Sunday January 29

Three to seven people during a sometimes rainy hour. Some talk about troubleshooting electrical appliances and about World Book Night.

Saturday January 28

Maybe a dozen people at the vigil, animated conversations about books and about Saturday evening's activities. And discussion of a public exhibit of reflections on the war in Afghanistan.

Friday January 27

Three of us at 5:00PM, six at the end of the hour. The weather was clear but very cold. One person pointed out that the sky was still light at 5:30 -- spring is coming. :)

Thursday January 26

Four to six throughout the hour.

Wednesday January 25

Three at the beginning of the hour, eight or nine at the end. We had a birthday party, with snow.

Tuesday January 24

A veteran, from both Iraq and Afghanistan, stopped by; he asked if we are acquainted with the Homeless Veterans Alliance and said that we would be hearing about it. And he thanked us for the witness.

Monday January 23

Four at the start of the hour and again at the end. For much of the hour there were six of us, but a couple of people left before the end. We had a visit from two people who had been part of Occupy Portland until the public presence ended and who are now making a bike tour (in winter!) to visit other Occupy sites.

Saturday January 21

Four or five at the start of the hour, more arrived here and there until there were ten of us at the end. For a while we had more people than signs. :)

Friday January 20

Cold and dry. Three people for the entire hour, though there was some coming and going.

Thursday January 19

No one in front of the courthouse at 5:00PM, then a couple of minutes later people trickled in and the signs until there were five of us and, at the end of the vigil, six. We talked about last week's Sustainability Coalition presentation on possibilities for the economy [none of us made time to attend :(] and about the 2012 elections for Corvallis City Council.

Wednesday January 18

Very wet but not as cold as yesterday. From half a dozen to eight of us to mark the hour's witness.

Tuesday January 17

One person at 5:00PM, two more at 5:01, and the signs arrived one or two minutes later.It was cold, wet, and rainy, so that each minute counted [especially at the end of the hour :)]. Luckily, the conversation was lively.

Monday January 16

Four to start the hour, seven at the end. We had snow flurries the last part of the hour. Brrr!

Sunday January 15

Five to eight of us this evening. One person returned from a ten-day silent retreat. Afterward a couple of participants went to see a film at Oregon State University, about a controversy in Tucson about that city's high school program for Mexican-American ethnic studies.

Saturday January 14

Half a dozen of us for a chilly hour, with some coming and going. Afterward some of us shared a meal at a nearby restaurant.

Friday January 13

From three to six of us throughout the hour. We chatted about the political primaries ("a circus") and about the chances for snow this weekend in the Willamette Valley.

Thursday January 12

Our numbers varied from six to ten through the hour. We talked about the "sky lanterns" which rose above Corvallis on New Year's Eve. Could a display be designed to support the work for peace and justice?

Wednesday January 11

Three at the beginning of the vigil, eight at the end. We shared the block in front of the Benton County courthouse with a vigil against human trafficking. One person from that vigil stopped to suggest a "Vigil America", intended for (in my words) people all over the United States to stand for fifteen minutes against war and for health and happiness for all. What a hopeful idea!

Tuesday January 10

Three to begin the hour, six at the end. A friend from the Los Angeles area joined us.

Sunday January 8

Five of us at 5:00PM, seven at the end of the vigil. Much invigorating conversation for a chilly evening, but no noteworthy incidents.

Saturday January 7

Five at 5:00PM, eight at 6:00. At the halfway mark we were joined by a young man who first came to the vigil in 2001, as a high school student from West Albany. Now he has moved to Corvallis and is looking for an apartment.

Friday January 6

Between four and nine of us throughout the hour, including a visitor from Los Angeles.

Thursday January 5

Five people at 5:00PM, others trickled in until there were eight or nine at 6:00. In addition to waving to folks driving by, we discussed international politics -- has the United States truly left Iraq? -- and local politics -- the 2012 election for the Corvallis City Council.

Wednesday January 4

A damp vigil hour. Five or six people for much of the hour, but some of us left fifteen minutes before the end, and there were only a couple at 6:00PM.

Tuesday January 3

Two at 5:00PM, seven or eight at the end of the hour. Some discussion of the world's search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and, are "they" searching too?

Monday January 2

Our numbers ranged from five to nine while I was at the vigil. A man stopped his car in the traffic lane next to the vigil to discuss whether the wars are ending. The five-minute discussion could not have happened on a work day.

Sunday January 1, 2012

Four or five people throughout the hour. A young man stops to say that he is worried about the safety of the vigil-ers, and others. The National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law by Barack Obama on the last day of 2011, permits indefinite detention of American citizens without trial. It is hard to know how to respond, but a conversation goes on for half an hour.

Saturday, 31 December

Year's end.  War's end?  Will it ever be so?  A friend of the vigil comments on the troop withdrawal from Iraq; that does not make the war over.  The vast fortress that is the U.S. Embassy in Iraq does not suggest any official expectation of a peaceable relationship with Iraqi people.
Books read and others anticipated weave through the conversation I hear.  6 people of some portions of the hour.