Dribs and Drabs

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving, Travel

August 15, 2023- Back when I was working as a grocery bagger and cart gatherer, in the awkward days of high school, the man who was probably the best boss I have had, to this day, had a by-phrase: “Use your squash!” I had him banging his head on the wall more than once, but after a fashion, that advice stuck, and it has been applied in a variety of situations.

I read of several ongoing events and processes today, and this being a quiet day in the neighbourhood, devote this post to the scattershot responses to two very different ongoing concerns.

The careful search for victims of the Maui fires, especially in Lahaina, continues, with the death toll at 99 and 1300 people counted missing. As this goes on, reports are surfacing that there are efforts being made to snap-up property in the fire zone. This should, at the very least, be shot down by the current property owners. It would be best if the Hawai’i Legislature, or Congress, passes legislation that installs an indefinite moratorium on any such transactions. Snap-up culture, in general, is tawdry and disgusting. In cases like this one, involving what may well become hallowed ground, it is far, far out of line.

The other aspect of the tragedy, the behaviour of tourists, bears mentioning. In 2014, when I was in Europe, I had to learn from mistakes and file the lessons under “Do not repeat”. Later that year, in Honolulu, it came to mind that Hawaiian people have said, repeatedly, that they are getting tired of pushy, inconsiderate people from the mainland-and elsewhere. It was a brief visit to Honolulu, but my manners were intact.

It seems that some visitors, whether out of boredom, convention or sheer ego, have disrespected the people of Maui, in recent days. Perhaps they can reach back to times when they have been in mourning. That is what is going on in Maui, and across the island chain. When one visits a place, even if spending a tidy sum, there is nothing that says basic decency should be cast aside.

Finally, the debate over whether the 19 people who were indicted for interfering with the Georgia vote count, in the 2020 election, is finding those opposed to the indictments are missing one thing: Nineteen people, not just one, are up on charges. That takes extra time, so yes, it is correct for the DA to file the charges now-for what is likely a trial that won’t happen until early 2025. The comparison to the Federal charges against 3 people, in one set, and one person, in the other set, is a matter of apples and oranges. I also remind one and all that no one is seeking a star chamber proceeding. Each person charged has the right to a fair trial-innocent until proven guilty-in a court of law, not a scrum of public opinion.

Decency-it’s what’s on the menu of personal behaviour. Use your squash!

Magical, Again

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 14, 2023- The leading candidate for the Presidency of a South American nation has issued an agenda that would, for all intents and purposes, dismantle the government of that country and coupled it with proposals that promise nothing but even more misery than the long-suffering citizens of that land have already endured, which is considerable.

About seven months ago, I misread the slogan on a tee-shirt, worn by a community activist, the first word of which was slightly hidden. It read “Make America Musical Again”. I thought the first word was “Magical”.

I would be quite okay with a renewed sense of, magic in this country and in the world. Don’t get me wrong. Easy solutions are not in anyone’s best interest, nor do I believe in the Dark Arts. Rather, I would like to see a foundation of innocence, in the childlike manner,a renewed belief that anything is possible.

As it is right now, we are being given a choice between retreads and rehashing of shopworn notions and practices, on the one hand, and cynical, manipulative sleight-of-hand, on the other. The upshot is same old, same old or “anything goes”. Nowhere in either set of dogmas is there an appeal to real co-operation, to the actual honouring of human agency, across the board. Neither “camp” truly honours the other, and thus, by extension, no one is honoured.

In the Fall of 1985, the Supreme Body of the Baha’i Faith, the Universal House of Justice, issued a document, “The Promise of World Peace”, which cautioned against holding on to outworn practices and beliefs that only deepen divisions. It noted that “a paralysis of will” is in play, keeping the natural forces of unity and co-operation in check. The Universal House of Justice ties this to both self-interest of many leaders and to lack of education among the masses of people.

This tells me that there is a welter of overthinking, combined with lack of trust, in either one’s own abilities or in that of the human race as a whole. People tell themselves that they are overwhelmed by life-and a good many honestly are. This puts them at the mercy of those who have thought things through, to a certain point, and have devised ways of achieving their own self-serving agendas.

