Category Archives: Social

The Road to 65, Mile 109: St. Patrick’s Day, Then and Now

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

March 17, 2015, Prescott-  The wearing of the green, on this day four years ago, found me putting on a day-appropriate t-shirt and taking a grinning selfie, with which I’ll not trouble you.  My face looked contorted, in more of a grimace than a smile. I had at least three chins, to boot. Penny had passed on just twelve days earlier,so as one might guess, the whole thing was to somehow trick myself into thinking that standing alone, in our now-empty Phoenix house, would break the din of sorrow.  Our son had the good sense to be off with friends that evening, and I’ve never been one to cling to anyone in despair.

Each year since, St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone.  I’ve been in Prescott for each of the past three, and generally have opted for either a home-cooked corned beef and cabbage or, as last year, go off with friends to one of the few spots that doesn’t operate on alcohol sales and cover charges.   It’s been a while since I was a twenty-something, so the cover charge is a relic, to me.

Tonight, the occasion was quietly observed at Prescott Junction, which used to be a JB’s, and is now a more imaginative Mom & Pop, albeit with the same owners.  It was, I must say, one of the more ample, and well-spiced, plates of corned beef I’ve had, since leaving my parents’ house, in 1973.  Mom always observed the special days in traditional style, and hers was succulent corned beef.

The meal aside, I get inspiration from the Tall Tale of St. Patrick having smitten the snakes of Ireland.  Here in Arizona, he’d be doing a land office business.  Triumphing over adversity is a step-by-step affair, and when one considers that those we view as evil, often see themselves as on a noble quest, the snake analogy is apropos.  Serpents, after all, control the rodent populace.  I have a very hard time, though, seeing the likes of Islamic State and Boko Haram as anything decent or good.  Relegating strong, intelligent women to the pantry, or the bedroom, is a death blow to any society that is going to advance. Restricting our God-given free will freezes the souls of those who are enslaved by ideology.  We are SUPPOSED TO make choices for ourselves.  Otherwise, no one learns, or advances spiritually.

So, in a few days, my Baha’i Fast will end, winter will gradually give way to Spring, and I will adhere to a normal schedule of activity.  In a few more years, 2021 to be specific, the Baha’i Fast will find me focusing on its spiritual dimension, while not adhering to its physical aspect-as by then, I’ll be 70.  Life, in each of its stages, brings new challenges and blessings.  Erin go bragh!

The Road to 65, Mile 107: E-Motion

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature, Personal goals, Social

March 15, 2015, Prescott-  I found myself in three friendly environments today.  I spent an hour or so with a kindred soul, catching up  with her considerable efforts at staying solvent.  She has done far better, historically, than I have, in terms of financial management.  I’m far better in that regard than I once was, yet I find her ability amazing.  She gave me a link to a film,

E-Motion: Trapped Emotional Energy Is Linked to Disease
articles.mercola.com
More about this, in a bit.
I went to pay my respects, in mid-afternoon, to the members of our American Legion Post who had passed on, since last March.  Each year, we have a Post Everlasting ceremony.  “Post Everlasting” is the Legion’s name for eternity.
After this brief, but heartfelt, ceremony, I got in some fresh air and exercise, at Granite Basin Lake, a reservoir at the foot of Granite Mountain, northwest of Prescott.  Here are some photos of the wilderness that is emerging from winter.
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Not all parts of the forest made it through winter unscathed.

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The granite endures, though.

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In spite of the purveyors of doom, water is a bit more plentiful this year.SAM_4599

As always, there is at least one heart to greet me.

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The stuffed rock wall reminded me of the one in Marfa, TX.

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A small waterfall spilled over the barrier.

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Further up the road, a glorious sunset awaited.

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This was not just any outing, but a chance to get a shut-in out to the lake he loves so much.  That’s always time well-spent.

Back to E-Motion. I watched the film, this evening.  It has presented me with several confirmations of what I have known for some time.  It also corroborates the observations of Dr. MonaLisa Schulze, in “Awakening Intuition”, that our emotions remain stored in various parts of our bodies.  Replacing negative stuffed emotions with positive is an essential component of reversing a negative mindset/lifestyle.  I have offered the link here, so that anyone wanting to get a handle on migraines, lack of sleep, stomach aches, and even many forms of cancer, may commence the healing process.  There is also a cute love story at the end.

The Road to 65, Mile 106: For Profit

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

March 14, 2015, Prescott– I spent much of today organizing my photos on my Flickr account (https://www.flickr.com/photos/86298326@N07/).  Those who wish to check the various albums out, are welcome.  Further progress occurred in settling my de facto client, into a positive living situation.  He feels welcome there, and has secured a niche.  I gained more insight into the depth of his personal suffering, so the healing is taking root.

