Tag Archives: Red Cross

The Road to Diamond, Day 98: Dribs and Drabs Again

2
Posted by on in collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

March 6, 2025- There was about an inch of snow that fell here, this morning. Dribs and drabs, and gone by noon. There is a better chance of accumulation tomorrow, so we’ll see. I stopped by a coffee shop that offers a hang-out for teens, just to see what it looks like. School was in session, so there was a lone young man staffing the counter and there were a couple of ladies running the office. Three workmen were doing repairs on a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC). I got a cup of joe to go and moved along, saving the coffee for later and getting lunch at a downtown bagel shop that has several nice sandwich options. It was a good day for lox and cream cheese, with capers.

The Red Cross monthly meeting provided all the information I needed, in order to set up and run a shelter simulation-a week from Saturday. My team is poised and ready, and we will finalize the preparations next Friday. As for my acting as Sheltering Lead for this area, that will be decided next Friday, also.

I sat in on the Prescott Indivisible chapter meeting this evening. It focused on civics- helping those in attendance brush up on state government. This is something that everyone ought to know, so it was time well spent. There was not a whole lot of counterproductive bickering about personalities, which was gratifying. I see that the Governor of California has come out as opposing boys playing in girls’ sports. Personally, I think there are probably enough transgender athletes that they could compete against one another. On the other hand, there are times where girls take part in traditionally “boys-only” sports, like baseball and tackle football, so I think such matters need to be weighed carefully-on a case by case basis.

I ended the day by proofreading a paper by a Baha’i student from Indonesia, who I had met whilst in the Philippines, last month. It focused on an ecumenical ceremony hosted by some Buddhists, using traditional Javanese spiritual practices. I found the whole premise quite enlightening. It is called Ruwatan and is a means for fostering respect for diversity.

Sometimes, a day full of dribs and drabs works out quite well.

The Road to Diamond, Day 94: Close Calls

2
Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 2, 2025- Myrtle Beach was an unexpected surprise, when I was near the end of my Army Basic Training, in mid-August, 1969. I earned a three-day pass, and got to spend 1 1/2 days just enjoying a cabana to myself and the long strand of sand, with plenty of the scenery that appealed to an 18-year-old man-child. I haven’t been back there since, though I’ve been close-having visited Florence and Hemingway, as well as the Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute, in 2016 and 2018.

Myrtle Beach has grown immensely, in the past 56 years. Its popularity as a resort has kept pace with that of several other towns, up and down the Atlantic Coast. So, it was a major national concern when the city was threatened by wildfire, over the past two days. Resources have been rushed to the area, and containment of the fire stands at 30 %, as I write this.

Tryon, NC is a town I visited in 2019. I briefly considered moving there, from Phoenix, in 2011, before deciding on Prescott. Tryon and nearby Saluda are also dealing with a wildfire. It, too, is 30% contained, as of now. Tryon is prime horse country, southeast of Asheville and high upon the South Carolina state line.

I pray for both areas, knowing that there, but for the grace of God, goes our area. We expect rain or snow on Tuesday, and again towards the end of this week. It won’t do much to stave off fire, and given the current status of wildland firefighting teams, it likely falls to us volunteers to check on campsites, to make sure no embers are left to wait for a sudden gust of wind. This is exactly what brought me back from the Philippines and is keeping me close by, over most of the next six months. In a couple of weeks, our Red Cross team will be holding a dry run of a shelter set-up. A while back, I was asked to direct this exercise, and will see whether that still holds, at our meeting on Thursday.

This will be a year for many close calls. Let everyone be on the alert, that those surprises don’t overtake yourselves and loved ones.

The Road to Diamond, Day 87: Home Stretch

4
Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

February 23, 2025- “Are you having fun yet?”, asked the random man standing at a corner, as if on guard. “All night long!”, I replied, “Have a nice night”, and kept walking, as someone striking up a conversation in the dark usually wants one of two things-neither of which is good. “Good answer”, he called from behind me. Hearing no footfalls afterward, I continued on to Home Base I, at an unhurried pace.