Vladimir Lenin regarded his followers as “useful idiots”. The current crop of demagogues has a similar mindset. People in the aforementioned country, and several others across the globe, including this one, are likely to fall for the tropes, the deceptions and the legerdemain of the manipulative class-but for the opportunity in front of each of us, to re-look at matters with eyes of confidence, commitment to both self and others and a turning away from those limited notions that foster division.

If that entails a “magical” belief in unconditional love, co-operation and the endless capacity of human beings for good, then so be it. In this vein, I give you a video of mothers of Downs Syndrome children, lip-syncing Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years”.

Not Beaten by The Heat

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving, Travel

August 13, 2023– The water shimmered and there were a couple of families overlooking the lake, at Site Six, where there is a replica of Split Rock Lighthouse, which commemorates the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, each November 10. The vessel sank into Lake Superior, in an early gale, on that date, in 1975, and all on board drowned.

This was one of those unexpected tragedies that, in today’s world, might have generated a host of conspiracy theories, but was simply the result of a natural event that occurred out of its “usual” season. This is something to keep in mind, as the tales of state terrorism begin to find their way into the media (and they are already surfacing), with regard to Maui.

Let’s get back to reality, though. It was 109 F outside, as I took ten minutes each, at two locations along Lake Havasu’s eastern shore, to look things over, for the first time since 2011. After taking a photo of a Mexican family, at their request, I got a few shots of the lake, at Site Six. (Each of the boat launches in Lake Havasu State Park are numbered.)

Site Five, from Site Six, Lake Havasu State Park
Jet skier, off Site Six, Lake Havasu State Park
View of Havasu Lake, CA, the seat of the Chemehuevi Nation.
Split Rock Lighthouse replica, Site Six, Lake Havasu State Park

Having kept myself sunscreened and my head & neck covered, it was time to find a parking spot, near London Bridge, walk down to English Village and enjoy a bit of ice cream. The bridge was brought here in sections, by the founder of Lake Havasu City, Robert McCulloch, a power tool executive, between 1968 and 1971. It consists today of the original masonry of the 1830 version of London Bridge, reinforced in concrete.

View of balustrade along London Bridge, Lake Havasu City
London Bridge, Lake Havasu City
Southwestern Arch, London Bridge, Lake Havasu City
Base of southwestern arch, London Bridge, Lake Havasu City

Having spent a total of fifteen minutes in the heat, divided into two segments, I finished the small salted caramel cone and headed back towards Home Base. Traffic was light, and I briefly considered stopping at Seligman, either for a short nap on the side of the road, an early light supper at Westside Lilo’s, or both. Spotting three men carrying a gas can, along the side of the offramp, I opted for neither one. One of the men went with me to a gas station, filled the can, and was transported back to the vehicle with the empty tank. I drove the rest of the way to Prescott, feeling no need for either a snooze or a meal along the way. I got both, once back in the apartment.

Lake Havasu seldom, if ever, gets unruly. Its large and beautiful counterparts in the Upper Midwest and central Canada, though, have a different story to tell.

An Eclectic Gathering

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Entertainment, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

August 12, 2023, Lake Havasu City- The ebullient young man practically burst through the front door, carrying his crock pot full of macaroni with three cheeses-his contribution to the festive birthday gathering. I took a spoonful and can attest that it is among the best “mac and cheese” I’ve ever had, and told him so, which made his effusiveness that much keener.

I came to this city that exists almost in isolation from the rest of Arizona, with wilderness as its California neighbour, to attend a friend’s 31st birthday. Arriving at 6 p.m. made the most sense, given the two activities to which I needed to attend earlier, back in Prescott. It also made sense, temperature wise: Lake Havasu City sits squarely in the western sector of the Sonoran Desert, and temperatures here have hit close to 120 F-as recently as last month. It was 102, when I arrived at the party site, where I am also spending the night.

I knew only three people, the birthday celebrant and his father, who live at the party location, and a friend from Bullhead City, 1 1/2 hours north northwest of here, when I first arrived. I still would characterize most of the rest of the crowd as pleasant acquaintances, as I came to know very little about them, but this does rank among the most convivial of gatherings, in recent memory. The conversations ranged from Lahaina- on nearly everyone’s mind, these days, to a guest’s unusual medical condition and another guest’s recent loss of a loved one. The common thread, though, was the deep concern people have for one another. No one who expressed a personal issue or health concern had it glossed over, by the group.

