Camp Casey - 06 - Day 1 (Aug 24)

Back at the ranch...
Actually, back at the Peace House, Crawford. Carlos helped me pitch my tent (at 1:00pm today the temp was 106 degrees) and I helped him with his. Then while he continued tweaking his space so that he could put up pix of his son, Alex, and his campaign against the war, I headed back to air conditioned Peace House to use the wireless internet connection (yes, wireless! who'd a'thunk?)

Today, a bunch of folks traveled down to Austin to work the Border Governor's Meeting - our own Governator Arnie -- is there. I'll let you know tomorrow how that went.

Camp Casey, meanwhile, is baking in very hot, still air. The drought out here is bad. Even the waterfall and lovely pond that many of us -- and the water moccasins -- cooled off in last year has dried up. (Having grown up in South Africa I'm familiar with droughts. And I say as soon as GW is outta here the drought will break... by outta here, I'm thinking Big Picture... not just outta Crawford but outta the White House, outta our lives. So let's get out the vote! Hell, why stop there? Let's get ye olde guard out of Congress and get a bunch of new folks in. Maybe the drought on commonsense, empathy, and spiritual generosity will end too and the people of the world can begin cooperating and healing.)

My fellow tent-erector and travel companion from DFW is Carlos Arredondo. His son, Alex, was killed in Najaf. In grief and rage, Carlos reacted by smashing up the vehicle of the 3 Marines who brought the news. Then he set the vehicle alight...and burned himself too. Carlos' burns have healed well. But his heavy heart pushes him to speak out around the country.

He says, "I travel in my truck with a flag-draped coffin on the back. And I speak wherever I can. I've given up my former life -- or, it gave me up when Alex died -- and this is my new life. What else can I do? I've lost my hope for a future with my sons. My other son is struggling too after Alex's death."

The theme that threads through the lives of people visiting here is a passionate desire for another way of living, another way of viewing the world, another way that doesn't depend on weaponry, death, and "power over." I'm here for the same thing along with the passion to end the horror before more of our kids (by "our" I mean, Iraqi, Afghan, Lebanese, Palestinian, Israeli - yes, there are many Israelies struggling for peace (just not enough yet!) ... African...). And before my own son is re-deployed. But that's another post for another day.

All in all, the group here is smaller this year, much smaller. But the same fellowship, the same spirit, the same sense of togetherness prevails. Amazing and you'd hardly know it if you, for example, work in the corporate world but peaceful people are scattered thoughout the country and show up when they're needed. We do, however, have to find a way to encourage more of those folks to get out and make themselves heard. And, that's another post, too.

And there will be another post tomorrow. Meanwhile, check out the article and video from local paper: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/15313444.htm.