Peace in Our Future

Peace, how elusive. No one I know walks the world in total peace. Maybe Jesus did. Maybe other prophets. Maybe no one. We get angry at our fellow man and we judge others. We don't tolerate an erratic driver or someone, usually a friend, who makes a choice to live out a situation in their life that might not be to our liking or understanding.

We achieve periods of peace. Sometimes we feel we are at peace when we are not thinking about the war or the shape the world seems to be in these days. We have peace when we aren't worried about anything. We think peace is something we can all have or should have at some point. On the larger scale, peace means that there is no more war. No one oppressing another Nation for reasons of religion or resources or power and control. No government passing laws that take away our freedoms, the very freedoms that we would fight for, that we would exchange peace for, to have and hold as our own. Can we have both? Freedom and peace? What is peace to one might be unfathomable to another and then the fighting starts and peace is broken.

Quite elusive this peace. Any kind of peace. Many just live and don't create or try to create any type of peace at all. No world peace, no personal peace, no freedom, no justice. Then there are those that fight wars and tell the people it is for peaceful reasons and that by killing and control, there will be peace. This has proven to be a falsehood and has never worked. As soon as the surrender was signed at the end of World War II, the peace was broken and the cold war started. Examples of this behavior has been written throughout history.

No, the only peace you can have is the peace you create in your own heart, your own mind. Live in peace and peace will find you. Even when you are oppressed, beaten into submission for your beliefs, you can have peace, but it is a hard path.

The Ashland Pro Peace Vigil no longer is held on Tuesdays. I left Ashland a year ago and no one picked up the banner. I had to leave Ashland. I stand now and again for peace in other parts of the world, and there are those that still want peace in Ashland. They're just not visible on the corner on Tuesdays.

I guess I was feeling that the Peace Blog has been neglected and I wanted to say something about peace. Inner peace, world peace, community and neighborhood peace, peace at home, peace amongst friends, peace over an issue. I'm going to try at attain all the peace I can and when I think or do something that does not harbor peace, I'll try again. I will hope to remember when my thoughts, words or actions would be not peaceful or instilled with peace. I'll pray for peace when this happens and ask the Creator, the Higher Power of my own understanding, to get me back on track and living peacefully when I succumb. I wish peace to all of you.

Peace to all, always.

The Future of Peace

I personally have moved away from Ashland. I no longer attend the Tuesday afdternoon Peace Vigils there, or even know if they still go on. Some of the folks attend the once monthly Iraq Moratorium in Hayward. Some folks might be standing on the corner weekly in Ashland. I am sure that no one has changed their mind and now thinks that having a war is a good idea.

As I was the appointed leader of the Ashland Peace Vigil, I feel a sense of responsibility for it, but then again, life calls and our family had to move away. It is hard to drive 200 miles every Tuesday to stand for peace when there are numerous opportunities to stand for peace right in my own "new" backyard.

In the Monneapolis/Saint Paul, MN area we have a Peace March on the Lake Street bridge every Wednesday evening. My spouse, Barb, attends a vigil every Wednesday morning at Alliant Technoligies, a place where cluster bombs and other armaments are made.

We will attend the Veterans For Peace National Convention in August, and join the large massive protests scheduled for the Republic National Convention.

I devote my life to peace and for this great country to actually make peace and not war. These pages may be empty from Ashland, but the spirit of it all will live on somewhere else.

If anyone from Ashland wants to continue with this blog, feel free to contact me and I'll give you the passwords for continuation of posting here. In the meantime, I'll check back from time to time with updates as to our peace efforts here in the Twin Cities.

Peace and Love to All, as all life is Sacred.

Ashland Peace Vigil, One Year and 15 Weeks, April 29, 2008

Today we had three people standing on the corner. I missed the past two weeks as i was not in Ashland. Last week, one person showed up, the week before, I don't know. I also don't know the weather the past two weeks, but today was a mild calm 55 sunny degrees.

We all noticed that the horn honks and waves of approval were many. There was only one person who yelled his disapproval out his car window compared to the support we received and felt. We noticed that even the people who did not even look our way or seemed to be apathetic were less in number than the supporters.

We also know we stand for many people who could not be there or were not there standing for peace. My spouse, Barb, is in St. Paul, MN working these days. She attends two vigils each Wednesday. One at ATK, the large corporation that makes the depleted uranium weapons, and at the Lake Street Bridge across the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities. This one hour action has been going on for several years. Many folks work or can't make it or don't want to stand on a corner. They still want peace and maybe more have decided it's time to have peace. Time will tell.

