Everett Jenkins Birthday Blog

Today is my last full day here in the Philippines.  As my stay here comes to an end, it is time to reflect on what were the highlights of my stay.  There were a few.  There was walking on water to take a photo in front of the iconic Magpupungko Rock during the Island Tour of Siargao, and to see the wondrous valley of coconut trees while on the same tour.  There were the two visits to Cloud Nine to see the surfers and to see the power of the waves and then last night there was the mass at the Shrine of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus,   However, of all the highlights the one that resonates most for me was last Thursday when I walked more than two miles up General Luna Road from my bungalow in The Village Siargao.  Walking on the side of the road as the motorcycles and tuk tuk vehicles went by, I had to be mindful about the many dogs who seemed to inhabit the outskirts of the roads unattended and in various states of health.  I managed to navigate ...

It is Sunday and I am back in Manila now. Since it is Sunday, I decided that it would be good to attend mass.  As it happens, the Shrine of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus - Wikipedia is only two blocks from my hotel.  I missed the morning mass but returned later on in the day for the evening mass.  Unfortunately, the service was primarily conducted in Tagalog, a language in which I do not have any competence. Nevertheless, I did stand when the others stood and I did pray when the others prayed.  However, during the actual sermon itself, I found myself reading about Saint Therese.  Thérèse of Lisieux - Wikipedia and became intrigued by the concept of the "little way of spiritual childhood" that evolved from her book  The Story of a Soul.  It was Saint Therese's life as set forth in this book which inspired a great many people including a certain nun who took the name Teresa  Mother Teresa - Wikipedia in tr...

Today is MLK Day in the United States.  It is also Martin Luther King's actual birthday, and it is also the day I chose to retire from the City Attorney's Office for the City of Richmond.  I chose Martin Luther King's birthday for my retirement day so that I would always remember my retirement day by remembering Martin's most famous speech, -- the "I Have A Dream" speech Full_text_I_Have_a_Dream_.pdf (pbslearningmedia.org) by remembering how Martin stirred the crowd on August 28, 1963, with this thundering conclusion "And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let free...

2023 has been a remarkable year.  Granted it was a transition year, as one relationship came to an end while another may have begun. Details about that shall be reserved for the 2024 update.  However, for 2023, it began by attending the memorial service for Thich Nhat Hanh at the Deer Park Monastery in Escondido on January 8 Events for Thay's One Year Memorial — Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation 'A cloud never dies:' A California monastery mourns mindfulness advocate Thich Nhat Hanh - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) followed by an enlightening lunch in Manhattan Beach on January 18 with an Amherst College classmate who provided me insights on the travails concerning the return of Bruce's Beach to my distant Bruce family cousins http://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=4a75cc22-639f-47ed-8e1c-24edb058674d and a meditative Friday (January 20) afternoon at the Meditation Garden at the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas ( Self-Realization Fellowship Enc...