My focus for this evening, here, is the mercantile nature of just about everything, these days.  Some in government believe it is their agencies’ duty to support the economic aspects of their particular area of purview.  Mental health agencies, and some hospitals, place the profits of insurance companies and of their umbrella agencies above the well-being of individual clients, patients, participants- or whatever the nom de jour of their clientele happens to be.

While having dinner this evening, in a local restaurant, I overheard the people at the table in front of me noting, with some disdain, just how mercenary the government, and multinational companies have become, about everything from water to one’s last rites.  I know that Nestle has tried to take over drinking water supplies in some small communities and has sued the people, to force them to give up their water supply to its bottling arm.  I haven’t heard anything on that matter lately, so maybe Swiss rationality has drawn the conclusion that this is overreach.  Monsanto has sent its legal eagles after other small communities, and small farmers, to force its seeds and farming practices on them- with the ever-present threat of a lawsuit, or an unwanted visit from Bill Nye the Science Guy, to intimidate and dominate.

I have heard, more than once, that the mission of the US Food and Drug Administration is to protect the economic aspects of  our nation’s food and pharmaceutical supplies.  This, naturally, means protection of large industrial concerns, in those areas.  Here, it is a wave of contributions to re-election campaigns, rather than attorneys threatening to bankrupt the little guys, that does the trick.  I don’t make any distinction here between the Koch Brothers and George Soros.  Both camps are quite capable of pushing their own agendas on the political class.

My dining neighbours questioned everything from bottled water to 401K’s.  I tend to agree, more and more, with the idea that one can make do with relative simplicity.  Having spent my last night on the road in a campground, in perfect contentment, I will be glad to expand on that more, in weekend jaunts later this Spring.  Having become quite good at stretching my meals, while still achieving satiety and maintaining health, I am confident this regimen will continue. My IRA will stay healthy, with or without the scaredy cats on Wall Street.

The coming months and years will see a re-working of the term “For Profit”.  Real profit is a tide that lifts all boats.

The Road to 65, Mile 105: Bullies

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

March 13, 2015, Chino Valley-  When I was growing up, there were two kinds of bullies in  my life, neither of them overly prominent.  The first type were those of low self-esteem, who sought to spread their misery among scrawny, unathletic kids like me.  The second were Type A’s, kids, and a few adults, whose intentions were honest- to “help me reach my potential”.  They were overbearing, though, when more patient encouragement would have worked better.

I thought of them this evening, as eight adults and a child were having a dinner time conversation on the general topic of bullying.  The little girl said she didn’t get bullied much, but she stood her ground when she was and defended others, when they were being harassed.  Several of us pointed out that criticism is a life-time thing, as each of us has different perspectives on any given topic and each of us has areas of insecurity.

I would occasionally find myself wandering into bullying territory, but each time it felt awful and I pulled back.  The whole tender-heart thing won, in the end.  Once, I even had a dream, when I was about 19 or so, of having the opportunity to kill a brutish tyrant.  I couldn’t bring myself to do it and offered him mercy, instead.  The surprised brute limped away and didn’t seem to be in any mood to bother anyone after that.

I know many will read the above and think, “Yeah, sure.  A leopard does not change its spots.”  We’ve seen how that works- Saddam, after the First Gulf War; various dictators, after assassination attempts gone awry.  I have also seen bullies’ hearts change, usually after their own insecurities get mended.  In fact, I can’t think of one of my tormentors who, having grown up and taken on a wider view of things, still harbours anger and a twisted desire to inflict pain.  In real world terms, I guess I am more exception than rule, but people do outgrow their misanthropy.

Bottom line, for now:  Human hearts can change.  It most often takes patience, and the example of understanding, mixed with firmness of resolve, to turn a tormentor into a friend.

The Road to 65, Mile 104: Stubborness

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

March 12, 2015, Prescott-  I got a good rest today, it being still Spring Break until Monday.  Having a base to  which I may return is always a comfort.  I will likely be free from a short-term obligation, after tomorrow, and will be able to take on more work, until summer comes around.  That will make me a familiar face in the local charter schools, as well as the public institutions.

I am, by nature, a flexible soul.  There are certain things about which I won’t budge, but all in all, I believe, as I said earlier, in going with the flow.  I am finding a few people, one of whom would like to depend on me, to a large extent, to be quite stubborn,when it comes to avoiding responsibility for their own lives and making necessary changes.

I suppose that’s human nature.  We get comfortable and expect things to stay the same, in perpetuity.  To me, though, not monitoring a situation and adjusting, as needed, is the lowest form of selfishness.  No one can live, fully, as if others don’t have a right to their own lives and dreams.  This selfishness comes out, of course, in everything from theft to road rage.

