Tonight I joined John Fortier's Redondo Beach, CA vigil for an hour. He has held these weekly vigils since March, 2003 just before President George W. Bush launched the Iraq War. John is a Korean War veteran, retired school teacher, a husband of nearly 54 years and a father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
While I was there, we were joined by John's son William for about 15 minutes, along with his grandson Evan, about 8 years old. It was apparent from their comments, father and son greatly admire John's vigils and the courage and determination it takes to conduct them.
Among the horn honks and waves of support, two events stood out for me. The first was when a silver SUV slowed down in the right lane and the driver, a 35 ish man smiled broadly and then called out his support as he also honked his horn. But in the back seat were two children, the youngest being the one I saw clearly, an adorable child with black curly hair about 3 years old who followed her father's lead and from her car seat, smiled and waved vigorously. This touched me because it says John's peace vigil is touching the lives of future adults.
The other little event happened as John was about to end the vigil. A dark blue station wagon slowly turned next to the vigil and a girl about 10 was fixated on the vigil and its peace flag flapping in the breeze and John's peace signs WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER and Veterans for Peace, as John, a kindly looking gray haired and gray bearded man smiled warmly at passersby. Once again, John reached a future adult.
Although the U.S. has dispatched soldiers and "contractors" (mercenaries) to fight undeclared wars including the one in Afghanistan, an obvious disaster, John calmly and warmly week after week for now 9 years, appeals to the consciences of others to stop these wars, undeterred by the indifference to all the suffering from Washington and from the vast numbers of the American people, including most religious leaders. His heart just won't let him look the other way.
Dick
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