Backyard sunflowers, in yellow and blue In our little neck of the woods — in which “woods” consists of thousands of acres of almond, pistachio, walnut, orange varieties, all sorts of pit fruit and apple trees and so on — Paco (son-in-law) and I yesterday took a trip to the vet to refill Elf the … Continue reading Broken windows, $5.50 gas and qué será
Author: Rising Over the Smoke
Rising Over the Smoke is me looking for larger patterns, hidden meanings in what goes on all around us. The world gets more conflicted and confused from one year to the next, or so it seems. Some days life feels fresh, open, energized, connected, others more nuanced, confused, distanced, lethargic. To me writing is a way of exploring my place, and perhaps that of others.
I am Baha’i, thus my thoughts are affected by my faith. Beliefs include independent investigation of truth, equality of men and women, the essential harmony between science and religion, that there is one God from whom all the world’s religions spring, that we diverse humans are all of one family. The Baha’i Faith is unlike other existing world religions as it does not claim to be the only “true” path or religion. The Baha’i Faith acknowledges all sacred traditions and religions as equal.
On the way to a COVID 19 vaccination
I got my first coronavirus vaccination on Thursday, and have been doing well. There’s a sore arm and some brain fog, fading two days later and that's it. A late wild sunflower we picked up from a home construction site soon after the entire plant had been ripped out. The Zuni River Otter fetish joined … Continue reading On the way to a COVID 19 vaccination
A StoryCorps tale
In February of 2020 we learned that the StoryCorps booth would be coming to the Fresno area in California during the summer months. My daughter, Jericha Rendon, put in a request for an appointment with the idea that she would like to interview me (Emily Lee) regarding my experiences growing up and living on with … Continue reading A StoryCorps tale
What comes next, last 12 months?
Twelve months and counting it is since a less-than-stellar year began in an individually rough manner for me, starting in February 2020. A big downshift in the way I live my life, marginally because of Covid 19 and the social chaos of racial justice and political upheavals began the first week of February. Much of this … Continue reading What comes next, last 12 months?
On apocalyptic wildfires
This began as a Facebook post before it decided to make an appearance on my slumbering blog. I've been tracking the Creek Fire in Fresno/Madera Counties, California for one week now, as it's seventy miles east of our home, up in the Sierra Madres between the Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Also... peaceful music to … Continue reading On apocalyptic wildfires
Are we nearing the destruction of America?
June 1, 2020 Recently I came upon a prophetic passage regarding the worrisome future of America, which was conveyed ninety-nine years ago (June 10, 1921) in a letter to the head of a Baha’i organization in this country. In it the writer quotes ‘Abdu’l-Baha, who was at the time the head of the world wide … Continue reading Are we nearing the destruction of America?
Friday for Favorite Things
Having fun here on a Friday afternoon... Not my image but I do like it 1. Favorite Harry Potter Movie: The first, because there you have all the rest to look forward to. 2. Favorite String Instrument: Ukulele, which I am learning to play. It’s therapeutic, since my hands have nerve damage from decades of walking … Continue reading Friday for Favorite Things
Earth Day 50 reflections
Here we are and it’s Earth Day 50 this time, so unlike a single one of the previous forty nine observances. Circumstances for me as this Earth Day rolls around involve sharing a home in California's Central Valley with my daughter, her husband and their almost nine-month-old son — my first grandchild and a … Continue reading Earth Day 50 reflections
Ties binding us
Note: None of this is political. No more than simply living is political. I try to think according to the words of a great spiritual master, 'Abdu'l-Baha Abbas: "Walk the spiritual path with practical feet". Behind our house in California’s hot, hot Central Valley sits a long wooden fence, above which wave a number of American … Continue reading Ties binding us
Of dogs… and then there was one
Elf the Corgi is now an only dog. Throughout yesterday and the day before she and her human, Emily, sat with their faithful companion of eight years, Opus the Dachshund-Terrier, in his final hours. He passed at home, in his crate, about 4:30 in the afternoon of April 17, aged fourteen years. There was a … Continue reading Of dogs… and then there was one
Rising Over the Smoke 