Tag Archives: The Philippines

The Road to Diamond, Day 339: Continuity

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

November 1, 2025- One of the things that appeals to me most about Home Base I is that not a whole lot changes, on occasions when I am away-even for almost two months. A restaurant closed, with the promise of re-opening in another location, “soon”. Taking its place was a high-priced establishment that serves dinner only, five nights a week. No other changes are evident, though.

I dropped in at one favourite stop, and found the owner, a friend, uncharacteristically angry. It turned out that someone reneged on a promised gig, for the flimsiest of excuses. I would have been furious. I think my friend handled it rather well, considering.

Today was All Saints Day, mostly celebrated heartily in predominately Roman Catholic countries. It is a national holiday in the Philippines and in several Latin American nations. In Mexico, it dovetails with Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which is more prominent in Mexican culture. I was present for the holiday in Manila, in 2022, even if I was merely wending my way to Aquino International Airport. It was still a day when many Filipinos were on the move, both domestically and internationally. To me, sainthood is relative. Only a few souls have neared perfection, in this mortal life, and even fewer have attained it.

I have a long way to go, but that’s okay. I am giving life my best shot.

The Road to Diamond, Day 275: Reading the Road

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

August 30, 2025- Waiting until the row of traffic, in the lane I was about to enter, had cleared, I then pulled onto the road. Lo and behold, I heard a horn blare, from a few cars back and to the left. It was from someone honking and yelling at the pick-up driver who had moved into the “empty” lane and who was now having to brake, because of yours truly. Nothing further happened, we all went on our merry ways, but it goes to show, one never can be too careful.

I have learned to “read the road” quite well, and often will wait until the light up the road turns red, before going onto AZ 69, which many drivers treat as their personal race track. It seems there are many such roads, across the country, and even across the continent. (Canada has its share of oblivious motorists and the lands south of the border are even more chaotic, in many places.) Across the Pacific, I don’t think I’d want to drive in the Philippines, mostly due to the many motorcyclists who dart in and out, everywhere. I have learned to read the road there, too, as in many spots, there are no crosswalks and one must inch forward to cross a road, when traffic slows just a bit.

My father thought I was a bit too cautious, when I first learned to drive. There was a reason: I was more of a menace, with a short attention span and tendency to daydream. It took a few months to learn to focus, and I did manage to go nearly 48 years without an accident. There have been a few rough patches, since 2014, for different reasons- Sabotage, an overzealous driver zipping over a blind hill and a driver on medication who fell asleep. The first two saw me get cited for “partial culpability”, which is more a statutory requirement than actual proof of wrongdoing.

Nonetheless, I am determined to get through the next week or so without any mishaps. For seven weeks thereafter, my mode of transport will be the airplane, the train, the bus and a friend’s vehicle. Reading the road will be more as a pedestrian, in the countries I will find myself. Tonight, though, was a caution-there is never a break from driving defensively.

The Road to Diamond, Day 227: Thoughts While at Rest

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 13, 2025- Today was an auspicious day. It is the birthday of my twin sisters-in-law. It is the anniversary of the beginning of a thankfully brief journey down a dark rabbit hole. It is also the anniversary of the passing of a good friend. In brief, July 13 is a mixed bag.

Today here in Prescott and at Bellemont was a peaceful day. The third day of camp was, by all accounts, splendid and people worked together to get the camp broken down and deep-cleaned. Here, I took care of the cats and did scant else, regrouping after yesterday’s full schedule and looking carefully at the fire reports from the North Rim of Grand Canyon. The news was terrifying: Grand Canyon Lodge, the North Rim Visitor’s Center, staff lodging and various cabins were destroyed. Fortunately, all workers and guests had been evacuated before the fire hit.

I never stayed in the Lodge, but enjoyed its lobby’s art and wandering around the neo-Victorian structure. The hotel was a rebuilt version of the original, itself lost in a fire in 1937. It will take time, but the likelihood is that the Lodge will be rebuilt.