Here were several workers from the local hospice, stay-at-home mothers, teachers, gym attendants, an architect, two high school students, a retired surfer, a deep sea fisherman (also retired, given the fact that the water here is in a fresh-water lake, and it’s a long way to his former haunts in Sitka, AK) and a couple of ten-year old boys, who were mostly focused on the video game that was on the wide screen in front of them. The high schoolers were the mac and cheese chef and his girlfriend, who served delectable soft chocolate chip cookies. “She’s a fabulous baker!”, boyfriend proudly crowed. I would agree that that the two of them have a fine future ahead, in the culinary arts.

So went the evening, and one of my rare summer forays into the Sonoran realm. With reliable air conditioning, in both Sportage and this house, being out in the warm desert evening air was actually pleasant. Tomorrow, I will stay here long enough to host a late-morning Zoom call, then head back towards Home Base, and stay tuned for what the week shall bring.

A Dozen Years

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving, Travel

August 11, 2023- On this date, in 2011, I posted a short, tentative introductory post, inaugurating this site. It was at a difficult time in life. My wife of twenty-nine years had been gone five months. I was feeling isolated from many people, and was feeling pressured by others, to do what they thought was best for me, going forward. I ended up “going dark”, for the most part, until the following January.

A dozen years later, I’m still very much here, and no longer feeling besieged, either by my own demons or by others’ expectations. So, I want to take a look back, at some of the things that I did right, during each of these years.

2011- It was an honour to help my in-laws, providing food for them, over a two-week period, when they were laid up and unable to prepare their own meals. I also re-connected with my father’s older brother, in Colorado.

2012- Some of the places that Penny and I had wanted to visit together, I was able to reach-with her spirit very close at hand: San Francisco’s Baha’i Center; the Redwoods, both coastal and interior; the Oregon Coast; the Portland Rose Gardens; Neah Bay and Cape Flattery, WA; Seattle.

2013- I was able to attend a “Sail Blind” event, in which my second-eldest brother was participating.

2014- Attended the 70th Anniversary of D-Day observance, at Utah Beach, and visited the site of my father-in-law’s World War II imprisonment,in Berga, Germany- both in his memory.

2015- Made it to southeast Alaska, which we had also hoped to visit as a couple.

2016- Overcame a lot of self-doubt and took on a job that involved helping other autistic people. With considerable help, replaced the broken-down vehicle that I had bought on the cheap, two years ago.

2017- Kept at my final full time job; had a smooth drive, to and from New England.

2018- Faced down a very powerful negative force.

2019- Survived a physical attack; made the decision to move into semi-retirement. Went to Korea and attended Aram’s and Yunhee’s wedding.

2020- Worked the floor, twice, during the height of COVID-19, at Red Cross storm shelters, in Louisiana and Texas.

2021- Drove to and from Massachusetts, twice, to assist with Mom’s move and the clearing of our former family home.

2022- Traveled to Newfoundland and Cape Breton, fulfilling another of our couple dreams. Bought a vehicle on my own, this time in a proper manner.

2023- Made a concerted effort to reduce my weight-and succeeded. Visited a few friends,in the Pacific Northwest, who had felt isolated during the long night of COVID-19. There are two long journeys, at least, left in this year. I say “at least”, because there is no telling what will be asked of any of us, by the Red Cross-with regard to Maui.

In any event, my psyche is in so much better a place, after twelve years of self-responsibility.

Vacationland Burning

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving

August 10, 2023- Lahaina was a royal city. Kamehameha I established his palace there, in the 1802, seeing its value as a central location among the Hawaiian Islands. It was quieter and less subject to visits from rowdy foreigners than was Honolulu.

Lahaina was a whaling port, after the capital moved back to much larger Honolulu. It then built a fort, to protect itself from those same rowdy whalers and sailors who were nonetheless the source of its income.

