Saturday, 29 September

A young woman was watching for us shortly before 5 & as we stepped to the curb she walked up with us and raised her hand in the peace sign.  When the signs arrived she selected one and said "I may be too young to vote; but I can still speak my mind."  A bit later a Saturday vigiler from Albany arrived with a generous portion of the voter guide compiled by the Rural Organizing Project.  Our young visitor happily took two for her sister & her mother.  People often say, with a bit of dismissal, "does it make a difference?" - the vigil, that is & this young woman is sufficient for me.  A place to "speak her mind" and a place to gain valuable information about statewide politics.
Later in the vigil another young woman walked up carrying her young daughter.  "I know you are just people standing her protesting war; but can I ask you a question?"  She's been thinking about war and our country and the world and what it means to be a mother.  She thought that we'd all been thinking about these questions and how did we come to believe in Peace.  A long and friendly conversation ensued.  How does one come to see and hear beyond the myths and propaganda?  Once the questions begin, it is hard to go back.   Her questions reflected the serious thought that led her to come inquiring of us.  Good & evil,  what about other countries where there is genocide, what about Hitler?  Ah, Hitler - the emblematic evil doer - surely we needed war to stop him?  My vigil companion in this conversation, acknowledged the wrongs of the Nazi's and gently said some things our government does are equally evil.  I keep wondering if she heard that.  All & all - it felt important that we three took counsel together  on the sidewalk.
Does the vigil make a difference?  Yes

Friday September 28

Three people to start, five at 6:00PM. The hour was uneventful.

Thursday September 27

Four of us at the beginning of the hour, seven at the end. A friend stopped by to introduce to us visitors from Tunisia, a university professor and his family. It would be good if we could speak Arabic as well as they spoke English.

Wednesday September 26

Four of us for the hour. Today we were an information booth; one person asked where to register to vote, another for directions to the Corvallis Sports Park.

Tuesday September 25

Nine or ten of us through the hour. We had chocolates from Portland and a lively discussion of how best "to save the world" -- maybe humankind needs saving, maybe not the world? Local musician Mark Weiss came by to thank us by giving each participant a copy of his CD "I Believe In You". Thanks for the vote of appreciation.

Monday September 24

Four at 5:00PM, fourteen at the end of the vigil. We talked a bit about using social media to promote peace-and-justice work, but none of us have much experience with Facebook and Twittr and such. After the vigil some of us stayed behind to pick up pinwheels from the courthouse lawn.

Sunday September 23

Three to start the hour, six at the end. The pinwheels in the courthouse lawn from Saturday's workshop provided a colorful background.

Saturday September 22

It had been a busy day at the courthouse, with the Corvallis Fall Festival in Central Park and  Pinwheels for Peace on the courthouse lawn. Four people showed up to start the vigil, and we had about eight at the end. I found it ironic that on World Car-free Day, the parking spaces around the courthouse were completely filled, with much more traffic than most Saturdays. :(

Friday September 21

Some of the vigil regulars were away, so we had three people for the first half-hour, then six or seven for the second. We talked about the moral hazard of running a social change nonprofit organization in our contemporary money-driven culture.

Thursday September 20

Three people at 5:00PM, then the signs arrived a couple of minutes later, nine or ten at the end of the hour. We wondered whether tomatoes will continue to ripen as the weather cools. And we signed a good-wishes card to Mark Kenney, imprisoned in Minnesota for civil disobedience opposing the United States' use of Reaper drones.

Wednesday September 19

Four people at the beginning of the hour, without the trademark van; then about eight at 6:00PM.

Tuesday September 18

Four people and the signs showed up five minutes early, an unusual early presence. The numbers grew to eight during the hour. We had three visitors, one a supportive passerby, one a friend with a gift of apple cake, and just before 6:00PM, Seth Woolley, the Pacific Green Party candidate for Oregon Secretary of State. Seth is doing a campaign bicycle tour of all 36 Oregon county seats; Corvallis is stop #9, and Albany will be stop #34. His website is seth4sos.org .

Monday September 17

Five of us early in the hour, eight or nine when I left at 5:45. A car full of young people gave us enthusiastic support, helping to keep up our spirits. So did an ice cream bar. :)

Sunday September 16

Four people at 5:00PM, seven and a dog when the clock struck six. We talked about how to observe the eleven-year anniversary of the vigil and about reaching out to other groups. If you have comments, let us know at alt2war@gmail.com .

Saturday September 15

Three to start the hour, eight at the end. We mostly talked about food: plums, pears, and pizza.

Friday 14 September

My grandson chose to come to the vigil again today and he made three for much of the hour.  His choice to join us is in part motivated by his 6 year old desire to get a truck driver to both wave and sound his air horn.  He also knows the vigil is important to me and that I have strong feelings about creating peace.  I've not been reticent to point out that that "cool jet" roaring over our town before a football game was built for only one purpose and that is to do harm to people and all other living things.  
I am undeniably pleased that he is standing there with me.  Today we talked about making a sign just for him - something easier for him to hold.  Eventually we could count 5 for some part of the hour.

Thursday, 13 September

Arriving 10 past the hour, I find 1 standing with signs waiting.  We speak of others and of our day.  The traffic is light but the drivers continue with the recent trend of positive responses and enthusiastic ones at that.  One more arrives and then a fourth. By the close we count ourselves six.

Tuesday September 11

Eleven years since the attack on the World Trade Center. Four people at the beginning, ten at the end, lots of conversation but no discussion of the anniversary or of our War on Terror.

Monday September 10

Two people arrived at 5:01, the signs arrived a couple of minutes later, and at the end we had six people. A quotation "I don't want peace, I want equal rights and justice" provoked an passionate discussion about justice and retribution and reconciliation.

Saturday September 8

Four people at 5:00PM, six when the courthouse clock struck six. We talked about movies which we saw as children. Someone driving by yelled, "OSU won, so you're safe."

Thursday September 6

Five of us at the beginning, ten toward the end. A six-year-old child held a sign almost as big as he was. [We are always happy when young folks join us. :)] Near the end two college students, from Western Washington State University and the University of Chicago, stopped to ask about peace-and-justice activism in Corvallis.

Wednesday September 5

Two people waited on a bench for the vigil to begin, then three more when 5:00PM struck on the courthouse clock, and finally nine at the end of the vigil. A friend from Sodaville joined us. Our conversation included broken bones, birthdays, and street art.

Tuesday September 4

Three or four at 5:00PM, six or seven at the end. A passing truck offered two peace signs and one half-peace-sign. We hope that we were responsible for a dialogue. :)

Monday September 3

Labor Day 2012. Four people at the beginning of the hour, six at the end. Conversation ranged from recipes and old cookbooks to aches and pains and acupuncture.

Sunday September 2

Half a dozen of us; an uneventful end-of-summer afternoon at the vigil.

Saturday September 1

The first day of September. OSU's season-opening football game was cancelled [:( or :)] because stormy weather kept the opponent from leaving Louisiana. Three or four at the start of the vigil, at the end six standing and three on the bench. We discussed the film Salt of the Earth and signed birthday cards.

Friday August 31

On the last day of August, we had three at the beginning and six at the end. We talked about buying new cars, and Steve Frank, a Lebanon man who is running for the Oregon State Senate, stopped to give us a campaign flyer.