Category Archives: Striving

Most Essential

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Education, impediments, Personal Values, Service Activities, Striving

October 22,2020-

This year was supposed to be one in which I spent a goodly amount of time wending my way around the Pacific Northwest, Canada and the northern tier of states, from Maine to Montana.

Instead, COVID, hurricanes and just a general sense of being present here at Home Base came to the fore. I am grateful for all the experiences, from close to home ( in some local schools and as an online host for Baha’i events) and in Hurricane Alley (Red Cross disaster responses in Louisiana and Texas).

Nowhere do I feel more useful, though, than when making sure that little ones are guided to the right, safe place-especially at the end of the day, when it’s bus or parent pick-up time, That has happened twice in three days, just because it’s all new to our five-year-olds. It breaks my heart that they should feel ashamed for needing help with learning this routine.

The most essential thing is for human beings to feel safe, especially in what, for them, are novel experiences.

Rough Adjustment

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Posted by on in Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving

October 10, 2020-

Today, “Double Tenth” to the Chinese of Taiwan (who regard it as their National Day) is also the normal beginning of cooler weather, around these parts, give or take a few random warmer days in mid-October, Since it is a time of change, I tend to reflect on changes within myself and around me, in the month or so before I complete this latest trip around the Sun.

Probably the biggest change in front of me is actually a reversion- There will be more eating at home base. I have gone to restaurants, several times a week, since COVID19 hit-either getting take-out or, as things calmed down for a while, taking a seat at a table. I’ve mentioned before, that a single diner taking up a table is viewed as a nuisance in some places. That is true of about half of the establishments I have frequented- thus comes a good opportunity to cut back on “support meals”, which were designed to help keep restaurants afloat during the height of the first wave of the pandemic.

A year ago, or even a few months prior, I might have been inclined to take cold treatment in a public place rather personally. I see it now as more a matter of logistics and economics- places with limited seating and which draw families and couples, are practicing their idea of triage. There are maybe five restaurants in town where my presence is still very welcome, so it is those which will yet get my business.

What makes the whole change easy to accomplish is the overall benefit to my dietary health. It’s not such a rough adjustment, after all.

The Fruits of Service

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Posted by on in collaborating, Inspiration, Service Activities, Striving

October 7, 2020-

It was a very smooth day of travel, and getting back to Prescott in mid-afternoon was a bonus-allowing for pick up of held mail and a quick adjustment from my chiropractor, thus soothing any of the excesses of the past two weeks-in terms of carrying boxes and moving furniture.

Getting to know so many people on a day-to-day basis, over the past two months has been intensely fruitful, in some cases establishing adamantine heart bonds. It has sharpened my discernment, so that a few lingering stereotypes (i.e “Anyone asking for one favour wil eventually ask for cash up front”) have been cast aside.

I have seen the diligence of women on the edge-feeling despair, but not giving up. I have seen the strength of impromptu communities and how the Bayou Diaspora has re-organized itself-standing up to those whose criteria for assessing damage is based on acting far in advance of any judgement rendered- a disservice, in times of fluid and ever-changing situations. Mold needs to be seen as the public health threat it is, for example.

I have seen the ingenuity of Millennials and Gen-Z people, when it comes to adding zest to a potentially moribund program. Evening activities were conducted at least four nights, during my time in Dallas. It was most rejuvenating, to be able to be part of a lively “freeze dance” session, and to help kids who were doing a relay race.

There was, once again, very tight co-operation among the generations, on the part of both volunteers and clients. We would not have resolved a lost child case, without the assistance of two female clients. We may not have found resolution, for any number of unique client issues, had there not been active assistance from others in the Lake Charles evacuee populace.

So, both congregate (communal settings) and non-congregate (hotel-based settings) have been made to work, in this set of hurricane-based emergencies. I will have two weeks, minimum, to focus on other matters, but the trust and the closeness that I feel towards the communities with whom I worked, since August 23, have built both self-confidence and stronger sense of viewing individuals for their true worth.

The Hotel Project, Day 12

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

October 6, 2020, Dallas-

In the end, the world held together.

Everyone facing forced relocation from the hotel was granted an extension-until the passage of Hurricane Delta; one lady was reunited with her clothing and another with her cellular phone; a young man mocked the mission of the Red Cross and was met by Mama Grizzly, our team leader, defending both her staff and our charges; everyone was fed and all the children were comforted; there was, however, no Pet Parade.

On this roiling and ever-changing day, we, Team Anatole, held our ground and were fortunate to be able to reassure the beleagured ones in our midst, that their world was being held together. They will be safe and sound, and they will formulate their own plans for going forward. The chrysalis will prove to have been a good place for emergence. The crucible will be viewed as a worthy vessel, from which a far greater community will energe.

For five of us, the Hotel Project has come to an end. The rest of the team, including our replacements, will press on, and finish the work, caring for the refugees, until every last storm victim is either relocated within Texas or has returned to Louisiana to rebuild home and fortune.

I saw snippets of events in the wider world, and that little has changed. I continue to pray for all who suffer from COVID-19, for those who offer themselves as leaders and for all who are deluded, in one direction or another. Prayers also, go out for those who are suffering in place.

I have no money to give to suffering Africans and South Asians, or anyone else, for that matter. I also ask for nothing, FROM anyone else. Love, though, goes out on abundance, and that is what truly matters.

See you again tomorrow.

