Friday, 29 April

Sunshine for the hour!  Five at the curb at 5.  Four at 6. Two more for the middle portion.  A man stopped to ask: (I paraphrase)with a democrat as President who somehow seemed to represent something better, a different perspective [Change & Hope] and now we are bombing Libya; what do you do?  He talked quietly with one of our group and left.    Is that not the question we all ask in one form or another?

Thursday, April 28

Slim numbers - 7 for the majority of the hour.  7 and one visiting crow commenting upon our presence from the arching street light support above us.

Wednesday, April 27

If the tales were true the wind today might have carried us and our signs over the rooftops. And, if the tales were of the folk & fairy variety we might have landed at the ogre's doorstep or the hag's hearth... Or maybe in a postmodern tale we'd end up in a corporate boardroom or the halls of Congress where, with our mythical 3 wishes and our combined wisdom, we would dismantle the Oligarchy and transform the habits of war into compassion and selfless generosity.
As it was this blustery day found 11 of us holding firm to the curb in front of Benton County Courthouse, signs in hand and the Earth flag flying high.

Tuesday April 26

Nine people when the clock chimed six o'clock. Discussions included, what do people think of Wyoming? and scoring in golf. Tomorrow we will work on ending the war.

Monday April 25

Eleven people when the clock struck six. No VW van this afternoon. The Monday treat was gluten-free brownies.

Sunday April 24

Five of us to start the hour, seven at the end. The students from Western Oregon University brought the reading list for their courses Causes of Peace.

Saturday April 23

A lovely warm Saturday turned chilly about 5:00PM. Five people at the start of the hour, ten when we ended. Several of them were visitors from Portland.

Friday, 22 April, Earth Day

Two for the first long stretch of the hour - just us and the wind whipping about the Earth flag. Well, there were numerous friendly passersby.  A man walked over from the bus station wanting to ask some questions.  He said he's seen one of our signs naming Israel and he wondered what we had to say about that country.  He told us he's just getting informed from reading Facebook about issues around Israel.  We gave our varied opinions.  I suggested he visit End The Occupation.  Then he asked what we knew about HARP and how it is responsible for all these bad storms.  I invited him to join us anytime he wants to talk.  He did not say ay or nay to that.  As he left more folks arrived and by my count there were ten people and 2 dogs. And, a second visitor - a young man on a bike, curious.

Thursday April 21

Sunny but chilly at the vigil. Five people at the start, seven at the end. Some discussion of the relationship between Christianity and paganism, and of a talk by Sam Richards on "a radical experiment in empathy".

Wednesday April 20

About nine people at the vigil tonight. Some folks went to Eugene, where Noam Chomsky spoke to a crowd which filled three medium-size lecture halls.

Tuesday April 19

Fourteen people ended the vigil at 6:00PM. We had two visitors from Vancouver, Thomas and Barbara. Visitors are always welcome [as are regular attendees :)].

Monday April 18

The deadline for filing income tax returns was a slow day at the vigil -- two people at 5:00PM, seven when we ended.
A young mother wheeling a pram stopped for five minutes to hold up the two-finger peace sign. She let us look at her baby, 4-1/2 months old. It was a bright spot of the hour.

Sunday, April 17

2 dogs and 15 people, one a visitor from California.    Almost sunny with pink petal drifts in the flower beds.  Our young researchers from the Causes of Peace class made their Sunday visit.

Saturday, April 16

Was it the fact of income tax time that brought so many to the vigil today?  It was not the bright sunshine.  We began with 6 and grew to number 16.  Discussion about the tea party presence in the morning - I'd walked by and read some of the usual libertarian slogans - all their flag waving seems contrary to the intent to defund government.

Friday April 15

Five people to start the vigil, nine when we ended.
The man holding the Israeli flag has been back at his post for a couple of days. We bid farewell when the clock strikes 6:00.

Thursday April 14

Cold, windy and showery. Four people at 5:00PM, six at the end. An enthusiastic discussion, what was the weather like in February?

Tuesday April 12

Four people when the vigil started at 5:00PM, nine at 6:00PM.
On April 4 a lone man held up an Israeli flag at the northeast corner of the courthouse block. Until today, he has returned every day since April 4. Agree or disagree politically, I do admire his courage to stand alone.

April 11, 2011

A quiet day at the vigil. Three people at 5:00PM, seven when the hour ended.

Saturday April 9

Just after we gathered at 5:00PM, a friendly fellow ambled across 4th Street to ask, Can I hold a sign that says, "Shut down the schools and fuel the army"?! With the budget agreement, it seems like that is the way the United States is going.
Later in the hour a lady passing by thanked us for our presence. We appreciate the encouragement.
Five people to start the vigil, seven at 6:00PM.

Friday April 8, 2011

An early spring day at the vigil. Four folks came at 5:00PM, seven at 6:00.

photographs from March 19 memorial for 2003 invasion of Iraq

10 circling the intersection at Circle and 9th

01 Iraqi social worker speaking before the procession

02 pups for peace

03 the head of the funeral procession

04 the funeral procession by Harrison Avenue

05 coffins at the National Guard Armory

06 coffins at the National Guard Armory

07 Stop the War at the National Guard Armory

08 silence at the National Guard Armory

09 walking circle at Circle and 9th

April 5, 2011

Seven of us for much of the hour, including a visitor from Los Angeles. It was cold, but there were oatmeal raisin cookies for an un- birthday celebration.
A woman stopped to inquire, "What are you doing?"
"We are against the war."
"Which war?"
"We are against all war."
"Well, so am I, but I don't know what else to do."

Monday, April 4

March winds still blowing, holding one of  the wooden signs aloft I was nearly tipped over by a gust of wind; a comic moment.   Laughter is a regular part of our peaceful vigil.  4 when I arrived - 8 for most of the hour. 9 people in all & yummy chocolate brownies.  Occasionally a woman with a sign linking cost of war and our local economic woes stands alone at the corner of Monroe; she says her sign is seen better when the traffic stops there.  She was there this blustery April 4.  And, late in the hour, near to the corner of Jackson a lone man unfurled an Israeli flag.

Sunday April 3

Fourteen people to end the vigil. We had an interesting discussion with two young folks, enrolled in a course Causes of Peace at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. We are always happy for visitors, young or of any age.
One car drove by and yelled, Kill them all. The next encouraging gestures were particularly welcome. I wonder, where do those angry words come from?

Saturday April 2

Lots of people at today's gathering, with a weekend attendee from Albany. Maybe eight people to begin the vigil, thirteen at the end.
We noticed more gestures of disagreement from passersby today, and are wondering what was different.

Friday April 1

Four people to start the vigil, twelve when the hour ended. Yesterday's spring weather was gone, and traffic jams made some drivers impatient.

Thursday March 31

Clif Kenagy passed away this week. Thanks for your work, Clif.

Thursday March 31

It seemed like the first day of spring. We had our gloves off, passing cars had windows rolled down. The trees in front of the courthouse looked completely in bloom.
There was a passionate discussion of the pros and cons of wearing a helmet on a motorcycle. Now if we could just stop the war(s) ...
Four people at the beginning, eleven at the end.