Wednesday May 30

Four or five at the beginning of the hour, a dozen at the end. Some of us talked about the effectiveness (or not) of lobbying the US government in political campaigns. That may be an ongoing discussion.

Tuesday May 29

About eight of us today. A young man stopped to ask whether any women were interested in running for the Corvallis City Council. We thought of only one possible candidate. And a young woman came by to interview a couple of us for a project in a sociology course. Seems like the vigil serves functions which I had not realized.

Monday May 28

Memorial Day, a quiet traffic day. About eight of us and chocolate chip cookies. We talked about how our gardens are growing.

Sunday May 27

Half a dozen of us. We talked about Tim O'Brien's stories from the Vietnam War, The Things They Carried and Going After Cacciato. The stories blend O'Brien's experiences and a fantasy of war. For me they are sometimes hard to comprehend, but perhaps the blend and the difficulty are a metaphor for war?

Saturday May 26

Nine, ten, eleven of us at one time or another. Some discussion of things to do in Oregon, such as hiking at Opal Creek and the Oregon Garden. One person had just visited an exhibit at the Portland Art Museum, Three Fragments of a Lost Tale, about an film being created by the sculptor John Frame. For her, the exhibition's figures drew out an uncommon sympathy for humanity.
http://johnframesculpture.com/portland

Friday May 25

Three people to start the hour, eleven of us at the end. Today three ex-soldiers attended, and two schoolteachers. While we talked about how Oregon schools feel to teachers, I learned a discouraging new word -- "mean-hearted". I believe in "no war", but I often wonder if that is achievable, given the impact of "mean streets" in our culture.
A passerby with a "real" (film) camera stopped to take a picture. We are grateful for her support.

Thursday May 24

Because of rain before the vigil, I took the bus, and so arrived twenty minutes late. Half a dozen of us, and no rain, during the vigil itself.

Wednesday May 23

Three to start the hour, six of us (and two dogs) at the end. Our conversations included tomato plants and house repairs.

Tuesday May 22

Six or seven of us during the hour. We celebrated a birthday with meringues and, of course, chocolate. Many waves, but today no conversation with passersby.
The recent news that the father of the owners of the Chicago Cubs is helping sponsor ads with racially based attacks on Obama is dismaying to the vigil's Cubs fans.

Monday, 21 May

10 is the number with one leaving and another arriving - but 12, in fact, as I recall the two who were there at the beginning of the hour for a few minutes.  Vigil in shifts works for some folks better than the whole hour.  Yesterday's eclipse and a granddaughter's college graduation and a recent holiday in the Cascades (hiking in due to snow packed roads) were part of the conversations I overheard.  Cookies were passed around the group.  This is a peace vigil - community conversation and an eye to the people passing to acknowledge their participation in the vigil.  For, I do regard everyone who responds/reacts as being a part of why I stand there.

Saturday, 19 May

10 for this hour.  Sun & breezes.  Friendly waves.  Some young adults in a speeding car slowed to wave and smile with wild enthusiasm.  A full hour without any negative energy tossed our way.  Conversations turned on aging parents, some in decline another flourishing at over 100, and gardens and an impending wedding.  The insanity of Arizona politics occupied several minutes with degrees of outrage; one woman compared it to Mississippi in the dark days of the 20th century.  Books banned led us to talk of books being read. And, thus goes an hour of peaceable gathering and a careful eye on the passing traffic -- I feel it is important to make eye contact when the opportunity arises.

Friday, 18 May, 2012

World Car Free Day!  I did not notice a particular diminution in traffic this hour; although many of the "regulars" did not drive by.  Early on in the hour a man stopped in the middle lane and called out the window that the sign which says "Heroes are those who refuse to go to war" is offensive to all who fought in wars to allow us stand there.  He drove on before any of us could respond in a way he could hear our words.  We agree that the notion that wars assure our freedom of speech is a common one tossed at us.  I can't think of any war in my lifetime that did anything positive to promote my freedom (or that of anyone else).  Can you?
6 for the hour with some talk of gardens and the blight that strikes monoculture forests; teaching reluctant students & a recent vacation hiking in Utah.