No one is entitled, pure and simple, to anything that belongs to someone else, be it possessions, dreams, or, in the case of someone outside the family, time.

The Road to 65, Mile 101: Insensitivity

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Posted by on in Social, Travel

March 9, 2015, San Diego- All in all, today was a lovely day in this, one of my favourite cities.  I had a nice visit with my brother, who had come from the Atlanta area, for a fortnight’s worth of business.  Our talk ranged from his intermediate term plans to my own long-range goals.  Basically, our conclusions were that each of us should be happy and responsible- and that the two were complementary to one another.

After he left, to go back to his work for the day, I pondered the whole matter of why some folks just can’t put themselves in another’s shoes, as we siblings do for each other, all the time.  It could be upbringing, or it could be a character defect-as with several people I have met over the years, as well as recently.

I drove from Mission Bay, where I had met with my brother, to Seaport Village, a pleasant collection of shops and restaurants near Embarcadero Park.  After getting a couple of pastries and a coffee, to be enjoyed later, I stopped and listened to an a capella choir of nine young men, who were singing a potpourri of popular songs from the ’50’s and ’60’s.  They did each song justice, ranging from The Platters’ “Only You” to The Four Seasons’ “Sherry Baby”.  After an hour or so along Embarcadero, I met up with Aram, went back to the pad for a rest and then we went over to L & L’s Hawaiian Barbecue, for simple and fabulous island fare.

My after dinner browsing brought forth two disturbing cultural insensitivity incidents.  One, at Santa Barbara Community College, was a promotion for a group of engineering students having devised a rather tacky looking tipi-like structure, with windows, out of which a couple of the kiddies were leaning out, and grinning for the camera.  This has brought reactions, ranging from eye-rolling to loud calls for dismantling the structure.  I believe it is “playing Indian”, and some gentle, but firm, cultural lessons are in order. We are no longer in the 1950’s.

Cross the Atlantic Ocean, and in Rome, two Americans were definitely not doing as the Romans do.  They carved their initials in a section of the Colosseum, and were promptly detained by the Caribinieri.  I like that.  We are in a global society and do need to treat each nation’s treasures, as they are indeed our own.

ISIS is cultural and historical insensitivity, writ large.  Extremists, the world over, long to demolish mankind’s historical legacy- and a good deal of our present-day humanity along with it.  It goes without saying that decent and noble people have to stand up to these maniacs.  It is foolhardy to excuse them, as some have done, by saying “Well, they are just doing what’s in their hearts”.  BALDERDASH!  They have become disconnected from their hearts.  There is no way the Assyrian historical record should be gone from us, as so much of it has, in recent days. Where they will stop is really up to the international community, at this point.

Insensitivity only bolsters walls which need to be brought down, and the remnants made into bridges and roads.

The Road to 65, Mile 99: Bloody Sunday

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social, Travel

March 7, 2015, Banning-  In July, 2011, I happened by Selma, AL, and spent a day walking around the city, crossing the Edmund L. Pettis Bridge, looking over and seeing the Alabama River, which, miraculously, did not claim any lives on March 7, 1965, though humans took the lives of other humans, over a period of three weeks.  I spoke with a ranger at the Selma Civil Rights National Historical Site, who noted that race relations were a tad better now than they were during the immediate aftermath of the turmoil.  Paying my respects at the Viola Liuzzo Memorial, near Hayneville, I pondered that people change their behaviour at the behest of outside influences, such as the government, but not until their hearts change, are the objects of their disdain even remotely safe.

We have made some progress, in getting along, over the years.  There are more people of colour in my hometown of Saugus, MA, than when I was growing up.  I was raised not to think disparagingly of others, based on race, much less to speak so.  Quite frankly, I felt as shocked and disappointed when Malcolm X (who my father thought was making good changes in his life) and Martin Luther King, Jr. were executed.  Yes, both, in my mind, were acts of officially-sanctioned murder- as the assassinations of  John and Robert Kennedy probably were, also.

People in Prescott, my current home, are outwardly accepting of others, regardless of race. Yet, I have it on good authority (from a racist-in-recovery, no less), that many in the town are still emotionally stuck in the 1950’s and ’60’s, if not in the Jim Crow Era.

To say that we are all racist, to some degree is an overstatement- and a dodge.  Everyone does need to work on raising their consciousness level, but that applies across the board, not just with respect to how we deal with those of other ethnicities and pigmentation.

I am spending tonight in Banning, a city in western Riverside County, CA.  Banning had serious trouble during both Los Angeles riots, though it seems to have quieted quite alot, in the few times I have been here since 1992.  Quiet,though, does not necessarily mean peace.

