Category Archives: Service Activities

The Road to Diamond, Day 109: Cultural Markers

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Historical, impediments, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 17, 2025- I wore a teal-coloured shirt today. It was the closest I had to green, which many in the U.S. wear on St. Patrick’s Day, which is today. There is a plethora of chlorophyll about-green punch, green beer, even green eggs. No one wants green beef or chicken, of course, so red and white still colour our meats.

We honour a variety of cultural markers in the United States, a testimony to our status as a nation built by immigrants-some here since ancient times and others descended from those who have arrived since the establishment of a settlement in Pensacola, in what is now Florida, in 1559. We have evolved as a nation that has welcomed people from every other nation on Earth-as have several others in their turn: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Peru and so on.

In today’s world, one can go to virtually any nation and find people from just about any other country. There is no real homogeneity, in terms of “ethnic purity”. We are in a place of sharing, yet there is a curious notion, among some, that cultural markers belong only to those who claim ownership of that culture. There is a view that “cultural appropriation” takes place, whenever those outside a cultural group show too much interest or enjoyment of its markers.

No one wants to lose their identity, and this is hardly the point of cultural sharing. It is wise to note when anyone, either in or out of the cultural group, tries to turn its practices into a mere money-making venture or combine it with some sort of unicultural mish-mash. It is best to resist such ersatz practices. Culture is best seen as an expression of the heart, and further as a voice to the identity of a people.

I do have Irish ancestry, on both sides of my family. My father’s paternal grandmother was pure Irish. My mother’s paternal forebears migrated from Ireland to Germany, during the Hanseatic Era, then came to the United States in the early Nineteenth Century. I also have French, English, German and Penobscot Nation ancestry. Some cultural practices could flow authentically from me; others, not so easily.

I have spent much time among Dineh and Hopi people, as well as Koreans and Filipinos. I have enjoyed a great deal of these four cultures, especially food and the arts. I have subsumed little of the outward cultural markers of these peoples; that is not my place. I do, however, honour the deeper energy behind their cultures and have put the most honourable features of their heritage to use in my own service to mankind. For example, the tendency of Dineh or Hopi to listen, deeply, to someone, without jumping into an argument or engaging in one-upmanship, has stood me well, on a great many occasions. The fastidiousness of Koreans and the gentle patience of Filipinos have also imparted lessons to me, in my daily life.

Man has always been on the move, and encountering those with different ways of conducting daily life is the lot of us all. Cultural markers need not be a barrier between groups.

Erin go bragh!

The Road to Diamond, Day 107: Shelter

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 15, 2025- It started off in less than stellar fashion. As I went to put my backpack in the rear of a co-worker’s Jeep, the coffee cup I had set on the median caddy toppled over. Fortunately, the liquid was easily drained off the rear splash pad. Then, his door netting got caught on a grommet of my boot, and it took a bit of teamwork to get the net loose,without damaging it.

The shelter simulation started off slowly, like most of what I do. A few people showed up late and it took a fair amount of digging through the back of the Red Cross trailer, to find two large and fairly essential items. We did well, though, just by staying the course, and as our chief supervisor said, not acting like headless chickens. We did well on all but one scenario, and that one was more a matter of fatigue-towards the end of the exercise, and is not something either of us involved would repeat, in real time.

I relaxed alone at Home Base, after the day was finished. After a nap, I reflected on the way in which Home Base is itself a shelter. I watched the rest of “Long Bright River”, noting the ways in which people provide shelter for one another: Siblings, colleagues, kindred souls living on the street, parents and children. I saw the ways in which people can make good choices and strengthen community. I saw the ways in which people can make bad choices and drive wedges between themselves and those they otherwise love.

I have chosen the concept of shelter as my love language of sorts, and will be involved in it, one way or another, for the rest of my lucid life. The simulation only reflected how strongly I feel about this being a birthright of every human being, of every sentient being. Let it ever be thus.

