"Thanks guys for doing that," said a 40 ish man with a strong heartfelt tone in his voice as he stopped his bike at a red signal and spoke with John Fortier and me. It turned out he and his wife are in the Air Force. She is being deployed to Afghanistan and he is being deployed to Kyrgyzstan, which is near the Middle East and was part of the old Soviet Union.
He was followed by an 80 ish man who walked up and who sometimes joins our vigil briefly. He spoke of a tiny 4 week old Calico kitten his daughter rescued in his back yard after hearing her cry out, apparently lost and frightened, alone in the world. This orange, brown, black and yellow kitty with yellow eyes is now three months old and has become his tiny friend.
I share this kitten story with you dear reader because it is lovely but it also makes me wonder how many children and their little pets are killed or injured in the fierce battles in Afghanistan. While in Iraq yesterday, all Hell broke loose yet again as bombings took place across the nation killing at least 16 Iraqi men, women and children and wounding 36 more. Among the dead was a man representing Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader and arguably the most powerful person in Iraq. This may bode badly for peace between Iraq's Shiites and Sunnis.
But thousands of miles away at our Los Angeles area vigil, along Pacific Coast Highway, were horn honks and waves of support and occasional two-fingered peace signs and shout-outs. "I see you guys out here all the time," said a 50 ish woman as she walked up. "My father was in the military." She said he was in the Army and fought in wars all the way through Vietnam and won numerous medals. She said she was not familiar with his exploits but when he died, the military buried him with honors. It was only in recent times when she found his medals stored in boxes that she began to understand what an important role he had played in the military.
After she left a 55 ish woman with her adorable little black and white dog joined us as she sometimes does. This woman is warm and friendly and takes a sincere interest in the vigil, while her tiny dog is a bundle of love and gave John a good sniffing and doggy kisses as she smelled the scent of John's tiny dog Sparky on him..
A special moment in the vigil came when a 35 ish woman in a dark gray SUV at a red signal rolled up so she could easily read the vigil sign. She explained to her children or child what the vigil is as she motioned with her hands and nodded her head. When the signal turned green, she warmly smiled and waved at us.
"I've seen you here before," said a 30 ish Irish woman late in the vigil as she smiled while pushing a baby stroller. In the stroller was a husky 8 month old little boy, with striking blue eyes, similar to those actor Paul Newman was long known for. On leashes, she also had two Spaniel blend dogs, one brown and one black. She has lived in the U.S. for two years and as she joined us, she remarked how the soldiers and the wars receive virtually no coverage in the U.S. news media, while trivial stories are often heavily covered, a paradox she found hard to understand. But she was very personable and her baby was adorable, while her dogs were gentle and it set a lovely tone late in the vigil.
With the horn honks and waves and kind words, it can make for a touching vigil. And I've developed a wonderful friendship with fellow peace activist, John Fortier, a Korean War veteran and retired school teacher, husband for 53 years and a father and grandfather, who participates for the full length of each vigil. John also holds a vigil each Friday. But as I think about all the dead, the injured, the orphans, the endless destruction and deprivation and of all the families who bear the heartache of these wars, my soul cries out for peace and for a last time to ever light the vigil candles.
Dick
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