Tuesday February 28

Wet, windy, and chilly -- the five or six of us had a companionable hour, but when the courthouse clock struck six, we did not linger to put away the signs and our umbrellas.

Monday, 27 February

I arrived a few minutes past 5.  Four were there; one a new woman.  The nearby bench was festively decorated with assorted umbrellas drying.  7 for some section of the hour; one came bearing gingerbread people.   Near the end a high energy young woman danced into our midst saying it had been a great day and she'd like to stand with us.  She danced with her sign; cheerful and vibrant  she said she'll be there again.  And,  one must not neglect to mention - one dog for the hour.

Sunday February 26

Three or four of us to start the hour, eight at the end. It was rainy and cold, and at the end we hurried to put the signs away.

Saturday February 25

Four of us for most of the hour. There is a website of pictures from the Iraq war with the disclaimer "The images on this website are gut-wrenching", and we looked at some photographs. Gut-wrenching indeed. What is the effect of looking at pictures like that? :(

Friday February 24

Half a dozen people throughout a rainy hour. We had a long discussion about showing graphic images of casualties of the US wars: would that shock people into thinking about what war is really like? or would it simply shock and offend? We reached no conclusion. 

Thursday February 23

Today the vigil was extended to almost two hours. The local chapters of Americans for Prosperity and the Tea Party held a rally on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse from 4:30PM to 6:00. In order not to struggle for sidewalk space, we started the peace vigil around 4:00PM. Our presence there before 5:00PM startled some passersby, used to seeing us only at our "regular" time -- one person did a double take and glanced up at the courthouse clock. :)
There was some dialogue, but generally the two groups are simply addressing different issues. The AfP and Tea Party folks were particularly concerned about how a riparian zone established by Benton County affects rights of private property.

Wednesday February 22

Four or five to start the hour, thirteen at the end.