice care, Some alternatives were presented, which both Penny and I considered unseemly. We arranged for her to be treated by a visiting hospice doctor and nurse.

I was about to turn 60, a milestone that was important to my siblings, as our dad had not made it that far. Aram and I celebrated on my actual birthday, 11/28, with three of the boarders, enjoying pizza. My two brothers and a sister-in-law came to Phoenix in early December, and joined the three of us at Durant’s Restaurant, a top Phoenix steakhouse. It would be Penny’s last restaurant meal. We also took in the APS Parade of Lights, a nice touch that was one of my wife’s last enjoyable outings. I took her to the Grand Canyon Baha’i Conference, for a couple of days, as well.

When we “rang in the New”, ten of us saw 2011 arrive. My beloved wife slept through it, and we would have only two more months together.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 1

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

August 22, 2026- Hana was in a dress, for most of the day. This was to mark the passing of eight months, since she arrived, very quietly, in our midst. It didn’t stop her from practicing her standing or from dancing around with her father. When we finally went out for dinner, she had eaten hers and made a proper mess of her garb. She wore a more comfortable onesie. when we went to H-Mart’s Food Court.

This past month has seen her master sitting up, begin standing, with assistance or by pulling herself up, and making her own preferences known. Hana does not like wearing hats, at least not when she is in a stroller. She is okay with being put down for a nap, but not so much for being put in the play pen and just left. She wants to engage us in activities, which include having one of us lie down and letting her crawl all over us. After several minutes of interaction, she is ready to play on her own. She will eat anything put on her plate, but when she is full, the mouth stays closed and nothing will change her mind. Hana is often quiet around strangers, yet lately, she has started to say “Hi”, to people who seem friendly.

HANA’S NOTE- I had a bunch of photos taken this evening, mostly of the same pose. It seems my Mom likes to take a lot of the same pictures. I just want them to be done.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2005 I began this year with a five month assignment at Dysart Unified School District, as a preschool aide. It was more fun than I had anticipated and I bonded well with “the littles”. A couple of the children latched onto me, almost as a surrogate grandparent. That was okay.

We stuck close to home, during the summer, spending a week or two in Prescott, with Penny’s parents. They moved from the house in Kingswood to a more accessible house in a development called Willow Creek Gardens.

In the Fall, I took a substitute assignment at a high school on the far west end of Dysart, teaching World History. The classes were 2/3 serious students, 1/3 unruly. The department staff were helpful, the principal was officious and the assistant principal made everything a game of “Gotcha”. The serious students, and I, were just as glad when the regular teacher returned.

That Thanksgiving, we began several years of Thanksgiving Dinner at the home of either of two brothers, Irving and Nathan Robbins, friends of my in-laws. They alternated, and Penny’s mother brought a pie or sweet potato casserole to contribute. Christmas was spent at the Grand Canyon Baha’i Conference, at the Marriott Resort, near Desert Ridge, in north Phoenix. several hundred people attended, usually dressed in their finest. Penny began to use a wheelchair, around the time of the holidays. I had to carefully monitor her, as she tried to get up and walk, but her legs weren’t cooperating. A nurse who worked part-time at the YMCA showed me how to correctly lift Penny, by locking knees and then lifting with my legs. That made a hard situation a tad easier.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 7, Day 24

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

August 14, 2026- Hana and I took her Daddy to retrieve his car, this afternoon. While the initial plan was for him to merely pick up the vehicle, there was an extended wait for his service adviser to come back from lunch, so Hana and I went into the waiting area of the Service Department, which was large, cool and very spare. I entertained Hana with a water bottle, which she held and felt its coolness and its rough exterior.

Just when she was getting frustrated at not being allowed to drink out of it, her Dad and the service adviser appeared. Plans had changed. He was getting some further work done on the car, and we went back to the house. Hana was a bit tired, so she napped in the car seat, which is still rear-facing.

She babbled a lot, in an animated cadence, throughout the day. When I changed her diaper, this evening, she started mimicking what she heard as my voice, saying, in a raspy voice: “Wow, that’s a lot.” Her bubbly personality is emerging, more and more, as the days progress. It is truly a joy to be here, doing this work.

HANA’S NOTE- I want to be able to drink from a bottle!

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-1997- I failed at a few things, this year. My lingering shyness, lack of athletic ability and self-doubt led me to fall down, in meeting the needs of a group of troubled adolescent boys, who started out just wanting to have my support and friendship. I had no problems, as a counselor, working with younger children and with adolescent girls. Middle school boys were, for some reason, a different matter- especially when their hook was basketball.

The other rough spot, for me, was resolving petty disputes between adolescents. I thought this was something that they should be able to figure out among themselves. A parent disagreed, and complained that I was not meeting her son’s needs. I thought back to how I was raised, and had my answer: My own mother would not intervene in any disputes that we had with neighbour kids..

We went back East, as usual, and visited Dave, Debbie and their kids, in eastern Pennsylvania. It was our first time meeting their daughter, Rebecca, who was holding her own with her two big brothers. We made a couple of other stops along the way. At one point, we stopped at a National Cemetery, in Illinois, to pay respects to a former sergeant of mine, who had been later killed in action. We also took in a couple of sites in the Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park.

This, though, was the last year of relative normalcy in our lives, for quite some time.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 7, Day 23

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

August 13, 2026- Hana got a boost, this afternoon, from one of her physicians; Her functioning, in a key area, is showing stability. This particular area of health is measured every three months, until age 3. She is showing in the higher percentile, and is developing skills at a consistently high clip.

Hana listened very intently, at what the doctor was saying, perhaps storing information for later. She seems to know that certain things are more important than others. She has been very good about taking mid-morning medication, for example. She is also fastidious about beginning her mornings with exercise, even if she is on the changing table-which leads us to insist that she wait until the diaper is changed!

HANA’S NOTE- We drove a long way, in Papa’s car, to see a new doctor. The people at that hospital are very nice.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-1996 Cracks started showing in our Jeddito life. Our next door neighbour died, during Spring Break, so we cut our southern Arizona jaunt short. The principal was fired, in mid-year and a School Psychologist took the reins, temporarily. Penny and a co-teacher had a program called Collaborative Literacy Intervention Plan (CLIP), which got results and kudos from the Governing Board.

My program went well, though there was some difficulty with the Superintendent, looking to find fault with our summer program, for no other reason than to have cause to eliminate it. The Board protected us, and despite some setbacks, such as a bus conking out, halfway up a hill on the way to Phoenix, we managed to get to several interesting places.

We went back East, as a family, for three weeks in July. A week was spent in Massachusetts and one week was spent in New Jersey. The rest was spent going to and from the Coast. We made the second of our visits to Bosch Baha’i School, in Santa Cruz, California, by taking a road trip. (The first was in 1994, by air.) Bosch is atop a high cliff, with breathtaking views of the ocean. We were there for a Spiritual Literacy conference. Afterwards, we drove down the Coast, getting our first views of Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara-the last being towards sundown.

I would be seriously evaluating my continued effectiveness as a counselor, in the year to come.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 7, Day 21

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

August 11, 2026- Hana is fully into practicing standing up, and is very clear about wanting me nearby, so she can hold onto me while boosting herself up. I am close by, anyway, to make sure she doesn’t have any hard falls. The play pen is high enough that there is no danger of her climbing over.

The bedtime struggles have started; essentially, she can be put in the crib at the same time, but it takes her longer to lie down and go to sleep. She has one teething ring and one plush toy in the crib, s she will fall asleep more from boredom than anything else-and I recommend to her parents that they go with that. Our girl is very active during the day. and needs her naps, so it will take her a bit more time at night, to wind down.

She is very good about telling me when she needs a diaper change and in reminding me that it’s her supper time, if her parents are running a little late in getting home from work. She likes most foods, but winces at the taste of stewed Roma tomatoes. Her favourites are the naturally sweet things, like carrots, apples and squash. She also likes salmon and chicken.

