The Long and Winding Road Home

We are back in Bellingham!  I am grateful to be at home despite the broken furnace, the broken washing machine and the funky power issues that happened while we were away.  Mike and I are both hoping that when you add the little repair we had to make to the car while we were in Tucson that we are done with repair and replacement for now.  The best news for me is the new washer and dryer that will arrive on Wednesday.    (The old washer died a noble death and the dryer was operating at half strength.)

We diligently kept track of the total miles we put on our car over the 41 days we were gone - 5210 miles.  Such a long way for us.  Mike is used to riding his bike as much as he can and I have been spoiled by living 2 miles from my office.  We are used to doing most things within about 5 miles of our home.  Even my little airport is 5 miles from my house.  One of the things I realized is that I really do not like road trips that much.  Maybe if the trip can be completed in one day and is no more than 5 hours.  Maybe if the stay on the other end is long and leisurely, like the snowbirds we saw and met all over California and Arizona, it makes sense.  By the end of the trip I would look longingly at airplanes and think about how quickly those people are going to get to where they are going.  I look forward to flying to and from Arizona next week for a short visit with the Arizona State University Latino Resilience Enterprise team.

I am sure that some of my bias against long road trips on fast moving interstate highways is that I walked away from a horrific high speed rollover accident almost 31 years ago.  I was 6 months pregnant.  Seat belts saved my life and that of my husband and now nearly 31 year old son Ben.  To this day large trucks cause me some anxiety.  We were hit by a semi-truck, thrown across all lanes of I-5 and then broadsided and flipped into a ditch.  We hung upside down while we waited for rescuers.
I had some amazing visits on this trip that made it worthwhile.   I am really grateful for all the people who agreed to give me their time and energy and I learned a great deal.  I was surprised by the generous hearts and the colorful art I saw all along the way.  I will write again in the next couple of days about the last couple of days of visiting in NorCal.  In the meantime I will post a couple of pictures I took on a brief visit we made to the state capital in Sacramento.

Cesar Chavez is honored in a variety of places in California and Arizona.  We spent some time in the Central Valley near where he lived and worked and met people who were connected to him through their relatives.  This plaza was in downtown Sacramento.  We were lucky to walk through it after we parked the car.

All capitol buildings are majestic.  This is no exception.  We found our way inside and enjoyed displays from each county lining the walls on the visitors' floor.

The floor on the outside of the capitol building.  The marble was beautiful and spoke to me esthetically.

The golden bear, state mascot.  This fellow is brass and is touched by many school children each day.  A nearby state trooper advised us to skip touching for the sake of our health.  He is impressive.

Thanks for reading my ramblings!

Thoughts on Leaving Southern California

We head out today from our base in Desert Edge at the Healing Waters Estates.  We were so glad to have this as a long stopover to refresh, renew, make new friends and take stock.  Thanks to Dale for letting us stay in the O'hana.  I am delighted that my friend Marilyn is recovering from her accident and surgeries following her fall from a bicycle.  She is a trooper and a model for moving ahead with purpose and belief in a fully restored body.  She has always been an inspiration to me and her friendship and example of healthy living is a beacon for me. I look forward to returning again next year when I will be on vacation and not working and she will be much more recovered from her injuries.  We did enjoy several wonderful outings with her.  We went twice to her favorite jazz joint, Woody's Burgers, in Palm Springs.  Two nights ago was a birthday gala for Trish Hatley, a chanteuse who plays with Barney McClure on Mondays. Trish hails from Mukilteo Washington.  Barney spent years in Washington State and served in the WA State Senate.  I remember hearing his tunes on KPLU and reading about the way he enlivened Olympia with music when we lived there.  Trish brought in a whole host of amazing friends to sing and play.  There were some older gentlemen who sang and just rocked the place.  I am so drawn to the beautiful baritone voices.  It is no surprise that in a community where streets are named for Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Sammy Davis Junior, Bob Hope and more that there will be enduring talent.

