Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Hummingbird

I just wanted to share with you other images of the Hummingbird outside our bedroom window.
Nice screensavers. :-)

Ramblings

We've been out on the trail for a few days...all a little short of the stucco work...but we'll get to that in the next few days certainly. Anyway, this week we all put in a 15-hour day going thru Jasper, Alabama near the far-side of Smith Lake...

and then off to Millport, Alabama which is in really rural Alabama a stones throw from Mississippi. R was driving so fast to keep me on schedule that I couldn't get the shot of the huge, three-story Antebellum mansion with the lake in front, the Cedar Tree lined curving cariage way up to the second-story portico entrance, and the blond-tressed carriage horses roaming around inside the four-rail gleaming white wooden fence (not to mention the huge 24-row pecan tree orchard next door, and the little road-side lemonade stand, 5-cents a glass!) R and Lucia didn't see it!

About mid-day we went back across country to Gordo, Alabama and back home.

Once we got back, there was some great news for the FAM...Calling Dr. Nurse Tyson....Calling Dr. Nurse Tyson....

In recovery now from the big road trip, and waiting for another one this week, trying to rest my weary eyes on some of R's flowers in the back yard...

There was a wonderful surprise visitor this morning!

So I can only hope that we have more pleasant surpirses as we finish off a long, long week.
Speaking of "fly away, fly away" (re: Seals & Crofts, "Hummingbird" visit pandora.com), Brian comes home from Ecuador on Monday, and Lucia leaves for Slovakia in about 8 days or so.

Tuna, Chickens, & Burros

Friday was an interesting day in my farm-visit exploits (aka, the part-time farm inspection gig). I started very early...

it was a very beautiful sunrise driving across the mountain top roads south of Huntsville (well, they are "North Alabama Mountains", anyway), and a pleasant temperature at dawn.

One really neat agricultural item of interest that I haven't seen in North Alabama was this hedgerow of Cactus and flowers...more reminiscent of what I saw during our family trips Mexico in the '90's.

As I took pictures and studied the colors and the Tuna (that's what the flowering fruit on top of the Cactus is called), the sun burst into the morning and I could feel the penetrating heat on my back - it was only 6:30 so I knew it would be a rough morning...

and as I wound down my lengthly stay (the poultry/cattle farm covered quite a large area and I walk most of it), I made new friends along the way by talking to the animals...

I must admit that I was a little suspcious of these guys, they always strategically positioned themselves this way, as if they were saying, "OK, I'll take the left leg, Jorge you take the right one, and Manuel, you flank him and we got'em!"

I escaped the stable area safely...to ride herd on another farm another day. :-)

Back on the job(s)!

It has been a few days since we arrived home from pilgrimage and our seemingly endless flight (stop overs at JFK and Detroit). But we're back in the swing of things.
One of the jobs I do around here is to survey properties, and the bigger jobs are in surveying farms. This job gets me out of town and into the countryside which is a very peaceful way to enjoy work.


I get to see a lot of interesting things. The road workers in Guntersville must have told their boss they would be really thirsty!








Yesterday was a very beautiful day and a little cooler (in the low 90's). It wasn't like the 100 degree days we've had since we came home and the landscape is still lush from all the rain while we were gone. This is the Tennessee River about 1/2 mile from our house in South Huntsville. In some places around here it almost seems sub-tropical.

Wrapping Up Day

Hello, everyone. We are all packing frantically - kinda - more like a controlled burn! Yesterday we did get around a little...up to the site of a future House of Worship and we enjoyed saying prayers with a wonderful couple from Arlington, Texas.Then we went out to the Druze Village for a quick stopover. Maria and Jeremy had their farewell at the Shrine with their pilgrim group and down the Terraces one last time as a Pilgrim.

Today we will have a luncheon, a last visit to the Shrines, and catch the train for Tel Aviv in about 10 hours (it's 7:30am here). We don't want to leave, but there are things that have to get done at home.