Peace to All.

Ashland Peace Vigil, One Year and 12 Weeks, April 8, 2008

The Vigil continues. I am so proud of the people of Ashland. I took some credit for starting the Peace Vigil right around January 14th, 2007. We were sitting in our favorite hangout, The Black Cat Coffeehouse. A few of us were disgusted with the war and I proclaimed that I would stand on the corner for an hour each week and ask for Peace.

Others followed and we started the grass roots action with a Vigil that stood on the corner of Chapple Avenue and Main Street, in front of the Post Office, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. every Tuesday. We did it for one year and one week. We averaged over eleven people each week. My spouse and I were there most every week, others too. Then, I made a commitment to participate in The Longest Walk, a walk across America in celebration of a similar walk that took place thirty years ago in 1978. I would be gone from Ashland. My spouse went to work, out of town, on a temporary assignment. That was in mid January of this year.

Now I need to mention that this Vigil is strictly word of mouth and voluntary. There is no organization or club or political unit that calls folks or rallies participants. In fact, there is one lone flyer posted high on the bulletin board at the aforementioned Coffeehouse and that's it. Yet in our absence, the Vigil has continued. I recently returned home from The Longest Walk and went back to the corner for the first time since my return. I tried to make it last week, but a late season blowing snowstorm had me homebound with three foot high drifts covering the driveway. But a friend sent me this picture, (posted below), of the hardy souls that stood last week. Three of them. And this week, there were five people who showed up to work for Peace and an end to this war and all war. The weather was cool, in the thirties, and a stiff wind came out of the East off the cold still frozen Great Lake Superior.

The Ashland Peace Vigil continues on Tuesday afternoons. I'll print a few new flyers and post them about town as soon as I get back from my current travels to Los Angeles. I'll be back by next Tuesdays Vigil. This is grass roots at its core. I am proud to be from Ashland, Wisconsin. I am proud to stand with these people and for the people who couldn't make it to Tuesdays Peace Vigil. Each week that we have stood there, the parade of cars with drivers and passengers waving, honking and flashing the peace sign grows. There are so many enthusiastic supporters., and only one or two dissidents. The supporters outnumber the naysayers at least 50 or 60 to one.

Thanks for coming to these pages to read about our Peace Vigil. And my offer still stands. Anyone who reads this blog and comes out to stand for Peace with us gets a cup of coffee, or other hot or cold beverage of your choice, from the Black Cat Coffeehouse on me. If you need a place to crash, I'll give you that as well. In the meantime, Peace to all people as ALL life on Mother Earth is Sacred.

Here's the picture from last week, April 1, 2008.


In the snowy Spring the people still held fast to the mission at hand, That mission is Peace.

Ashland Peace Vigil, One Year and 1 Week, January 22, 2008

It was downright cold today on the corner. The temperature when we started was 5 degrees. With the Northwest wind, the wind chill was around 15 below zero. We all had our hoods pulled up over our necks as our backs were to the breeze today.

There were three people at the Peace Vigil, and a fourth showed up a little later. We got a lot of horn honks and waves and peace signs thrown our way. No one saw anyone give a mean gesture. That doesn't mean there weren't any, it just means we didn't see any.

There have been a couple of people who have e-mailed me with their input and observations about our Peace Vigil. This first letter is from a local woman that has lived in Ashland all her life and is raising a child here. Her name is Jennifer.


Here's her letter:

I have not yet joined the Peace Vigil, I do however read your bog weekly. I find it appalling that you get jeers, fingers, and rude gestures for doing something you believe in. We in this country have a right to our beliefs and opinions and have that right to express them as we see fit. I dont know how you can keep yourselves quiet when those insulting people are driving by. That is probably one reason why I dont come. I dont want to embarrass any of you or myself.
I probably have passed a number, if not all of you on the street. I was born and raised in Ashland and still live here A wonderful quiet beautiful community to live. A place where I chose to go to school, to work and to raise my son. I do think we all are a bit sheltered living in this area, the local news is just that....local. As I said at times, watching the local news is like watching anything that happens north of Duluth and the rest of the world doesn't exist. I wonder how many people read about or see on other news channels just exactly what is happening to not only our soldiers but to other human beings in other countries. It sickens me at times.
I wish for peace on earth and good will toward men. My son is 11 now. I remember first of all 9/11. We were watching a cartoon I believe, but that doesn't matter, I do know a phone call I received that said the WTC had been hit by a bomb. I turned the channel and saw the second plane crashing. Tears immediately rolled down my face. First for the victims of the buildings, their families, the rescue workers. Then I started thinking about the inevitible repercussions. I remember talking to my son about the war. About the killings. About the homes that are being destroyed in Iraq and Afghanistan. About the families being torn apart here and in the other countries. He said "Why can't they just get along?" A simple statement. Something we learn before kindergarten. But here we are, years into this god awful senseless war. Years of families missing families. Years lost forever. Years of tragedy and torture. It saddens me. Yet I am proud. I'm proud of those in the military, both ours and those fighting with us. Yet, that question, "why cant we just get along?"

