Xiah-ception - Hey There.

'I know they are going to die.' This foster father takes in only terminally ill children

The children were going to die.

The children were going to die.

Mohamed Bzeek knew that. But in his more than two decades as a foster father, he took them in anyway — the sickest of the sick in Los Angeles County’s sprawling foster care system.

He has buried about 10 children. Some died in his arms.

Now, Bzeek spends long days and sleepless nights caring for a bedridden 6-year-old foster girl with a rare brain defect. She’s blind and deaf. She has daily seizures. Her arms and legs are paralyzed.

Bzeek, a quiet, devout Libyan-born Muslim who lives in Azusa, just wants her to know she’s not alone in this life.

“I know she can’t hear, can’t see, but I always talk to her,” he said. “I’m always holding her, playing with her, touching her. … She has feelings. She has a soul. She’s a human being.”

He’s the only one that would take a child who would possibly not make it.— Melissa Testerman, Department of Children and Family Services intake coordinator

Of the 35,000 children monitored by the county’s Department of Children and Family Services, there are about 600 children at any given time who fall under the care of the department’s Medical Case Management Services, which serves those with the most severe medical needs, said Rosella Yousef, an assistant regional administrator for the unit.

There is a dire need for foster parents to care for such children.

My sunshine boy, Haibara Yu.

So! You may remember back towards the beginning of summer I mentioned that I was making my own watercolor paints using charcoal from the Troublesome Fire last year, then planning to sell the paintings to raise money for our local fire departments. I fell a little behind on the project because life, but then I found out that I got into two art events in the county with very short notice so I suddenly had to finish everything VERY VERY QUICKLY. So the last couple weeks have just been a mad dash of painting painting painting.

But I did it! The series is done!

I am so thrilled with how they came out.

I’ll have the originals and a handful of prints of each design for sale at the following two events:

The first Art in the Park in Granby Colorado at Polhamus Park. I’ll also be live painting a mural there using the same paint. This event is on Saturday September 4th 2021. (Also maybe the 3rd? The way they’ve listed the dates is a bit weird.)

Fraser Oktoberfest from Friday September 17th-19th 2021 in Fraser Colorado. (I think I’ll be there all three days? Again, the way they’ve listed the dates is a bit weird. AREN’T SMALL TOWN EVENTS FUN???)

Anywho. Here’s all five paintings! The majority of the profits will go to the local fire departments. Each one features a local animal and a local landscape and they were all painted using watercolor created from Troublesome Fire charcoal and locally sourced honey. Super super pleased with how they came out.

🎃👻　

STOP TRUMP

The best chance we have right now to stop Donald Trump is for the Electoral College to reject him when they meet December 19. Hillary Clinton won the presidential election by more than 2.8 million votes. But because of the Electoral College, originally set up to protect slave states in the late 1700s, Donald Trump is going to be sworn in on January 20 – unless the electors refuse to let him. Electors for each state will meet at their state capitol building on Monday, December 19 to cast their votes. They can stop Donald Trump – but they need to hear from all of us. It will take at least 37 electors in red states to deny him the White House. People are gathering in all 50 state capitols on Monday, December 19 to urge the electors to stop Trump. Will you join the movement and help stop a popular vote loser – and a hateful bigot – from becoming president? YES, I will join an Electoral College protest in my state capitol on Monday, December 19. No, I can’t participate, but I will write my legislator and urge them to support the National Popular Vote plan to require electors in future years to choose the winner of the nationwide popular vote. Or, I will chip in $3 or more to help DFA organize to stop Trump – and ensure that the next president is elected by National Popular Vote. There’s been a lot of breaking news lately about electors who are trying to stop Donald Trump from becoming president:

A Republican elector in Texas, Chris Suprun, wrote in The New York Times that he will not vote for Trump: “Fifteen years ago, I swore an oath to defend my country and Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. On December 19, I will do it again.”

On Monday, ten electors wrote to the Director of National Intelligence to request a briefing about reports Russia interfered in the presidential election.

And, on Wednesday, Lawrence Lessig went on MSNBC and CNN and predicted as many as 20 Republican electors could defect from Trump – and perhaps more if momentum grows in the coming days.

There are plenty of reasons for the Electoral College to reject Trump, beyond the fact that he lost the popular vote by a landslide. Trump is assembling a cabinet of billionaires, bigots, and bullies who will help him loot the country, make inequality worse, and attack people of color. He’s turning the presidency into a vehicle for his own personal profit at our expense. Let’s be clear: It won’t be easy to convince at least 37 electors to reject Trump. Electors are party loyalists who rarely vote against the candidate who won their state. And the Republican National Committee is putting intense pressure on Republican electors to stand by Trump. But we have to step up and fight to defend our rights, our democracy, and our communities. That’s why we have to urge electors to do the right thing, even if the chances of success aren’t great. Will you help? YES, I will join an Electoral College protest in my state capitol on Monday, December 19. No, I can’t participate, but I will write my legislator and urge them to support the National Popular Vote plan to require electors in future years to choose the winner of the nationwide popular vote. Or, I will chip in $3 or more to help DFA organize to stop Trump – and ensure that the next president is elected by popular vote. Thank you for standing up for our democracy.

Let’s give credit where credit is due: Women’s March organizers Tamika Mallory, Bob Bland, Carmen Perez, and Linda Sarsour 

Choi Dahye (b.1985) - Silent Cypress Tree. 2019. Acrylic on canvas.