Lahaina will now decide when and how to rebuild. Fire came, in the midst of Hawai’i’s Big Dry, stoked by one of the furthest traveling major hurricanes, ever: Dora,which started off the Pacific coast of Mexico, passed well south of Hawai’i- while sending gale force winds north to the islands of Hawai’i and Maui, and is now on track to brush Wake Island, albeit as a tropical storm, by the middle of next week. My concern rises for the low-lying Marshall Islands, lying as far to the south of Wake as Hawai’i lies to the north of Dora’s recent track.

Serving those who come to recreate, relax, “vacate” is often a thankless job- and one which depends, as much as any walk of life, and more than many, on the good graces of Mother Nature. It falls to the character of those being served, as to how much appreciation is shown. In times of tragedy, especially when the tourist, the traveler, the surfer, the diver, the hiker, the casual visitor are joined at the hip to those who have made their home in a place of paradise, there is an awareness of just how connected we all are-and of the fact that there is no one class that really rises above the rest, in terms of privilege and protection. Everyone’s pants go on one leg at a time.

I make my home in a salubrious place, which has seen its share of natural calamity. Prescott’s version of Front Street, Whiskey Row, has burned to the ground, twice, and came close a third time, in 2012. I watched that last one play out. We have had ravaging fires, many times, which have come close to the densely-populated areas of town. The worst, in my lifetime, was Yarnell Hill, which took the lives of 19 wildland fire fighters, just ten years ago.

Lahaina now takes its place among the paradises that have suffered Nature’s wrath: Pompeii, Krakatao, Angeles City, St. Pierre, Montserrat (where Plymouth is still off-limits), Galveston. There are places that were pounded, though not sundered: The entire Indian Ocean basin and much of its Rim, in the great tsunami of 2004; Grand Bahama, in 2019’s Hurricane Dorian, Guam, this past Spring and Haiti, more times than one can count.

Lahaina was a palace town. Lahaina was a whaling town. Lahaina was vacation land. Lahaina now lies in ashes-and has the love and support of every good-hearted soul.

The Tiredness and The Shame

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

August 9, 2023- With slumped shoulders and a downcast expression, she handed me a pink tardy slip, apologizing as if the entirety of her lateness was her doing, alone. I suspected otherwise, and asked for a few more details, which the child was relieved to be able to share.

All too many children, it seems, are caught between dependence on those who are barely able to care for themselves-and actually having to raise themselves. The little girl has good judgment, so in the long term, I’d say her prospects for a solid adulthood are quite good. She does not suffer fools gladly-a good thing in my book, nor does she sneer at people who see things a bit differently than she. She also has strong, clear boundaries-which I have advised children to inculcate, as long as I have been advising in general.

D was tired, and felt shame at that fatigue. “I went to bed early enough”, she offered, “It seems the morning comes too soon.” No one, to my reckoning, should have to feel shame at physical states-and I communicated as much. There are too many variables involved in the matter of sleep, as with other health matters-and pre-adolescence, a swell as the change that follows it, are filled with interruptions, expansions and contractions that are bound to try anyone’s patience. How well I remember my own years of transition from childhood to youth!

I left her alone, with her close friend, and being a responsible soul, she pulled herself together enough to complete an assignment and launch into the next activity. When it came time to leave, though, she was first on the way to the bus line.

D, and about a dozen of her peers, have joined the community that lives in my heart. I will look out for her, whenever I can.

Lion’s Gate 2023-

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Education, impediments, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Striving

August 8, 2023- The pile of self-assigned “homework” has been put to bed. I graded about 65 papers, this evening, using the Answer Keys that were left me, with Bold Tags that said “ANSWER KEY”. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, but not necessary. Projecting ahead to the regular teacher’s return on Thursday, I foresee a tired soul, enervated by a flightbj across country and drive up from Phoenix-and not needing three days’ worth of student work in front of her. So, it was the right thing to do.

Lion’s Gate comes from the perceived leonine energy derived from this point on the Zodiac: Leo. It is a fairly productive period, for anyone who is not a house dog, or otherwise subject to heat-induced sluggishness. I have to be on game, with three classes of self-absorbed ten-year-olds.

It’s been a fairly good two days, as evidenced by the size of the pile that was dispatched this evening. Tomorrow will be a bit shorter in length, but no less intense, in terms of my expectations of both myself and the children. The material, designed to be diagnostic, is definitely that- and is rather challenging, at this point in the year. The teacher will definitely know who is in need of what skill-building activities, when this is done.

