A00370 - 2024 Jenkins Family Update
2024 was a year of significant highlights. However, the theme for the year just might be "The Year of Reconciliation" or put another way, "The Return of Sparkle."
My Music: A00019 - Irene Cara, R. I. P.
The year of events began with my return to the Philippines and by spending Martin Luther King's Birthday (January 15) on Siargao Island. Siargao is known for its surfing and, while I do not surf, I made a special point of visiting the surfing Mecca known as Cloud Nine just to be grateful for being "Free at Last".
Later on, I spent some quiet time on the beach of the Siargao Beach Club where I had a nice conversation with God.
I do not think that God is done with me yet.
February 2 was a major life altering event. The family dog, Bentley, passed away.
Bentley was more than a companion; he was a soulful counselor. The year 2024 seemed much emptier without Bentley's presence. We have been searching for his successor, but without success. Before transitioning, Bentley had an unusual encounter with my sister that was quite remarkable. As is her custom, she was sitting in the middle lounge chair watching television when inexplicably Bentley came before her and simply stared her in the face. My sister is not accustomed to being around dogs. so she simply began to stare back. It was a very long exchange of stares which Bentley finally won. I had never seen him act like during his ten years of existence. It was as though he wanted to get Evelyn's attention to convey some very deep message - a deep message that he had to convey before he transitioned to the great beyond. Neither Evelyn nor I were able to fathom what the message might be, but Bentley's soulful stare with my sister meant that the message was one of great import and that it was only for her. What, oh what could Bentley's message be. Honestly, I had no clue, but I recently developed a suspicion. When my sister first arrived in August of 2023, she would spend hours on my front door steps watching people walk by. After a few days of doing this, an animal appeared across the street and began staring at her. It was a cat. an animal that a few months before I had saved my yelling at the coyote that had it cornered in the fields across the street. In other words, this cat owed me. Nevertheless, over the ensuing weeks the cat and my sister continued to exchange stares. The cat did not threaten her, it just stared. Clearly, my sister had some very strong connection to this animal, something wholly unexpected from a woman who had spent the last forty years living in an apartment in the very urban part of Los Angeles.
I think that these animal encounters were designed to convey a message to my sister. The message was that she was not in Kansas anymore, this was Oz and her life here would be unlike anything she experienced before. And sure enough, the week after Bentley died, on February 8, while shopping at the Safeway Store in the appropriately named "Green Valley" section of Fairfield, my sister ventured down Aisle 7 where a tall black man came up to her and asked a most important question. The question was "Do you like jazz?" She said she did, and their journey together down the yellow brick road began. Amazing!
March was the month for memories. It began with my attending the Celebration of Life for long time YMCA Family Member Bill Frank on March 2. The Celebration of Life became a family reunion of the West Contra Costa (Richmond) YMCA family spanning six decades. After all, Bill Frank had established a lifelong connection to the YMCA by his participation as a YMCA youth and by being the strongest supporter for the Camp Ravencliff program, a YMCA Camp program which was not only a recreational program but also a spiritual program. Generations of Richmond YMCA youth committed themselves to Christ through the auspices of the Camp Ravencliff program and subsequently led lives of service for decades thereafter. The spiritual program at Camp Ravencliff no longer exists, and the spiritual void created by its absence has greatly impacted the well-being of the entire West Contra Costa area.
While the Celebration of Life was a somber occasion, marking not only the passing of a man but also the passing of an era, it was also an uplifting occasion as well. The room was filled with people who dedicated so much of their lives and resources to making the YMCA a success. Bill Frank had led by example, but so did his wife, Carol Frank. She served as Chair of the YMCA Board in the early 1990s and was still serving on the YMCA Board when I became the Chair in 1996. I often deferred to Carol's judgment on so many issues during my two-year term.
And then there was Don Lau, who was the MC for the Celebration of Life. In my nearly forty years in the West Contra Costa area, there was no finer example of a public servant than Don Lau. Don was the Executive Director for the West Contra Costa YMCA during my tenure as Chair and served in that capacity for over twenty years.
