Saturday October 6

After too much to do in the afternoon, I arrived halfway through the hour. The nine people present when I came stayed until the end. In one conversation we talked about the complex of issues around ethics and lawfulness, with respect to the United States taking of Native American lands and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

Friday October 5

Today we marked the eleventh anniversary of the attack on Afghanistan and the start of the vigil. The Afghanistan war began October 7, 2001, so we were two days early, taking advantage of more traffic on Friday. A friend of the vigil had made two new banners -- thanks! About forty people were a presence all along the block in front of the courthouse. Much of the time our wars leave me in sorrow and despair, and I am grateful for the people who stand with us.

Thursday October 4

No one on the sidewalk when the clock struck 5:00. :( Then four people by five minutes after the hour, and maybe seven at the end of the vigil. One person brought a small American flag with a sign "The 1% should pay more taxes", which set off an interesting discussion about flags and patriotism--with no resolution.

Wednesday October 3

Four people to start the hour, seven of us (plus three dogs) at the end. I suspect like many residents of Corvallis, we talked about the power outage that started a bit before 11:00AM. It lasted long enough for me to wonder how we would live without electricity. Would there be more or less war?

Tuesday October 2

Four of us at 5:00PM, eight or nine at 6:00. One of our friends and occasional participants brought an earth flag to donate. The flag that has marked our stretch of sidewalk for thousands of evenings is noticeably worn, but we have mixed feelings about replacing it.

Monday October 1

The first day of October. Three to begin the hour, maybe nine at the end. Monday is cookie day, and we had a choice of chocolate chip cookies or icebox cookies. :)

Sunday September 30

Three at 5:00PM, seven of us at the end. Just before 6:00 three young folks crossed the street to talk to us, a young woman and two young Iranian men. The three were visiting Corvallis from Portland. The woman had played in an ultimate frisbee tournament at Willamette Park. The Iranians both bemoaned the situation in their country and agreed that war would be not make it better.