Starfish Fable

Hi sister,
tonight I will begin with a fable. It is a very short fable but it explains something about me. It goes like this:
A grandpa and his granddaughter were walking along the beach. On the beach there were many starfish on the sand. The girl knew that if the starfish had been washed too high on to the beach, they would be left to dry on the next low tide and they would die. So, she was tossing the starfish into the water. Her grandpa said "silly girl, you'll never be able to save all those starfish." She picked up the next one and threw it with all her might toward the ocean and said "Well, I saved that one."
How does this apply to me? Well, I do some things that seem like they might not be having the effect that I want them to because they seem like very small gestures in terms of the big picture. Like, I will take every possible opportunity to not drive a car that I can. I will try to find a way to accoomplish the trip by walking or biking. That's because I feel that we need to do whatever we can to reduce our production of greenhouse gases and air pollution, and to conserve fossil fuels. These are things you will probably learn about later. Hopefully, by the time you learn about this the rest of the world will have taken part in this too, and the planet will have slowed it's pace of warming.
Another thing I've been doing lately has to do with politics. This you will learn about eventually, too. Here's what's going on. There will be a national election in about a week, and it is the most critical election that has happened since I've been alive. A congress that is dominated by Republicans for the last 12 years has been allowing our Republican president to get his way, and some of that has included invading countries that have done nothing to us, and taking away some of the rights granted to us in our constitution. If enough Democrats can get elected next week, the majority of the Congress will be Democratic and they can call for investigations of the Presidents actions, some of which might be illegal. What I've been doing is making a lot of phone calls to other parts of the country, encouraging people to vote Democratic. I'm calling other areas because where we live, most of the races are not going to be very close. In Oregon, we have 4 democratic congressmen, and they should win their elections easily. The lone Republican will probably win his race easily, too. So, I'm putting my energy where I think it can count the most. But, the point of the starfish story is that I know I can't save them all at once, but I will take being able to talk to one voter at a time.
There are a lot of times that it seems like what you are doing won't make much of a difference. However, it will make a difference to that one starfish, so the act is worth it. I remember another quote: "Brick by brick, my citizens, brick by brick." It means that you can't finish something that you don't start, and by taking the first step, you might lead others to follow you.
Ok, that might seem kind of boring, but it is a little of an explanation of why I do some of the things that I do.
Love, aba....

Fort Stevens

Hi little one,

Your mom says you have the hiccups again today. It makes her feel a little weird when that happens to you. They say that it’s a good thing, it means that your body is working on how it will breathe air when you are born, instead of the fluid that you are breathing now.

I wanted to tell you about the weekend we had a while back. It was before Homecoming week swamped me with work obligations so that I wasn’t able to write anything for you. Anyway, we had a three day weekend and we went to the coast. We were cashing in on a wedding gift we hadn’t used yet. We got a weekend in this really big house that used to be an officer’s quarters for Fort Stevens. It is near Astoria, in the community of Hammond. The house we stayed in used to be part of the fort, but isn’t anymore. It really isn’t a fort anymore, but sort of a museum. It was a strategic spot for a fort when navies were more important for security. The fort overlooked the mouth of the Columbia river, and had guns that could shoot at ships either in the river, or in the ocean to the west. Now it is a state park, there are camping spots, a small lake for swimming and fishing, and lots of bike paths. The house was huge, and we had two of my brothers and their families and your mom’s brother and his daughter staying with us, too. The house had five bedrooms and a loft, and could probably sleep about 20 people.

I can’t wait to bring you there when you are a little older. It will be really nice to be there in the summer. We can go on the beach and look at the old shipwreck that has been there 100 years, dig razor clams, swim in the lake, read books under the shade trees, ride our bikes on the trails, look for elk that feed in the park, and take walks and naps. I almost forgot, there are games to play, too. It will be fun.

I have a very fond memory of going to Fort Stevens park when I was a boy. I’ll never forget it, because it was when men first walked on the moon. I remember that vividly, walking through the campground and one of the campers had a television, and the astronauts were walking on the moon for the first time. There were 40 or 50 people gathered around their television watching this miricle. I also remember your uncle craig catching a big fish in the lake, just as we were about to quit fishing.

Well, with such a big family gathering, it was very nice and relaxing to stay there. This is the kind of thing your mother really enjoys organizing. As she says, her best qualitiy is the ability to bring people together. She did very well on this one, too.

The picture on this post shows the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale, and your brother’s sock.

Love, aba

Hey sis,
It's been awhile since I've written you anything. Sorry. We were away for the last few days, and I am approaching a really busy time at work. The upcoming week is homecoming. Since I am a Senior advisor, it means a lot of work for me. There are a lot of activities for the kids (students) that are fun, but have to be coordinated and supervised. But, I don't really want to write about that tonight.
Instead, I want to tell about something we did last weekend. We had a 'succos' dinner. There is a jewish holiday named 'Sukkot' and we had some people over to tell them about it. Your mom and our niece, Rachel, did a lot of decorating of the Sukkot, which is a sort of shelter that is outside the house. It is a celebration of the harvest, so the decorations are about vegetables and fruit. The pictures here show some of the decorations and your cousin Rachel after she had 'bobbed' for and apple in a tub of cold water.
I guess the main message of this post is that your mom is really awesome at throwing a party. Not that 'partying' is a big thing, but what she does is bring people together for good company. She has a real gift for that. We did something else this last weekend that was similarly arranged by your mom, and as usual, it turned out great and everyone had a good time.
Well, you've been poking your mom quite a bit lately, which is good. It means we know you are doing well.
That's all for now......
Love, aba.