Days and nights, in general, around here offer a consistency. One accomplishes as much as one wants, with as much, or as little, help from others as is welcomed. That is the measure of a proper Home Base. It is a village that raises children. It is a safe place for those whose only wish is to grow old in peace. It is a forum for Right and Left alike. It is the recipient of my attention, for much of the next six months, as we anticipate a particularly challenging fire season, followed by a monsoon period, the strength of which has yet to be determined.

I will have journeys during this time: Southern California (March 10-13); Nevada (March 25-30), part of which will most likely be spent with Filipino friends who plan on visiting; eastward (May 5-23), to visit with family and friends, in the Midwest, Northeast and South. The rest of the time will be spent with my teammates in Red Cross, Farmers Market, Slow Food-Prescott and my faith community. I will get in more hikes and, given the cutbacks in National Forest personnel, be more given to taking drives to monitor abandoned campsites- shovel and jerry can on hand, to put out any lingering smolders. I will be at Coffee Klatsch most Monday mornings and Soup Kitchen most Monday evenings.

Our national government is, by default, summoning more of us to focus on the well-being of our local communities, and it may be quite surprised at just how many people care deeply-and how much they care. The last time I was this focused on Home Base was in 2020, during the midst of COVID, and I had a lot of company, between here in Prescott and in Alexandria, Louisiana, (the latter due to hurricanes that didn’t care there was a pandemic afoot.)

September will bring the seal to this Home Stretch: Farm-to-Table Dinner is returning on September 6. I will be there as a volunteer, before (world conditions permitting) heading to Europe, and possibly East Africa, for the rest of September and most of October. In the meantime, my focus is as described above.

The Road to Diamond, Day 83: True Friends

4
Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Travel

February 19, 2025- The ride back to Prescott had a nice twist of an ending. I was let off of the shuttle closer to Home Base I, as the driver was “running late” and my normal rendezvous point was out of the way. It helped that the driver was a former co-worker, who remembered me from one of the schools.

The person who was my prime reason for having gone to the Philippines, these past two visits, is the biggest fan of my work with Red Cross-and that is what matters most. She stands with me, the way so many in this town stand with me. She is keeping track of my experiences during these next six months.

I was welcomed back, by two friends in Phoenix, who have invited me to their home, early in March. These are people I have known for thirty-five years. One of them is Javanese, related to Filipino, and wants to hear more of what I experienced this past visit.

These are but three of the countless true friends who have stood by me, some for decades, others for the past fourteen years and still others of more recent vintage. True friends are not transactional or conditional with their loyalty. They are not sycophantic with their devotion. For me, thankfully, they are my source of heart wealth. They are found all over the globe.

The Road to Diamond, Day 82: Soft Landing

4
Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

February 18, 2025, Los Angeles- The plane seemed to barely touch ground, here at Los Angeles World Airport, (as the Cathay Pacific pilot referred to this grand sprawl. It was, further, not a long wait to go through Customs and Immigration, or to find lodging here, in advance of my flight back to Phoenix early tomorrow morning.

The sometimes frenetic outpouring of “Welcome back! Now let’s do these two dozen things, in the next two days” was not seen tonight. I have a stock answer to that-“My schedule is set until Friday morning, and Saturday is already booked-by service activities”. That should take care of things for a few days.

Seriously, though, my next several months will be largely about preps for the Fire and Flood season. My friend told me, more or less, that focusing on one Big Thing at a time is really best, and it makes the most sense to me. Besides, every other thought that has come into my mind, over the past two weeks, has been about disaster mitigation.

I spent the waking portion of the trans-Pacific flight, about four hours, re-watching “Apocalypse Now” and watching the Italian film, “Familia”. The former, as many know, is about dystopia, in our time-a cautionary tale about megalomania and the hellscape of war. The second is about the inability of men, in particular, to get enough hold of their insecurities that the women in their lives be treated with the dignity due them-and about the dichotomy between the way a husband treats his wife and a son treats his mother. “Familia” also touches on the neo-Fascism of Italy, from the 1990s to the present.

We have our struggles in the United States of America, right now, but nothing like those described above-yet.

The Road to Diamond, Day 81: “The Last Ten Minutes”

2
Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

February 18, 2025, Hong Kong- I actually have time to sit and enjoy this spacious facility, after a brief and pleasant hop from Manila.

