April 29, 2022

Recently I've been thinking about identity. Who am I, what am I, what is the significance of me? When I shake my head reading the news and venturing out into our social environment I'm sometimes reminded of these questions. 

Immigration these days certainly presents some differences of opinion these days. I could use a broad brush and attempt to convince my limited audience that we're all related to this category though some of us need to dig deep to find the connection. My father came from Rutka, Poland or Russia as an infant with his siblings, mother, and father and grew up near Delancy street in New York City. He became a USA citizen sometime in his younger years. My grandfather could speak halting english so my communication experiences with him was very limited. My grandmother only conversed in yiddish so my memory of interactions with her was limited to recalling her wet kisses! My father did share some experiences of being discriminated against because of his Jewish heritage in his sales experiences with a clothing manufacturer so he decided to be on his own in the sales world and then manufacturing and sales of bibs and childrens ware. I grew up in an apartment complex full of people from different backgrounds until the fourth grade. Moving at that age was difficult for me making new friends was more difficult since the children's families were upper middle class so had more stuff than my family had, my insecurity I'm sure contributed to feeling more an outsider, but I did struggle through my adolescence  with the confusions of my body growing from a skinny kid to a six foot two inch gangly person with urges and curiosity to boot! So I'm an immigrant family offspring. As I've discovered other immigrant family offspring both cherish and identify with their parents backgrounds carrying on traditions, customs, and of course food preferences that has interested me to become more aware and appreciative of diversity. Yet on occasion I shake my head with feelings of disgust that a few harbor prejudices against one another even espousing a more severe halt to immigration applauding the wall that Trump lead us to build. A friend opined that those immigrants from down below are criminals, free loaders, and drug addicts wanting to displace us if they could (he's from an immigrant family). Yet I must leave this topic thinking that if you dig far enough back you'll find some immigrant past in your genealogy.  

I'm a son, I have a sister, I have three children with six grandchildren. So a child I've been, a brother with us going our separate ways but keeping a close bond throughout the years. Having children with a wonderful wife and mother to them we negotiated those years of their upbringing so that we were close, a loving family even though we pursued very challenging careers. The challenges along the way certainly at times were very stressful but we managed to keep close with siblings, parents, and each other so I can only smile at the wonderful years of this life. So I can say I'm a family man, now a widower who had a great life with my wife even with our missteps along the way. So now I'm remarried with Rebecca who had two children, two brothers, many friends, and I'm all part of this smiling again. 

My sexual preference has been with women once I could have some self awareness and desire to pursue love and sex. I have no issues related to other people's preferences including other family members. I recognize clearly that non heterosexual activities are as healthy and satisfying as my own yet other people may feel otherwise even with disgust and consternation especially if they adhere to certain religious prohibitions and condemnations. As a male I have been fortunate to have my family and friends who also support the equality necessary for a fuller life in our country. I do shake my head at the social influences that attempt to limit women's rights to their own body and health care (this applies to non hetereosexual health care rights). So my identity is a liberal male heterosexual father and family member to a liberal egalitarian family life in which our children were protected yet given opportunities to explore and experience life with reasonable risks to their health and safety. 

I'm educated at a liberal arts college and pursued medical education and then psychiatry as a career. This journey required sacrifices from me and my wife changing us in this adjustment to the challenges of raising a family and pursuing a career. The challenges of my professional life were varied but allowed me to see the world literally traveling extensively and living in other cultures. Fortunately my early upbringing in the caucasian environment leading me to know people of color only as maids and laborers living in segregated places so I was prejudiced and maybe even frightened at interacting with them changed as I explored who I was and how I viewed justice and opportunity for all. Mainly I recall in Boston, Roxbury I was befriended by George Thomas a United Church of Christ minister who helped me explore my interest in public psychiatry. Our families socialized so that I just decided to get rid of those prejudices through exposure, reading, and actions. Community mental health was my passion for a time, then psychotherapy and psychopharmacotherapy for the more difficult to understand and treat became a great interest. I then became interested in advocacy to the impaired professional medical doctor and dentist in Hawaii through Hawaii Medical Association. For a few years I was the psychiatric medical director of an welfare insurance company in Hawaii.  Lastly I then pursued a career in forensic psychiatry both providing  consultation to the courts and to other programs. Along this way I consulted to children's mental health residential programs. So to summarize this section I'm a middle class successful professional who has helped raise a family. I'm liberal in outlook politically and passionate in advocating for equal rights and opportunities to all. 

So what else is there to categorize about myself? Well, in sports I had my basketball hoop days and played high school football badly. I was in the school band being handed the tuba which I blew off key! I had piano lessons which I did not practice but a few years back I went to community college and took two years of piano and now enjoy playing for myself all sorts of music though I can not memorize well. I took up skiing and enjoyed this sport through my adult years with family and friends. Along the way I went on some backpacking trips with my wife, family, and friends including river running and even brief spelunking. In Hawaii I took up paipo board body surfing, scuba diving, and longer distance bicycling. Then over fifteen years ago my son David introduced me to the tremendous thrills and adventures of hiking here on Oahu and also other places. A few years ago my son Joshua and grandson Kai went to Iceland to hike and camp out for ten days. Rebecca, my daughter Sarah, and I went hiking and touring in Greece a great adventure. So many other wonderful trips I can recall but these highlights will suffice. So to categorize this section, I'm adventuresome and an athlete. I'm interested in challenges also in my career. I'm not afraid of attempting to learn to play music beyond my capabilities. I like challenges in my career so that for example I can go to court with the prospect that my testimony may be challenged aggressively. I don't shy away from attempting to assist very troubled suicidal people. So I'm a calculated risk taker and somewhat an intellectual interested in fields of study that I'm not trained in such as quantum physics and cosmology. This blog is an example. I have become a good photographer so that my photographs printed large do bring a smile in our house and my web presence sometimes is visited with appreciation.  

I'll soon be 83 years old. I've categorized in other post my various medical and body ailments and disabilities. I'm in my declining years with heart ailments, achilles tendon rupture, retinal  issues including developing macular hole and macular degeneration, hearing problems correct with aids, and various medications sometimes with side effects. Now that I've opened this subject I agree that I'm getting behind the times so that I don't twitter, instagram, facebook, etc. Yet I can help sometimes Rebecca with her Iphone and computer problems. So while I learn to play new pieces on the piano, read interesting challenging books, articles, and poems I'm losing stamina and capabilities. Oh, did I need to mention I'm teaching a course in hiking for the continuing education department of the University of Hawaii. My motivation is to encourage people getting older to not give into inactivity.   

Well, no man is an island! We're in this sometimes with forces to subjugate us to others agenda and exploitation. My journey today into these categories is to encourage myself and others to explore and find out more rather than conclude that someone else should be followed and we should relinquish our freedom and follow the crowd. 

Leonard 

   

'No Man is an Island'

No man is an island entire of itself; every man 
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; 
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe 
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as 
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine 
own were; any man's death diminishes me, 
because I am involved in mankind. 
And therefore never send to know for whom 
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. 


Olde English Version
No man is an Iland, intire of itselfe; every man
is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine;
if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe
is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as
well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine
owne were; any mans death diminishes me,
because I am involved in Mankinde;
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

MEDITATION XVII
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
John Donne 

see link for insight https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/john-donne/no-man-is-an-island#:~:text=John%20Donne's%20%22No%20Man%20is,whole%20that%20is%20humanity%20itself.