Brian
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Post by Brian on Aug 2, 2013 23:13:56 GMT -8
The weather was good and so was the turnout at this Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil. Sharon and Bill stopped by the corner for half an hour on their way to see Chicago at the Greek. Bruce and Nancy N. were back, and Mark is achieving stalwart status. There were no spontaneous participants, unless you count our old friend Zari, who held a peace symbol while eating her frozen yogurt, saying she felt guilty for not coming to the vigils lately yet staying for awhile to talk about new hope for peace in the Middle East. Twelve people took part this week. Jim and Mike will have their respective vacations next Friday, but Roberta and Jeanne will return from theirs. Anni has Roberta's sign bag. If everything goes as well for me at work next week as it has the past two Fridays, I will be on the corner at 5:30 again with her. During the vigil, we posted a printout of the three-page PDF attached below and available to logged in members -- this week's Pentagon death announcements followed by the just released June suicide data: Attachments:
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Brian
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Posts: 3,802
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Post by Brian on Aug 9, 2013 23:36:48 GMT -8
Everybody who reads the message board was on the corner for this Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil, so I'll keep this report short and just record the attendance: 10 participants. I can never measure the pleasure of speaking out every week with so many wonderful people -- and I can't tally the goodwill we're given from passersby -- but at least I can count us to quantify what we do numerically and narrowly. I won't be there on August 16, so I want to thank Jeanne for agreeing to take the official census for that vigil, as shown here on the Bradley Manning Support Network's website. Attached is the PDF that we posted of the death announcement by the Defense Department this week: Attachments:
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Post by Jeanne on Aug 16, 2013 19:40:19 GMT -8
The weather on the corner was a tad sultry tonight but we Peaceniks were cool and communicating effectively. We had 9 humans standing for peace: Sharon and Bill, Bruce, Nancy, Louisa, Nancy, a visitor from Fullerton named Amanda, Fran, and oh, yeah, I was there. There was one dog.
Amanda found us via Bradley Manning and had lots of questions as she researches a paper for her class on social movements. I am sure that she has a deeper interest beyond fulfilling an assignment. She has a gift for listening and asking insightful questions. I clued her in to this message board. I hope she joins in on some conversation.
We received numerous positive signs from folks in cars and I thoroughly enjoyed a high five with a pedestrian.
So, Brian and anni, Roberta, Jim, we missed you, but I think we managed without you, in case you ever want to take another vacation.
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Brian
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Posts: 3,802
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Post by Brian on Aug 17, 2013 23:31:54 GMT -8
Anni and I stepped out of our cabin to read Jeanne's wonderful report of Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil outdoors among the redwoods to achieve Internet reception on Anni's cellphone that evening. It was great to finally take a vacation after five years, but I really missed being on the corner after 260 weeks in a row. So we especially appreciated all of the heart -- and the details -- that Jeanne put into her post.
Wish we could have met Amanda too! If she comes to this message board, we'd like to thank her for coming so far, and we invite her to post follow up questions or comments she might have -- reply to any topic like this one or click on "new thread" in any of the six departments from the homepage to start another.
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Brian
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Posts: 3,802
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Post by Brian on Aug 23, 2013 23:04:29 GMT -8
Ten stalwarts participated in the August 23 Montrose Peace Vigil. Summer weather has finally arrived on the corner. Even the shouts, gestures and honks from the vehicles and the good words from passersby on the sidewalk seemed warmer than usual while I was there, for the last two thirds of the vigil. Maybe it was my Free Bradley banner, with him finally prominent in the news. A woman who happened to be in Montrose on business stopped to ask when she could come back to stand for peace with our group. Any Friday. Because I was absent from last week's vigil, I combined two weeks of Pentagon death announcements in this Friday's posting on the light pole. Both pages are still available here as a PDF attachment: Attachments:
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Brian
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Posts: 3,802
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Post by Brian on Aug 30, 2013 23:46:31 GMT -8
Anni told me that a woman stepped up to Friday's Montrose Peace Vigil to ask who we were and what we were doing. Then she said that she had been born in Syria, and she thanked us for being there. Later we talked to Vicki -- who participated in the initial Montrose Peace Vigils in 2006 before Anni and I joined in August -- as she was stopped at a red light. She parked and stayed to hold a sign and hang out again. Sometimes I don't know what to say. Numbers can't convey, but I keep track anyway: - Aug. 2 - 12
- Aug. 9 - 10
- Aug. 16 - 9
- Aug. 23 - 10
- Aug. 30 - 12
Rounding up to the nearest whole peacenik thanks to Vicki, Montrose Peace Vigil averaged 11 participants per week this month, compared to 15 in both July and June, 11 in May, 13 in April and 12 each in March, February and January this year. In August 2012, the corner averaged 10 demonstrators per vigil.
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