Friday June 29

Four of us to start the hour, eight at the end. We revisited some of the story from Friday Night Lights, about high school football in west Texas, and we wondered about the book's account of how the 1988 presidential campaign of George Bush ("the first") made connections with average Americans.

Thursday June 28

Three to start the vigil, five at the end. The question of the day was, where in Corvallis could you get a tattoo? :)

Wednesday June 27

Half a dozen people. Most days we stand and visit in a compact group, but today there were three mini-vigils, one in the sunshine and two in the shade. "My" group talked about the challenges of riding a bike in Corvallis.

Tuesday June 26

Three or four at the start, nine at the end. Some discussion of where to get repair work for the damaged car and of insurance rules, and some talk of gardens. Still our wars and our presence for peace continue.

Monday June 25

Six or seven people for the hour. One person had had a car accident (no injuries, count our blessings), another a death in the family (sad but also a blessing). For our time at the courthouse, our wars and our presence for peace continue.

Sunday June 24

Four to six during the hour. We discussed the books we have read recently. One I enjoyed is Fools Crow by James Welch, a story from the viewpoint of the Blackfeet tribe of white people moving into the traditional hunting range of the tribe. The author's use of different words emphasized the shift in viewpoint; for example, the "cavalry" that I know of, he calls the "seizers".

Saturday June 23

Four people to begin the vigil, about nine at the end. An exchange student from the Philippines came by with her host family to have her picture taken at the vigil. "Peace tourism"? Several of us were going to the First Alternative Coop annual dinner meeting that meeting, and others were doing longer trips -- across the United States. :)

Thursday June 21

Six to eight of us at one time or another during the hour. A young granddaughter from Portland came to visit, which livened us up and complemented a discussion of older families.

Wednesday June 20

Half a dozen plus for the first half hour, then we were joined by three young men from Saudi Arabia who are in Corvallis to study English. They were happy to hold the sign with the Arabic legend "peace". One person talked to them about the vigil and about political expression in the United States. She invited them to come again to practice their English. :)

Tuesday June 19

Four of us at 5:00PM. After a while, one person left; after another while, one person left, and we ended with four of us (and a dog). A passerby on the other side of the street complimented the dog. :)

Monday March 18

Half a dozen of us through the hour. We had normal support and opposition from the folks driving by, but today much of our attention was within the vigil. As I remember, I heard a couple of stories: one about an Occupy activist proclaiming that "cops are machines"; another about the graduation address of a Benton County high school valedictorian, encouraging his classmates to work to improve our society but noting that his/her own possibilities were limited because he/she was an undocumented immigrant. The stories provoked impassioned conversation about how best to engage with society and with others.

Sunday June 17

Graduation Sunday at Oregon State University. The vigil was quiet until a aerobatic jet screamed through the sky above. We recounted stories of being surprised, even scared, by aircraft appearing unexpectedly, and we reflected on how the people our country attacks must feel about the military planes we send with bombs and guns.

Wednesday June 13

Three or four of us throughout the hour. Near the end we were visited by two high school juniors, one an exchange student from Austria. The other, evidently from Corvallis, took several pictures and asked how often we held the vigil. Seems like many people in Corvallis do not know what we do. :(

Tuesday June 12

Four at the beginning of the hour, maybe nine at the end. The young boy who brightened the vigil on Christmas Day 2011 returned with his father. The participation of young people is a special affirmation for us.

Monday June 11

Three at 5:00PM, seven at 6:00. With drier weather and the return of some people who had been away, for the first time in a long time we put up the Oriental prayer flags across the sidewalk. They are a welcome rainbow of color.

Sunday June 10

Three at 5:00PM, about nine when the vigil ended. A quiet hour. The weather is getting sunnier, so that today the vigil split into a shade component and a sun component.

Saturday June 9

Four at the beginning of the hour, seven at the end. Our talk turned to a frequent favorite, the books which we are reading. Two regular attendees very much liked The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, enough to plan to re-read it. :)

Friday June 8

About eight of us, with some people coming and going during the hour. There were three veterans present, though none from Iraq or Afghanistan. We discussed some other wars, past and present, in Vietnam and in South Sudan.

Thursday June 7

Two of us at 5:00PM, a dozen at the end. One person came to report that that as of this week, 2,000-plus US soldiers have been killed in the Afghanistan war, Operation Enduring Freedom. We talked about marking that milestone with a special vigil in memory of all the people killed in the Afghanistan war.

Wednesday June 6

Today the signs came in a Toyota Prius, instead of our familiar VW van. Three of us to start the hour, eight at the end. We appreciated the young children who offered enthusiastic waves and the young man who offered a thumbs down instead of a finger up.

Tuesday June 5

Five people at 5:00PM, eight when the clock struck 6:00. This was a cleaning-out day. We took all the signs out of the faithful van, discarded a few which were entirely out of date, and put many others into retirement. We hope that the retirement is permanent; it would be good if we never have to carry again "OUT OF IRAN".

Monday June 4

Five, six, seven of us during the hour. We felt lucky to start the hour dry after a severe thunderstorm earlier in the afternoon, but in the last ten minutes a steady rain started and the umbrellas came out.

Sunday June 3

A quiet Sunday at the vigil, about eight people present. We talked about early summer in our gardens and shared some plant starts. And some of us are hoping to go to a didgeridoo festival later this summer. :)

Saturday June 2

Four people at the beginning, seven at the end. It seemed like we had several visitors. A young man on a bicycle stopped to say, thanks for your work, and would you like to trade for the VW van? A serious offer? Perhaps as serious as it could be when you know that the answer will be NO. And late in the hour a woman who occasionally delivers treats to the vigil stopped to give us a tasty quick bread.

Friday June 1

A new month, our wars continue. Two people to start the hour, half a dozen at the end. We got a report from someone who had participated in an Occupy Corvallis protest earlier in the day at a Corvallis branch of Chase bank. Some of us did not know about the protest, some had forgotten. :(