Category Archives: service

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 3

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Family, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 24, 2026- “I love” is the sweetest phrase, especially coming from a six-month old. I don’t expect my granddaughter to speak, but she does so and from her heart. Many times, Hana us repeating what she has heard us say, over and over. Sometimes, as with the comment, two days ago, about the beef, she speaks as her brain has told her, perhaps from having heard others speak, here and there. Her words of love, though, are definitely a reflection of how each of us feels about her. When she said it, this afternoon, it made my day.

I have a new role in my Faith community: Moderating consultation during our Sector’s (neighbourhood group’s) Spiritual Feasts. Tonight was my first time doing this, and I felt it crucial to ask for people to translate from English to Persian, at several points, as 98% of the group is Persian-speaking, and not all of these folks are fluent in English. It is Baha’i practice to provide believers with translation into their preferred language, and not to demand that they learn English for the convenience of native speakers of English. People should learn a language for their own progress or convenience, not for that of others.

Hana is being raised speaking English and Korean. I am also introducing numbers and a few key phrases in French and Spanish also. I have heard her speak English, here and there. She probably speaks a few Korean words to her mother. One needs to listen carefully, though, to the soft, high-pitched voice. As I said earlier, her words tend to come from the heart.

There is much to be learned from a little one, though, in discerning what matters most.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 29

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

June 19.2026- Juneteenth, and the skies were raging! We awoke to heavy thunder and lightning, with about 3″ of rain falling, during the course of the morning. Aram went into work, driving carefully, on roads that were not yet waterlogged. The flash flood watch came a little later.but we were happily inside, until the rain stopped. There was no walk for Hana today, though. The stroller does not need to be pushed through mud, which usually runs onto sidewalks and gullies that form on the inside lanes of surface streets.

It goes without saying, that I will encourage Hana to resist any unlawful authority. I will tell her to respect and obey her parents, teachers and police. I will tell her that anyone who disrespects her person has not earned her respect. I will tell her that there is a system for reporting unprofessional behaviour by those who are vested with authority, and that her parents and I will be the first people to whom she should report such things.

This is the legacy of Juneteenth, that no one need consent to slavery under another human being-or group of humans. This is so, no matter the economic, political or social status of the would-be enslaver. Not all enslavement is plantation-based, as we see from the Epstein files and other accounts of human trafficking. No one deserves to be under another person’s thumb, no matter the initial enticement.

My granddaughter will know this, from the time she can walk.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 28

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

June 18, 2026- My granddaughter has a cue for me to wait just a bit, before giving her the next spoonful of food, at her lunch time feeding. With a twinkle in her eye, she sticks her thumb in her mouth. A few seconds later, she is ready for the next bite, and the thumb comes out. There is a method to many of the things that my Capricorn, Solstice-born delight of the heart does, in her feeding and in her playpen activities.

She carefully takes books and small plush toys out of a woven basket, and pushes them to one side, save the item she wants to manipulate and whose texture she wants to embrace. She will look at a book, also taking in its texture, shape and size, before pushing it to the edge of the pen. Then she will pick up a plush animal and hold it close, talking to the toy, in sweet tones.

She reminds me of Penny, her paternal grandmother, in her sweeter, gentler state of being. She also reminds me, of a friend who left this world last Saturday night. Annie was always present with a smile, encouraging words, and, if she knew and trusted someone, a hug. She and her husband, Dave, made their home available for gatherings of our Faith community, as often as their health and family needs allowed. There was always a comfortable meeting space, and afterwards, we all sat at the long dining table, enjoying fellowship and plentiful refreshments. Dave and Annie hosted Game Night, on occasion. My daughter-in-law, Yunhee, still remembers one such evening, when she was visiting me and went along. She was delighted by the warm reception she got, giving her a fine first impression of our Faith community.

That was what Annie and Dave knew best-making strangers into friends. Barbara Ann Lovell’s spirit will look upon her family, her community, those of us farther afield who enjoyed her friendship-and most of all, upon her husband. They were one another’s rock, as solidly-connected couples ever are.

