Category Archives: Social

They Wish

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Posted by on in Personal Values, Poetry, Social, Striving

September 1, 2016, Prescott- 

There are those who view me only as a perpetual motion machine,

and only stop by here, when I’m on the road.

They wish for a byline other than Prescott.

There are those outside the chain of command at my school,

who insert themselves, loudly,

into every step, or misstep, they see my co-workers and I making.

They wish for more people to be under their thumbs.

There are those who would turn back the clock of society,

and stir the pot of public ignorance, at every turn.

They wish for a world that no longer exists,

and which did not really serve its inhabitants all that well.

There are those, the children and young adults,

who will inherit any mess that comes about,

as a result of reckless meddling and mindless ignorance.

They wish to be respected and heard.

There are those who work, diligently, for a better tomorrow,

and who don’t let the clamour of the nonsensical deter them.

They wish for a world that attains its fruition.

There are we, who see each soul as more valuable,

than even he or she might see, in the midst of darkness.

We wish for all to see the Universe, in its true splendour.

Nauru

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Posted by on in children, Personal Values, Social

August 24, 2016, Prescott-  I listened to a report, on NPR this morning, about the incarceration of minor children who are undocumented immigrants, caught in Australia.  They are transported to Nauru, a mini-state that was administered by the Australian government, before gaining independence in 1968.  It functioned as a country for some forty years, until the phosphates which abounded on its small land frame, ran out.  Now, Nauru operates as a tax haven and as a prison island.

The detention centre used by Australia lies in a desolate, worn-out mining district.  The treatment meted out to the children, according to a former monitor, who defied Australian law, by speaking out, is violent and as abysmal as the surroundings.  NPR will give Save The Children- Australia, allegedly a partner in the abuse, a chance to present its side of the story, tomorrow.  The Australian government is also being afforded an opportunity to respond to the charges.

Generally, when “child-centered” non-profit organizations turn away from their stated mission, it has become a matter of bringing in enough revenue to meet operating costs, and to avoid angering the powers that be, who are often acquiescent to a “measure” of abuse.  I have seen this in several places, from the Navajo and Lakota Sioux nations, to Phoenix and eastern Massachusetts.

Being complicit, or complacent, in or towards abuse and neglect is a crime against humanity.  To shrug one’s shoulders, and say “Well, money pays the bills.”, will not set well in the eventual court of law that gets to deal with the case.  I will not be surprised to see several Save The Children officials, and people in both the Australian and Nauruan governments, facing a higher court, very soon.

Aloneness at the Top

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Posted by on in collaborating, Social, Striving

August 23, 2016, Prescott- It’s time to take a break from the day-to-day, and think about our leaders, or those who purport to be such.  In a conversation this afternoon, the three of us noted that the school principal has an intense burden, not going out among the staff as often as people seem to want.  When she has shown up, her demeanor is pleasant enough, though the message I get is “Don’t make my work any harder, please.”

I remember having the sense, particularly in my first principalship, of being very much without friends.  My wife was forty miles away, at another school and son was only 10, and trying to juggle going back and forth between two schools, so as not to miss either of us too much.  The staff at my school was cordial, but after work, I went home to the dreariness of DirecTV and a diet of VH1.  The community, egged on by a local racist, was rather on the hostile side.

I reflected on these notions this afternoon, whilst listening to the author of a new book on Donald Trump.  He views his subject as pretty much a loner- a gladhander, yes, but one who tends to prefer his own company- outside of the work day.  Hillary Clinton seems equally a duck out of water, when in the company of strangers, after a certain amount of time.  Barack Obama is engrossed in his family unit, and the company of a small circle of friends.  Indeed, we have to go back to Bill Clinton to see a leader who relishes the crowd, and before him, all the way to John F. Kennedy.

I feel for our leaders, whether local or national.  The late Shah of Iran once remarked, in an interview with the journalist Oriana Fallaci, that, were he to have it all to do over again, he would want to be anything other than a king.  The crush upon a mere mortal has to be both deafening and suffocating.  Most people appreciate, and expect, a leader who will put him/herself aside, as it were, and rush to the side of the suffering.  Many, from George Washington on, wished to do just that- until, in modern times, the combination of security concerns, open calls for harm to be done to said leader, and the seeming ingratitude of some local communities, have led to a pullback by the Comforter-in-Chief, as we have seen in the second Obama term.

Could it be that we, the people, need to reassess our attitudes towards those whom we elect to manage our civic affairs?

 

Becky Fest

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Posted by on in Community, Social

August 20, 2016, Prescott- The rain continued apace, today, though the lion’s share of it came towards evening.  Two events coincided with the storm:  A friend’s “End of Summer” gathering, which I attended for about an hour, and Becky Fest, organized by a local musician, Becky Dalke, for the purpose of empowering women in music.  The first such gathering was on the tenth anniversary of the attacks on New York, September 11, 2011.  That year, and for a few years subsequent, Becky Fest was held at a local bar, Coyote Joe’s.