So, thank you for your blog. Thank you for standing on Chapple and Second Street for 1 year, 52 weeks. Thank you for doing what I cant do.
Godspeed.
Jennifer



Another woman, who identified herself as having two sons in the military service, one deployed in Iraq, the other about to be deployed to Afghanistan, wrote a comment here on this blog some time ago. She has since joined the Peace Vigil. Last week, three women stood on the corner and were jeered at. Here is a letter to the editor written by Kathy. It appeared in our local Ashland Daily Press:


Soldiers’ Mom is for Peace

Thank you for the Peace Vigil and those who stand for peace!
I stopped to thank the women who stood for peace at the post office corner on Tuesday evening, January 8. I thought I would just say thank you and leave. But I felt a comfort visiting with this grandmother of a combat soldier and the wife of a combat Vietnam veteran. The time went quickly, with many honks and friendly waves ... and then the “jeerster” came around the corner with his window down!
If he had stopped to talk to us I could’ve told him that my youngest son is serving his country in Iraq and that my oldest son will answer his call and deploy to Afghanistan this year.
He was correct, however, when he lashed out the words “freedom doesn’t come free.”
Kathy
Ashland


It is a great feeling to hear that we are supported by residents here in Ashland. It took a while, but I feel good being on that corner. I know we are standing there for those that couldn't make it or didn't make it. Maybe for those that are gone and have passed, they would have been there if they could be. We are standing for all of these people and for you. I know they will stand for us when we can't attend. Those that have stood before and weren't there today or any day didn't change their mind about peace, they just simply, for one reason or another, didn't come this day.

Peace to All.

Ashland Peace Vigil Week 52, One Year on the Corner, January 15, 2008

Some of the Peace Vigil contingent. Click on the pictures to enlarge them


Today, January 15, 2008, the Peace Vigil in Ashland marked the 52nd week, or one year, since we started standing on the corner for peace. We decided to give one hour per week towards letting others know that we want the war to end. There was talk of a way to mark this anniversary. No one seemed to come up with a way to make it special. No one wanted a celebration of the fact that concerned individuals chose to stand on a corner asking for peace. They stood throughout the cold temperatures of winter, the snow, the rain, the heat and humidity, the wind as well as the pleasant times when it would have been much more fun and fulfilling to spend time at home gardening or with family.

It is sad and also not a reason to celebrate the fact that 3,923 of our fine service men and women have been killed to date, and hundreds of thousands of people have died, families broken, lives shattered and money wasted on death and destruction. We started the Vigil over three and a half years after the war started. Now, one more year has past, and soon, we will have been at war for five years. I heard one presidential candidate say he thought we’d be in Iraq for a hundred years and wouldn’t mind the prospect of it.

So, we didn’t do anything special. We just stood there, carrying our signs that ask only for peace, our American flag and ourselves exposed to the cold damp Winter wind, all eight of us.

It still mystifies me that in a years time, no one has engaged us in conversation, in a reasonable manner, and explained why they disagree with the idea of peace. We get many horns honking, exuberant waves of approval and the peace signs along with the occasional thumbs down, flipped middle finger and the ever popular anti demonstrator “Get a job” battle cry of attack out an open car window, but no dialogue. One person looked at me, the Vietnam combat veteran, carrying an American flag and called me a moron. I would like to think that a soldier, a warrior, would never say such a thing to a brother in arms who chooses to carry the flag of his or her country proudly as they state their opinion.


Standing for Peace.

We asked, in the beginning, that participants keep the message to one issue. That issue is that we want peace in the world. We hold no signs, and haven’t in the year that the Vigil has been running, that demean any elected official, blame, wish harm to, ask for impeachment of, berate or lampoon the sitting president, or this current administration. We just say peace.