Thursday, 17 May

Seven for much of the hour with four coming later.  Beautiful day.  Beautiful smiles. The driver of a tractor-trailer gave us a cheery air horn greeting. A mom lowered the back passenger window so her small child could give us her regular happy waving peace sign. Today she held up a tiny green and red toy as well; showing us her treasure or pointing us out to her marvelous 'friend'.  We speculate what creature it was. I was reminded of my grandson's knitted red & green parrot finger puppet.
Between the truck horn and the young friend two young men walked past us, I turned to smile and greet them and the one closest announced "Support the troops!"  while pulling back the left side of his plaid sport shirt to reveal an elaborate tattoo in Arabic.  I say, we do:  have no wars!  Others say bring them home.  We speculate  on the meaning of the tattoo.  They had the bearing of recent veterans.
Later in the hour a heavy truck rumbled up the road and as it passed a loud crack - as a shot or a firecracker sounded.  We were all startled and disturbed.  One suggested it was a deliberate back-fire created by the driver. We sniffed the air for the scent of a firecracker.  We think of the young veterans and how that explosive sound could impact them.  We are glad a vigil friend who is a Viet Nam veteran is away today.

Wednesday, 16 May 2012

Election results and the sorry state of politics were part of the conversation circulating between the 6 of us.
We watch boxes of books being taken out Browser's bookstore across the street which prompted some chat about books that we gather into our lives and keep long beyond their usefulness.  But where do old textbooks go?  There needs to be a recycling option for books.  Or a re-purpose center where creative sorts can do artistic magic.
What a crazy world.  How many people yearn for books to read and study?
More adorable children cheer us with their smiles and tiny hands waving peace signs.
After the vigil several of us participated in the annual Ride of Silence, an international event recognizing cyclists who were injured or killed while riding.  Could we create an international day of silence for reflecting upon the millions of lives taken by war?

Tuesday, 15 May 2012

Election Day.  Primaries.  How many will exercise their right to vote? I think of election day images from other nations.
We stand our vigil a few yards South of the path to the ballot drop box; obeying the signs that censor campaigning within a specific area.  It is a different perspective - closer to the traffic signal.
 An array of smiling children waving at us.  I love that some parents lower the window so we can readily see the children.  What do they tell their children about war?  What does a veteran of these wars tell their children about the children of Iraq & Afghanistan.  I'm haunted with only a distanced knowledge.
10 of us.

Monday, 14 May

Small in numbers, hearty in spirit.  Many cars passing bearing people giving us beautiful smiles.  Inevitably, even as I am heartened by the peace affirming energy, I ask myself how it is that ordinary people  not so very different from anyone I see in this hour can be randomly slaughtered in senseless war.
Indeed, how many die or suffer terrible wounds during each hour of our daily vigil?

Saturday, 12 May

Hot!  A few nights this week were just above freezing and today I seek the shade  for the hour.  A quiet few - 7.  Vacation chat.  Work chat.  A bit of talk about end of life choices.  And, a bit of buzz about new business construction downtown.

Friday, 11 May

A bustle of folks today - a woman who has been here a few times in recent years, was earnestly making several points to one patient listener (I later learn that she was advocating Ron Paul, lamenting nuclear weapons and expressing fears that we will yet launch a war on Iran).  An old familiar face has been here several days recently, good to reconnect.  I'd hard a draining day and I moved North of the crowd to focus on the people passing; I like to make eye contact when I can and respond to friendly folks (or to not so friendly folks - they get an even bigger wave)  A passing van had two small children in the back seat - or, at least I guess so as all I could see were small hands waving the peace fingers at us.  I often ponder what conversations happen in the cars where small children give us cheery waves.  An angry man in a gray sedan lowered his passenger windows to curse us: "GO to Canada!  Get out of here!!"  In what is his fury rooted?  Is he momentarily relieved of some  simmering rage or does he drive on with mutters that fuel his disquiet?  Shortly thereafter a big extended cab pick-up with steroidal wheel base and camouflage  decor passes us and four large men turn to wave with cheering smiles.  Who can possibly guess the why & wherefore of it.  Early on in the hour an auto transport truck passed us with a vigorous sounding of the air horn which seemed set off a following flurry of horn honking.  This reminds me of a few years ago when, for a couple of months, a flock of college students (Young Republicans, we were told)  used to stand, one afternoon a week,  across the street and a bit  down the block.  They displayed signs with slogans like "bombs not books"  & "honk if you hate hippies".  Each honking horn brought on wild howls.  Then as now I am bewildered by the both the rhetoric of hate and the inanity of finding it funny.
11 for the hour.
   