I served on the West Contra Costa YMCA Board from 1987 to 2021. So many years, so many memories.
The day after the Bill Frank Celebration of Life, I hopped into my car for a long drive to Las Vegas ostensibly to attend a time share presentation but also to pay another visit with my high school sweetheart and her children. The drive proved to take longer than I thought and I did not arrive until well after 9pm. I suggested that I come the next day, but my high school sweetheart reminded me that she and her son were accustomed to having late meals so I should come over anyway.
I complied with her suggestion and, as usual, was treated to a gourmet meal enhanced by her nearly penthouse view of the Stratosphere tower. For the next three days, she and her son treated me to a feast and on the last day we were accompanied by her daughter. For some reason, it made me happy to see them all together again. But I tend to be sentimental that way.
A few days later I left Las Vegas and ventured south to Phoenix by way of Sedona. In Sedona, i revisited the Chapel of the Holy Cross
where, after about a half hour of meditation and prayer, I purchased a scroll of the opening segment of Reinhold Niebuhr's Serenity Prayer
I love Sedona, I hope to return there again in 2025.
I made it to Phoenix and the next day, Thursday, March 7, I was treated to a great steak dinner by my Victorville Cousin, Rob Messer, at his home in Chandler. Rob and I go back all the way to the seventh grade at Victor Valley Junior High School. I always admired Rob because he had a quick wit and had that golden boy charm so prized in Southern California in the 1960s. We were teammates on the junior and senior high track teams and sweated many miles together on Len Miller's 1968 Golden League JV Champion cross country team. He left before our senior year but returned for some of the Class Reunions. I think we must have talked for four or five hours that night, reliving our high school days and catching up on contemporary events. I wish I could bottle up all that we discussed but I mostly rely upon my memories.
The next day, March 8, I drove over to the gated community of Tonto Verde where I reunited with my college suite mate and thesis mate, Dave Mooty. Dave got married in October 2023 and he and his new bride Lauren had begun to settle into their desert abode. Dave and I had a 1:54 pm tee time and we managed to get in 16 holes before a thunderstorm blew in. Dave is a scratch player while I tend to be a double scratch player. However, just before the thunderstorm came, I was able to par the Par 3 16th hole to finally tie Dave. That was the only hole that I tied him on that day, but I consider it to be a moral victory and, aside from the spectacular desert landscape scenery, was the highlight of my golfing experience.
After the golf, Dave took me to his rather impressive desert abode. Lauren was there and we three ventured over to the clubhouse where once again I was treated to a free meal. After eating we went back to the house and talked for a while. I noted the beauty of the desert sky and wished that I could spend more time just looking up at it. Lauren mentioned that their house has a balcony and that if I wanted to spend the night, I could stay up all night watching the stars from their balcony. Unfortunately, I was scheduled to hit the road the next day. But maybe, just maybe I will take them up on their offer one day soon. It will be marvelous.
The next day, March 9, I did indeed get back on the road taking Highway 10 towards Palm Springs but turning off the road to drive through Joshua Tree National Park.
I had driven through Joshua Tree in October 2023 during the night in hope that I could see the Milky Way. But I saw very little because the sky was cloudy. This time I drove through during the day, taking my time to read the markers which explained the unique feature of the Park being where to separate desert ecosystems come together.
Joshua Tree National Park is a very interesting place. It is where two deserts -- the Mojave and the Sonoran deserts -- meet and the contrasting landscape and vegetation are intriguing. Maybe one day I will return. ... and finally see the Milky Way.
After Joshua Tree, I drove the backroads through Lucerne Valley and Apple Valley to Victorville to spend the night with my brother in the old pink house. The next day, March 10, was my father's birthday, He would have been 100 years old on March 10, 2024. So, on my way out of Victorville to go home to Fairfield, I went to the Desert View Memorial Park to spend some time with Mom and Dad.
I drove home to Fairfield on March 10 but my stay in Fairfield was for a short-term stay. After all, the family event of the year was scheduled for March 16 in Spokane -- the marriage of Camille Jenkins to Jeremy Pointer and I had a flight to catch on March 14.