Trish and Barney on piano.  

Another trip Mike and I took with Marilyn was to Sunnylands, the Annenberg family estate that for years has hosted world leaders.  The house has been totally rebuilt and is open by guided tour.  The Visitors Center and Gardens are open to the public in the weekends.  The three of us went for a visit on Sunday.  The gardens are beautiful and very formally designed, all with desert plants.  The Visitors Center was amazing and will be worth a return visit.  We had a delightful lunch outside the cafe.  Many US presidents have held summits at Sunnylands.  The last two years we have been in town, President Obama has been visiting with world leaders there.  A recent visit with the Chinese President Xi Jinping is remembered with a copy a of the redwood bench that President Obama gave him.  Guests are invited to sit on the bench in honor of that visit.  Mike and I warmly remembered our visit to China in the fall of 2013.

Mike and I on the redwood bench at Sunnylands.

I have been using my work time while I have been here to both reflect and look ahead.  I have been reading Trails of Hope and Terror by Rev. Dr.Miguel de la Torre.  Rev. Dr. de la Torre writes from a theological perspective and uses a great deal of testimonials to illustrate the issues.  A documentary by the same name has also been produced that I plan to watch.  The book is very thoughtful and questions the inaction of some of the Christian right on the issue of justice and humanitarianism for the Latino immigrants.  He calls all of us out for being complacent about the conditions that we as a citizenry condone through inaction or ignorance.  He puts a very human face on the people who are engaged as both helpers and border crossers.  It is a very engaging book and has lessons for anyone whether connected to a community of faith or not.

I have also been planning ahead for visits in Tulare County, the Davis/Sacramento area and even New York City!  I am also working with my team of sister faculty members on digesting and authoring articles about our Fortaleciendo Familias program.  We need the results of the follow up evaluations to submit requests for funds for program revisions.  We completed one article and submitted it to a journal last week!  We will begin work on the next data set within the next month.

My writing time is over for today.  Thanks for reading!

Tucson Treasures (Part 4) and Time with Family

Greetings blog friends!  I have been taking a little break from the blog and enjoying the weekend in the Palm Springs area.  Two of my sisters (Dana and Betsy) and their husbands were in town so we had several opportunities to meet up.  The first was at a dinner hosted by our cousin Marc at his lovely home in Palm Springs.  We were able to meet Marc's new husband, Rick, see our cousins Mag and Kate and tour Marc and Rick's home for a Sunday family reunion.

Later in the week, Mike and I went on a tour of renewable energy (wind, natural gas, solar) with brothers in law, Dan and Mike and then visited the Living Desert with everyone.  It was really nice to connect with my family on this long trip.

Dan, Mike and Mike on tour.

At the peak of the blade to the ground,
the mill is over 300 feet in height.

Solar and wind energy are often paired on the energy farms.

                                     

Living Desert Day!
Betsy, Drew, Dana in the front.
Mike and Mike in the back.  Dan is behind the camera!

This will be my last post about the Tucson leg of my journey for now.  Two more things I wish to share that I will treasure are our visit to the Arizona State Museum and my visit with Professor Andrea Romero.

The Arizona State Museum is right on the campus of the University of Arizona. I have shown its picture in a previous post.  The building originally housed the library.  Now it houses several amazing exhibits.  We enjoyed a personal tour of the Paths of Life: American Indians of the Southwest.  Our docent was the retired director of Arizona Public Broadcasting and a very knowledgeable guide.  He led us through the exhibits sharing information that was part of the historical record and part from his own experiences.  I was fascinated to hear the story of the Geronimo from this broadcaster's point of view.  He was witness to an anniversary celebration of the battle between 150 Apache warriors and 5000 US troops.  After having visited Cave Creek Canyon, hearing the stories and seeing the exhibit, I have a much greater and more informed picture of Geronimo and his people.  I also see the story as just one more really fine example of the Doctrine of Discovery and Euroamerican colonialism at its "best."  Our guide recommended that we visit the pottery lab at the museum.  The lab was new since my last visit and it is a gem.   I was surprised and pleased to see modern and traditional pots on display and to get a sense of the variety of pottery, some of which I even recognized from my favorite Antiques Roadshow!  There was displays and a video of modern American Indian potters and their beautiful new forms that left me inspired.

