[Above photo: Buddhist nuns begging in Maubin]
8 December 2019
My visit to DC was with my 90yo sister, her daughter, and her grandson, 13yo. It was lovely to see them all, settling into their sweet house in Kensington, Maryland after the death of their husband/father and a move from Cape Town. Jacob is, not surprisingly, a head taller than me and heading skyward. I enjoyed watching him at his taekwondo studio, practicing piano, and just hanging around. Deirdre is a bright and courageous woman with a gift for landing on her feet, no matter which way fortune tosses her in the air. My sister is a phenomenon at 90yo, enjoying her descendants and exercise classes despite the gradual physical disappointments of age
The Amtrak from Williamsburg to DC reminded me of how much I love train travel. Later, on the plane, I sat next to an activist in her 60’s from Durham, NC where she lives with her husband. They moved there to be near their two children who went to Duke; both later decamped. She had good suggestions for books and films to see. Our convictions matched.
I’m now in Richmond, CA staying with my friends Ed Levin and Robin Deutsch. Their home is interesting and comfortable. Ed is transitioning out of his psychiatric practice and, since it has been the focus of much of his life for many years, he is looking for something meaningful to replace it. He’s right that connecting with people must be at the top of his list, as it must be for most of us. He’s 9 years my senior but we share similar issues.
We attended a party/fund-raiser for the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis last night. It rained furiously as we drove down Hwy 101 to Mountain View; I’m not sure I’ve seen it rain so intensely here before. I knew a number of the people socially and it was a fun, lively group. A few were old friends and their travails made me realize, once again, that if you live long enough you will experience loss and suffering. The trick for me is how to make very strong attachments and yet not be destroyed when they are prematurely ended through death or disagreement.
I’ve called a number of friends and have made arrangements to see many of them already. I had breakfast today with Ken, the founder and CEO of Seneca Center. The agency is growing at an amazing clip; Seneca programs and staff are in 60 schools in California, plus in many other locations. Seneca is purchasing an abandoned Catholic college campus with 50,000 sq ft of beautiful old building space set in a 25 acre valley. There is a stream coursing through it and there are many mature redwood trees and wild, green vistas in all directions. Ken has an unusual combination of talents: entrepreneur, land developer, child psychologist, and, finally, visionary. I would not want to play chess for money with him. He has put Seneca well in front of other organizations serving children and adolescents and it is inspiring to hear about it. I do feel a certain temptation to return and work with Seneca but I know that my destiny lies closer to Myanmar.
Ken’s wife, Jill, is an academic of international standing. She is in Social Welfare at UC Berkeley and is currently completing a book with two other authors on the global mental health of children. [I don’t have the precise topic title but it is in that area.] I’ll have supper with them soon to talk with her about Myanmar, the optimal development of a system of children’s mental health services from scratch, and the possibility of her consulting to us as we plan the same.
It feels very familiar here and I know my way around after 45 years in the area. I’m astounded at the apparent prosperity. I don’t crave it; it kind of repels me and makes me worry more for the future of the planet. The freeways are jammed with fancy cars, as I assume freeways are all over the world. How will we ever wean ourselves from petroleum products in time? Deirdre’s plug-in hybrid Kia is a marvel; I drove it for two days, all on battery. She has used 24 gallons of gasoline in the past 9 months!
Now the Judiciary Committee will write the articles of impeachment. There is clearly a reason he refuses to let us see his tax returns. And I don’t think it is embarrassment that he isn’t as rich as he suggests or has anything to do with scruples about a tax audit, as he repeatedly states. He’s a gangster, lacking in scruples. There are some pretty funny SNL clips from this week. Pelosi praying for DT, and hoping god will give Lindsay Graham a gay, black baby. Ha!
A Psychiatrist in Myanmar 