The wedding ceremony was one of the most emotional events of my life. I wrote about it in
so, I need not repeat it here. I still tear up just thinking about it.
April and May were relatively quiet. I attended the funeral service for Sylvia Soublet, the wife of long-time City Attorney co-worker Bruce Soublet on April 26. It was a well-attended service at Saint Columba Catholic Church in Oakland. Bruce comes from a large family and Syvia's family included many of her co-workers. It was sad for me to see their young adult daughters, young women who I would try to entertain when they came to the office. Now, just as they had entered a young adulthood, they were deprived of the presence of their mother. That did not seem fair.
The occasion did offer the opportunity to reunite with some of my favorite people, the administrative staff of the City Attorney's Office. Being amongst them again, reminded me of one of the positive aspects of working in the office.
Mother's Day -- May 12 -- was a very special day for me You can read about it and maybe dance to it at
The significance of this day would prove to be a continuing theme of reconciliation for 2024, whereby my relations with my ex (Monica) reached a new stage whereby we were able to celebrate such occasions and reintegrate as a family for certain family events such as the wedding of our daughter and the celebration of certain special days. Such was the case two weeks later when we gathered as a family to enjoy a barbecue dinner on Memorial Day (May 26).
One of the highlights for 2024, was the addition of an adopted soul brother and adopted class member, Jack Hailey, Class of 1967. Jack attended my first ever Juneteenth lunch on June 19th in Davis, California, where he and Amina Merritt, Amherst College Class of 1980, and I meet at the Well Season Chinese Restaurant for an engaging meal filled with memories. After all, Amina was not only a member of the first co-ed class at Amherst College, she was also one of my Springfield Amherst Summer Academy students from the Summers of 1973 and 1974. I had not seen Amina since 1974, so seeing her again was one of the highlights of the year.
As for Jack, it is my understanding that he is the Class Secretary for the Amherst College Class of 1967. Through the auspices of my college suitemate and Class Secretary James Kennedy, Jack entered my realm because of his interest in the history of Black Alumni. We began a correspondence which led to his conversing with my most faithful righthand friend, Tony Jackson, Class of 1976. Jack's contacts with Tony led to his joining the September 2024 pilgrimage to Ghana that included Tony Jackson, Cuthbert "Tuffy" Simpkins, Class of 1969, and Junius Williams, Class of 1965. Based on the many photos provided by Tony, the trip to Ghana was quite memorable. Indeed, the impression I got was that for Tony especially, it was like the return of a prodigal prince. He seemed so regal, and happy to be home.
I understand that Amina had wanted to go to Ghana as well but had a very important family matter that arose in September, the celebration of 10 generations in New England -- Venture Smith Day 2024 (on the Connecticut Freedom Trail). The celebration was held on September 7, 2024, at the First Church Cemetery, 499 Town Street, Route 151, East Haddam, Connecticut. You can read about Amina's forebear at
In any event, my first Juneteenth Luncheon went very well, and I hope to reprise it in 2025 with Amina and Jack and maybe more so that I can continue to learn and grow.
The end of June marked the completion of a major bucket list item -- attending the United States Olympic Track and Field Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. You can read about my exhilarating experience at
On July 17, I drove to Bodega Bay to spend the day -- the day that would have been my sister Gwen's 75th birthday -- in meditation. And on July 28, I ventured over to Cristina and Monica's house to celebrate Monica's 70th birthday. Wow! these numbers seem unreal.
From July 26 to August 11, I became a couch potato, trying to fully experience the Olympic Games. The Paris Olympics were wonderful! The following is one of my notes concerning the competition.
After my marathon Olympic viewing sessions, I needed a meditative break. I decided to go to Genoa, Nevada, to do some soaking. Unfortunately, on my way up to Nevada by driving up I-80 I was forced to turn back. A Tesla truck had run off the road and the lithium battery had caught fire causing not only a minor fire but also a chemical hazard that necessitated the closure of the entire Highway.
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