We had a nice visit with daughter in law Barb and granddaughter Renley this past weekend, visiting the Phipps conservatory and the aviary in Pittsburgh. The city-about a 2 1/2 hour drive south for us- is one of the more picturesque in the nation I think, located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which together form the Ohio river. The Ohio eventually enters the Mississippi in Illinois. I do not possess a smart phone, but am thankful that Beth does when traveling, for the contorted turns needed to navigate through a city are much easier with GPS. Otherwise I prefer paper maps; there is something satisfying about holding an Atlas and being able to trace ones progress and destination with a glance. The picture was taken by Barb near the top of the 'incline', a cable car offering this view from a nearby ridge.

Ukraine

There was a fundraiser in Warren last night at the woman's club, attended by a few dozen people, many whom have been helping Ukraine since the beginning of the war. The pictures include local Piper and Ogla from Poland, Myself and Iwona from Poland and Beth and Lena from Ukraine. The following synopsis describes what has been going on here and there: >>Matt McKissock, a resident of Warren County, was moved by the destruction in Ukraine and wanted to contribute to relief efforts... He co-founded the Ukraine Relief Initiative, a group aimed at assisting Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Warren community members have also been supporting Ukrainian refugees through a community center in Krakow, Poland, demonstrating a global impact... A Warren-based non-profit called WARRN has been established to support refugees settling in the area, including Ukrainians. This organization assists with matters like plane tickets, transportation, English classes, and housing.<< Local business owner Piper was one of the first to accompany McKissock to Poland and has been there 8 times since. She was the woman who influenced Beth and me to become involved. When they arrived in Poland, the Warren people went from not having any plan other than the desire to help, to purchasing a building in Krakow and establishing a community center.That refuge offers food and other needed supplies, language classes, sports programs and other forms of support for the thousands of war refugees who fled, and continue to flee Ukraine. Olga from Poland and Ukrainian refugee Lena help run the center and fund raise, Iwona is a research psychologist who provides counseling in Krakow and is researching how a grass roots organization from Warren continues to flourish when many other aid groups from 2022 have disappeared. The answer to that question seems to be a committed empathy and determination to do what is right regardless of an American government that has lost it's moral compass. Together people from both here, Ukraine and Poland have been able to offer hope to the displaced Ukrainians-many of them elderly-who literally have nothing to return to. No home, no families, no money. Poland is not their home and many return anyway, but until the war ends their future is uncertain. The center gives mostly women a place to recover and gain back their confidence and hope and skills to move into a better life when the war finally does end. Most Ukrainian men are not permitted to leave the country, and most would not leave even if allowed, preferring to defend their soil against Russia and Putin-described accurately by the late John McCain as a murdurous mafia posing as a country...The family that Beth and I are sponsoring were refugees in Krakow at the beginning of the war, having fled Bucha where the Russians were massacring civilians. The mother and two children returned to be with their husband and stayed with grandparents in Moshchun for some months, but that house was bombed. Aid groups then provided a modular house for the family while the grandparents stayed in their partially repaired home. We continue to send money monthly and recently bought a boiler system so that they may heat the house. Moshchun and nearby Kyiv endure almost nightly drone strikes. The Ukraine Relief Initiative here in Warren continues to accept donations, and a Facebook page provides more information.