On our last morning in Tucson,  Mike and I both had adventures.  Mike took off on one of his 30 mile rides and got lost!  Thanks to his phone, he managed to find his way back to hotel.  I went back to campus to visit the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences.  I could not resist taking the photo below of the inside of the elevator.  Very classy, new building!  I went to meet with Professor Andrea Romero who, like me, is on sabbatical.  She was very gracious to agree to meet with me, and we stayed an extra day over our original planned time to accommodate her schedule.  I was also delighted to see the smiling face of my new friend Jose greeting me when I got off the elevator on her floor.

Dr. Andrea Romero

Inside the elevator.

I felt like a sponge during my time with Andrea.  Her official website describes (as well as I can) her work and her publications.  What I captured from our conversation were some very sound recommendations for our work at WSU on our proposed Fortaleciendo Familias program revisions.  She spoke about the need to teach Latino youth about civic engagement and taking responsibility for advocating for the health of their communities and their families.  I could see the possible segue with what our 4-H program does with the Know Your Government program but I think she is suggesting taking KYG one step further and keeping the action on a local scale.  This makes total sense to me.  She also sees a need for risk reduction strategies for Latino youth.  She sees discrimination being a very damaging force on youth development.  She is concerned about adolescents engaging in alcohol and is writing a book that is based on ten years she has done with a SAMSHA Drug Free Communities grant in which they worked with youth as equals.    

One of her key recommendations to me was to incorporate conversations on "cultural freezing" into our program as a way for both parents and youth to explore the culture their families remember and to compare that to the culture that exists now.  Both Andrea and her student Jose emphasized the need to work with youth and their families on understanding and coping with bi-cultural stress.  I left with more resources and scholarship to use as sources for our work in Washington and more hope for the future of these vulnerable communities, even in the state where SB 1070 is law.

  I was grateful for all I had seen in Tucson and Southern Arizona.  I look forward to returning to the state to visit the Latino Resilience Enterprise group at Arizona State University at the end of March.

Thanks for reading!           

Tucson Treasures, Part Three

I am really grateful to have the time to reflect on all that I did, saw and learned in Tucson.  We are spending the week with our friends Marilyn and Dale in Desert Edge, California.  I think that everyone at Healing Waters Park, where they live, who sees me working away every morning on my laptop probably wonder what that woman is working on that keeps her away from the desert.  It is lovely at the end of my work to take a break and enjoy the area.  This morning I am working outside and hummingbirds are visiting me on their way to and from the orange tree that is in blossom.  The smell of the orange blossoms is so sweet that I am lulled into a sense of peace and well being.  Mike has been hiking, biking and enjoying life in the desert while I work.  I think it has been a good trip for him and he is taking full advantage of having his bike on the trip.  He has been riding a 31 mile loop up and down hills and is quite happy to be warm!

Orange blossom

Baby hummers

So, back to reflecting on Tucson.  The day after I visited with Anna and her class on migration, I drive into town to interview Emrys Staton in depth. I met him at the Borderlinks facility where he is a board member and where I had originally met him during our Immigration Justice experience.  Emrys is an social justice activist, theology student and a person with a great deal of integrity who grew up in Arizona.  He came to Tucson from Northern Arizona and was raised as a Unitarian Universalist.  He was exposed to the concepts of suffering and political engagement as a means to alleviate suffering as a child, both through his religious education and by the examples set by his politically involved parents.  It seems to have stuck with him.  He majored in geography with an emphasis on social justice at the University of Arizona.  He told me that he was a sophomore in college on September 11, 2001.  He reported alot of hate being present on campus immediately following the attacks.  He joined Beyond Tolerance, a campus group formed to help mitigate the climate of hate.  His journey towards the activism he now engages in continued by befriending a group of Sudanese refugees who had been settled in Tucson by the UN High Commission on Refugees to attend the university.  He learned from them what it personally meant to be a refugee.  These young men had left their homes at the ages of 9 and 10 to travel safety and it took years of struggle and horrible treatment to arrive in Tucson.  Emrys was horrified by the stories they told.