Here’s a version of “Gimme Shelter” that you may not have heard, from 1970.

https://www.google.com/search?q=gimme+shelter+merry+clayton&client=firefox-b-1-d&sca_esv=cd29d8d78246c2c7&channel=entpr&udm=7&biw=1280&bih=639&ei=7GDWZ9nMOvbckPIP-trpkA0&oq=gimme+shelter-Merry&gs_lp=EhZnd3Mtd2l6LW1vZGVsZXNzLXZpZGVvIhNnaW1tZSBzaGVsdGVyLU1lcnJ5KgIIADIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeSJVGUPgNWP0zcAF4AJABAJgBa6AB0wSqAQM2LjG4AQHIAQD4AQGYAgegAsMEwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICCBAAGIAEGKIEmAMAiAYBkAYIkgcDNi4xoAeLKg&sclient=gws-wiz-modeless-video#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:46afeb7c,vid:AHvXhWJ0oHU,st:0

The Road to Diamond, Day 104: Efficiency

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

March 12, 2025, San Diego- The bow-tied server had my friend and I seated, took drink orders and was on the spot to take our meal orders, as soon as we put down the menus. The meal was delivered, fresh and hot, within fifteen minutes of our orders. On the flip side, he took our plates once they were empty and had check to table, and processed, within five minutes of taking my friend’s plate. Of course, once his work for us was done, we were free to sit in sobremesa for as long as we pleased. (This is the tradition of relaxing at table, after a meal has concluded.)

The lunch at Corky’s, in Ladera Ranch, northeast of San Clemente, was a prime example of intelligently executed efficiency-not plowing ahead, almost mindlessly, but carrying out one’s task with due consideration of everyone who is affected. Alberto, our server, deserves recognition for this. He probably would say it is the normal course of his work, but there we are.

I don’t always manage to get tasks done with the intelligently executed efficiency I would like. Sometimes, there are too many moving parts for the time frame that is established or I have too many items on my agenda. If others are involved, and their decision-making process is too fluid or changeable, I have to double back and find at least one or two work-arounds, just in case the process starts to look like Whack-a-Mole. If I have not given myself enough time, or rest, to be at my peak, it looks like I have my own game of Whack-a-Mole. Things are getting better, though, with allowing more time and focus.

I learn a lot from people like Alberto, and so paying attention to how others go about their jobs has reaped me a fair number of dividends. Things like overseeing a Red Cross shelter simulation, this coming Saturday or setting up a Baha’i election, to be held in mid-April, with notices sent out within the next week or so, are matters that require intelligent efficiency. For that matter, simpler and more quotidian tasks that affect other people deserve the same.

It’s fascinating what one can learn-when own leisure is the basis of someone else’s effort.

The Road to Diamond, Day 99: Invisible No More

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

March 7, 2025- It was in the mid-1990s, and three young girls felt that their safety was at risk, at their school and in the nearby area. They bolted and hid in a remote spot. I was school counselor back then, and while I had earned the trust of most students,including the girls, they weren’t taking any chances with possibly having to deal with their adversaries. I was left to notify their parents that they had absconded and to enlist the support of the local police and the Superintendent of Schools. Several of us were out looking around, and by nightfall, one of the girls had made it back to her mother’s house. Early the next morning, I got a call from the other two. They had found their way to a safe house for the night, but were ready to go back to their parents. I went and got them, bringing them home.

This was in a Native American community. What is important here is that Native American women and girls, in both the United States and Canada, have been disappearing at an alarming rate, from both urban and rural areas. 5,800 women and girls disappeared in 2023; 74 % were children. I would estimate that this number has, if anything, only increased over the last 1.25 years. It has been called a “silent crisis”, but it is hardly silent to the First Nations.

On January 27, a young girl named Emily Pike left the group home where she was staying, possibly aiming to get back to her parents on the San Carlos Apache Nation. She never made it. She was found dead, killed in a gruesome manner, on February 14 along the route back to San Carlos from Mesa, where she had been living. In a hideous way, Emily at least was found and her family can get a small measure of closure. Many women and children are far less “fortunate”.

There has been an invisibility problem, with regard to indigenous people on this continent. It is probably true elsewhere in the world, as well. Here, though, various bad actors have been able to choose victims from across the First Nations of the United States and Canada-whether trafficking the women and girls, or systematically raping and killing them, with the sense that “no one will notice.”