May her voice echo in the activities of Prescott’s Baha’is and the city’s Peacebuilders, and Coalition for Compassion and Justice. Rest in Paradise, dear friend.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 26

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Education, Inspiration, Personal Values, service, Social, Striving

June 16, 2026- Yesterday, Hana put a small towel across her back and crawled around with it., like a shawl. She did the same today. This afternoon, she put a small clean face wipe between her top and bottom incisors and looked up at me, with the cloth hanging from her mouth. Her eyes have a spark of mischief in them. The child has a sense of fun.

She also is showing more initiative, in trying to help, gently taking the feeding spoon in her hand, while not trying to grab it from me. She also puts her two hands around the feeding bottle, again not trying to take it from my hands, but just as a n extra pair. Her father was the same way as an infant and toddler-always trying to help where he could.

I will encourage these behaviours- both the humourous antics and the helpful efforts. Both are signs of a creative and intelligent mind. She is also showing a considerate, sensitive heart. When one of us sneezes or coughs, she looks at us with deeply concerned eyes, and will crawl over, putting her little hand on our arm or chest.

Today marks 57 years since I enlisted in the United States Army. I served in active duty for two years and six months. After that, I was released early to go back to college. The military, back then, gave me the discipline that I had not allowed myself to develop. I might have benefited, actually, from staying in longer, but then life would not have unfolded as it did. So, mistakes and all, I am glad things turned out the way they did, for the most part.

I am glad that Aram chose service in the Navy. It did him a world of good, and brought him together with Yunhee. Now, he has a solid sense of adulthood-and we have Hana.

Will Hana be encouraged to enter the military, when her time comes? If I am still here, and still lucid, as I have every intention of being, I will probably not encourage her to follow that route-but rather to follow another path of service-not because she is female, but because by that time (2043-4), we ought to be on the path towards civilizational correction. It’s all conjecture, at this point, but that is where I see things headed.

The Hana Chronicles, Month 5, Day 17

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

June 7, 2026- Hana had her first taste of meat today. It was boiled, pureed beef, which she found underwhelming. I can’t imagine it would be all that appetizing, especially after having the same meat, seasoned and grilled, as part of a steak salad dinner, this evening. Still, a baby can only eat soft foods at first. Four incisors don’t make for very good chewing. She finished the serving, though, and will have the same tomorrow.

She also went on her first coffee shop visit, this afternoon. Local Good Coffee House is a shop that is staffed mostly by high school students who are doing community service. Only the manager is paid. The rest of the proceeds, outside of overhead costs, go to education and public health funding. We sat and enjoyed cold lattes, while Hana alternately looked around and napped on her Daddy’s shoulder. She noticed a toddler arguing with her mother, at one point and babbled some words in what sounded like a scolding tone. The little girl may or may not have heard her, but decided to obey her mother, shortly afterward. Energy can have a positive effect.

I spent the morning volunteering at the Red Cross Donation Center, in southwest Plano. We had about twenty donors, but after registering them, I passed the time watching Dhar Mann videos on the center’s TV. Dhar Mann is a producer of short episodes that teach a positive moral lesson, often using plot twists. The scripts are simplistic and the acting so/so, but for children and adolescents, the stories could be useful. When the time comes, I will watch some of them with Hana, say when she is 8 or 9.

It was a nice weekend. Now, we get ready for another week of developmental activities. Her current focus is on getting herself to sit upright. She is almost there.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 14

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Education, Family, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, service, Social, Striving

June 4, 2026- My granddaughter had a few comments on the singing birds and on encountering the same mother and baby we met yesterday. She was quite happy with our walk, even along the somewhat bumpy grass path that brought us closer to our house, on the way back. It was warmer today, and the sun was more direct, but Hana was shielded by both a sun visor and her stroller’s canopy. Her skin was warm when we got back, so I put infant-safe lotion on her arms, legs and neck. Sunscreen is not recommended for children under the age of two.