This year found the gathering at Beastro, a crafts studio that supports animal welfare.  Beastro’s owners are local poets, as well, so I have some familiarity with them.  Their back yard served as the stage and audience pit.  It was jam-packed when I got there, at 5, and the group due to perform, Kaileena and the Originals, was just setting up.  Kaileena is a Prescott native, who has been performing as an indie musician, since 2006, being closely associated with the Austin music scene.  The group did some kick-ass Blues, including a lengthy rendition of “Cry Me A River”.

Then, came the “headliners”, Stella and the Phins.  Stella, attired in a frilly red dress, took the stage like a boss.  I felt like I was seeing and hearing what Grace Slick would have done, had she stayed closer to her hard rock roots.  Stella Lora Heiniemi has incredible range, from growling like Mama Bear to sizzling high notes.  The ever-present harmonica, in the hands and mouth of Haz7maX, was always her back-up “vocal”, from where I sat.  Guy and Caleb, the guitarists, had there own magic, with Caleb offering a sweet original song, devoted to his new wife.  I was happy to be sitting directly behind a young couple, for this one, and noting their tenderness towards one another, as Caleb sang his story.  Donna, the group’s percussionist, stayed in the background, but is second to none, on the drums.

Just before Stella and the gang got started, a group of us set up a canopy.  This is how we do things in Prescott- one of the features of life that endears me to this town, as that’s how it always was back in Saugus:  People cared for one another and worked as a team, on matters large and small.

The Fest was still going on, as I left to tend to a matter related to the “End of Summer” party.  As it happened, two birthdays were celebrated:  Judy’s (the E.O.S. hostess), belatedly and Becky’s (which is this weekend).

Ides

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Education, Social, Striving

August 15, 2016, Prescott- Today and tomorrow mark what medieval Europeans would have called the Ides (divides) of August.  Most of us are aware of the concept of dividing months into fortnights (periods of two weeks), from Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”. The Ides of March became associated with foreboding, associated with the death of Caesar.

Division, for me, is something we need to work hard at overcoming.  I am in a new work environment.  The three of us who staff the room are working to overcome differences in style, priority, and temperament, both among ourselves and with the 6-7 supervisory staff, who are in and out of the room during the day.  Then, there are differences that arise with, and among, our charges- the students in our self-contained unit. Finally, there are the other staff at the school, who are united in their little groups, but have a ways to go in opening up to those perceived as “others”.

Division, at its most innocent, is a coping strategy for making sense of one’s world.  At its most nefarious, it is a way of maintaining barriers.  This is something we all tend to do, to one extent or another.  My goal is to eliminate as many of “the Ides”, socially, as I can, without falling back into my former patterns of being pushy and insistent.  Those only closed up the circles more quickly.  This time, I will be more prone to careful listening and patience.

 

Three Verses

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Posted by on in Personal Values, Poetry, Social, Striving

August 13, 2016, Prescott- I have a lot on my plate, so today, and for the next two days, I offer three separate topics, in verse.

No Upgrade Needed

I was blessed with the gold standard, as my son and I con

Then, she was called to the Placeless, and physically alone, I demurred.

I am in a good place, nonetheless, living in comfort, at least as I see it.

The roof  does not leak.  There are no scorpions, skittering about.

My work pays the bills, and volunteering cheers my spirit.

I see the bright blessed day, the dark, sacred night; joy, within and without.

The Universe saw fit to present me with a new car.

Collaborators, colleagues and friends, are never far.

Years back, I longed for someone special.

Her spirit lingers, tells me to fear no ill.

No upgrade is needed, whispers my Shining Star.

 

Change/Constant

Reports of our demise are premature.

The desert shimmers; the sunsets dazzle.

Cars bunch up, each morning and evening.

Ants march in unison; each looks straight ahead.

The only surprise, day by day, is what the Maestro of Chaos has to say next.

There is no surprise, coming from the Lady of Hope.

Toys sit, unused.  Children stare into screens, bemused.

Those who erred on the side of wicked find there are precious few places to lay their heads.

Dulcet dreams, though, bring my heart and mind to solace.

Each dawn rises, and warmth awakens my heart.  I find the constancy fills my spirit, no less.

Playthings; Really?

Men in hardhats, men in suits, men on furlough

Same as ever, taunts and hoots

Come from many, without a thought.

I acknowledge the lovely, the “hot”.

The mind, though, is more captivating.

The snarkiness, the challenge, the striving,

These are what I most treasure.

I had the joy, upon a time, of long conversations,

Into the night-once until first light.

