Vigils in December 2020

[Brian]

The county just imposed its third set of pandemic restrictions in ten days and it appears that more people are taking them seriously and staying home.  At this Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil, we saw even fewer pedestrians than last week, a holiday weekend.  The city finally removed the remaining tables in the banned outdoor dining areas.  And vehicle traffic virtually disappeared after the first half of the vigil.   We're grateful for the honks and waves we got.

Seven regulars came to the corner this week.

Since October 2011, we have displayed every Defense Department news release announcing the deaths of soldiers, sailors and airmen in our many unconstitutional wars during the vigils. Anni taped a printout of last Saturday's Pentagon news release, which is linked below, on the utility pole. The death of the young Air Force doctor was the first casualty reported by the Pentagon since September 16, which also involved an airman in a vehicle accident.

www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2428843/dod-identifies-air-force-casualty/

This is a silent video of the dignified transfer of Captain Kelliann Leli's remains at Dover Air Force Base on Monday:

[Brian]

Foot and wheel traffic goes down every week, yet we had more conversations with passersby per capita at this Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil than we did before the pandemic.  It was so quiet on the street that I had two brief exchanges with drivers waiting for the green light on eastbound Honolulu Avenue -- with a young man who asked what wars my sign was referring to and with a woman who thanked us for being there.

Again, seven regulars participated, but it wasn't exactly the same cast of characters.  Roberta, Jeanne, Bruce, Anni and I came to the corner both weeks.  This week, Nancy and Jim replaced John and Justeen, who drove from west Van Nuys for last week's vigil.

The Department of Defense reported no military deaths in Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Afghanistan, Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria or in any of the many other operations underway around the world.

[anni]

Here we are sharing the corner with the nutcracker. Thanks to Roberta for the great photo!

Socially distanced from left: Brian, Jeanne wearing hoodie, the Nutcracker, Bruce holding candle behind the tree, and Anni.

[Brian]

Nancy, Roberta and me forefront at last week's vigil, with Bruce in background.

Pedestrians were scarce during this Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil, and there were times after 6 p.m. when only one or two vehicles were visible in all directions.  Surprisingly, the Coffee Bean across the street, which was always open for take out throughout the pandemic, has been shuttered since Thursday at least with the sign on the door offering no explanation.  Even the hair salon that skirted previous restrictions was closed.  Covid infections are everywhere, including Montrose.  My cat's appointment at the veterinarian was canceled this week because of an outbreak in the office.

Seven vigil stalwarts stood this week:  Jim, Roberta, Anni, me, Jeanne, Justeen and Nancy, in order of appearance.  Jim got to the corner around 5 p.m. as usual, so most vigils now last two hours.

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

[Sharon W]

Thank you all for standing for peace and justice. I hope you all stay well. We sent 150 postcards to Georgia likely Democratic voters the past week as our demonstration from home.

[Brian]

Bill, Anni and me at the second Christmas Day Montrose Peace Vigil in 2015.

Borrowing from "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," John and Yoko Ono Lennon's immortal holiday song:  So this is Christmas.  What have we done?

There has been a Montrose Peace Vigil every Friday without fail since January 2006 -- and that includes Christmas Day 2009 and 2015.  Here's what I wrote about the most recent Christmas Day, when we had not one but two vigils -- starting with a daytime vigil for stalwarts who had Christmas celebrations to attend in the evening:

Dec 26, 2015 0:30:59 GMT -8 Brian said:

Bill took a photo of Roberta, Jim, Rosalind and Sharon at the Montrose Peace Vigil's Christmas matinee from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. [Seen at this link: www.flickr.com/photos/21249015@N07/24009340272/in/album-72157660735634843/]  I'm happy to report that Bruce was there too...

Bill and Sharon returned to the corner to chill out with Anni and me during this Friday's regular Montrose Peace Vigil from 5:30 to 7 p.m., followed by Jeanne.  The temperature was in the 40's with winds that ran from light breezes to occasional gusts big enough to knock down our heavy plastic folding sign.  I was surprised by the number of friendly pedestrians and people in passing vehicles, and all of their Christmas cheer and goodwill, when the only open store I saw was the Coffee Bean.

Looking back, it's remarkable how much traffic we had. How will things be this Christmas during a pandemic?

The weather promises to be much nicer this Friday, with a forecasted high temperature of 70 degrees.

For reference, nine people participated in the Christmas Day vigil in 2009, the same number who showed up for both vigils in 2015.  The average weekly attendance in December 2015 was only 9 demonstrators.

[Brian]

This Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil was the third Christmas Day on the corner in our 15 years of uninterrupted weekly vigils.  But this year we're suffering a pandemic that's growing exponentially worse every week.  I assume that the few pedestrians who passed were out for exercise because every business was closed, even the pizza place.  Thanks to the couple who applauded us as they strode by!

Between 5:20 and 7 p.m., seven vigil stalwarts stood with signs, candles and holiday light strands draped around our torsos.  Many times we outnumbered every person within sight in every direction, whether in vehicles or on foot.

Here's my census for December 2020:

• Dec. 4 - 7
• Dec. 11 - 7
• Dec. 18 - 7
• Dec. 25 - 7

Needless to say, this month's weekly average is exactly 7 participants, after averaging 8 in November, 10 in October, 9 in September, 11 in August, 10 in July, 14 in June, 10 in May and April, 12 in March, February and January and 13 in December 2019.

For the third week in a row, the Defense Department announced no military deaths.