I thought a lot today about where I am in the world. How much good am I actually doing? A project I had sponsored in the Philippines, in the first area I visited in that country, has fallen victim to thieves, who took building materials that were intended to improve a children’s school. So many people in this world look back on their own childhood, tell themselves that they were deprived and therefore, it’s okay for them to steal from the children of today.

I was raised to take the bitter with the sweet and to not expect to be put above anyone else. This is not a lesson that is universally taught, and thus we are in a hard place, as a species. Those who place themselves above the rest should not be at all surprised, when in the end, deprivation rears its head and takes back from them what was never due them in the first place. That is just a general observation on the way things tend to transpire.

It has been largely a restful day, but also one that has been bittersweet.

The Road to Diamond, Day 192: Own Inner Voice Speaks

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

June 8, 2025- The message was crystal clear, this morning: “You need no coffee right now. Water is more urgent.” It was certainly a no-brainer; it’s hot, for the next several days. This, however, is a long-term notion. I can, and will, drastically cut back on coffee consumption (no more 3-4 cups a day), and when visiting lovely cafes, can order items such as “Golden Milk”, fruity coolers or chai, especially during our lengthy heat cycle. (It’s not just here in Arizona. Both places that are potentially alternate residences-North Texas and the Philippines, lend themselves well to consumption of cool beverages. Europe (September) will also have a plethora of healthy beverages, besides great coffee-and tea.

I have often relied on spirit guides, and the loving advice of friends and family, in both health-related matters and planning activities or travel. In planning changes to my diet, the past day or so, my own inner voice took charge. So, cool water or shakes will be at my side, while I read the morning paper.

Meals are always smaller in the summer. Breakfast, except for the Post on Sunday, is fairly small. Lunch is a plateful of nuts and crunchy (the traditional meaning of the word) mini-pretzels. Dinner is a modest portion of something healthful, though not often vegetarian or vegan. There is no going back to heavy.

I owe it to my little family, to someone else who I love very much and to so many, both here and across the globe, who have been so kind and devoted to my well-being, to cultivate and listen to the inner voice that wants me to stay the course, for another 25 years at least.

Raise a glass of cucumber or melon water, or a cup of coolness, to the faithful inner voice!

The Road to Diamond, Day 190: Ever Connected

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

June 6, 2025- As I sat this morning, contemplating what to do, as a hiking plan was interrupted by unforeseen circumstances, messages came to me from the single most important soul in my life, thus far. I was to firm up both short-term and long-range plans, for service in Prescott and Bellemont and for visiting friends in Europe, come September.

Forty-three years have gone by, since Penny and I committed to each other. That commitment endured a number of challenges, most seriously her hereditary disease, which dogged her all her life, but came on strongest in the 2000s, and eventually took her life. Those close to me know that she and I went through this hellish time together-and I did not flinch.

A friend of Kathy’s and mine, who also lives in the Philippines, wrote that the need of any woman is for her man to stand by her, and not use her as a plaything. Nothing is truer. My primary interest in Kathy is that she realizes her dreams and her own life plan. We both must tend to our respective families first, and if it comes to pass that we have time together, that will be gravy.

Getting back to the promptings of the spirit mentioned above, I have a few days at the turnover between June and July to devote to a group at Bellemont. There will be a lot of Red Cross work, both in person and online, the next two weeks. Slow Food, the Farmers Market and Solid Rock soup kitchen will continue to figure in the mix, throughout the summer.

I will fulfill promises made in 2016 and again last year, to visit friends in Sweden, Croatia and Great Britain, in September, with an initial stop in Iceland. There may be other places during and right after these visits. I have been told to stick to a one-day-at-a-time mentality, and so it will be.

In the end, today was a re-assuring day and a fair number of things were resolved-just no hike. I am ever grateful to all the people in my life, especially to the women, both living and in the ethereal world.

The Road to Diamond, Day 129: Cleansing

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

April 6, 2025, Kingman- On a table, in the backyard work area of our Quad, there is a sturdy aluminum pot, left behind by a now incarcerated former neighbour. The pot is caked in some sort of goop, and once it is cleaned, later this week, it will be given over to the Disabled American Veterans, along with any other items that may still be on the front wall of the property just to our south.