Getting Closer

Yesterday was a work-day for our service in the Archives, spending a little time walking through the Gardens and lunch with one of Geoffrey's work associates.
For me, I am trying to prepare myself for the departure on Wednesday.
Last night was our next to last night in Haifa. We all were up on the mountain for a group meeting of the pilgrims (this is a fairly regular event for those who know about the pilgrimage schedule).
The weather has turned to summer but the nights are glorious.
Here is a picture of the Shrine of the Bab at night with the Haifa Bay in the distance.
Today, we are going on a little outing to the top of the mountain, and then out to the Druze Village.
This will be exciting (humm) just to watch Rosana bargin and haggle for some stuff. We'll see what the banker has to say (usually not much).

Quick Visit to Akka

Yesterday was one of our last opportunities, maybe the last this trip, to visit Akka (Geoffrey was working :-(.

Maria and Jeremy were visiting the house occupied by Abdu'l Baha and his family inside the prison walls. We met them there and then took a stroll around the city. The white building in the background is the House of Abbud where Baha'u'llah lived for a short time before living outside the prison.
I will leave you for today with a pleasing shot of Bahji.:-)

Dinner with the new relatives

We enjoyed a wonderful evening meal with some of our newest relatives Tuesday, the 13th... Faeghe and Khosrow Rezai (Munib's aunt and uncle, Melanie's aunt and uncle-in-law: thus we're related - Thanks, Maria! :-)

Faeghe was just a whirlwind racing around to make sure we could eat before going to the teaching center for a talk.

Jeremy, Brian and Geoffrey really liked the fare, as did we all, and isn't it great to find family almost anywhere in the world!

It was big hit with me, obviously. Rosana had a great time, too, but she is behind the camera on this outing. And, as always, dear ones, the night time stroll down the Terraces is priceless and magical especially with a full moon.

A Little Catching Up

Yeah, yeah, I know. What has Tim and Rosana and Brian...and now Maria and Jeremy been doing! Maria and Jeremy are busy getting re-charged with their Pilgrimage... while Rosana caught me recovering in the Pilgrim Reception Center...

Brian is serving in the ITC, and Rosana and I have been doing service at the Archives (that's another story) and then we get to walk across the Arc each day for lunch...

The scene from the Arc, as many of you know, is always changing and tremendous...

And we get out to Bahji as often as possible (an hour by sherout), and yesterday we went out (just north of Akka, Israel for those of you looking on maps). Rosana and Maria went walking in the new development area....

and best of all, we were there to see the Shrine and gardens at sunset.:-)

So there is of course more to tell, but that is another entry. More later (I promise).

Day One

Whew...Day One flew by in a blur. After arriving seemingly early about 8am at the Pilgrim Reception Center to register with 400 of our newsest closest friends, it was mid-day. The Ferdowsi's from Nashville are here, too!

We had just a little time for Brian to escort Paula, Dustin, Ethan and the three of us (Geo was off on an errand) to the Hadar district for some great falafel (yep, we'll have a lot of that while we're here), and while we waited for the food everyone tried to decompress a little.

The rest of the day was spent in orientation, then quality time at the Shrine of the Bab, read, meditate, say prayers, and rest up at the Pilgrim House adjacent to the Shrine.

Tomorrow will start early with a visit to Bahji...but I get a little ahead of myself. More tomorrow.:-)

Preparing for the experience....

Today flew by...actually I don't remember too much of it. After the blog entry, I collapsed in bed and didn't wake up until 2! I must have been really, really out of it, and this is from someone who normally gets up at 5:30 and never, never sleeps in.
Geofffrey and Brian came over and Geo chaired our first family planning meeting...
We were then joined on the balcony and just relaxed most of the rest of the afternoon into the evening with the other pilgrims staying at Haddad's Guest House...all from Canada.:-)
This evening Paula Bailey, Dustin and Ethan arrived from Birmingham. We all went out for a generous serving of fattoush salad, meat and meatless hummus, tabouli and enough pita bread to go around. Gosh, it seems like we've been here for days ... and it hasn't even been 24 hours!

:-)

We Have Arrived.....

Good day one from Israel!

We had the fortune of spending several hours in Cincinnati on the way over ... had brunch with Katrina and Jameh and Taleh, and then happily Nafeh goined us for a while for a wonderful stopover. The flight from JFK was only 10 hours so it was manageable. But we were still pretty wrung out. We had better seats but I still got the middle seat...how does this happen?????
Nonetheless, we arrived in Haifa on what seemed to be an agonizingly slow Sherot drive up the coast but the weather was delightful. We have moved into our home for a month at Haddad's Guest House and we were greeted at the door by Andrew.
There were other pilgrims already here...a small family group from Vanvouver, Canada...and a Baha'i from Botswana.
The view of the Gardens from the balcony was great:

We did a little walk around to the first terrace gate and then by Geo's work place to stretch our legs. A little earlier, Geoffey and Brian had gone out to fine some falafels for us....it was almost worth the flight over. :-)
I awake groggily this morning (R is still sleeping , its 8:45 already) and I opened our little window to the world...such a great temperature for a decompression day! And the morning view is priceless:That "shroud" is a protective covering while earthquake-proof modifications are made to the Shrine of the Bab.
We'll have brunch with the guys (I think Geo is cooking) and then go to the Pilgrim House or the Pilgrim Reception Center, have some Persian Tea, read, relax, and get ready for the Pilgrimmage to start tomorrow.
We wish you all were here, and I will do my best to keep my blog daily.

Serious Business

Within hours after the House of Representatives passed House Resolution 1008 the government of Iran has issued another lie about the Baha'i in the birthplace of the Baha'i Faith:
NEW YORK — The Baha’i International Community categorically rejects statements by an Iranian prosecutor that seven Baha’is detained in Tehran have “confessed” to operating an “illegal” organization with ties to Israel and other countries.
“We deny in the strongest possible terms the suggestion that Baha’is in Iran have engaged in any subversive activity,” said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations. “The Baha’i community is not involved in political affairs. Their only ‘crime’ is the practice of their religion.”
“The seriousness of the allegations makes us fear for the lives of these seven individuals,” she said.
She was responding to Iranian newspaper reports of statements by Hasan Haddad, deputy prosecutor general for security at the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran.
Ms. Dugal said that seven Baha’is arrested earlier this year were members of a committee that helped attend to the needs of the 300,000 Baha’is in Iran.
“That is no secret – the government knew perfectly well about the existence of this committee long before its members were arrested, just as the government knows perfectly well that these people are not involved in any underhanded activity,” she said.
Ms. Dugal said the detentions are part of a well-documented, decades-long campaign to stamp out the Baha’i community in Iran, and that the latest accusations follow the same pattern as previous unfounded charges.
“Suggestions of collusion with the state of Israel are categorically false and misleading. The Iranian authorities are playing on the fact that the Baha’i world administrative center is located in northern Israel,” she said.
“The Iranian government completely ignores the well-known historical fact that the Baha’i Faith was centered in Iran until 1853 when the authorities there banished the Baha’i prophet-founder, who was forced into exile and eventually imprisoned in Acre on the Mediterranean coast under the Ottoman Turkish regime. That area happens to be in what is now Israel.”
Ms. Dugal said many Baha’is in Iran – including members of the coordinating committee before their imprisonment – are frequently detained for questioning about their activities. The Baha’is, she said, have nothing to hide and try to answer truthfully whenever they are interrogated.

30 Days in Haifa: Day 1/4

We arrived at midnight on the 28th and a wonderful surprise greeted us at the airport in Tel Aviv ... Lucia and Roya wisked us away to Bahji in time for the Ascension of Baha'u'llah observance.

It was a spectacular evening. Temp about 70, no breeze, perfect night sky, and a truly wonderful program.

The Wolfe's were also there, but they got away before we could all pose. :-(

Tomorrow, the Terraces!