She likes the solid foods to which she’s been introduced so far-and that includes the broccoli that she’s had for the past three days. Tomorrow, it will be cabbage’s turn. Sitting in a high chair, for ten-minutes, has also proven easier than I had thought. She sits straight and keeps her posture-and I have a tray in place, for extra support. Sitting in the chair for more than ten minutes is probably not a good idea until she can sit up straight, without support from furniture. Still, the high chair makes feeding easier.

She misses her parents, along about the time that her body clock tells her that they should be home. That is her challenge, but she also knows that she is safe with her Papa. Their schedules will even out, starting next week, so this should be less of a problem. Her awareness is, nonetheless, very keen.

Overall, though, Hana is a bright, engaging and generally happy little girl.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 13

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Family, Hiking and Nature, Personal Values, service, Social, Striving

June3,2026- My granddaughter, Han, was born on December 22, 2025. I have been keeping people I care about informed of her milestones and growth, for the past many months-and since those milestones are my central concerns, I am recasting the title of this series of posts to reflect that.

We took our first grandfather and granddaughter solo walk, this afternoon. I put her securely in her stroller, with canopy and bug net firmly in place. We then went to the grounds of the nearby, out-of-session middle school and to a section of Hoblitzelle Park that lies nearby. We saw prairie cone flowers and standing cypress flowers by the yardful. There were also introduced columbines, in a yard along the way. We encountered a mother and baby, in a similar stroller near the park bench where I stopped and enjoyed a can of mineral water. Hana was nonplussed. She was taking in the fresh air and scenery, but was not as sociable as she usually is.

Back at the house, after our walk, we watched through the window, as city workers poured concrete on a reinforcement of a section of our cul-de-sac. I decided to read her a selection from a book of “Girl Power” stories. When I went to put her in her bouncy chair, she resisted a bit, arching her back and saying “No”-but in a quiet voice. When I explained to her that this was “Girl Power” story time, she relaxed and let me secure her in her seat. The story was about Moana, the Disney character, as a teenager. She liked the tale-and the pictures.

What she enjoys most, though, about our days together, is my being with her-holding her and rocking her when it meets her need for comfort, getting on hands and knees in the play pen, reading different stories and knowing just when she needs a diaper change. When is getting tired and frustrated, Papa is there to get her to the crib or even rock her to sleep and let her sleep on my shoulder..

I can’t think of a finer way to spend a day.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 9

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Family, Inner Struggles, Personal goals, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

May 30, 2026- Today was the original Memorial Day, nee Decoration Day-when people would adorn their loved ones’ graves with flowers and other tokens of remembrance. After World War II, the name changed, unofficially. This was given Congressional approval in 1968. Even before the official change, at school in the 1950s, we would assemble and collectively recite a poem that began: “Tomorrow is Memorial Day. The soldiers will be marching, with banners waving high..” On this day, we think of what can be done for the greater good of humanity, while also focusing on the individuals in our families who have gone on, many having made the ultimate sacrifice/

Somehow, this brought me to think of both the larger and smaller things that are of importance in life, and in turn, the notion that our lives dovetail between concern with the greater good (“Macro”) and the small details and niceties (“Micro”). It’s a given, in today’s world, that things can increase in number and size, without end, and become smaller in the same manner. Whole numbers have no limit; neither do fractions. There are an infinite number of celestial bodies in the Universe, and there are an as yet unknown number of reductions that can be made in subatomic particles.

All this further made me look at how the phases of my life have dovetailed between Micro and Macro. As a child and teenager, my day to day concerns were with my family and the town of Saugus. Yet there was also an awareness of the wider world, and my interests ranged from the natural history of the planet to the quality of life for people in other parts of the world.

In my twenties, I turned fairly inward, not really letting anyone in and basically going through the motions of military service, college and the beginnings of my teaching career. In my thirties and forties, the focus turned outward again-a change in Faith, marriage, and dedication to a life of service, plus raising a child. In my fifties, the focus was Micro again-taking care of my wife, in her declining years, and ridding myself of negative thoughts and feelings about myself. From age 60 until last December, the focus was Macro again- a wide field of community service and lots of travel, both domestic and international-with a view towards expanding my network of friends.