Emrys

By the end of college he was working in independent media on food and justice issues and would attend protests and actions and be beaten up and then report the experience. This preceded the blog and other social media era.  It was the only way to get the truth out about how demonstrators were being treated.

Emrys became in involved in No More Deaths(NMD) from the beginning.  He attended the inaugural event, a Memorial Day 2004 cross border march between Nogales Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora.  He went first as an independent/citizen news reporter and later as a core member of the organization.  A year later he was fully involved and living with a group of activists who were all dedicated to NMD. He spent time at the first encampment NMD in the desert in the summer months of 2004. The encampment provides first aid, water and respite for migrants crossing the desert in the hottest months of the year.  It still operates and is now sanctioned by the International Red Cross which makes it a little safer than some other humanitarian operations from being raided by law enforcement and anti-immigrant vigilantes.  

I asked Emrys what victories he has seen in his 10 years of work with NMD.  He shared the following:

• There are a lot of people we have kept alive.  We have countered the policies of the US Border Patrol that includes enforcement through deterrence, even if death is a "collateral."
• There many immigrant groups who are now fighting to make the political change,  and they had to survive in order to be activists.
•  They (NMD) are one of the only groups that can call out the Border Patrol.  He believes that we should defund Border Patrol.  The theme that I saw in the office of Borderlinks in posters is Revitalize Not Militarize Border Communities.  He believes this should be the message for all of our borders.  All land 100 miles in from the border is now under the purview of the Border Control.    He stated that we need to be very alert to the role the Border Patrol is playing.  Even as they become integrated into the community the enforcement aspect becomes subtly integrated into the community.  What if a border patrol dad becomes assistant boy scout leader - will he be welcoming to undocumented boys and/or families.  Or a soccer coach or 4-H leader (I add this because that is the youth development program in my world)?
• The revision of police policy in how immigrants are treated for routine infractions of the law.  Immigration papers will no longer be sought.  The policy was big news in Tucson and upsetting to the crafters of the infamous SB 1070.  It is good to know that one significant community is fighting back.  It follows revisions of policies that will no longer check school children for immigration papers in the Tucson area.  
• Emrys wholeheartedly endorsed Border Patrol Nation: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Homeland by Todd Miller.  Todd has a really informative blog.  I intend to order it from my independent bookseller!

I asked Emrys what he sees as future needs for both NMD and all of us who are concerned with immigrant justice.  His answers were not always easy to hear.  He said that the work for the future for NMD is solidarity with immigrant-led groups and movements.  Allegiance with black-lives matter.  Prison industry targets both black and brown skins.  He shared that the International Red Cross endorses the work of NMD.  "We work within international humanitarian guidelines.    We need to keep on message that we are doing that here.  We (our society) need to think about decolonizing the concept of humanitarianism.  It is seen as something that people of privilege do.

We need to look at people most effected by conditions taking leadership for making the change.  We have to hear and believe their voices.  We need to use language that tells the facts and avoid the use of language that creates veneer of legitimacy.  We need to hear what they are saying: They (the US government immigration agents and policies) are “terrorizing and kidnapping” us and our children.  Then we need to take the voices seriously.

Lots to think about from our conversation.  

Thanks for reading.