IRANIAN BAHA'I LEADERS BEING HELD INCOMMUNICADO; GROWING CONCERN FOR THEIR FATE

Six Baha'i leaders who were arrested nearly two weeks ago are being held incommunicado, without access to lawyers or relatives, and the Baha'i International Community is increasingly concerned about their fate.
"Although initial reports indicated they were taken to Evin prison, in fact we don't know where they are, and we are extremely concerned," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.
"What is clear is that none of their fundamental rights are being upheld. They have had no access to family members or counsel. We don't even know if they have been before a judge or whether they have been formally charged.
"All we know is what a government spokesperson said last week, which is that they were arrested for 'security reasons,' a charge that is utterly baseless.
"We appeal to the international community, human rights groups, and people of conscience, as well as the news media, to continue their efforts to press the Iranian government so that the rights of these people as detainees be upheld and that they be allowed access to counsel and general communication with the outside -- as a minimum step," said Ms. Dugal.
The six, all members of the national-level group that helped see to the minimum needs of Baha'is in Iran, were arrested on 14 May 2008 in an early morning sweep that is ominously similar to episodes in the 1980s when scores of Iranian Baha'i leaders were rounded up and killed.
A seventh member of the national coordinating group was arrested in early March in Mashhad after being summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence office there.
The whereabouts of none of the seven are known, said Ms. Dugal.
"We understood that the six were taken to Evin prison -- the seventh remaining in Mashhad -- principally because some of the government agents who arrested the six on the 14th had documents indicating they would be taken to that notorious place," she said.
"However, in light of the fact that relatives have made repeated attempts to learn more about the fate of the seven, and in all cases have been met with evasion and conflicting stories from government officials, we must now say that we don't know where they are -- and that our level of concern for their fate is at the highest," Ms. Dugal said.
Arrested on 14 May were: Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All live in Tehran.
Arrested in Mashhad on 5 March was Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, who also resides in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was summoned to Mashhad by the Ministry of Intelligence, ostensibly on the grounds that she was required to answer questions related to the burial of an individual in the Baha'i cemetery in that city.
Last week, Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham gave a press conference at which he acknowledged the arrest and imprisonment of the six. News reports quoted Mr. Elham as saying on 20 May that the six were arrested for "security issues" and not because of their religious beliefs.
Those assertions -- the only public statement by the government about the seven -- were immediately rebutted by Ms. Dugal.
"The group of Baha'is arrested last week, like the thousands of Baha'is who since 1979 have been killed, imprisoned, or otherwise oppressed, are being persecuted solely because of their religious beliefs," Ms. Dugal said on 21 May.

One Week To Go

Seven Days and counting...yep...seven long days until we take wing to visit Lucia, Geoffrey, Roya, Nathan, and a whole host of other friends.

It will be a long week.

Taleh was sad to see us go, but I think she got caught up in another vision...her cute self.

Actually, this image was taken by Katrina way after we saw them last week packing for Cincinnati. She is such a cutie bug!

Iran Govt 'violates human rights' - ABC News

The Government of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been accused of a systematic violation of human rights.
The Defenders of Human Rights Centre in Tehran has criticised the Government's treatment of dissidents, journalists, student activists, labour unionists and women as well as its increased use of the death penalty.
The condemnation is in the annual report of the group, formed by five prominent lawyers and headed by the 2003 Nobel peace prize winner Shirin Ebadi.
It says the lack of a real and effective observance of human rights deepens the gap between the people and the Government and breaks the pillars of peace, stability and development in the country.

Six Bahá'í leaders arrested in Iran; pattern matches deadly sweeps of early 1980s