She made me promise not to let our words and thoughts stray so far again.

She made me promise never, ever, to lift an unkind hand, or give voice to an injurious thought.

I kept those promises.  The goal was the golden strands of the spirit,

the Heavenly Rapunzel, letting down the cascade of coiffure,

that she and I would, hand over hand,

hand in hand, achieve the eternal,

as one soul.

Women are never playthings; partners as objects is a mindless construct.

People are not implements; viewing the Other is a means to self-destruct.

 

Second Class

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Posted by on in Community, Personal Values, Social

August 10, 2016, Prescott- I find the ongoing raising of the issue of gun ownership to be one of the simultaneously most ludicrous, and most dangerous, activities of the political season.  The majority of firearms owners, which included my immediate family until 2011, and still includes my son, and several friends, are sober, careful people, who have had proper training in the care, use, maintenance and safeguarding of arms and ammunition.

I had my first class in firearms safety, in 1962, as an 11-year-old Boy Scout.  That class was offered by a Certified Trainer, at a National Rifle Association facility.  I  subsequently had training in a variety of weapons, as part of my overall training, whilst a soldier in the U. S. Army.  My son, in turn, had full certified training in the use of several firearms, prior to buying and properly owning a weapon of his own.

Although I  no longer own a firearm, I believe people are within their rights to do so, for the purposes of hunting, self-defense and target shooting, if that is their fancy. Where I draw the line is at the notion that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution suggests it is permissible to rise in insurrection against a freely-elected President.

It does not.  The framers of our Constitution warned against tyranny- either of the elect, or by the electorate.  There are many non-legislated rules and regulations, emanating from governments at all levels, with which I disagree.  These have been promulgated by liberal and conservative elected officials alike.  There are some rules of which I approve, while others loathe them.  None of us, though, is so privileged as to kill or maim an elected official, or any law enforcement officer going about the day-to-day keeping of order.  Likewise, no government official or law enforcement officer can be so obstreperous as to randomly, or systematically, engage in acts of oppression against ordinary citizens.  There can be no second class citizenry.

There is a process, some parts of which are cumbersome, often tedious, for effecting change.  Protest is a legitimate part of that change agency.  Rebellion is not.  No person, therefore, can legitimately swear to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, if his/her intention is to cherry-pick its provisions.  Our next  President must be…..presidential.  The people he/she defeats, must remain loyal to our government- and to our country.

Sensitivity

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Posted by on in children, Education, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving

August 9, 2016, Prescott-  This is a fine “home stretch”, thus far.  I have had dinner with a Young Republican, with a friend of three years and, on a couple of occasions, with several Baha’i friends, at various gatherings.  I have started work again, helping special needs children in the schools, here in town- first at the high school, before being transferred to Grades 5 & 6, for the needs of the District.  It’s gratifying to know that my skill set is valued  at the higher levels.  It hasn’t always been that way.  I am getting settled financially, as well, and will be fine, especially as Autumn gets into full swing.  Physically, my exercise routine is on track, and diet is healthy. The Fall hiking season is about a month away, and lightning will not be a deterrent to being on  mountains. Most importantly, I have ditched the occasional tendency to lapse into conjecture and innuendo, when dealing with criticism or opposition.  “Say what happened, and no more” has become my mantra.

I am working with troubled children, once again.  Their struggles are very much the same as mine, when I was those grades.  Like me, they struggle, despite having loving parents.  Like me, they need more listening and less “by the book” judgment.  So, this I provide, to the best of my ability.  I find myself vindicated by their amazing curiosity, awakening intellect and sensitivity to those around them, who are suffering.

It will be a full, energizing and revelatory year.

 

Tales from the 2016 Road: Midsouth Meanderings

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Posted by on in Family, Social, Striving, Travel

July 19, 2016, Nashville-  Brother had to shove off pretty early for work, so I headed out, northward, around the same time.  North Georgia passed by fairly quickly.  Since I was headed beyond Atlanta,  the traffic winked at me, going in the other direction.

I stopped briefly, outside Chattanooga (normally a destination worthy of 2-3 days, in its own right), and called an online friend, who lives outside Knoxville.  The message back was that he had time for coffee and catch-up, and would meet me in Lenoir City, east of Knoxville, in mid-afternoon.

I stopped in Ooltewah/ Collegedale, northeast of Chattanooga, and enjoyed a lovely lunch at  4 Corners Cafe, a gem that’s hidden in the Apison Center strip mall at the junction of TN Rtes 317 and 321.  The kids manning the place were in the last days of high school and university breaks, and were still most enthusiastic about 4 Corners’ fare.  They were especially delighted to learn that I was from Arizona, and had chosen their place as a lunch stop.  I’d go back there again.