Leonine energy, taken as such, is viewed as proactive. A lion, or any big cat, needs to be diligent, merely in order to feed itself and its progeny. It has to be wary of competitors-such as hyenas (also viewed these days as “feline”), and humans-who, in the case of Maasai and other hunter-gatherer nations, may view the big cat as both a threat to be culled, and even a food source-though I don’t see the value in eating the flesh of a carnivore.

We don’t face the daily threat of starvation, for the most part, but there is the daily set of activities, choices and expectations that require a lion-like focus. It is this that leads me to not focus so much on the heat-as on accomplishing what is in front of me for the given day-and week.

Luck Holds

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

August 7, 2023-

This is a simple verse, marking an ordinary day, in which so many affirmations came.

With the urge to turn off the alarm, before it had a chance to bray : “FIVE A.M!”, the left leg moved off the bed, followed by the right hand reaching over and switching the lever off.

A half hour later, grooming and dressing , done in the mirror’s honouring gaze, was in rear view, followed in short order by devotions-and a check of what transpired overnight.

A mention of the trials impending, in D.C. and Florida; another mention of tribulations, across the Great Plains, and headed towards D.C. Cloud cover, here though, tempering the heat.

Plenty of food on hand, for breakfast and lunch. Plenty to be shared with my colleagues of the next three days-a bit of pound cake here; a box of cookies there. Treats go fast, in that school’s lounge.

Children, vibrant and caring, yet struggling with transition from the days of everything and nothing, to these days of something substantial. I recall these same beings as little more than toddlers, now gingerly entering their second decade of life. There is the pretense of not knowing, a facade covering the real questions: Are we loved? Do we matter?

They always matter; are ever loved, at least in these brightly lit and climate-controlled rooms. I treasure this time spent-today, and will tomorrow, and the next day.

The next stop, almost directly after school, is the serving line. Loaves of bread are contributed, along with a couple of Care Kits. I am the soup ladler, not a hint of the “Nazi”, of television fame, just gladness at being able to help those of scant luck feel positive energy. That luck, scant and fleeting as it may seem to the unhoused, is here each Monday night. They love the onion soup tonight. I love that there is a full crew to do clean-up, and I get to leave early.

Each day brings its blessings, with challenges met and surmounted. My luck is holding, rather nicely.

Care of the Threads

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Historical, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 6, 2023- When I was first learning the use of tools, like wrenches, screwdrivers and ratchets, my father would caution me against either being overzealous in tightening the screw, nut or bolt, or being too timid and not tightening it enough. Each one has its particular tight place, he’d say, and I have followed that practice to this day. Every point of contact has its proper tightness.

At breakfast, this morning, another patron was inveighing against members of the political party opposite hers, saying that if we were to get rid of them, the country would at long last be in good shape. Being independent, politically, I replied that there needs to be a balance in all things. That didn’t set all that well with her, but she had no rebuttal. Others at the table agreed with the notion of balance, expressed the wish that those on the “other side” would see the need for a happy medium, as well.

I see the “wrench” in this case as a means of bringing people together, in just the right measure. The lady in question has no friends, or even acquaintances, on “the other side”. There are those from whom I’ve heard, on that side of the fence, who can’t name one person whose views are opposite theirs, who they regard as compadres. It’s all fear, and apprehension makes a very poor fastening agent. I pointed out, this morning, that if Right and Left came to understand they were both being used, and by much the same individuals and groups, the political differences between them would take second fiddle to the unity that would ensue against those wirepullers. There was no argument after that.

This afternoon, a gathering for the purpose of commemorating the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki reiterated that things like poisoning the atmosphere with nuclear fallout are an equal opportunity death sentence for the entire planet. I have had exchanges with proponents of maintaining a nuclear arsenal, at various times over the years; my point being that it really only takes ONE high-capacity nuclear weapon to pretty much wipe out a large swath of the Earth’s population. Some are not convinced of that, but really the nuclear screwdriver would take but a few turns to obliterate its fastener, its handler and everyone between its launching site and its target-as well as everyone beyond.

We are, as Walt Kelly said, our own worst enemy. We can also choose to be our own best friends. It all hangs in the balance.