I believe in making left-behind items available to families in need, instead of stocking the landfill at Sun Dog. So, a man’s bicycle, a large pasta strainer, two or three chairs, a few lamps and the aforementioned pot could be still there, waiting for me to take to the Thrift Store on Tuesday morning.

This morning, at breakfast with some fellow veterans, I found myself in a self-deprecating mood when one of the guys teased me about what he thought was my lack of a love life. Thinking back on my teenage years, it was not hard, this morning, to joke about being seen as less than desirable by some of the A-list girls. It felt like a sort of cleansing, as it’s been a long time since such a judgmental pecking order has mattered to me. It feels nice to be in a self-assured frame of mind-and I have my marriage of 29 years, and the Baha’i Teachings, to thank for that confidence.

There is another sort of cleansing afoot, as the Federal Government whittles away at part of many people’s savings, including my own. I will continue to live as I see fit-mostly in a frugal manner, but also doing things like hosting a couple of friends from the Philippines, this week, and visiting family and friends back East, in May. The wealthy officials who are telling us to tighten our belts, are themselves doing whatever they feel like. I will thus do what I feel is right, including some of what I want to do.

So, here I am in this crossroads city, and tomorrow, will head to Las Vegas, pick up my two friends and introduce them to Arizona, over the next six days. All of this feels very cleansing.

The Road to Diamond, Day 126: Reset

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

April 3, 2025- The bandage that was placed on my left facial cheek, to stay there for 48 hours, is still there. It will come off tomorrow and a short period of going about with a sutured face will continue until next Wednesday. Then the true healing, the reset of sorts, will begin.

On Monday, I will pick up my two guests from the Philippines, at their home-stay in Las Vegas, and bring them to Arizona for 6-7 days. We will enjoy a variety of experiences, many of them in natural beauty and several that will involve gatherings with friends of mine around the state. It will also be a reset of sorts.

This evening, I attended a crowded dinner meeting of Prescott Indivisible. I had more conversation with my table mates than I have had there in the past. There were also two calls for a show of hands, as to who will attend a protest march in a few days’ time. I will be working at Farmers Market, at the time of the march, so my hand did not go up. Though the door monitor glared and loudly cleared his throat, when I left early to attend another meeting, I owed neither him nor anyone else an explanation. The speaker at the gathering said it best: “None of us has a monopoly on the truth”. There is a nascent reset of attitude, among those on both sides, who have viewed others with disdain. The pain that the nation is beginning to experience will humble a good many people.

After attending an online discussion of Baha’i Teachings, I went to return to my other online sites. The browser was undergoing a reset, and so I had to re-enter a few accounts. Rebooting seems to be a part of life everywhere today.

The Road to Diamond, Day 84: Mixed Messages

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

February 20, 2025- On the one hand, Doc says that I have the constitution of a 45-year-old. I’ll take that for as long as I can keep it. On the other hand, my skin needs a few tweaks. I will go through the process of getting those treated, though thankfully, I don’t have anywhere near the horror blotches of the 2010s. Just a few small bumps is all.

We all go through the day and get some mixed messages. I got a few during my recent time in the Philippines. Now, though, I am getting much more clarity from my friend. We are still messaging back and forth-and the messages are straightforward, both ways. As with friends here in North America, our communication is honest, caring-and yes, loving. I feel blessed that everyone on my radar screen has my best interests at heart, and I, theirs.

Mixed messages come about when the messenger is not sure of self, let alone about feelings towards the recipient. There is, more essentially therefore, a primary duty to not send mixed messages to oneself. I have had to face this as often as anyone-wanting things that aren’t there, in an imperfect, phenomenal world. The solution to the latter is to get to work, and so I have.

Coming full circle, maybe this is the reason for my clean bill of general health. Proactivity reflects one’s work ethic.

The Road to Diamond, Day 83: True Friends

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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 69: Being At Ease in Place

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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.