Vigils in November

[Brian]

The American flag is back on Fridays, courtesy of Montrose Peace Vigil.

Every Friday for four of our six years on the corner, the shopping park association has taken down the flag that used to wave 24 hours a day, seven days a week over the Vietnam War memorial installed there in 1968. I was only a kid, but I was at the ceremony to dedicate the plaques honoring local soldiers who were drafted and killed in combat, so I felt the flag's removal was a greater disrespect to them than it was meant to be for Montrose Peace Vigil. I used to stand next to the pole with a helium balloon replica of the flag.

Mike, an engineer, had a better idea. He designed a telescoping flagpole made with soft plastic tubes that could reach half way but never leave a mark on the permanent pole. Then he went to the Department of Defense website every week and compiled the press releases announcing those who died, which he posts to explain why our flag is at half mast -- and why we are still there.

I took over that duty this week, and it is a solemn and moving one. Here's the notice going up this Friday:

Attachments:

[Brian]

The rain let up just before vigil time at 5:30 Friday evening, but not the cold. Still, eight Montrose Peace Vigil stalwarts made it to the corner this week under our undersized American flag to greet the lighter than usual foot and wheel traffic -- and make a stand for peace.

I'm not the only one eagerly anticipating the fourth annual Crescenta Valley Empty Bowls fundraiser to feed the hungry next Saturday, November 12, at Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church. We're covering Empty Bowls 2011 on this page of the message board:

montrosepeacevigil.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=talk2&action=display&thread=203&page=1

[Brian]

Big drops fell on the corner for about three minutes this Friday, but I wouldn't say that it rained on the latest Montrose Peace Vigil. Road traffic was holiday light, and we saw fewer pedestrians as well this Veterans Day. Nonetheless, we had half again as many participants -- 12 -- compared to last week, including Dave, who hadn't been at a vigil for years, and Susan, who was in town to help set up the church auditorium for Saturday's Crescenta Valley Empty Bowls fundraiser. It was especially wonderful to get to hang out with Susan again because I had just mentioned her on the message board last night.

And where were the veterans who usually counter-protest across the street? We showed up to represent our nation's original November 11 holiday, Armistice Day. Jim and Roberta raised our flag on Mike's custom flagpole since he was delayed at work. On it, I posted the weekly list of soldiers who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, which you can download in this attachment:

Attachments:

[anni]

Here's the picture perfect proof we were on the corner, on Armistice Day, 11/11/11 and it was already dark. Our first vigil to celebrate the return of Pacific Standard Time! HOORAH!



Is Bruce already cultivating some Christmas mischief?
(See red light above his head)

[Brian]

The past few weeks, several former Montrose Peace Vigil participants who we haven't seen in months or even years returned to the corner. On Friday, Victoria, Chris, Michael and Joy joined us. I hope this trend continues -- just think of all the wonderful people who've been part of Montrose Peace Vigil over nearly six years. This month's census:

• Nov. 4 - 8
  
• Nov. 11 - 12
  
• Nov. 18 - 13
  

Jim and Roberta again raised the American flag on Mike's telescoping auxiliary flagpole in Mike's absence and dismantled it in record time afterwards. Here are the men in uniform who were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq as announced in the past seven days by the Department of Defense and posted during our vigil:

Attachments:

[Brian]

This was the sixth Montrose Peace Vigil on the day after Thanksgiving, and I've been at all of them. Last year, the stores were open but the sidewalks and streets were virtually empty. This year, the shopping park association set their Christmas lighting ceremony at 7 p.m., the end time for our vigil, and the city blocked vehicle traffic on Honolulu east of Ocean View across the street from us to accommodate a surprisingly big crowd. The counter-protesters were absent again, but we had a good turnout:

• Nov. 4 - 8
  
• Nov. 11 - 12
  
• Nov. 18 - 13
  
• Nov. 25 - 14
  

The average weekly attendance this month was 12 people, compared to 13 in October and 15 last September, but tying the average participation in November 2010.

Mike's flagpole came down too easily last week for many reasons, we learned this Friday, because Jim was having trouble reassembling it until Mike showed up. Our flag and the weekly tribute to soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq got more attention than ever. You can download our PDF copy of the Pentagon's list:

Attachments:

[anni]

Luckily for me at least two pictures are semi-recognizible. And they are both of Mike's amazing flagpole: