Category Archives: Service Activities

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 19

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

September 9, 2026- Hana has taken to joining us in tapping on a surface, when we pretend to drum. She is developing a sense of rhythm, and also tries to dance, while holding onto the wall of the playpen, if one of us sings a lively song. If she falls down, she gets right back up.

A friend of Aram’s came by today, and was very helpful with some of the home remodeling work that we are contemplating. Aram and Yunhee now have a game plan. Hana was a bit unnerved by the man’s presence, though she started to get used to him, after about an hour. He is not a rough, or loud man, and is clean shaven, so I guess it’s just one of those things that she will work out, with our encouragement.

HANA’S NOTE- I was scared because this man who visited us had a sweaty shirt on. My smelling and hearing are very sharp, and the sweat smelled. I guess the man is okay, though.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2023 My Hiking Buddy moved here, in December and I met her at The Raven. We took several hikes together, in Prescott and Sedona. She is a self-made person and still manages to produce perfumes made with essential oils, in quite a prolific manner. We would have many hikes and meals together, in the next few years.

It seemed I was constantly on the road this year, more so than usual. There were three visits to California-One to manage a Red Cross shelter in Watsonville, after a flood that was triggered by rapid snow melt. I had the bounty of being helped greatly by my day manager, an energetic and efficient logistics team and by our Partner Agency, the county Emergency Management team. It was a fast-paced two weeks, and I was gratified by getting a poster of gratitude from the sheltered clients, signed by many of them, including the children. The Job Director, in San Jose, was also very appreciative of our efforts.

I took a train trip to Sacramento, thence to Carson City. It was my first journey that focused on the California capital, which I found quite welcoming-especially the hostel, across the street from Sacramento City Hall. I lost a jacket on the way back. It contained a locket with a faded photo of Aram and Penny. I substituted a better photo of them back at my Home Base.

In July, I went back up through the Central Valley, using Sportage. This time, I continued on, after visiting Sacramento. I paid a call on friends in Ashland, OR., and later took in Oregon’s stately capital, Salem. Then it was on, through Washington, to Vancouver Island, where I spent three days in Nanaimo, punctuated by a visit with a disabled Baha’i friend, in Victoria. Prepared a salmon dinner for her, in her cozy apartment, visiting until it was time for her to attend to other business. The return trip took me to Vancouver, WA, then past Lassen Volcanic National Park, which was closed by wildfire and on to Carson City, where a little girl I have known since she was a baby was performing in “The Wizard of Oz”. She was a Munchkin, but to me, it was just as important as if she had been Dorothy. It was also the last time I would see her grandmother, a friend of 30 years. She would pass on, in 2024.

In September, I headed east, for my mother’s birthday, after taking in a Baha’i school outside Colorado Springs. The route also took in sights in Nebraska, paid respects to a slain police officer in West St. Paul, MN, visited Pilot Knob, and of course, the Baha’i House of Worship, in Wilmette, Il, before heading to Lynnfield, by way of Toledo, East Palestine(OH), Bedford, PA and Hartford. Mom turned 95, to a lunch of pizza and perked up a bit, hearing “Happy Birthday” sung to her. It would be the last time we would get that chance. On the way back, I visited Harrisburg and York, PA, after my Oley stopover, and my brother’s birthday, in Downingtown. Another Harrisonburg visit found Duke’s had been replaced by a nice coffee shop. I visited Chuck and Laureen, in what would be my last time seeing him. Rock City, outside Chattanooga, was a delightful change of pace. Mississippi brought stops in Philadelphia and Jackson, then it was on through Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma, before heading homeward, via Amarillo and Moriarty.

October took me to the Philippines. My purpose was to visit a young man I had been sponsoring, and his mother, through the auspices of the charity which had cared for them. It was a fun visit, although brief. I left their section of Luzon, and spent several days in Manila, focusing on the Baha’i community there. Of a Sunday morning, I met several of the Baha’i friends. A spirited and friendly lady introduced herself and quickly took charge of making my visit as happy as possible. In the Filipina style, she and two other ladies took me on a tour of Old Manila, that afternoon. The next few days, we went to elegant shopping malls. I felt close to Kathy and came to regard her as yet another special soul in my life. I would be back to the “Phils” two more times, in the next two years.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 8, Day 16

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 6, 2026- I spent much of the day at a Red Cross Donation Center in Irving, about 40 minutes west of Plano. When I got back, Hana was waiting and wanted me to play with her for a while. So, we focused on a new set of colour-coded cloth baskets, which each hold three cloth vegetables and fruits. The green basket holds a watermelon, an avocado and a pear. The yellow basket holds an ear of corn, a banana and a pineapple. The red basket holds an apple, a tomato and a strawberry. The orange basket holds a pumpkin, a carrot and-an orange. The items are lined up on a Velcro strip, on one of the walls of the playpen. Hana has started to associate the vegetable or fruit with its coloured basket. She is especially fond of the red items.

She went with her Mom and Dad to a Japanese market, while I was at the Red Cross center. She seemed to like the place better than she did the first time we all went there, for Mother’s Day. Of course, then she was four months old. Being “twice as old” changes one’s perspective. Having had a full day, at any rate, she went to sleep before 7 p.m.

HANA’S NOTE- I like the colour game. I can even put some of the pieces in the right baskets.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2020 The meteor streaked past my home, as i arrived back from a drumming session in Sedona, around midnight. Meteors and comets often portend something momentous. Little did any of us who saw the fireball know just how impactful the event would be. Coronavirus disease 2019 was not World War III. In a way, it was far worse. COVID 19 could have easily wiped out a huge percentage of the world’s population. As it was, the number of victims, in all but six of the world’s countries and territories, was, by the pandemic’s ebb, a horrendous toll. There were a lot of deaths, and a significant number of people suffered from lingering effects of the disease. Vaccinations became available, and once school resumed, in the Fall of the year, we substitutes had to be vaccinated with two doses, two months apart. Many people distrusted the vaccines, and tried their own remedies. For the healthiest of those folks, the DIY stuff had a placebo effect. For others, like Herman Cain, a conservative podcaster, it was lethal.

I, like most people, was largely confined to home during the worst months of the pandemic. We had meetings on Zoom, an online network, which actually allowed people to communicate across the nation and the globe, visually as well as audibly.

I took hikes, around Prescott and in Sedona. I visited restaurants whose owners either were not cowed by the pandemic or who had people who were unrelated sit apart. In grocery stores-and most other places, like the post Office, masks were required and distances of 12 ft. were required. Semantics became a battleground- “physical distance” vs. “social distance” being one of the bones of contention.

Hurricanes did not take notice of the pandemic. In August, I spent two weeks with the victims of Hurricane Laura, as part of a team responding in Alexandria and Baton Rouge, Louisiana during the brunt of the storm. I was daytime floor supervisor, tending to the needs of some 86 displaced souls.

A month later, I went to Dallas, and helped many of the same people, who were now living in a hotel provided by the Red Cross. I was “bumped up” to assistant shelter supervisor, by an appreciative manager. Each family had their own room, and meals were taken in a large dining area with long tables. FEMA was present, and I was able to establish a good working relationship with that team. The two weeks passed with few serious issues. A laundry snafu, which resulted in a person’s clothes being mislabeled by the laundry service, and thus delivered to the wrong room, required some detective work on my part. Fortunately, after I had arranged for some shopping funds for the aggrieved party, her clothes were brought to us by the person who had been given them by mistake. All was thus made right. The ladies even gave each other “air hugs”.

The year ended, while the pandemic lingered. I was okay, even celebrating my 70th birthday at the family apartment in Plano-their first Texas home. We all survived.

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 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 9

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Family, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

August 30, 2026- Hana mostly just wanted individual time with each of us, so we took turns in the Playpen and letting her nap in our arms. She is also more vocal and keeps eye contact, to make sure we understand what she wants.

She wore a skirt with panty, in the morning, then was switched to her first pair of jeans, in the afternoon. These made no difference to her, except during diaper changes. She is fairly adaptable, though, showing that her trust is very deep.

Mommy and Daddy took Hana with them, on a morning run to H-Mart. I went to a Baha’i devotional, then came back to a fine lunch of freshly made kim bap (sushi rolls). I recall, fondly, that this was my first Korean food, back in 1986. Yunhee does it very well.

HANA’S NOTE- I was so happy when Papa came back from the place he often goes on Sunday. He brought his prayer book, so it must have been a nice meeting.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-2013 I was planning for my summer journey to be a spiritual quest of sorts: Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Spirit (“Devils”) Tower, Black Elk Peak, Pipestone, the Baha’i House of Worship (Wilmette),and my brother, Glenn’s Sail Blind race, off Newport, RI were on the itinerary. First, though, was a birthday party for my twin sisters-in-law, in Colorado. It would all have gone nicely, but I tripped up, emotionally and spiritually, allowing confusion to set in and sidetrack me,a fair amount That it caused problems for a devoted friend haunted me for a good long time.

The shattering of our Prescott community, just prior to my journey, also had an effect on my own equilibrium, and the fact that only two years had elapsed, since I lost Penny, didn’t help. Yet, on June 30, 19 wildland firefighters died in a firestorm, west of Prescott. There were several people displaced and I helped man a Red Cross shelter, for three days, until a larger crew arrived to lead the sheltering effort.

In the end, the journey had its sublime moments, I reached each of the places on my itinerary and began to make amends to said friend.

No sooner had I returned to Prescott, than I read an appeal from a single mother to help with moving. I answered that appeal, and made a friendship that has lasted to this day. Additionally, my friend introduced me to do Terra natural supplements, which I also use to this day. My gratitude to Melissa knows no bounds.

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 9

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

July 30, 2026- As if to underscore her determination, Hana made a point of standing full on her feet, while holding onto her mother, this morning. She practiced standing, with my support, several times this afternoon. I let her stand up, while holding onto the border of the play pen. She is a few inches shy of being able to see over the top, but was able to hold onto it for about 8 seconds. She is leading this. I am providing encouragement and support. I’ve told her that only she knows her limits, and there is no rush. Most kids seem to wait until nine months, before standing with support. Hana will do things on her own timetable.

She napped a fair amount today, largely because she is constantly moving during the day and, depending on the extent to which her top incisors are still bothering her, sometimes tosses and turns a lot at night. She likes to play with company, so I am in the pen a lot. It is usually a cycle of wake up and wash/dress; morning feeding; parents saying goodbye, before going to work; her listening to my prayers (sometimes with her head bowed); us going out for a walk (she in the stroller); medication; story time; nap; lunch; story time; play time; nap, afternoon feeding; play time; welcome back, Mom & Dad; dinner; bath and sleep.

HANA’S NOTE- I want to help out, so I feed myself when Mom is giving me dinner, so she can rest.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-1982 The second set of sea changes came this year. In February, Penny and I got engaged. We were married on the Anniversary of D-Day, June 6. We went on Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, two weeks later-visiting Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Galilee and the Baha’i holy places in Haifa, Akka and Bahji. It was an overwhelming nine days. We stopped in London, on the way back, and visited the Tomb of Shoghi Effendi, Baha’u;llah’s great-grandson, who guided the Faith for 36 years, after the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Before summer’s end, we also took a six-day road trip up to a Blackfeet First Nations Reserve, in southern Alberta, joining a Continental Indigenous Council Fire.

Penny and I settled in Tuba City, and she took a job teaching Special Needs students at the Primary school, across the street from the Intermediate School where I worked as a Counselor. We worked out a number of bumps and adjustments that came with sharing a small trailer, after each having lived alone for so many years. A friend in Flagstaff had told me that this would be a stormy marriage, but it would also be a good and strong one. How right he turned out to be.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 7, Day 2

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Striving

July 23,2026- “Oma!” Hana was worried about her mother, when I mentioned that her parents were on their way home. Both her Mom and Dad got home safely. So, the little girl’s worries were for naught. Still, I can only imagine what goes through a child’s mind.

Aram was with us for part of the day, as he had a medical appointment in late morning. So, the three of us walked together, on our usual route through the park. A neighbour engaged us in conversation, for about twenty minutes, during which Hana slept soundly.

The rest of the day went smoothly. We played a lot, with Hana crawling all over her grandfather, my putting rings on a cone and her alternately tipping the cone over or taking one ring off the cone at a time. The neighbour mentioned above said that, sooner or later, I would treasure my alone time. Right now, I’d say that is off the mark.