My friend, Kathy, has a descriptor for the late phase of any event, activity or process: The last ten minutes. She mentioned, in last night’s coming to terms between us, that we were, generally speaking, in that phase of our lives. My silent retort was that I intend to soak up every nanosecond. She later, independently, gave voice to the same sentiment, regarding her own life. Vindicated!!

We have had far more interesting conversations today, with the vagaries of romance having been set aside. One of the points she brought up was that one can really only do justice to one major personal event or process at a time.

For me, this would be taking the lead in Red Cross Disaster Cycle Response for Yavapai and Mohave Counties, Arizona- particularly from late May to early September, aka the Fire and Flood Season.

It makes no sense to play juggler. Rushing back to Manila would be little more than an act of giddiness, and I’m a bit long in the tooth for giddy.

She has some equally cogent plans, helping her younger son complete his education and a possible upgrade to a Baha’i- owned property in Metro Manila. We are pulling for one another. At some point in the next few years, I will visit “the Phils” again, because several people would like to see me again, and some of them will be visiting here, over the next little while.

For now, though, I’m in a good place, headed back to a place where I might “shine” as my friend put it.

The Road to Diamond, Day 79: Affirmations and A Temple Site

0
Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

February 16, 2025, Manila- Two of the adults, of whom I spoke yesterday, have offered me a place of residence, in a city about an hour south of Manila. This gives me a landing place, once I am able to draw down my time in Arizona. That could reasonably be accomplished, in a caring and dignified manner, by the end of May, at the latest. There are organizations about whom I care deeply: Red Cross, Prescott Farmers Market, Slow Food-Prescott-and the Baha’i Community, in which I want to help foster and nurture leadership. There are friends who will never leave my heart, who need to know that they have nothing to do with my moving. I have made it crystal clear who the impetus for the transition is. She is still very much my primary focus, aside from my little family, who themselves would be cause for returning to the U.S., at the drop of a hat. I will have quality time with them and other family members, in early-to-mid May.

All these things come to mind, following my first visit to the site of a future Baha’i House of Worship for the Phiippines. It is in the city of Antipolo, about 17.6 km (10.9 mi) east northeast of Manila. There was a gathering for the election of a delegate to the Baha’i National Convention for the Philippines, which will be held at the end of April. There was the usual fantastic pot luck lunch (adobo, inasal and creamed cauliflower were abundant-as was white rice, of which I took only a small helping.) There was spirited, but always respectful consultation-most of it in Tagalog, so I understood only small snippets, but I could tell the civil and elevated nature of the discourse, by watching body language. K was busy elsewhere, but it was enjoyable to hang out a bit with a couple of her family members, and get to know them better. The vibrant gathering of 45 people was welcoming and supportive of my considering living in their country. Children were free to play at their own developmental games. Dogs, cats and goats wandered about the grounds, interacting with people-mostly for scraps of food, though they are all well-fed by the caretakers.

Here are a few scenes of the Temple Site grounds.

Gathering site for a small business meeting, future Baha’i Temple site, Antipolo, Rizal, Philippines
Fruit tree grove, Baha’i property, Antipolo
Gathering of participants at Baha’i Unit Convention, Antipolo

After the meeting, as we drove back to Manila, it occurred to me that I was becoming more familiar with the roads around the Metro area. I could even help navigate a driver, if asked. Just don’t ask me to drive in the Metro-there are too many motorcyclists, coming every which way.

The Road to Diamond, Day 72: Realizations

4
Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

February 9, 2025, Manila- A kindly woman said something that has occurred to me several times, but has slipped to the background of my thinking, with regard to my friendship with a special soul here. It is service together and enjoyment of just being together that matters most, in any relationship. The whole romance and courtship element that is so important, to so many, even among us seniors is actually of lesser importance to K and I. The longing to be together, to do things together, is very strong-as strong as it was with Penny. It does not, however, come with strictures and caveats, per se-other than a sense that I get from K, that I actually commit to being here for more than a few weeks..

Tomorrow, I will go with a mutual friend to look at a place where I might rent a condominium at a monthly rate, looking to live in this area for a year or so. If the place seems reasonable, then all the systematic changes that I would need to make in my life would be effected from the time I return to the United States, in the middle of next week (2/19) to the end of April. It will perhaps discomfit some in Home Base I, and elsewhere, but I haven’t felt this strongly about anyone, nor felt such reciprocal energy coming from the person, since 2011.

