Last night, John Fortier, a Korean War veteran and peace activist and I held the latest vigil under bright blue sunny skies, a 70 degree temperature and a very busy Pacific Coast Highway street corner in Torrance, in Southern California.
By busy, we stand on a sidewalk alongside Pacific Coast Highway in front of a very active multi-purpose traffic signal which brings the vehicles, bikers and pedestrians to a regular and extended halt in front of us. The traffic approaching us comes from the north and is four lanes of often solid traffic. There are four lanes going the other way as well, with often solid traffic, so there are eight busy lanes in all.
In the hour we are there, a thousand cars or more from the north may pass by, containing from one to four or five people inside each vehicle, so we reach a big audience, as we remind them of these wars and the horrific price being paid in them, something the U.S. politicians and the U.S. media seldom do.
In back of us is Palos Verdes Boulevard, also four lanes in each direction. And although the drivers can't read our sign from either direction, they still see us and a few people are so familiar with the vigil, they honk their horns in support anyway.
We are less than a mile from the ocean front but we can't see the seashore for we are surrounded by restaurants, shops including a nearby Starbucks and a Trader Joe's grocery store and by two to four story office buildings, a Chevron gas station and an Albertson's market. There are even two story townhouses across the street in two directions and down the block and apartment buildings and dense numbers of single family homes just beyond this commercial district.
This time of year, there is a steady ocean breeze, at roughly 5 to 10 knots and it causes a large U.S. flag atop a two story office building across the street, to flap in the breeze; its red, white and blue colors waving in the air. The green leaves of the 30 to 40 foot tall sporadically placed rubber trees and Eucalyptus trees shimmer in the sunlight as they too wave majestically in the breeze. But this breeze blows out the candle's orange flame causing this several inch long easy to grip white candle encased in clear glass to serve symbolically.
Sometimes pedestrians or bikers join us for a brief time, a few of them regularly. Typically 2 to 5% of the traffic acknowledges us with horn honks and/or waves or with two fingered peace signs, while a few of those drivers and/or passengers speak to us while they are stopped at a red light. But the vigil's message reaches far more people as we see from the quizzical looks on their faces.
Most people however appear disinterested or apathetic to the vigil which commemorates those who have paid so severe a price in these wars and it is our job to gently remind them, hopefully appealing to their consciences in the warmest way possible.
Dick
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