A Difficult Week and Hard Work Ahead

My grand-daughter Cordelia in Utah helped paint this wonderful sign. Yes, they do!
In the aftermath of police brutality in the unwarranted deaths of George Floyd and other Black victims last week, public outrage has erupted throughout the country and world with protests, violence and public and private statements from all corners of society. Such as the following...

"We condemn the actions and inaction of the police officers in Minnesota and we do not tolerate or condone this type of behavior in Palo Alto at any level," "Their actions have had a tremendous impact on all police officers serving communities like Palo Alto all across our great nation." A curfew has been imposed from 8:30 PM to 5 AM for a couple of days to curb any evening violence.

The local director Phillipe Rey, of Adolescent Services, made the following statement: "Many of us have experienced being marginalized, feeling invisible, or threatened with violence because of our various identities. I hope that we all can draw on our own experiences and empathize with the anger, hurt, and frustration being felt nationwide by communities of color (especially black communities)."

"Peaceful events and their necessary calls for change should outshine the acts of violence taking place in several communities," a statement reads.

Melina Abdullah, Los Angeles leader, says "it is not a big police budget that keeps communities safe. What keeps communities safe is good jobs, mental health resources, housing, parks, after-school programs."

A peaceful march in Houston on June 2, 2020

Protesters (masked and social distancing) in Palo Alto

Protesters outside the Capitol in Washington,D.C.

An excerpt from our LDS President Nelson's plea to all of us:

"We join with many throughout this nation and around the world
 who are deeply saddened at recent evidences of racism and a blatant disregard for human life. We abhor the reality that some would deny others respect and the most basic of freedoms because of the color of his or her skin."

If you have not read Bryan Stevenson's book Just Mercy,or seen the film, I recommend it for everyone. We all deserve justice, mercy and God's grace in this difficult world, and it is up to us to lose our ignorance, blindness, hatred towards any group based on color, race, religion, class. We must make room in our hearts for empathy, understanding, kindness.
We are all racist to some degree, but we can learn by listening better. Please watch the following excellent short video by a young British white woman: "but I'm not racist?" https://youtu.be/NTmNV5KTdDo

I have been listening to an excellent, scholarly history of Reconstruction, white supremacy, and the rise of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Stony the Road

As with the thorny artichoke, may we learn (especially by listening) to see and 
to discover the worth and value of every person on the earth.

I took the following photos 10 years ago this week while serving a mission in the Dominican Republic. The "rug" I bought from this woman is draped over the chair I sit in every day. It was made of Victoria Secret scraps sent to the DR. These children really make their way into the heart! I hope they have a good future...


I think fondly of my many friends all over the world who are also sharing the challenges of this time. I painted this Quito Ecuador area scene from a photo I took 10+ years ago.

Life goes on. 

Jameson Welch returned from his 2 year mission to South London

High school graduates such as Miranda Wiener (joined by her grandfather Peter Giles and mom Jen) and other friends, social distancing, who came to offer congratulations. No official gatherings allowed with the Covid pandemic

My first trip away from Palo Alto in almost 3 months, was to Napa to get together with my Aunt Julie and cousins Doug and David (and Nancy, not pictured, and their spouses) to share family stories and photos. The drive through California's golden summer hills and green vineyards along winding roads was refreshingly beautiful after so much quarantining (not over yet).

.... and my first trip in a long time to our beautiful Palo Alto Foothills Park. 

We are not far from the Pacific Ocean so sometimes the fog sits on the foothills and rolls in.

Elsie and I helped celebrate Jessie's (right) birthday

June 6, 2020, is the anniversary of the Normandy Landing, the beginning of the liberation of northwestern Europe from Nazi power in WWII. I thank these men who were all part of the Landing. The BBC article link is well worth reading https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48456573

Memorial Day

"Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue"...we are all dreaming of the end to the Pandemic, but please be careful in the meantime! Safety and care now will keep a later re-infestation (Palo Alto view May 17, 2020, 2 months into "sheltering in place."