HANA’S NOTE- Papa had ice cream for dessert at lunch. I wish I could have ice cream!

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-1994 I lost my youngest brother, Brian, in March. It will forever cast a shadow over St. Patrick’s Day, but he left us after blessing the family for nearly 29 years. He taught us love, forbearance, patience and the knowledge that there is value in every human life. All the lessons I absorbed, from watching my parents raise and safeguard him would become very valuable, in nine very short years.

Our summer started with Bellemont Baha’i Summer school, at the salubrious camp, fifteen miles west of Flagstaff. In the 1990s, we still had our meals prepared by a “chuckwagon crew”, three or four men who cooked everything over an outdoor cook stove. The program was well planned, with deepenings on both Baha’i history and the path to a more virtues-based society. Recreation was always vigorous. We provided both volleyball and badminton nets. Another staple was a youth trip to some Lava Tubes, northeast of Bellemont. Penny and I joined a group that climbed Kendrick Peak, an outlier of the San Francisco Peaks.

We made a trip eastward, including Aram’s first visit to the Baha’i House of Worship, in Wilmette, IL While we were praying silently, he snuck away and began to speak into the microphone. This earned him a sharp rebuke from the security guard. He later told me, “Daddy, I didn’t know Baha’is could be mean.” I told him there was difference between “mean” and strict, and that from now on, he needed to be quiet in the House of Worship.

Penny returned to work, in August, taking a second grade classroom. She lost no skills in her time away from teaching and her students were making great strides in the first semester, My counseling efforts benefited from the addition of a four-pronged program that the new Principal brought with her. She had been a counselor for several years, and I valued her recommendations, though her manner could be quite abrupt. The four prongs, Academic, Vocational, Social and Leisure. were able to be worked into my work with each class. I also was fully into the Red Ribbon program, which addressed substance abuse issues.

The Winter holidays meant a three-day Baha’i Winter school, at a hotel in Phoenix. A large group attended this, each year, with many dressed in their finest clothes. We were business casual, and enjoyed the gathering, nonetheless. Aram had a fairly good experience in the children’s classes, which focused on virtues. It was always pleasant in Phoenix, in December. New Year’s Eve always meant Penny’s parents’ anniversary, so we joined them in Prescott.

The decade had established a sweet routine.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 7, Day 19

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

August 9, 2026-

The day “started” just after midnight, with several gunshots audible, across the alley. All four of us awoke to the noise. Hana was looking around but was being very quiet. Aram and I stood watch upstairs, and he called the Plano Police to report the n=sounds. It appeared that a cruiser came by later, but as we heard no further sounds and only saw a neighbour girl’s boyfriend dropping her off a bit later, then all lights in the nearby houses go out, we went back to bed.

Hana, Yunhee and I got up around 6:30. Aram slept in, then we enjoyed Yunhee’s chicken and waffles around 10. Hana expresses a wish that she could eat them, too. That day will come, but for now, it’s all puree. We do make it a point to have her sit in the high chair and have something at each meal. Lunch and dinner are the big meals for her.

I made a huge dent in the remaining pile in my storage unit, this afternoon. One more good load will empty the unit and save several more dollars each month. I can then start culling my excess items in earnest, once more.

HANA’S NOTE- I did not like those banging noises last night. Something told me to keep quiet and not cry. Mommy stayed with me, so that helped.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-1992 We made the hard choice to not renew our visas, and so Penny and Aram flew back to Arizona in late January. They stayed with her parents, in the RV that they had driven across country, settling at a park in Prescott. I stayed behind, to complete my contract, taking seven of my freshman students on a circular field trip around Jeju. Their task was to prepare English-language mini-guides to each place we visited. After that was finished, I took a personal journey, mostly by bus, around the Korean mainland, starting in Kwangju and going up through Cheonju, Taejon and Seoul, then over to the east coast, including Soraksan and one last visit to the Demilitarized Zone, then down to Geongju, the ancient fortress town, with its impressive tumuli.

I flew out on March 1, having left a lot of camping equipment behind in Jeju. The University ended up giving it away to students. We had the bulk of our household put in a storage unit in Prescott, until we found a permanent place to live. I arrived “home” on March 2, and we settled into a residential motel. We stayed there for about five weeks, and during that time, I struggled with reconnecting to American life. There were a couple of auto-related mishaps, though neither involved other drivers and only one involved another vehicle. I was able to immediately get on board as a substitute teacher, in three school districts. Penny also did so, and we took turns staying with Aram. In April, we got a town house, in a nice neighbourhood on the west side of Prescott. Her Dad came and stayed with us for a week, while he made arrangements to fly his dog, Buddy, back to New Jersey.

In May, I was hired by Penny’s old boss in Keams Canyon, as school counselor at the newly opened Jeddito School. In August, we moved up to Keams Canyon, Aram entered pre-school, which was a half day. Penny had to go back to New Jersey for an operation, so Aram went with her for the two weeks. They also went back in November, for the Second Baha’i World Congress, which was held in New York City. I stayed behind and focused on my job of tending to the needs of 900 students.

By year’s end, I was finally regaining my equilibrium.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 7, Day18

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

August 8, 2026– Hana wished for only one thing: A chew toy, something that means a lot to a teething infant. We were at a Korean restaurant, enjoying things like Suntubu (Spiced tofu soup), Tonkasu (Pork cutlet) and Naengmyun (Cold buckwheat noodles, in soy sauce). Hana is not ready to eat any of this. Her meal waited at home, so she sat, just waiting with varying degrees of patience. I promised her that next time, with her parents rushing about and getting ready, I would make sure to bring her favourite teething ring of the week.

She had not had an easy afternoon. When I finally got her to nap on my shoulder, and had brought her into the master bedroom, to put her in the crib, the Robo Disc was in there, cleaning the carpet. I brought her back out to the recliner for ten minutes. The cleaner announced that it was done, so back in the bedroom we went, and I put her in the crib. Ten minutes later, the yard crew showed up, four hours late, and started their lawnmowers and leaf blowers. Hana’s Mommy and Daddy arrived back from their errands, about that time, and she was only too glad to get out of the crib, the Master Bedroom being bordered by the back and west yards.

HANA’S NOTE- I don’t know who felt worse, me being woken up by people speaking words I only hear when Papa says his last prayer, or Papa himself, trying to make sure I got my afternoon nap.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-1991- Nothing reminds a person how much they love someone like finding their loved one in unexpected distress. Of a March afternoon, as I arrived home earlier than planned, I found Penny with her ear cut, babbling and on her knees, in the bathroom. Aram, not yet three years old, was in the empty bath tub, bawling his eyes out. I took him out first, dried and clothed him and set him on a sleeping mat. Then, I tended to Penny, bandaging her ear, and picking her up off the floor and carrying her into the bedroom, then dressing her, Just at that moment, almost like a TV movie, her Korean language tutor came to the front door. I had Penny seated and let the tutor in. She called an ambulance and then told the apartment complex manager what had happened. Between the three of us, we got Penny in a chair and I took Aram in my arms and comforted him.

Long story short, the ER doctor found that Penny had an allergic reaction to Ibuprofen. He stitched the ear up and by the time he was done, she was again lucid and able to walk. The three of us went to a noodle shop and had a bite to eat, then caught a bus to the University complex. The next morning, my back went out and I had to slowly walk down to the bus stop and go downtown to a chiropractor. This is what happens when one has to lift another adult, who is deadweight, from the floor. Penny never again took Ibuprofen, to say the least.

The rest of the year saw my classes go smoothly, and our Baha’i activities, with some ups and downs, reach dozens of students and young workers. We went back to the U.S. for a few weeks in June and July, enjoying the beach in Massachusetts and fireworks in Livingston, NJ. Aram liked playing with his somewhat older cousins.

In October, though, we started getting pleas from Penny’s parents to return to the United States, when our visas were up for renewal. They were heartsick at not having their only grandson closer to them. After praying long and hard, we decided we would return- in the new year.