Brian
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Post by Brian on Oct 3, 2009 0:38:29 GMT -8
Sixteen solid citizens attended the first vigil of October last night -- and solidified plans for two more celebrations of peace on the corner this month.
We will gather under the flag next Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 6 to 7 p.m. for what we call a Curveball vigil, our first in many weeks, to mark the eighth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan.
The Peaceful Example Performance will debut in a rehearsal at the regular Friday evening vigil on Oct. 30. The next day, our costumed impersonators of historical pacifists will blend in with the Montrose Shopping Park's Halloween festivities at 5 p.m., giving candy and goodwill to all.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Oct 5, 2009 23:22:24 GMT -8
Not many hours remain (as I write this) until the Montrose Peace Vigil observance of the Afghanistan war's eighth anniversary -- we're doing it Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 6 to 7 p.m. on the corner of Honolulu and Ocean View. We'll meet again next Friday from 5:30 to 7 p.m., as we have every week for nearly five years. Meanwhile, I've updated the monthly average attendance that I've been compiling since the 2008 Presidential election. September showed a big increase over August, and added one whole person to the ten-month average of 14.3: - Nov. - 16.5
- Dec. - 13.6
- Jan. - 14.0
- Feb. - 14.5
- Mar. - 15.2
- Apr. - 12.4
- May - 16.2
- June - 14.5
- July - 14.3
- Aug. - 11.5
- Sept. - 15.3
If you disregard the May average, which includes 28 participants at our second Bed-In, then September was the best month since last November, despite fewer kids joining in -- many old friends have returned to the corner and we keep finding new stalwarts. Enough of the numbers. All that counts is showing up and taking a stand.
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anni
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Post by anni on Oct 6, 2009 19:18:56 GMT -8
I hope we'll see many of you on the corner tomorrow, Tuesday Oct. 6th, 6-7 pm for our curveball commemorating the Afghanistan invasion 8 long (futile? deadly? wasteful?) years ago. Yay! That was so nice to see folks at a Curveball! And Roberta made a really fine interactive banner to commemorate our dead soldiers in Afghanistan. Each of us could take a rectangle and fill it with red marks representing 50 dead. It was quite moving. Thank you, Roberta.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Oct 6, 2009 23:00:35 GMT -8
All I can add to Anni's post is how kind it was of Jeanne and Nancy to show up with their guitars at the Curveball vigil.
And report the attendance, of course, which was nine -- a good turnout for a Tuesday, a school night and one that was somewhat chilly and now dark long before 7. Traffic on the streets and sidewalks was much lighter than the slowest Friday I remember.
Tonight, a flag fluttered over the war memorial and there were no counterprotesters on the opposite corner. All of the honks, peace signs, thumbs up and waves from drivers and conversations with pedestrians supported our observance of the eighth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan.
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Roberta
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Post by Roberta on Oct 7, 2009 12:02:02 GMT -8
I also want to commend our 20 activists (and 2 strangers -- I wanted every line filled!) at last Friday's vigil who signed the Code Pink petition calling for diplomacy, not war, in Afghanistan. I sent it winging off on Saturday, and while snail mail isn't instantaneous as email is, I think it still has more impact, particularly with a full page of signatures. We should take credit for the "disarray" among war-planners, as Tuesday's L.A. Times headline termed it, and keep it up on all fronts.
I missed it, but Mike told me last night a little boy shouted back at us after crossing the street, "You're right!"
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Post by Sigrid on Oct 9, 2009 11:42:10 GMT -8
8 years --sigh. i was happy to see in Brian's post that the curve-ball corner was held by 9 (highest single digit!) of you. i was looking forward to wearing the Montrose P&J Vigil tank top that Roberta dug up for me to the event, but i broke my pinky toe; thus i'll not be there today either. hopin' next friday i'll be able to amble (hobble) over to corner. keep up the good work, Sigrid
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anni
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Post by anni on Oct 9, 2009 13:52:50 GMT -8
but i broke my pinky toe; thus i'll not be there today either. hopin' next friday i'll be able to amble (hobble) over to corner. keep up the good work, Sigrid Oh, Sigrid, I'm so sorry for you AND your toe! I've heard 'Chicken Soup' is good for whatever ails you. Hope the toe isn't too sore! LOVE!!! anni
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Oct 10, 2009 0:22:45 GMT -8
The sun was already behind the Verdugo Hills when I drove up to the vigil before 6 p.m. Autumn is here and the frozen yogurt eaters have thinned on the corner. But the car traffic and support from drivers and passengers was strong. Here's the Montrose Peace Vigil attendance for the month so far: - Oct. 2 - 16
- Oct. 6 - 9 (Curveball)
- Oct. 9 - 11
Two kids walking by at 7 asked to join in, so they chose signs and added to the count. A few stalwarts were off but Louisa was back from her travels and Cynthia brought another great friend. To Jeanne: The Bob Dylan song I was straining to remember wasn't from the album we were discussing, "Saved." It came from "Shot of Love" -- "Every Grain of Sand," not just the best of his Jesus period, but a certifiable Dylan standard.
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Post by Jeanne on Oct 12, 2009 17:57:07 GMT -8
To Jeanne: The Bob Dylan song I was straining to remember wasn't from the album we were discussing, "Saved." It came from "Shot of Love" -- "Every Grain of Sand," not just the best of his Jesus period, but a certifiable Dylan standard. Yes, Brian, Every Grain of Sand is a song and a half. So different from the Christmas song I heard on line. It sounded like a polka. He's like Gumbie.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Oct 17, 2009 0:18:19 GMT -8
Attendance at Friday evening's vigil hit double digits although the temperature was nearly triple: - Oct. 2 - 16
- Oct. 6 - 9 (Curveball)
- Oct. 9 - 11
- Oct. 16 - 10
We managed to occupy all three patches of grass despite no passersby spontaneously joining. Great to see Irene again! The yogurt business was up from chilly last Friday but way down from the summer, when people lingered on the bench and ate, watching us like television. Now for my tangent of the week: Everybody has his or her own reasons for going to the vigils -- and former regulars have theirs for not showing up much anymore. Anni was talking to someone who's conflicted about opposing the Afghanistan war, saying she doesn't know enough about it and wants "to give Obama a chance." These days, she's been volunteering heavily for Meals on Wheels instead. I've been waving signs at Ocean View and Honolulu since August 2006, so I understand why those who were mostly passionate about impeaching Bush are long gone, for instance. But some 130,000 troops remain in Iraq with only 5000 said to come home by year's end. Ironic that Move On dot org and our counterprotesters across the street share the same opinion about that occupation -- mission accomplished.
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