Yet the few that wish to attack us with their words and gestures, don’t explain why they do so. As I’ve thought in earlier articles about this subject, they really don’t pay attention to what we’re doing and stereotype any demonstration that says the word peace as being against our troops and our government.

We’ll continue on Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. We’ll be on the corner of Chapple and Main Street in Ashland, WI. We’ll ask for peace. We’ll take what those that disagree with peace sling our way as far as the words and gestures. We’ll endure with a little more determination of what Mother Nature throws our way in the form of weather. We’ll be non violent and simply state our case in one simple universally understood word.


Two of the faithful, standing for Peace.

In the past year, we have averaged 11.3 people for every week of the Ashland Peace Vigil. That includes the eight we had there today. We had a higher turnout when the weather was warmer. When it got cold and the holidays were around, the numbers fell. The summertime saw the young college age people leave the area, some never returned. 588 people came to the corner during the year to stand and say they wanted peace.

The Vigil will continue. I will be leaving Ashland for a while to work with another group that sends a similar message. I will not be on the corner for a while and I’m not sure if anyone will be. This action started and still is a non organized group of citizens that chooses to attend. There are no meetings, there is no club, no leader or organizer. It is simply a movement of concerned residents that want peace, and we wish peace to all.


Cold and windy this January day in Ashland, Wisconsin.

Week #51 January 8, 2008

little Peace Gracie has grown. She will be 1 year old on 1/20
Here's how she looks now:



"Mrs. Spadoman" reporting from the corner of Chapple and Main, Ashland, Wisconsin for January 8th, 2008. At the time of the vigil the death count was 3,911. Spadoman is out of town fulfilling a family obligation.
It was a cold, damp day, the beautiful piles of snow have been reduced to ugly, dirty, pock marked lumps. The wind was just enough to keep the Peace Flag fully unfurled, so there was no wondering why we were there. "Elder" Pat and I were joined by Kathy, a lifelong Ashland resident whose two sons are in the active military, one currently in Iraq and the other soon to be deployed to Afghanistan. She is a proud and worried mother, you can see it in her face and hear it in her voice. I don't know what to say to people when they tell me they have a loved one serving. I'm thinking "I'm sorry", but that doesn't sound right, I'm not sorry that they have raised a child who is willing to serve their country, I'm sorry that they have to worry, to be afraid of unthinkable things because their loved one has been placed in harms way for a lie. To say "I'll pray for them" seems like shallow words too, and the Bob Dylan song "With God On Our Side" plays in my head. I do pray that there is an end to war and the horrors it brings. Maybe someone out there can help me out, is there a correct thing to say, are there words that can comfort - I don't think so. To say "I'm sure they will be okay" is dismissive of the dangers they face, and a lie, you cannot go to war and ever really be okay again. You can't even say, "they'll be home soon" because they keep getting sent back! I chose to not say anything and just give her a hug.
Traffic was brisk today, we had a lot of positive reactions, the usual apathy, one thumbs down and a man in a truck who rolled down the window and hollered something about freedom not being free. Like he had to tell that to this mother of active soldiers, the grandmother of a soldier in Iraq and the wife of a Vietnam Vet!!! He must be one of those ignorant people who think all who demonstrate for peace are dirty hippies or unemployed bums who hate and don't support our troops
This is a copy of the letter "Elder" Pat wrote to send to the local paper:

To the editor:

This is to the jeering male in the mini-van re the
peace vigil on the post office corner Tuesday evening,
January 8th.

Of the three women standing there one Mother has two
sons in the military, both on combat duty, one in Iraq
and one in Afganistan. One Mother has a grandson
serving his third combat tour (one in Afganistan, two
in Iraq). One Mother is the wife of a combat Vietnam
veteran.

Just what are you jeering at?


Patricia J. Ortman

These are the monthly death counts just since we began our vigil:
Jan-06 62
Feb-06 55
Mar-06 31
Apr-06 76
May-06 69
Jun-06 61
Jul-06 43
Aug-06 65
Sep-06 72
Oct-06 106
Nov-06 70
Dec-06 112
Jan-07 83
Feb-07 81
Mar-07 81
Apr-07 104
May-07 126
Jun-07 101
Jul-07 78
Aug-07 84
Sep-07 65
Oct-07 38
Nov-07 37
Dec-07 23
Jan-08 8

HOW MANY MORE? WHO PROFITS, WHO DIES