Unless things go drastically south in the next ten days, I know that this is the course I want to pursue. It’ll mean working with the Red Cross to train a team of Disaster Response volunteers for northwest Arizona, during March. It will mean putting some household items up for sale and giving much of the rest away, in early April and taking the rest to a storage unit. I would bring only two or three bags of items with me. It will mean a schedule of 9-10 months here and 2-3 months’ travel in the United States or other parts of the world.

It will also mean being readily adaptable, in this age when affairs large and small can turn on a moment’s notice.

The Road to Diamond, Day 69: Being At Ease in Place

4
Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

February 5, 2025, Manila- One of my nest eggs has been put into safe mode, by the investment company, until there is surety as to who has access to the account. This is one reaction to the news out of Washington. My own reaction is to be glad I am here in the Philippines, among friends whose only wish is to see me relax and be happy. To be clear, I would be staying relaxed in place if I were back at Home Base I, or in Grapevine, for that matter. Here, though, I have space to work out what I am going to decide, as to whether to return here for several months, in May or June, getting an extended visa; to settle into a Sheltering Lead with the Red Cross in northwest Arizona; or to hit the road in Europe and Africa, come autumn. These are Plans 1, 2 and 3, ordered by preference.

I am learning to be comfortable in place. Ironically, this is happening because I value the company and presence of someone, who herself is constantly in motion, and not really at ease with indecision. She has been good for me, in that I can let her know that the wheels are turning, whilst being in a situation where I am weighing multiple options. It’s been a while since that has been the case, and of course, there will be people who are disappointed by my choosing one option over the others-also a rarity in my life.

This year is going to be one of those, however. I would not entirely be surprised if my return flight to North America, on February 18, ends up being re-routed to Vancouver-or Monterrey. The Red Cross is likely to be intact, in the event I end up with Plan 2-or is it? A lot of water is going to be passing under several bridges, before we’re done.

I’m glad to have K in my life-and all of you, as well. Hope you can be at ease in place, wherever you might find yourselves.

The Road to Diamond, Day 63: Plan by the Numbers

2
Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 30, 2025, Manila- Undersea salvage expert Nico Vincent long ago gave up on “Plan A”, “Plan B”, etc., explaining that such a scheme limited one to “only 26 possibilities”. Even if one used the Greek alphabet afterwards, there would be “only 50”. So, he goes with plans that are numbered. Given his line of work, the allowance for multiple plans makes particular sense. It took several people a fair number of tries, over a century or so, before Dr. Vincent and his team were successful, in finding the ice-sundered ship, Endurance, which Sir Ernest Shackleton, the legendary polar explorer, and his crew were forced to abandon in 1916. Team Vincent probably needed to get to Plan 5, before their electronic devices helped them locate the wreck.

My need for a series of numbered plans is far less consequential, but here we are. There is an offer on the table for a responsible, if voluntary, position with my Red Cross department back at Home Base I and there is everything that is here in the Philippines. I have bought time on the former, yet the clock ticks. Plan 1 is to be present for the person who most has my heart. Plan 2 would be taking no for an answer and moving on, in which case the Red Cross offer would be a good balm. There would be other plans, as always, including a blend of the first two.

We are in uncharted territory, all over the place, in this “year of completion”. All that people have been working on, since 2017, is due to be wrapped up, according to astrology and cosmology. A new cycle, it’s said is to start in 2026. I look back at the 9-year cycles in which I’ve been involved, and can see some sense in that line of thought. The present cycle saw my recovery from the residue, both physical and emotional, of seeing Penny decline and pass on. The period will conclude with my having embarked on a worthwhile endeavour, regardless of how things work out.

We simply are in an age when flexibility is especially mandatory for preserving one’s mental and emotional well-being. Besides the political chaos that is prevalent in several parts of the world, there are too many factors in the lives of those dearest to me, for me to be stuck on a given course of action and only that course of action. Then, there is Mother Nature. Case in point: A group of us were considering going to Palawan, early next week. The sea in the beach areas under consideration is roiling. God willing, our plan will be realized at another time, but it’s best to not hold on too tightly to such things.

Plans unfold, by the numbers.