The families notice, and now, the rest of society is beginning to take stock, as well. It is high time, and it is past time. It has also affected young men-and not too long ago, I paid my respects to a mother who lost only son, a young man only a year younger than my own son. They knew one another, during our time on the Reservation. He, too, disappeared and was only found after nearly two years of search. It was too late.

We have an anonymity problem across our population. With customarily shy and wary First Nations people, it is all the more pronounced. They are, however, not deserving of invisibility. Their gifts, dreams and skills are every bit as valuable as anyone else’s. They were put on this Earth by the Divine, just like everyone else. It is an ongoing stain on this continent, that their lives are undervalued.

No one’s life should be.

The Road to Diamond, Day 98: Dribs and Drabs Again

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

March 6, 2025- There was about an inch of snow that fell here, this morning. Dribs and drabs, and gone by noon. There is a better chance of accumulation tomorrow, so we’ll see. I stopped by a coffee shop that offers a hang-out for teens, just to see what it looks like. School was in session, so there was a lone young man staffing the counter and there were a couple of ladies running the office. Three workmen were doing repairs on a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC). I got a cup of joe to go and moved along, saving the coffee for later and getting lunch at a downtown bagel shop that has several nice sandwich options. It was a good day for lox and cream cheese, with capers.

The Red Cross monthly meeting provided all the information I needed, in order to set up and run a shelter simulation-a week from Saturday. My team is poised and ready, and we will finalize the preparations next Friday. As for my acting as Sheltering Lead for this area, that will be decided next Friday, also.

I sat in on the Prescott Indivisible chapter meeting this evening. It focused on civics- helping those in attendance brush up on state government. This is something that everyone ought to know, so it was time well spent. There was not a whole lot of counterproductive bickering about personalities, which was gratifying. I see that the Governor of California has come out as opposing boys playing in girls’ sports. Personally, I think there are probably enough transgender athletes that they could compete against one another. On the other hand, there are times where girls take part in traditionally “boys-only” sports, like baseball and tackle football, so I think such matters need to be weighed carefully-on a case by case basis.

I ended the day by proofreading a paper by a Baha’i student from Indonesia, who I had met whilst in the Philippines, last month. It focused on an ecumenical ceremony hosted by some Buddhists, using traditional Javanese spiritual practices. I found the whole premise quite enlightening. It is called Ruwatan and is a means for fostering respect for diversity.

Sometimes, a day full of dribs and drabs works out quite well.

The Road to Diamond, Day 96: The Hounds of the Hoovervilles

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 4,2025- In the late 1920s, it was decided, by the Executive Branch, that the solution to the world’s gathering economic woes was to place trust in its economic elite, particularly the business titans of the United States. Granting exemptions and privileges to the “movers and shakers” was seen by the Hoover Administration as central to the nation’s, and the world’s , recovery following the Stock Market crash of October, 2029.

It proved to be too little, too late. The solution that worked proved to be the counterintuitive one-Massive investment by the government itself, large-scale programs that lifted society up by loaned bootstraps: The New Deal, a sequel to the Square Deal that was initiated by President Theodore Roosevelt, nearly thirty years earlier. That agenda increased government monitoring of business and enacted public health programs. The agenda of TR’s cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, brought government into everything from flood control and rural electrification to the basic well-being of senior citizens and control of traded securities.

That the United States was drawn into World War II added to the economy in some respects and hampered it in others. War and defense industries flourished, while the workforce was limited by the need for so many men and women to go forth in safeguarding the nation’s, and the world’s, freedom.

Nearly a century after the Crash, we face a related reckoning. The notion that the government should be far less involved in social welfare is again gaining traction. It has been said, several times of late, including by the President in his speech to Congress, this evening, that payouts to deceased people have been ongoing. My wife of 29 years died, 14 years ago tomorrow. When she had been laid to rest, and the family members had gone back to their own lives, I took it upon myself to return funds that were no longer hers and to pay back her insurers that which had been overpaid. Further, time passed and I received Survivor Benefits from the Social Security Administration-until I filed for my own Retirement, upon reaching the age of 70. At that point, the Survivor Benefits stopped. I doubt that my handling of our situation is an anomaly.