Pedaling

Hi you,
your mom was a little worried about you today because you weren't kicking around too much. But you let her know you were there later in the day. Remember, we are watching you....
Tonight I will tell you something about me. I like to pedal. A bike that is. By the time you are old enough to read this, or even by the time you're old enough to have someone read this to you, you will probably have noticed this. I'll tell you about how I became such a pedaler another time. Tonight I will tell you about how it is effecting our weekend.
I feel strongly about doing my part, whatever I can to keep our planet cool. I'd like you to grow up in a world where the polar ice caps are still frozen, and sea levels are similar to what they are now. So, I pedal a bike to get places instead of driving whenever I can. Tomorrow I will ride my bike and pull a trailer to shop at Costco, which is around 20 miles away. It is the same trailer that you will ride in when you are big enough. It will take me most of the morning to make this shopping trip but it is worth it because it keeps me fit, the air clean, and uses no non renewable fuel.
I like riding bikes for fun, too. In the picture I am racing against other guys my age. I am second in the line in the picture and ended up getting 3rd place that day, which I was pretty proud of. Your mom is understanding of my desire to ride my bike a lot, she used to be a bike racer, too. Also, I am trying to ride 10,000 miles this year, and making the shopping trip by bike tomorrow will help me do that.
Today at school I was reading a book to my students. I was thinking about how much I enjoy reading to kids, and realized I can't wait to read to you. It will be a while before you will understand reading, but I am eager for that day to come. Waiting will give me a chance to think about what should be the first book that i read to you.
love, aba

Noah's Birthday

Hey sister,
tonight I am going to tell you about your brother's birthday. I want to bring this up because you will be participating in this rememberance in the future. This is what your mother and I did on Noah's first birthday, and his future birthday's will be similar.
First we dropped by your mother's work to say hello to her boss, Nancy. Nancy has been like a sister to your mom, and it was my idea to give her one of the rubber braclets with his name on it like the one I wear. Nancy has really been there for your mom while she has lived through this last tough year.
Next we went to the Sandy Library where there are two bricks we bought. One says Noah's name and his birthday and the other says "First Annual Noah's Quest." We left a flower and took a picture of your mom's foot next to the bricks with one of Noah's socks on.
Then we went into Gresham and stopped at the Learning Palace. There we bought a couple of gifts that we might have bought for your brother if he were still alive. We then took those gifts and donated them to Doernbecher's Children's Hospital.
We also stopped at the hospital where Noah was born. There we dropped off cards and Noah's socks for a couple of the nurses who were very kind to us when we were there with Noah. Dr. Wong, who delivered Noah, has an office nearby, so we stopped to give her some socks and a card, too. She was actually there so we got to thank her in person. She wished us well with the rest of your pregnancy.
Next we went to the cemetary to visit Noah. We even lit a candle and put it in a cupcake. We ddn't have the heart to sing Happy Birthday, though. We just couldn't be that cheery. You can tell that from the picture.
Finally we stopped at Smoky Hearth Pizza back in Sandy. Janene, the manager there has been very helpful to us. When Noah's Quest was in the news Janene laminated the clipping and put it on the counter where people stand to order their pizza. Behind the article she placed a jar for donations. In two months, she collected $800 in donations. Janene had interest in helping us because she lost her first child, Shannon, 16 years ago when she was 3 days old.
So, that's what we did on Noah's first birthday. In the future, you will be with us on his birthdays. I just wanted you to know what you will be in for.
We just checked on you a few minutes ago. We have a doppler device to check your heart rate. You were pounding along at about 145 beats a minute, which is about right for a girl your age.
Well, it's late and I better get to sleep so I can have some energy for teaching school in the morning.
love, aba

Yom Kippor

Hi daughter.
Your mom and I talked some more about your name tonight, but we didn't come to a conclusion. So, I can't really call you by any name yet.
I can tell you this, though. You are going to be a Jewish girl. Your mom is Jewish so that puts you in the club automatically. I'm not in that club, but you girls are. Anyway, tonight begins an important Jewish holiday, Yom Kippor. It is the day of atonement, when everyone atones for their sins. You'll learn more about it when you're older. I brought that up because I wanted to tell you about something that I did for you the other day. We were at a store called Massada, which has a lot of Jewish items from Israel, which is the holiest of places for Jews. Your mother is lot more interested in these things than I am, but I try to keep up and know why certain things are important to her. While there, I noticed a cute Messusa(sp?). It is a small thing that is placed on the door to keep the room inside holy. It was pink, and austere, so I thought it would be a good one for your room. Your mom agreed, and so it is there ready for you when you arrive.
Today I went to see my mom participate in the Portland Marathon. I think I told you about it. Anyway, the picture here is one I took of one of your brother's socks while I was there.
I might not write to you for the next couple days because I am going to be away from the house for a few days. I work a long way from here and sometimes I stay near my work to reduce the driving. But I'll be thinking about you.......
love, aba