Now, the focus is again largely Micro-my primary concern being the well-being and development of my granddaughter, Hana. It is also a hybrid life: In being a role model for her, I am gradually expanding my network here in Plano and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area. It will be important for her to see that these old bones still carry some weight. My network of friends and family across the continent, and the globe, also remains intact. Visits with them are in abeyance, but not finished. As my family’s life evolves, so will mine.

“A Space of Quiet Promise”

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

May 28, 2026- I am now halfway through my diamond year. Much has changed, since my 75th birthday, and much, at least inside me, has remained the same.

I have left a mountain community, with many acts of service in the course of a week. There was also much in the way of natural beauty, in which I could become refreshed, even at the risk of encountering an apex predator. I left a solid community of friends, of all Faiths, though a good many of my interactions were with my fellow Baha’is; Friends were also from all points on the political spectrum; as apt to be women as men; many were older than 60, and many were younger. I finally mastered the art of teaching, just in time to retire.

I came to a place of quiet promise. (The phrase is borrowed from blogger Cynthia Ward’s essay, “Who I Used To Be”.)* I left a one-bedroom apartment and came into a two-story house, with three bedrooms and two offices that could convert to bedrooms. The kitchen and living room, alone, are the size of what I left behind. I came to live with family, as an active contributor, rather than as a dependent. My educational skills now go towards the development of my infant granddaughter. My Red Cross volunteering is strictly on weekends, and my Baha’i activities are on evenings and weekends. I have not changed my American Legion post, as yet. There is no activity at the nearest post, save gatherings centered on drinking and smoking, neither of which interest me, nor would they suit my coming home to a nursing mother and a little girl. As time goes on, Slow Food Dallas-Fort Worth could draw me into its activities.

Health-wise, I have found a fine, competent VA doctor, dentist and chiropractor. I go to a Planet Fitness, about ten minutes from here. There are plenty of parks nearby and several safe neighbourhoods in which to walk, day or night. I can still do a plank for 1 1/2-2 minutes. I can still walk 3-5 miles. (It’s mostly flat here, but the humidity makes up for the lack of elevation changes).

I have several bounties here: A loving son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter; a large and supportive Baha’i community; a quiet neighbourhood connected with the outside world by well-ordered streets and roads; and, for the next few months at least, a reliable supply network for what we need. This house, this community, are places of quiet promise.

  • “Who I Used to Be”, Still Amazed, Cynthia Ward May 25,2026

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 5

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

May 26, 2026- Hana’s solid food introduction schedule was devised today, just as her first tooth, or two, is starting to erupt. She accepted the three spoonfuls of rice porridge, which of course are still supplemented by mother’s milk. We three generally share feeding responsibilities, with me taking on the feeding-and everything else pertaining to her care, during the workday. It is one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had.

As a child and teen, I had certain specific chores-and was also raised to notice what needed to be done-and to take care of it. Dad’s words were “Don’t expect an engraved invitation….” I was not the ideal child, but I did take some pride in helping around the house. My siblings, likewise, did their share.

We don’t issue engraved invitations to each other here, either. If one of us is the first to come upon something that needs to be done, we don’t wait around for permission. It is just how a well-oiled household has always worked, in my experience-and it will be a good example for Hana (and her siblings, if there are any.)

A community would seem to be much the same. I have taken on a couple of committee roles in the Baha’i community here and serve as a Red Cross Blood Donor Ambassador in two or three weekend blood drives, each month. While it is a far cry from the volunteer activities that found me in Prescott, these roles dovetail nicely with my first responsibility: My grandchild.

I know of people who work far harder in a volunteer capacity-and my hat goes off to them. It is, however, a truth that “Many hands make light work”; “Teamwork makes the dream work”, and so on. We will continue to make our homestead, and our youngest member, thrive.