“Doing what feels good, what’s convenient, what’s easy — that’s how little kids think,” he said during a prime time special for high school seniors. “Unfortunately, a lot of so-called grown-ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs, still think that way — which is why things are so screwed up. I hope that instead, you decide to ground yourself in values that last, like honesty, hard work, responsibility, fairness, generosity, respect for others.” (Barack Obama, May 16, 2020) in a virtual commencement address).
And the following is horrifying. How can we stop this tragedy?

2. The U.S. is deporting children

American authorities have deported hundreds of migrant children and teenagers, without giving them the opportunity to speak to a social worker or to plead for asylum, The Times’s Caitlin Dickerson reports. Some children are being deported in the middle of night, without their families being notified.

In expelling the children, the Trump administration is abandoning protections that both Democratic and Republican presidents have granted to young migrants for decades. Federal officials are justifying the practices under a 1944 law that grants the president broad power to prevent the “serious threat” of a dangerous disease.  If you do not feel connected to these children I recommend Isabel Allende's In the Midst of Winter, partly about orphaned children in Guatemala and other refugees.

The below view from the Oakland LDS temple with Oakland in foreground, San Francisco behind. It feels hard to wait until we see these vibrant cities return to life...but it will happen, hopefully in a smart and timely manner.

I am so thrilled to see the construction of the Quito, Ecuador Temple progressing. I well remember all the wonderful  faithful members...usually entire families... who made the arduous 12-15 hour bus rides (sometimes even partly by boat) to attend the Guayaquil Temple. 

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, we long to have our temples re-open to renew our covenants and to perform sacred ordinances.

"Keeping the covenants we make when we participate in ordinances is evidence of our growing faith in God. By the same token, as we keep our promises to God, He can entrust us with greater and greater knowledge, capacity and responsibility."

“Every covenant with God is an opportunity to draw closer to him. To anyone who reflects for a moment on what they have already felt of the love of God, to have that bond made stronger and that relationship closer is an irresistible offer.” (Henry B. Eyring; “Making Covenants with God,” September 08, 1996 BYU Fireside.)

For many years I used to cross the bay to teach in the city of Fremont, just below those hills, now I would just like to cross to attend the temple. In the meantime, I enjoy the sights and smells on my walks. There are many water birds nesting and enjoying life! And many masked humans as well.

This duck and sometimes its mate spend time in my yard.
I met this bunny chasing its friend at the Baylands, too.

All kinds of interesting things happen during the Pandemic. Here a homeless person is being tested. We hope for more tests and a vaccine. Thank you to all working so hard to develop these.

May we remember and honor, on this Memorial Day, the millions of men and women who have served in the military and all who are generously giving their time, expertise and effort, and risking their own health this year to serve us during the Pandemic.

a yard sign for the Pandemic

Miranda Wiener (below left) is graduating from high school this month, but like most graduates there will be no formal ceremony. Some ceremonies are postponed, others drive by the homes of students. June 3 at 5:30 PM we are to all honk our horns. We hope these special young people feel our admiration for their accomplishments nonetheless! Congrats, Miranda, and all other graduates!

 While playgrounds are closed, some dance (my daughter Julie and her daughters help Phoebe celebrate her second birthday). And look at the amazing table made by my son-in-law Peter from the felled pine tree in their Salt Lake yard!

Happy Mother's Day! Happy V-E Day commemoration!

My mother would be 100 years old if still alive. We, her descendants, are so grateful for her love and legacy. Below, celebrating my birthday around 2010??, are some of her "girls": Miriam, Julie (my daughter); my three sisters: Eloise, Irene, Elaine; Lisa and Kristina (2 of my nieces) and Emily (my daughter). A few of this younger generation are missing. And she now has 23 great-grandchildren. 



I certainly have enjoyed being a grandma, too. (with Luke in 2009)

As do moms all over the world (I took this in Ethiopia while participating in a service project)



Many great moms in this family photo from Thanksgiving time in 2019 (hoping we will be able to be together in person again soon).
Family and friends are such blessings. I found this photo I had taken of 3 elderly Romanian women friends enjoying the photo I had taken of them (I had two digital cameras).