The Hotel Project, Day 11

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Personal Values, Service Activities, Striving

October 5, 2020, Dallas-

I get that the president wants to get back to his work. I am also one to be looking at finishing what I start. One of our coworkers is sidelined by illness, which may or may not be COVID19. None of the rest of us are showing symptoms, though, so it could be something entirely different. The same thing happened in Alexandria, and the one person was quarantined-with the rest of us not becoming infected.

We resolved the missing clothing problem, from last week and a very happy, relieved client was reunited with her wardrobe. Several others began to take ownership of their short-term futures, though the human aversion to change was evident, among many of the people.

There is, on balance, an appreciation for what Red Cross has done for the communities in southern Louisiana, with none of the agitation by the Far Right that followed Hurricane Harvey, in 2017. The organization is committed to continuing to work WITH the people and communities of the region, as they face both return to the area and yet another hurricane, this coming weekend. Many have said, flat-out, that they will relocate to Texas, permanently. I’m sure many more will choose to move elsewhere, once the fullness of the hurricane season is through.

Tomorrow is the last full day of deployment and Wednesday will be a transit day. Both will be full of activity and change.

The Hotel Project, Day 8

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, distraction issues, Entertainment, impediments, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving

October 2, 2020, Dallas-

Today was a reminder of how well something can be accomplished, on short notice, and how badly something can be done, when the interest just isn’t there.

Our team put on a wonderful movie night, attended by 24 children and 7 adults. The activity involved building mini-cars, out of cardboard boxes, which the children could then decorate, whilst watching the film, in a simulated drive-in. Each child was allowed to keep their car. Being a diverse group of people, there were those who watched the film from start to finish, those who went to their rooms in the middle and those who engaged in non-disruptive activities, on the sidelines-much as takes place at a real drive-in theater.

Contrast this, and the well-conducted routine activities of the shelter, with a haphazard laundry “service”, which managed to either mix, or mislabel, at least three of the fifteen bags sent them-with a thinly-veiled disinterest in the outcome. The “service” was curtailed, after only three days, with some cases still outstanding. One way or another, it will be resolved- even if our supervisor has to go to the location, tomorrow, or one of us has to go there on Sunday or Monday. I can’t imagine a situation more degrading to a human being than to be deprived of one’s clothing, through someone else’s negligence.

For now, my attention goes to my little family, tomorrow, then back to business on Sunday.

The Hotel Project, Day 7

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, distraction issues, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

October 1, 2020, Dallas-

This is a time when I am taking a hard line against distractions. I am not concerned with politics or who thinks what about whom. By focusing on what I have promised my charges and co-workers, I am doing far more of what matters to me.

Today, people who were waiting for clothing items for several weeks, got them. Others ran a couple of bingo games, and we began to prepare for more people to come to our shelter, as the number of hotels being used as shelters diminishes. Having been trained in registering people, in my previous deployment, I was able to help in that area, as well.

It was an exhausting day. Tomorrow may be more intense, but we will make it happen.

The Hotel Project, Day 6

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

September 30, 2020, Dallas-

Today would have been Penny’s sixty-sixth birthday. There was no extended warranty to her lease on life, so it’s been ten years since she was here to celebrate.

I have done something of service, either directly to the Baha’i Faith or to the community- at- large, each year since her passing. This year, the ongoing relief project, for the victims of the three hurricanes that have hit southern Louisiana, has found me in Dallas- with the bonus of being able to spend time with my son and daughter-in-law, if only for a day-this coming Saturday.

While it is an honour to be asked to stay on, past October 7, I have promises to keep in the Prescott area and I think balance is very important. The Red Cross can have more of my time, after the close of 2020, but for now, I will finish out my substitute teaching and the community work that also makes a difference.

The Hotel Project, Day 5

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Service Activities, Striving

September 29, 2020, Dallas-

The young mother pushed her son’s stroller up to where I was standing, and matter-of-factly asked me to hold her clean laundry, when it comes back tomorrow, as she was headed to her hometown, to tend to a family emergency. She will return on Thursday or Friday.

We are approaching the midpoint in this effort, and yes, people are moving out of the hotel and on towards salvaging their possessions, their livelihoods and their lives. It will be a rocky process for most, and as one gentleman reminded us, this afternoon, we volunteers, as hard as we are working now, will soon head back to lives of relative comfort. Those hit by three successive storms will, in many cases, have no such respite.

This team is far more comprised of multiple generations, than the Strike Team with whom I worked in Alexandria. I find it most gratifying. Half of the team here is comprised of Millennials, giving the lie to arguments that the younger generations have no cache in solving the problems of society. The ideas and observations of our younger teammates equal their energy, in value.

We shall overcome-and so shall the victims of the storms.

The Hotel Project, Day 4

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, impediments, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

September 28, 2020, Dallas-

We will now send clients’ laundry out, for professional service, if they so choose. There are always considerations, these days- such as sensitivity to detergents and scents. There is also the fear, sometimes founded, of commercial laundries losing items, but that happens when washing machines and dryers “eat” clothing items as well.

I have now enjoyed the “Big 3” of North Dallas food items-Barbecue, Gourmet burgers and Poke; but wait, there’s Pho! I will get together with Aram and Yunhee, most likely this weekend-and enjoy Korean and Vietnamese fare. Another friend will likely be a dining companion, before I leave Dallas and the likely choice will be more poke.

I am getting the hang of this hotel project, and manage to keep actively serving. The source of amusement is that I carry two boxes at a time, when restocking the snack bag table. Others choose to carry one-but I think it really depends on each one’s condition- no judgment.