I do not understand the insistence, by people who are independently wealthy and have no need of Social Security, that the rest of us should be asked to give up our benefits. Before anyone says that is not what Elon Musk and others are advocating-please note that he referred to Social Security as a Ponzi scheme. I paid into the fund, from November, 1966-February, 1987 and again from March, 1992- November, 2020. Heck, when I work occasionally as a Substitute Teacher, I am still paying into the Fund. I am getting back what I gave. I do not feel grifted.

Between the day after the Stock Market crash of October, 1929 and the inception of the New Deal, there emerged, across the nation, settlements of displaced workers and their families. These were called Hoovervilles. They gradually closed, as the economy slowly improved and the war effort took more people into the realm of military service. The Hoovervilles, in fairness, make today’s homeless encampments seem small by comparison-even in California.

I wonder, though, what will be the end result of slash and burn? What programs do the DOGE executives have in mind for those currently being displaced? Have they thought that far ahead, or are they acting as the new hounds of latter day Hoovervilles? I can work, if need be, for the foreseeable future. As I look around at my contemporaries, however, I see that not everyone can.

The Road to Diamond, Day 94: Close Calls

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

March 2, 2025- Myrtle Beach was an unexpected surprise, when I was near the end of my Army Basic Training, in mid-August, 1969. I earned a three-day pass, and got to spend 1 1/2 days just enjoying a cabana to myself and the long strand of sand, with plenty of the scenery that appealed to an 18-year-old man-child. I haven’t been back there since, though I’ve been close-having visited Florence and Hemingway, as well as the Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute, in 2016 and 2018.

Myrtle Beach has grown immensely, in the past 56 years. Its popularity as a resort has kept pace with that of several other towns, up and down the Atlantic Coast. So, it was a major national concern when the city was threatened by wildfire, over the past two days. Resources have been rushed to the area, and containment of the fire stands at 30 %, as I write this.

Tryon, NC is a town I visited in 2019. I briefly considered moving there, from Phoenix, in 2011, before deciding on Prescott. Tryon and nearby Saluda are also dealing with a wildfire. It, too, is 30% contained, as of now. Tryon is prime horse country, southeast of Asheville and high upon the South Carolina state line.

I pray for both areas, knowing that there, but for the grace of God, goes our area. We expect rain or snow on Tuesday, and again towards the end of this week. It won’t do much to stave off fire, and given the current status of wildland firefighting teams, it likely falls to us volunteers to check on campsites, to make sure no embers are left to wait for a sudden gust of wind. This is exactly what brought me back from the Philippines and is keeping me close by, over most of the next six months. In a couple of weeks, our Red Cross team will be holding a dry run of a shelter set-up. A while back, I was asked to direct this exercise, and will see whether that still holds, at our meeting on Thursday.

This will be a year for many close calls. Let everyone be on the alert, that those surprises don’t overtake yourselves and loved ones.

The Road to Diamond, Day 87: Home Stretch

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

February 23, 2025- “Are you having fun yet?”, asked the random man standing at a corner, as if on guard. “All night long!”, I replied, “Have a nice night”, and kept walking, as someone striking up a conversation in the dark usually wants one of two things-neither of which is good. “Good answer”, he called from behind me. Hearing no footfalls afterward, I continued on to Home Base I, at an unhurried pace.

Days and nights, in general, around here offer a consistency. One accomplishes as much as one wants, with as much, or as little, help from others as is welcomed. That is the measure of a proper Home Base. It is a village that raises children. It is a safe place for those whose only wish is to grow old in peace. It is a forum for Right and Left alike. It is the recipient of my attention, for much of the next six months, as we anticipate a particularly challenging fire season, followed by a monsoon period, the strength of which has yet to be determined.

I will have journeys during this time: Southern California (March 10-13); Nevada (March 25-30), part of which will most likely be spent with Filipino friends who plan on visiting; eastward (May 5-23), to visit with family and friends, in the Midwest, Northeast and South. The rest of the time will be spent with my teammates in Red Cross, Farmers Market, Slow Food-Prescott and my faith community. I will get in more hikes and, given the cutbacks in National Forest personnel, be more given to taking drives to monitor abandoned campsites- shovel and jerry can on hand, to put out any lingering smolders. I will be at Coffee Klatsch most Monday mornings and Soup Kitchen most Monday evenings.