Further along, on I-75, I took a brief drive through the small city of Cleveland, finding gracious people and a delightful ambiance.  The town would also be worth a day or so, on another journey.  I had to make the effort to get up to Lenoir, and as it happened, there was yet another accident, tying up northbound traffic.    I did make it to the Starbuck’s in Lenoir City, about 3:30.  My friend from Xanga days was there, with a few stories of his own meanderings in the general area of eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia and Alabama, and the beeline to New Orleans.  Some of you may remember that my last visit with him was in Ocean Springs, MS, in February, 2015.

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JR and I swapped yarns of the road, for about an hour.  Then, it was time for me to get eastbound, once again, with the goal of avoiding the worst of Nashville’s rush hour. With the aid of my Elantra’s GPS, I got to downtown Nashville, and to a cramped, but adequate parking garage.  I prefer garages, when in a large city, with the chance to walk about in the interesting downtown.  I’m still mastering the smart phone camera, so please excuse the photo quality.

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I chose Old Spaghetti Factory, in the Printers’ Alley district, for a satisfying meal of salad, along with spinach & cheese ravioli.  Jeremy was an enthusiastic waiter, and there were a couple of birthdays that night, so the atmosphere was most effervescent.  Nashville is always a fascinating place to stop.  I would like to spend 2-3 days there, sometime.

The schedule calls for me to be in Boulder, at 9 AM, Friday, so I drove on, past Clarksville, TN, the Land Between The Lakes, and Paducah, KY, each a worthy stopping place.  I chose Marion, IL, as my rest stop for the night, with a friendly couple greeting me at Airport Inn, on the road towards the university town of Carbondale.  I made good time today, in spite of the tie-up, and will head across southern Illinois, Missouri and at least part of Kansas, on Wednesday.

 

Tales of the 2016 Road: Crystal Clear in Georgia

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Posted by on in Family, Hiking and Nature, Social, Travel

 

July 17-18, 2016, Newnan, GA-  I got up earlier than usual, on Sunday morning.  It was 12:30 A.M., PDT; 3:30 A.M., Eastern Daylight Time.  No, I wasn’t planning an assault on one of the Great Smoky Peaks- the nearest, Mt. Mitchell, being an 11-hour drive, anyway.  The occasion that set me on the road, at 4:30, was a 12 Noon lunch at my brother’s house, in this western Georgia town, some 240 miles north of Hudson.

Breakfast on the fly, and  brief gift shopping at Florida Citrus Center, in Jasper, on the Georgia state line, were my only diversions, en route to Newnan.  I actually made it, right after the Noon Bell.  After meeting, and being escorted to the lunch table, by my fourth grand nephew, I joined brother and the gang for cranberry chicken salad and a variety of fixings.

The centerpiece of the afternoon was us all taking a pontoon boat ride on man-made, but crystalline, Lake Redwine.  This reservoir has none of he brownery of most southern lakes, perhaps because its fill level is well-managed.

Here are several photos of the lake and its surroundings.

Lake Redwine, GA
Lake Redwine, GA
Lake Redwine, GA
Lake Redwine, GA

The pontoon took the seven of us around the lake, under the able navigation of my brother and nephew, in a bit under forty-five minutes.  You can see how the lake is a place of solace, for so many, even on a warm summer day.

Boom along Lake Redwine, GA
Lake Redwine, GA
Lake Redwine, GA
Greater Sandhill Crane, Lake Redwine, GA
Small island, Lake Redwine, GA

The place has different ambiances, at sunset,

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and at dawn.

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First light along Lake Redwine, GA

After my nephew, niece-in-law and the kids had left, the three of us headed up to The Hil, a farm-to-table restaurant, in the rustic community of Serenbe, several miles north of Newnan.  This would be a place where I could feel well at home, also, but for the price tag. The Hil’s cuisine, though, is thoroughly refreshing.

 

Serenbe, GA
The Hil Restaurant, Serenbe, GA

The day was exhilarating, and prepared me for Monday.  This day was spent in well-rewarded service, taking two of my best friends in all the world to tend to personal matters, enjoying fine meals at Pappacito’s (lunch) and Six Feet Under (dinner), with a viewing of the film, “The Shallows” (Blake Lively’s character faces down a shark, after it bites her leg), in between errands and meals.  Six Feet Under is so-named, as it is located across the street from historic Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, where the golfer, Bobby Jones, among other prominent Atlantans, is laid to rest.  It’s said that there are those who practice putting on the cemetery grounds.  Six Feet Under, though, is rather a lively place.  I liked the fare at both establishments.

Since my mood was far more relaxed and upbeat than those of my last visit here, five years ago, Newnan and Atlanta likewise felt more like home.  It was well worth the long detour down to both Florida and Georgia.

NEXT:  Back west, through Tennessee and the Great River Valleys