November 3, 2026– Hana has taken to wiping my mouth with one of the cloths of the type we use to wipe her mouth after a bottle feeding. She also has taken to drinking as much as half of her bottle while standing up. Since most of her diet is solid food now, this is no different from one of us drinking a sparkling water or cup of coffee, whilst standing.

We had a visitor from Japan, who is married to one of Aram’s Navy friends, and living in another part of the DFW Metro. Hana took to her very quickly and delighted in playing peek a boo with the lady. As Hana means “flower” in Japanese, there was an instant liking for her on the friend’s part.

I had a phone interview with a journalist from The Wall Street Journal, this morning. So, I will be mentioned in an article on the possible Social Security cutback of 2032. My take is that it will not be necessary, if Congress takes certain steps, I do have a reduced income plan, though, but it will mean little or no charitable spending, outside my family and the institutions of the Baha’i Faith. We will see what happens, in five years’ time.

HANA’S NOTE- I was happy to have another auntie visit us and bring me a Snoopy toy-and a blanket.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: New York- The Empire State seemed to me to be the gateway to a wider world, during the years of my childhood and youth, in New England. Indeed, while my first time outside my home region (1969) entailed changing planes at Newark, then going on to Columbia, SC, the train I took to Boston from Washington, that December, brought me into Pennsylvania Station, in New York. I bumbled around, but found the right train to Boston, in about ten minutes. I have been to many parts of New York State, maybe 25 times. My maternal grandmother’s hometown of Plattsburgh was a welcoming place to reset, after a difficult visit to Montreal, eight years ago. I’ve had good experiences in New York City and Buffalo, as well as in Newburgh and Poughkeepsie. Lake George offered a small taste of the Adirondacks, in the mid-70s. Fishers Island, off Montauk, was a low key, but restful, weekend getaway spot, in that same year. Besides my maternal grandmother’s nieces and nephews, in the Plattsburgh area, some extended family live in the Albany area and in the lower Hudson Valley.

The Turf: New York has three mountainous areas. The first, the Taconic Range, is part of the Appalachians, It crosses the Hudson River, and hugs the state’s boundaries with Connecticut and Massachusetts. The second, contnuing north from Pennsylvania’s Poconos, becomes the Catskill, Shawangunk, Helderberg and Hellibark Ranges, all west of the Hudson. The Adirondacks occupy the greater part of northern New York. The Allegheny Plateau covers southwestern New York, an area known as the Southern Tier. New York’s lowlands include the Hudson Valley, both north and south of the Taconics, the Mohawk River Valley , the St. Lawrence Valley, in northwest New York the shore of Lake Ontario, and the bulk of New York City and Long Island. New York is drained by the Hudson, Mohawk, St. Lawrence, Genesee, Niagara, Allegheny, Oswego, Chemung, Tioga and Delaware Rivers, as well as their tributaries. New York has 12 narrow lakes, collectively called the Finger Lakes, plus Lake Oneida, along its Southern Tier. Lake George, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Schroon Lake are glacial carvings in the Adirondack Region. New York borders Lake Ontario and Lake Erie to its north and west, respectively. The Atlantic Ocean, and its subsidiary, Long Island Sound, form New York’s southern maritime boundary.

First Nations- New York is the ancestral home of the Lenape, Mohican, Shinnecock, Mohegan, Abenaki, Laurentian, Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, St. Regis Mohawk,Erie, Poospatuck, Stockbridge-Munsee, and Unkechaug peoples. Indigenous Nations fought both alongside, and against, European settlers and traders, in the 17th and 18th Centuries, the key events of which included Pontiac’s War (1673-75), Schenectady Massacre (1690) and Cherry Valley Massacre (1778). After the United States was established, much Native land was given over to settlers. Today, the Shinnecock, Unkechaug, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, St. Regis Mohawk, Seneca, and Tuscarora nations have Federal and/or State reservations.

Where I most feel at home- Port Jervis, Middletown, Brewster, Plattsburgh, Lake George, Auasable Chasm, Fishers Island

Where I most feel at peace- Ausable Chasm, Bear Mountain, Lake George, Central Park

Future Five- Mount Marcy, Finger Lakes, Amagansett, Montauk, Albany

NEXT: Connecticut