HANA’S NOTE- I saw Mommy driving while she was tired, so I called out to her, in Korean. Nothing bad happened to her.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE-1975 This was an interesting year. I lived in two different places- a rooming house in Northampton and a shared apartment, in South Deerfield. I completed my baccalaureate, and had a mediocre stint as Teaching Intern. I was determined to up my game, when the actual jobs came about. I worked in the spring as a short-order cook in a country cafe (I was terrible at this one), in the summer as a custodian at Northampton Public Schools and in the fall as a stocker in a package store (alcoholic beverages). I had the unique experience of being fired at the latter, on my 25th birthday. It turned out that the assistant manager’s son needed a job, and the A.M. felt I was doing work that he considered his turf.

The rooming house found me with four housemates-two rather testy older men, a woman who was also at UMass and an 87-year-old widow, who was the nicest of the four. When things got too heated between me and one of the older men, I left and found the apartment. I first shared the place with three stoners, and did painting and small repairs on the place, when they left. A nice couple with a little girl came in after them. We got along well, and I left the place to them, when I graduated.

I spent about a week, between the summer and fall jobs, hiking the Presidential Range in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. I met quite an eclectic bunch at the various Appalachian Mountain Club huts and actually hauled two bags of trash from the hut on Mount Jefferson to the base of Mount Adams.

1975 was definitely an interesting year.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 23

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

June 13, 2026– My most treasured little girl is asleep in her crib, as I sit her in my office space, watching her on the monitor. Her mother is out grocery shopping and her father is at Monthly Drill. I am in my element. Caring for this delightful child is almost a capstone.

While Hana and Yunhee hosted a friend from DHL and her 9-year-old daughter, I headed over to Plano’s Red Cross Donation Center and played host to about twenty blood donors. I also trained a 16-year-old high school Senior, who wants to study medicine. She will be a fine volunteer, probably mostly doing weekends, as I am. The need for such hosts, though, is pretty light during the summer months, as those senior citizens who are occupied with Substitute Teaching during the school year-as well as University students on break, tend to take the slots as soon as they open-fine by me, as it gives me weekends with family.

I watched a few more Dhar Mann videos, in between registrations. One, which was particularly interesting, was a bit dystopian. Eugenicists had taken over California, and had instituted a “culling” program, involving a standardized test. The son of the eugenicist Governor teamed with a student activist, and turned his father, and his school’s Headmaster, in to Federal authorities, just as they were about to initiate culling. Of course, this was another ‘feel good” story, with a last-minute happy ending, but it got me thinking. We always have a path to resist and overcome misfortune-and it is usually one that involves informed and diligent group action. That last-minute turn of events was preceded by a lot of research and documentation on the part of the students and one adult investigative reporter. So it may be with various challenges our society faces.

Transactional

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

May 23, 2026- Two people contacted me, earlier today-one for a small amount of financial assistance and the other, to cover a meeting tomorrow. In both cases, I had to decline. I have to tighten my belt, at least for a week or so, and family obligations conflict with the second request. Both were more understanding than I had expected-and will seek other options for their needs. There should be no one solution for any problem, no matter how “unexpected” it is. I have been in both situations, as well as far worse. Sometimes, family or friends have been able to help. Other times, i was on my own. I got through the situation.

I read, this morning, of a leading participant in the January 6, 2021 incident at the U.S. Capitol, who was complaining that his life was a mess because of his having been tried, found guilty and incarcerated for his involvement. Now, he is free, due to having been pardoned, but he wants money, with which to get a fresh start. Some wishes are best not granted, in the way they are requested. The money would have to come from Congress, and that body is not inclined to honour the request.

The surest way to overcome a transactional mentality-or even the appearance of being transactional, is to build a treasury of options. I have been the one with his hand out, often enough, to know how humiliating it feels, and how powerless. Yet, once again, I made it through. Loans were either paid off in full, or were forgiven. Being stuck somewhere, either a ride was arranged, I waited the night in place or, in a few instances, I walked to my destination. I have even bartered goods for services. There is always a solution.