Vigils in September 2023

[Brian]

A small rain cell broke off from the mountains just before this Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil, drenching Anni's car as we arrived early.  Despite the humidity, the temperature in the mid-70's was a relief from the summer's heat.  It stayed relatively dry for the rest of the vigil, and though it was the beginning of the Labor Day weekend, foot and wheel traffic gradually picked up over the next 90 minutes.  The honks, waves and peace signs from passing vehicles were more plentiful and enthusiastic than usual.  Two couples stopped to talk for a while and many other folks thanked us for demonstrating every week as they walked by.

Nine regulars made it to the corner, matching our average weekly attendance last month as vacations continue to reduce our turnout.  In order of appearance:  Anni, me, Jeanne, Russell, Mike, Nancy, Jim, Dennis and Frannie.

As a reminder, we stand on the northwest corner of Ocean View Boulevard and Honolulu Avenue near the Vietnam War memorial in Montrose, CA 91020 every Friday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. without regard to the weather or holidays -- we haven't missed a vigil since January 2006. Please stop by sometime if you can.

Since October 2011, we have printed and displayed every Defense Department news release announcing the deaths of soldiers, Marines, sailors and Airmen in our many ongoing military operations around the world.  About 2,500 troops remain in Iraq and 900 in Syria with countless more troops operating in Africa.  The Pentagon reported no uniformed U.S. casualties in the previous seven days.

[Roberta]

Again, I’m missing the vigil and I’m not even traveling. Blame our good friends whom we have been struggling to find a time to get together with and who couldn’t find any other day/time. I’ll be back next week, I promise. If any of you regulars could get there at 5:30 I know our stalwart on-timers would be happy to see you. To expiate my guilt I wrote and mailed 3 letters today: 1) to Governor Newsom urging that he ask for Feinstein’s resignation and immediately appoint Barbara Lee the replacement U.S. Senator, having promised he would appoint a Black woman; 2) to both Pres. Biden and Rep. Schiff asking for cuts to DoD and other militarized spending, to be used instead for urgent unmet human needs in the U.S.

[Brian]

Thanks, Roberta!  Anni and I were by ourselves for just ten minutes before Dennis arrived at this Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil, followed soon after by Nancy and Jim.  Later we were joined by Bruce, Mike, Frannie, John the Realtor and a spontaneous sign holder -- our first since July 14 -- for a total of ten participants.

A teenager on a scooter (appropriately wearing his helmet) approached Mike to ask if he could hold Mike's sign about the Golden Rule, which he did briefly.  I was the last to leave the corner and as I walked up Ocean View Boulevard with the big folding Montrose Peace Vigil signboard pictured above and a Know Justice Know Peace sign, the teen was standing outside the sandwich shop.  He asked if he could keep my sign.  Well, I said, we want to use it again next week.  "Can I hold it?" he asked.  I gave it him and he displayed it for his friends eating inside.  When he handed it back, I invited him to come back any Friday between 5:30 and 7 p.m. so we could pick out something from Anni's sign bag that he could have.

My favorite conversation, however, was started earlier by a pedestrian who came up to ask me what my Imagine World Peace sign meant.  I gave him my usual answer:  we're all still living with war and too few people are paying attention, so I hope to prompt some of them to think about alternatives.  He then launched into an inspired talk about how if we eliminated borders, nations would no longer fight about territory and there would be no need for soldiers to kill each other.  We are all God's children, he said, a humankind.

In the previous seven days, the Department of Defense reported no military deaths in Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria or in any of the other named U.S. operations underway around the world.

[Brian]

When a store owner was killed in Lake Arrowhead last month for displaying a Pride flag, I wanted to answer the call for all friends of LGTBQ people to bring out their Pride flags, but I don't own one.  So I asked the folks at the Montrose Peace Vigil the next Friday if anybody had one that we could display on the corner.  On Wednesday, Roberta sent me an e-mail saying she just acquired a flag and attached the jpg inserted below.  Logged in message board members can enlarge this image by clicking on it.



That's a Progress Pride flag. Check out this excellent webpage by the Victoria and Albert Museum in the U.K. about the symbolism of the colors from the first rainbow flag in 1978 -- and other versions throughout the decades -- to the origin of the Progress Pride flag and its popularity since its creation in 2018:

www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-progress-pride-flag

[Brian]

We displayed Roberta's Progress Pride flag for the first time at this Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil, clipped along the string of lights that wraps around the tree trunk in the central patch of grass on the corner.  Better than mounting it on a flagpole, I think, because it's too big for me to hold for 90 minutes and I wouldn't plant a pole in the grass.  I'd love to hear other ideas.

Turnout matched last week's total of ten participants, with a substantially different cast of regulars.  In order of appearance:  Anni, me, Roberta, Dennis, Jeanne, Mary, Nancy, Frannie, Russell and Jim.

The Department of Defense reported no uniformed casualties in the previous seven days.

[Brian]

This week's Montrose Peace Vigil took place on the last day of summer, the hottest season in human history worldwide although it seemed mild in Southern California compared to the previous three summers, which made the top ten hottest list since white people came here with thermometers.  The temperature was 70 degrees with a slight breeze under overcast skies, like a day in May.  The official sunset time was 6:50 but the sun disappears behind the Verdugo Hills long before that, so it was nearly dark when we left the corner.

Eight regulars participated:  Jeanne, Anni, me, Roberta, Dennis, Bruce, Nancy and Frannie, in order of appearance.

No U.S. military deaths were reported in the previous seven days.

[Brian]

Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away Thursday night, hours after casting her final vote to keep the federal government running. The flag over the Vietnam War memorial was being lowered to half-mast just as we arrived on the corner for this Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil.

Participating, in order of appearance, were Anni, me, Jeanne, Dennis, Russell, Frannie, Jim, Bruce, Mike and Yoshio -- it was great to see him again!  Fourteen peaceniks demonstrated this month.  The turnout each week:

• Sept. 1 - 9
• Sept. 8 - 10
• Sept. 15 - 10
• Sept. 22 - 8
• Sept. 29 - 10

This month's weekly average rounds down to 9 participants, the same as August, after averaging 11 in July and June, 12 in May, 13 in April, 12 in March, 10 in February, 12 in January, 11 in December and November, 12 in October and 9 in September 2022.

For the 18th week in a row, no U.S. casualties in operations were reported by the Pentagon.