Sunday April 29

Seven of us at 5:00PM, eight at 6:00. Just as we were leaving, a carful of bare-chested young men sped by, with enthusiastic shouts and enthusiastic peace signs -- a heartening sign of changing attitudes, we think and hope.

Saturday April 28

Four to begin the hour, eight at the end. We got a report on the health care talk by husband-and-wife Marcia Angell and Arnold Relman Saturday afternoon. One intriguing matter was what Angell and Relman agreed on (their support for a single-payer system was most important) and how they handled their disagreements about details and about implementation.

Friday April 27

Four at 5:00PM, seven at the end. Very threatening skies, but luckily the rain showers were scant. We talked about the election of judges, in particular in the upcoming primary, and wondered whether a new political party would attract support: the Biased and Opinionated Party. It could attract followers of all political persuasions. :)

Thursday April 26

Two at the start of the hour, seven or eight at the end. One vigil-er recommended Battleground America, a recent New Yorker article about gun culture and gun control in the United States. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/23/120423fa_fact_lepore?currentPage=all

Wednesday, 25 April

Three for most of a breezy hour.  With one regular stopping momentarily and two more coming for the last quarter.  Many children in passing cars waved the two finger peace sign and smiled. (There is also that increasingly rare one finger peace sign that may possibly say: "I'd lift one finger for peace."  or "one way to peace."  or is it "UP for Peace"?)  Many friendly horn tootles too.

Tuesday April 24

Four at the beginning, eight at the end. A couple of occasional attenders joined us, and a passerby stopped to say hello to this afternoon's vigil dog. :)

Monday April 23

Two of us at 5:00PM, seven or eight at the end. It was an almost hot afternoon, and for the first time this year the Monday treat was an ice cream bar. :)

Sunday April 22

Four bicycles at the vigil, maybe because of Earth Day, maybe because it was the second straight day of sunshine. There were four of us to start the hour, seven at the end. Some discussion of vegetable gardening, some discussion of magic, some discussion of the magic of vegetables. :)

Saturday April 21

Four at the start, two others came throughout the hour. This was the first warm afternoon of 2012, so that some of us even moved into the shade. We talked about the Corvallis Farmers' Market and about growing vegetables in the Willamette Valley. Some of us are already buying tomato and pepper starts.

Friday April 20

Two at 5:00PM, seven of us at the end. We shared ginger crinkle cookies. :)

Thursday April 19

Three to start the hour, seven at the end. We discussed the story of the redwood tree at First Alternative, maybe 75 years old when it was cut down, and how FA might make it a community project to remove the (large) stones around the stump (which needs to be taken out to get rid of the tree's roots).

Wednesday April 18

Five to start the hour, eight at the end. A few people reported that their dogs behaved oddly on Tuesday night, barking several times during the night. Did something unusual happen that night? But others of us have dogs who slept peacefully through the night.
We considered the LA Times publication of photographs of US soldiers posing with body parts of some Afghanis, and speculated about why they did it, and about how we could respond. ??

Tuesday April 17

Two or three of us to start the hour, nine or ten at the end. Today, Tax Day USA, a protest group, we thought from Occupy, marched the sidewalks a block away, chanting slogans such as, "This is what a rebate looks like." I am in favor of higher taxes on the wealthy, but I am even more in favor of not spending taxes on war. One young man from the Tax Day protest joined us afterward, but we talked about his upcoming move to Colorado, not about the protest.

Monday April 16

Five people at the beginning, seven or eight at the end.

Sunday April 15

The van-ful of signs did not come today, but another vehicle stood in, and we had eight or ten people at the end. As yesterday, we got an encouraging acknowledgement from a car with two or three young men in camouflage.

Saturday April 14

Half a dozen of us throughout the hour. As on most Saturdays, a friend from Albany joined us. Toward the end of the hour three or four cars passed with camouflage-clad young men -- maybe National Guard folks? They looked at us and our signs with puzzlement, but one group waved. Maybe a step in the right direction.

Friday April 13

Three at the start of the hour, six at the end. One occasional participant commented that he had never had bad luck on Friday the 13th. Some folks thought that he was tempting fate, but I think he felt that "tempting fate" was also a superstition.

Thursday April 12

Two or three to begin the vigil, half a dozen of us as it ended. Today several people offered vociferous opposition to our signs. At least they are not indifferent, but as usual we wonder what they object to?

Wednesday April 11

People straggled in during the hour, until we had eight or nine at 6:00PM. Someone in a hurrying pickup shouted through the open window, "I am a soldier!" Seems like our minds are not big enough to accept both military service and peace work at the same time. I was reminded of Paul Chappell, a soldier who served in Iraq and who wrote in his book The End of War that one lesson he learned at West Point was that soldiers work to stay out of war.

Tuesday April 10

Again half a dozen of us for today's vigil. A woman in a passing car offered us a raised middle finger and a big smile. Maybe we can disagree and still smile at each other?

Monday April 9

Half a dozen folks for much of the hour. A passing car offered a definite "one-finger peace sign", we waved back. We talked about the magazine Oregon Humanities: "Oregon Humanities magazine examines topics of broad public interest from a variety of perspectives and approaches", and we shared chocolate chip cookies.

Sunday, 8 April

No, we did not have two Sundays this week.  We did, however, have two people on this quiet, warm Sunday afternoon.  Then about halfway through the hour a peace dog brought her person and we were three.  We spoke of granddaughters graduating and what these times bring for newly "fledged" graduates.  All the old myths are tattered but we keep on living as if the illusions still hold us.
We spoke of dying eggs and family and the family that one finds in friendship.

Sunday April 7

Three at 5:00PM, about nine at the end. One person brought birthday cookies.

Friday April 6

Six or seven of us during the hour.

Thursday April 5

Four people at 5:00PM, seven at 6:00. We laughed a lot at a story of recovering an old signal generator from the weekly OSU used equipment sale. And I liked one person's story of going to school to study experiential education and then deciding that she did not need a degree. :)

Wednesday April 4

Four of us at the beginning, seven or eight at the end. A cold hour, but the rain and the hail held off until just after 6:00PM. :)

Tuesday April 3

Four of us at the start of the hour; six at the end. We talked about the World Book Night project to give away books to occasional readers. And there was a lively debate about Steven Pinker's book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined.

Monday April 2

An unusual dry and warm-ish evening at the vigil. We welcomed a visitor from Los Angeles. One especially warm-blooded vigiler stood barefoot on the pavement. The rest of us shivered.

Sunday April 1

April Fool's Day saw four to eight of us standing witness, but sadly with no tricks. One participant had been in Portland to watch her daughter proudly complete the Race for the Roses.

Saturday March 31

Four or five of us during the vigil hour.