Thursday, 10 May

Blustery winds, bright sunshine.  Two people waiting as the clock chimed, two more of us just behind the last tones.  A bit later the van roared up with the signs and the Earth flag went up to snap in the wind.
Soon a sixth arrived with  her "peace" dog ( this smart dog knows the 6 o'clock bell means time to stand up & be ready to go).
A car with four early teen-age girls in the back seat waved vigorous peace signs and shouted a chorus of "we love you"
Two more folks arrived.
My early departure was countered by a simultaneous arrival of two more for the rest of the hour.

Tuesday May 8

Four or five at the beginning, maybe eight at the end. Lovely warm weather. A passerby thanked us, and someone said, "It's no trouble on a day like this." :) Some talk about health, some talk about computers, some talk about trips and vacations -- a miscellaneous sort of day.

Monday May 7

Four or five of us. We talked about the large redwood tree at south First Alternative, cut down three weeks ago, and more generally we debated about the relationships between people and trees and climate change.

Sunday May 6

Three of us to start the hour, about eight at the end.
We shared cookies and debated about whether it would be a good idea to have a vigil T-shirt. One person feared that it would make the vigil a closed group. I wonder, does the vigil now appear welcoming?

Saturday May 5

Half a dozen plus of us during the hour. It was a lovely warm afternoon. Two people had attended a day-long workshop on the nonviolent communication system worked out by Marshall Rosenberg, so we talked a while about that. NVC is a good idea, but a difficult technique to learn.

Friday 4 May

A young woman came to stand with us saying she'd been thinking about Kent State, 42 years ago today; how the students killed had been about her age.  It seemed right to her to join a protest on this day.  I had not thought about Kent State in many years; yet as we talked my mind was filled with those tragic images.
 My conversation with our new companion ranged wide but circled back frequently to how is it that people who are paid by state taxpayers to help in time of crisis take up weapons and, claiming that they felt threatened by the protesting students open fire upon them.  Why, she asks, is it a crime or a sign of mental instability if a student or other civilian brings a gun onto a campus and opens fire on students?  How is that different than Kent State May 4, 1970?  Also, she asks, why is it the same generation as those Kent State students who are still leading protests today?  What happened to create an apathetic gap?

She was an exchange student in Mexico and Estonia.  Her perspectives are flavored by those exposures to other cultures and their politics.  She spoke with some surprise of the presumption that the United States government was manipulating elections in Mexico.  I tell her I am  no longer surprised by the many manifestations of harm our government embodies.

Wednesday May 2

Three vigil-ers to begin the hour, eight or nine at the end. We had spits of rain, followed by heavier shower just after 6:00. We talked a while about elections, both the Oregon primary happening now and the May election for the board of directors of First Alternative Coop; and then about the cultural manifestations of automobile-pedestrian interactions. When you are driving, does it make you impatient to wait for a pedestrian crossing the road slowly?

Tuesday May 2

Six or seven of us throughout the hour, including one person who visits very rarely. Some discussion of the after-combat problems of veterans and local projects to respond.

Monday April 30

Five of us at the beginning of the hour, seven at 6:00PM. Spirited disagreement from a few cars driving by. On the other hand, a bicyclist paused in front of our group, and we had a moment to exchange thanks. :)