Six Bahá’í leaders in Iran were arrested and taken to the notorious Evin prison May 14 in a sweep that is ominously similar to episodes in the 1980s when scores of Iranian Bahá’í leaders were summarily rounded up and killed.
The six men and women, all members of the national-level group that helped see to the minimum needs of Bahá’ís in Iran, were in their homes Wednesday morning when government intelligence agents entered and spent up to five hours searching each home, before taking them away.
The seventh member of the national coordinating group was arrested in early March in Mashhad after being summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence office there on an ostensibly trivial matter.
“We protest in the strongest terms the arrests of our fellow Bahá'ís in Iran,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations. “Their only crime is their practice of the Bahá’í Faith.”
“Especially disturbing is how this latest sweep recalls the wholesale arrest or abduction of the members of two national Iranian Bahá’í governing councils in the early 1980s -- which led to the disappearance or execution of 17 individuals,” she said.
“The early morning raids on the homes of these prominent Bahá’ís were well coordinated, and it is clear they represent a high-level effort to strike again at the Bahá’ís and to intimidate the Iranian Bahá’í community at large,” said Ms. Dugal.
Arrested yesterday were: Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All live in Tehran. Mrs. Kamalabadi, Mr. Khanjani, and Mr. Tavakkoli have been previously arrested and then released after periods ranging from five days to four months.
Arrested in Mashhad on 5 March 2008 was Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, who also resides in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was summoned to Mashhad by the Ministry of Intelligence, ostensibly on the grounds that she was required to answer questions related to the burial of an individual in the Bahá’í cemetery in that city.
On 21 August 1980, all nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iran were abducted and disappeared without a trace. It is certain that they were killed.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iran was reconstituted soon after that but was again ravaged by the execution of eight of its members on 27 December 1981.
A number of members of local Bahá’í governing councils, known as local Spiritual Assemblies, were also arrested and executed in the early 1980s, before an international outcry forced the government to slow its execution of Bahá’ís. Since 1979, more than 200 Bahá’ís have been killed or executed in Iran, although none have been executed since 1998.
In 1983, the government outlawed all formal Bahá’í administrative institutions and the Iranian Bahá’í community responded by disbanding its National Spiritual Assembly, which is an elected governing council, along with some 400 local level elected governing councils. Bahá'ís throughout Iran also suspended nearly all of their regular organizational activity.
The informal national-level coordinating group, known as the Friends, was established with the knowledge of the government to help cope with the diverse needs of Iran’s 300,000-member Baháí community, which is the country’s largest religious minority.

Is there a Doctor Present?

There IS another doctor in the House, joining the ever growing list of distinguished doctors of medicine that it has become our fortune to have married into (joining Mssr's Lameh, Khazeh, and Ghaneh Fananapazir).



The newest Dr. Fananapazir, as he expects the children to call him, is Dr. Nafeh (MY SON-IN-LAW!). He is a doctor of pediatrics. He graduated Friday from Vanderbilt University before a giantic crowd of about 2,000 well wishers there to witness the event (as well as to see the other 900 or more graduates, but they were of lesser importance).:-)

Yes, you are right, that is Nafeh waving on the jumbotron for all to see. Hi, Nafeh, you looked great!

Dr. Nafeh was "hooded" in a medical school ceremony, and true to his nature, kneeled in submission to be knighted (he also had to genuflect or the presenting Dr. couldn't have reached his neck!).









The doctors Fananapazir (Katrina also received her Nurse Practioner degree and was graduated Friday! WhooooHoooo) will now relocate to Cincinnati where Nafeh will begin his residency.

As is the Tyson family tradition, we try to involve as many family members as possible. In that this was an out-of-body experience for some (Lucia, Geoffrey and Roya) who are in Israel rode along with someone their own (current) size, Jameh.

Rosana, Alicia and Brian Green, Amelia, Brian and I, were happy to be a part of the big event, supporting Dr. Nafeh, Katrina, Jameh and Taleh. We know a lot of others wanted to be here and we missed everyone!

We all shouted a loud Huzah three times for Nafeh! (Well, we wanted too, we actually just gave him hugs and smiles. :-)

Please visit the Fananapazir blog for more details of this very exciting day.

So many countries, so little time...

Let me say how much I appreciate the enthusiasm y'all displayed in my latest poll, "How many countries will we fly over en route to Haifa later this month? The choices were, 30, 15, 3, and 1. 58% percent said 15, 17% said 3, 17% said 1, and 5% said 30. I also appreciate the depth of study that some undertook, as well as some intricate questions (such as, "do we count the departing country AND the destination country, too? and "do we count roud-trip?"). Thanks for all the work. However, the answer is: ONE! “The world is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” - Baha'u'llah.
Good luck on the next poll. :-)