Our national government is, by default, summoning more of us to focus on the well-being of our local communities, and it may be quite surprised at just how many people care deeply-and how much they care. The last time I was this focused on Home Base was in 2020, during the midst of COVID, and I had a lot of company, between here in Prescott and in Alexandria, Louisiana, (the latter due to hurricanes that didn’t care there was a pandemic afoot.)

September will bring the seal to this Home Stretch: Farm-to-Table Dinner is returning on September 6. I will be there as a volunteer, before (world conditions permitting) heading to Europe, and possibly East Africa, for the rest of September and most of October. In the meantime, my focus is as described above.

The Road to Diamond, Day 64: Adoracion

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 31, 2025, Manila- She completed a veritable mountain of translations, of Baha’i scriptures and guidance, from English to Tagalog, over a 40-year career. This, without a college degree, relying on a high level of intuition and native linguistic intelligence. Some of the texts she translated are quite challenging to read and comprehend in English. Her husband said she worked on translating letters from our Supreme Body, the Universal House of Justice,as soon as they were distributed. She anticipated the letters and set aside time for the work. This was the way of Maria Adoracion Inowe Newman, who died today at age 64.

The news came to me early this morning, about four hours after her passing, and so the day, which might otherwise have been rather quiet, became busy with messages back and forth, and a taxi ride across town to the high speed rail, which brought us to Antipolo, the Prescott of Luzon, and the city where Ador lived. After five of us took a motorcycle cab from the city center to the cemetery, we spent about an hour in reflection and some conversations, before the service was held, in gentle sunlight and a cool mountain breeze. Ador had chosen the prayers, a balance of English and Tagalog verses, reflecting her life’s work.

A life well-lived begets a personage well-loved, or perhaps the two are intertwined. Ador seems like a fitting name for the lady, judging from the quiet flow of sorrow this afternoon.

The Road to Diamond, Day 53: Widen the Circle

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

January 20, 2025- Over 400 people gathered at the modest United Methodist Church, in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Many marched from Prescott College, around the Courthouse and back to the church. Others gathered at the church, in advance of the celebration. I walked from Home Base I to the College, and caught up with the marchers as they were stopped on the west side of Courthouse Square, then went over to the Church.

The celebration itself had several moments of joy, especially a lengthy spoken word poem and address by Jeff Daverman, a progressive activist. He again stressed the need to maintain action, in pursuit of one’s goals, especially as it pertains to justice. Jeff stressed nonviolence, a key point for people across the spectrum to keep in mind, in this time of social ferment. (Is there ever a time when there isn’t social ferment?) After several songs, by Womansong, Rose-Gibbs Duo,and Prescott Interfaith Choir, another activist, Truth B. Told, took the stage and also called for a concerted effort, day to day, to bring about social justice. He also stressed nonviolence, but did not call for non-confrontation. No Black man growing up hard, in a Michigan factory town-or anywhere, for that matter, can be expected to view the world the way Whites view it.

A little girl was soloist for Prescott Interfaith Choir, on a song whose message called for widening the circle. Jeff, and Chris (aka Truth), both spoke to the dilemma faced by Whites, especially in a town with few African-Americans, itself having the past of a Sundown Town. (Except for the few who settled here, in the 1870s, Black people were not allowed to stay overnight in Prescott, until the 1970s.) The circle, in that respect, is a fair amount looser than it was back then. That was 50 years ago, though, and there is a lot more to be done, in the expansion of our diversity.

The thing is, though, diversity cannot be forced, nor can it be contrived. Each individual has the responsibility for her(his) own personal growth. Gimmicks, like DEI committees, will not, of themselves lead to the widening of the circle. Conversely, canceling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will not make the issues that led to these committees go away. Equity is not a four letter + two word. It means, simply, being impartial and fair. In that respect, it has the same cachet as equality. Inclusion means inviting those who might be marginalized into the decision-making process, especially in matters that pertain to them. Diversity may shake the comfort zones of those whose world has been homogeneous, for a very long time, but it will not shatter that world.

Widening the circle depends on each of us, at least a little, every day.