I would be overjoyed to see people interact positively with each other, regardless of background, on a regular basis.  I do see more of that with Millennials and Post- Millennials, and hope and pray that this will remain a lifelong habit for those generations- and that the rest of us remember the idealism of our own youth, and ponder just what it is that has deflected that idealism.  We’re not done growing, yet.

The Road to 65, Mile 98: Past Square One

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

March 6, 2015, Prescott- Two events that occurred today, made me think of the need for perseverance.  The individual whom I’ve been helping, these past four months, made a heartfelt solicitation of work this morning, while we were heading back to his campsite, to retrieve my car and other items he had left in the area.  We had circled around the park, so as to determine a closer route to his campsite, in forming his game plan for this evening.  This made going around the long way to my car, necessary.  He took interest in a home that was in serious disrepair, and seemed to connect with the owner, and to have obtained work.  After  I left them to discuss their business arrangement, one disagreement after another ended up derailing the whole thing.

The second was an e-mail from a prospective employer of mine, which had been stalling on calling me for an interview.  The message essentially said that those in whom the employer was interested, had already been called, and interviews were being set up.  Since none of those was yours truly, I will move on and contact the area charter schools, after Spring Break, so as to add to my job options, besides Prescott and Chino Valley Public Schools.

I spent the better part of today listening to my de facto client, working through some of his long-standing issues. Some of these got in his way, in today’s effort to find work; others have just made him miserable for a lot longer.  While I remain a solitary figure, by choice, a balance is being struck with the legitimate needs of those around me.  The person with whom I am working right now does have serious boundary and transference issues, and it has taken the patience of Job, at times, to maintain my life of choice. I think he is coming to understand me, and respect my choices.

The silver lining is that he has gotten me to take care of a few practical organizational matters, which I might otherwise have continued to blow off.  There is value in all things.

The Road to 65, Mile 96: Security

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Posted by on in Social

March 4, 2015, Chino Valley-  I got to use a smart board today, for the first time since leaving Dysart Unified, in 2011.  The Title I students were pretty much self-motivated, so it was not a hard day. One incident took place early on, though.  A couple of boys decided to tease one of the girls by hiding her cell phone.  After a bit of banter, the girl started to shake, and cry.  The phone came back to her, when I intervened.

Of course, use of cellular phones in school is for educational purposes only- no texting, no selfies.  The teens are actually pretty good about following this rule.  I thought about what would make a 15-year-old melt down, over the momentary loss of a phone.  The answer is- lack of connectedness.  We saw  here, last week, how many adults lost it, when the Internet was down, along with land line phones.  Combine such a momentary disconnect with being on Green Card status, and being new to the community, with minimal English skills, and yes- Shattered.

This is another aspect of forgetting who we are, and who everyone with whom we come in contact is.  No matter whether native-born, legally immigrating, or of sketchy legal status, there is no point in isolating anyone from their loved ones, save solitary confinement of the adjudicated deadly menace.  Even then, there is a proviso for occasionally showing the light of day.

I was glad to see her later on, feeling happy and secure.

The Road to 65, Mile 95: A Place for Everybody

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Posted by on in Social

March 3, 2015, Chino Valley- About 1:30 PM, as my students of the day were working on a lesson about contractions (the grammar kind), a little boy walked in, quietly took a seat and pulled his coat over his head.  I patiently coaxed him to take the coat off, and asked if he would like to work on the same lesson as the other students, having determined he was a Special Needs student and only in the room for a short time.

The Inclusion Specialist was with us for that hour, so after a few minutes of saying it was not his regular lesson, he walked over and joined her small group.  He did just fine, writing the contractions along with the three other children, and proudly brought the paper to me for review.  After a few extra minutes in the group, he was off again- back to his self-contained class.  This time, he walked with confidence.

Education, these days, is developing a penchant for several pathways:  Besides the neighbourhood/wide area school, and its long-time alter ego, the private school, there are charter schools, computer-based academies and home schooling.  The idea of one size fitting all is going by the wayside.  There are many upsides to the idea of education being a bazaar, of sorts.

The point that matters most, though, is the mindset of the educator.  Having been brought up to include everyone who happens by, in whatever I am doing at the time, whenever possible, the idea of marginalizing or of outcasts, leaves me rather cold.  Especially with children, the circle must embrace and raise up those who might easily be forgotten or displaced.  It doesn’t take all that much effort, and for the Post-Millennial generation, it is the most natural thing in the world to encourage those viewed in former times as misfits and outcasts.

I was reminded of this again, this afternoon, while reading a post from another blogger about the haughtiness of some in a tony suburb, in another state, and how easy it is for them to draw tight lines around their social circle.  Perhaps adulthood, such as it is, can have this effect on people- but who is the more mature, in such a situation?