Respite in Portal, Arizona

We had a respite last weekend in the Chiricahua Mountains.  We spend two full days with our friends Barbara and Ron in their home in Portal, Arizona.  Portal sits right on the edge of the Chiricahua Mountains on the far eastern side, just a few miles from the New Mexico border. It is the nearest town to Cave Creek Canyon.  Cave Creek runs through Portal.  I was incredibly surprised by the lush canyon and the resources the small town has in human and social capital and community spirit.  We arrived just at dusk last Friday and settled into dinner and our visit.  One of the things we learned the first night was that the area around Portal and the peaks just outside our friends kitchen windows were common routes for drug smugglers to use.  According to our hosts, it was common knowledge that the narcos post sentries in the mountains to watch the area for safe passage for their mules.  Barbara and Ron have suffered two burglaries in recent years and have taken to improving their security measures.  Mike tried to spot the spotters with his binoculars that weekend but saw no signs.  The Border Patrol was holding a community meeting the day we left to update the residents about recent events and to stay in communication.

Barbara and I visited some of the highlights of the area on Saturday.  I was totally delighted to go to the "town center" of about 3 buildings and to visit the library and the post office.  The library is open 6 mornings a week, usually the same time the post office is open so people can get their mail and visit the library in one errand.  Both were charming.  The library is housed in the former one room school house.

Portal Library

One of the many charming things I found in this library was the mural in the children's area, hand painted by a local artist.  I wanted to share the overall mural and a close-up of the little owl peeping our of a hole in the sycamore tree.

 

What a welcoming space for all ages!  I love libraries and have been driving on this trip with my I Love My Library bumper sticker on my car!  I was so pleased to find this library tucked away in a remote area of Arizona!

Barbara and I also visited the Chiricahua Desert Museum and gift store, a funky consignment store withe great bargains and an artist's cooperative gallery in Rodeo NM, just a whisper away from Portal!  We also drove to the National Forest Service Visitors Center for Cave Creek Canyon and the surrounding areas and had a preview of what we would see the following day.

Pictures do not do justice to the lush canyon lands that make up the North and South Fork of Cave Creek.  I will share a couple but your imagination will have to fill in the gaps.  These canyons are where Cochise and Geronimo, leaders of the bands within the Chiricahua Apache people roamed and sought refuge.  It was easy to see the Apaches finding safety and abundant food in these canyons.

Cathedral Rock

Rocks viewed across the canyon from Cathedral Rock.

Looking up the canyon

Barbara, Mike and I drove up to Rustler Park, a high country campground in the Coronado National Forest.  The area had been devastated by fire in 2012.  Barbara said that it was renowned for its beauty and that many who came every year to relax and enjoy that beauty would not see it recovered in their lifetimes.  The forest takes its time.  We walked around and then hiked up a ridge to look out over the western side of the sky island that the Chiricahua Mountains are.  It was a windy, brisk and sunny day.  We were the only visitors to the campground when we were there.

Mike and Barbara descending through the burn zone.

It was bright!

Looking up near the crest.

Mike's comment:
I wonder what they did up here?

Barbara was an able guide, driving us in her all wheel drive around numerous switchbacks and over creeks up and down the mountainside.  We stopped at the Southwestern Research Station run by the American Museum of Natural History where she and Ron both worked and where Barbara first came from NY as a student and then later to do her PhD research.  It was an amazing place.  Ron and Barbara were married on the grounds of the station.  Clearly, this area is home for them, personally and professionally and we are grateful that they shared it with us.

Our hosts in front of Haystack Heights, their beautiful straw bale home.

I was really pleased that a quilt I made for their house, originally thought to be a table runner, they decided to hang on the wall.

Ron wrote me this week to say the quilt is now hanging on the wall.  Always a compliment to the maker!

We spent Sunday evening watching the penultimate episode of Downton Abbey with our friends and set off the next morning for Tucson, grateful for the time away from the city and rented rooms, refreshed and ready for more great learning experiences.

It is good to start to catch up on my journey.  Next time I will share some of what I learned in Tucson.

Thanks for reading.