And such good friends who are great moms (and dads)
........

May 8, 1945 V-E Day (unconditional surrender of Germany ends World War II) celebration in London. Today there are about 250,000  (of the 16 million American men and women that served) who are still alive. They are known as the "Greatest Generation." If your family member is one of these or any other veteran, please interview them if they will share any experiences. Since it is Mother's Day this week, I am reminded of the sorrow of so many mother's of victim soldiers.
Among the many I read, this message from one veteran, Robert Wayne Emerson, who had served as an army nurse:

"He never talked much about treating these men because that was heartbreaking and many died of injuries. He wrote encouraging letters to my mom, Emma, telling her about the friends he made at the Hospital. The world was a dreary place, and he wanted to be positive in a negative environment. Love is a big word during wartime. He loved my mother and he wanted her to face her grade school students with as much love as possible. A few years later, 1946, he came back to Indiana with his Christian heart which had suffered silently. From that love, my brother and I were born. We were taught against guns and against violence. He had an uncommon type of bravery. When I think about the medical doctors and nurses, I remember that they had bravery of their own. They remained peace centered in a war that tested their commitment to build a more positive world".

We will each have a story (on a different scale, but heroic in many cases, especially for those serving us in so many ways) to tell about COVID-19. There are messages we should also record for our posterity. The big controversy these days is how and when to lift certain restrictions. I know that economic considerations are very important...so many suffer from unemployment, usually from the sector least able to afford loss of jobs...but with the spread of the virus the economy is going to suffer still. We need medical and scientific experts to work with and advise the politicians and economists. Partisanship should play almost NO role. 

Employment has become a huge challenge for so many. Angie, one of my housemates just left this week to find a job in Utah temporarily. Before she left she painted me in Paris. Right now I should be finishing my Danube River cruise and going on to England to spend time with Anne, who has never spent so much time in the kitchen (and garden), which she says she enjoys, while working long hours from home.

Fun to connect with family over social media, even daughter Anne in England, and son Peter working in the ER on Navajo lands: his comments are the following from his Facebook page this week:

"Since last year April I have been working off and on at the Navajo Reservation in the ER in Kayenta, Arizona. Today was my first day back since the epidemic hit. Impressions: 1) this is not the flu. It has had a devastating impact on many lives, with young people, also, losing their lives. 2) It’s really hard suiting up over and over throughout the day. We are used to popping in to see patients. That’s hard to do when you have to gown up, get a face mask on, etc. 3) it’s possible to avoid getting sick, even when you are in an ER with lots of covid-19 patients. This ER has done a good job of protecting people. I am wearing a white bunny-style suit made by people in Farmington—hand sewn. Others from Utah have brought various supplies to this region. 4) there are some good people in the world. Not only are there the people who organize supplies and write heart-warming letters. There are a couple of doctors here from back East who are volunteering their time. One has much experience from the tri-states area. He was able to provide valuable tips and care of patients. 5) Prepare your body as well as you can in case you get ill. Eat well. Build up your lung capacity. Exercise, even in your house, if necessary. Exercise is also a good way of burning off stress."

Elsie, one of my renters (housemates) ventured out for the first time in 7 weeks to buy her favorite tres leches cakes at Costco! Two have gone to find jobs elsewhere, staying with family temporarily until they can return to their regular jobs here. I'm grateful for a peaceful place to shelter in place, and spend many hours working in the garden and reading on my patio...

Fortunately all the pelicans and gulls and other birds don't know about social distancing. And dogs?? We need to preserve our diverse wild life and all the other balance of life. Each of us has its place in this beautiful world. (I thought the chart below was interesting)

Construction was stopped for awhile, but now has resumed. Our friends the Jacobsens will soon re able to move back into their remodeled home. 
Everyday the situation changes (a week ago it was like this, now several more states are partially re-opening).

May our leaders and each of us be wise as well as compassionate, learn from these challenging times, and recover the good things we had before, and maintain the new and better ways of thinking and interacting we have learned. Change can be good!