Saturday, July 29, 2006
Patricia Continues Her Vigil
Here is more of Patricia Lay-Dorsey's account of her experience in Washington on her mission of peace. Again, I encourage everyone to read her own blog at www.windchimewalker.blogspot.com. What is going on right now in the world is of utmost importance. The implications are vast for us all. What happens in the next few days may determine the future of the world.
In her post following this one, Patricia describes in a very moving fashion how she was able to talk with an official in the CIA who knew her father when he worked there in a very high level position many years ago. Through him, she discovered that her father was not complicit in the many misdeeds of that agency which have since come to light. This discovery brought her immense relief. As she put it, she reconnected with her father in a very telling way. And, as she continues her journey, she finds that she herself is changing into a much more gentle advocate for peace, finding that personal one-on-one contact is more effective in changing minds or at least in sharing views than mass confrontations.
Note: The expenses for this trip have mounted. Patricia has decided to accept contributions from those who might wish to show support for her and for this cause in this way. Here is her invitation:
If you would like to become a Friend of my Lebanon Peace Initiative by making any donation, large or small, please email me and I'll send you my snail mail address to which you can send a check made out to Patricia Lay-Dorsey. If good wishes and prayers are all you can afford right now, please know they are deeply appreciated
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Day 8 of my Lebanon Peace Initiative
People are so kind. Yared, the Ethiopian host at my favorite restaurant here in my DC neighborhood--The Elephant & Castle--wouldn't let me pay for my dinner tonight. While I was eating my fish & chips, we'd talked about my work here in Washington to raise awareness of the plight of the Lebanese people. I guess my story touched him because when I asked for the check, the waiter said my dinner was free.
I'm finding this kind of family-feeling everywhere I go in DC. Whether it's the police checking to be sure I'm OK, strangers offering to get me water, people helping me open doors and getting out of the way so I can use the curb cuts, or simply being met with smiles even when I suspect they're not real fond of my message, I am feeling taken care of wherever I go. Although I'm alone most of the time, I do not feel lonely. Besides, I feel very strongly the support and loving thoughts of you, my faithful readers. Your support means more to me than you can imagine.
I got a late start this morning after needing to catch up on my sleep. The only trouble with having an evening activity like yesterday's film at the Women's Museum, is that I still need/want to put up my blog before going to bed. Last night that translated into a 3 AM bedtime! So I let myself sleep in this morning until 10:30 AM.
I started out at the Code Pink/Troops Home Fasters' tree across from the White House. I'd read on Democracy Now! that Code Pink's founder, Media Benjamin, had been able to get into the joint session of Congress for yesterday's speech by the Iraqi Prime Minister, and had interrupted it by standing and yelling, "Iraqis want the troops to leave. Bring them home now!" She'd been arrested for disturbing the peace, and she and Diane Wilson, who's in her 24th day of a water-only fast, had been interviewed by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez on today's Democracy Now! show. I wanted to hear the story from the source.
Well, Media wasn't there, but Diane was. And so was Fr. Louie who had his own stories to tell.
A number of Code Pink/Troops Home Fasters were doing their best to get into the hearings on Captiol Hill being held to consider renewing John Bolton's nomination as US representative to the United Nations. In everyone's opinion that I know, Bolton is a disaster, a one-man promoter of ever more anti-American attitudes worldwide. I have my own personal issues with him. It was John Bolton who single-handedly squashed any attempts to pass a UN resolution censuring Israel for "disproportionate use of force" against Lebanon. And he, with the help of Ms. Condi Rice, also destroyed any international calls for a ceasefire. John Bolton is an enemy of peace, in my humble opinion.
But the Congressional police apparently saw not John Bolton, but Franciscan priest Fr. Louie Vitale, as a "dangeous enemy" this morning. Louie has spent up to six months at a time in federal prisons for civil resistance actions against nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site. They held and questioned him for an hour after he'd tried to get into the Bolton hearings, which were supposedly open to the public. The only way he got free of them was to ask that they call Congresswoman Pelosi's office where he had an appointment, and have her OK him. After meeting with an aide in Pelosi's office, Father Louie walked over to the Korean War Memorial where he'd heard VP Dick Cheney would be speaking. He managed to yell out a few words about bringing the troops home before he was ordered to leave.
Now, I don't know how Louie had the energy for all this--he's been on a juice-only fast for 24 days and is a skinny as a brown-robed serpent. What a sweet, deeply commited man of peace.
After checking-in with the fasters, I scooted up to Capitol Hill to do my work. I chose to spend the day in front of the House Office Buildings because there seems to be more activity over there. Besides tomorrow is their last day in session before the August summer recess.
As I said to my friend Dorothy in a phone call during a break, holding a sign for hours at a time is quite meditative. It becomes timeless time, but the key is to stay totally present and engaged. I try to catch people's eyes and smile, so that even if we don't agree, we've made a connection.
The vast majority of responses today were positive. I sense people are waking up and not liking what they see. Of course there are still those who see Hezbollah as the #1 Enemy, but their numbers are decreasing day-by-day. Rarely do these folks stop to speak to me, so I just smile and let them go on their misinformed way.
As always, I had wonderful conversations with passersby. Andrew Bestor was the first. He is focused on the CIA's role in just about everything and has a web site that you might find interesting.
Next it was Eva from Toronto and Tenzin from Connecticut. They've been in DC for months working with the International Campaign for Tibet. Tenzin is Tibetan and was born in a refugee camp in India, so this is work about which she feels passionate. And Eva impressed me as a deeply compassionate woman, one who longs to bring peace and justice to the world. She offered to help publicize my work for the Lebanese people, and asked me a lot of probing questions. Our time together was like a cool shower in the middle of this hot muggy day.
And for me it was a special delight to reconnect with Tammara of the Miltary Families Speak Out whose Operation House Call was set up not far from where I parked with my sign today. I'd gotten to know Tammara when the Midwest Bring the Troops Home Now Bus Tour came to Detroit last September. I was their driver/liason from Camp Casey Detroit. Earlier today, Al and Stacey of the MFSO group had given me fresh cut-up fruit. A real treat!
As I say, I received lots of positive feedback for my cause today. More thumbs up--literally--than ever, even one from a high-level Navy officer dressed in his whites. Many people thanked me for doing this, often God-blessing-me too. I appreciate all forms of blessing, especially when I know it goes directly to the people for whom I stand.
I took a different way home and found a hidden treasure along the way: the Bartholdi Park at the corner of Indpendence Avenue and Washington Street. It's run by the Botanical Gardens and offers an oasis of peace in the midst of the city. It soothed my soul just to be there. Like yesterdy when I realized how much I'd missed music, toay I saw how much I've missed flowers. But now I know where to find them again.
In her post following this one, Patricia describes in a very moving fashion how she was able to talk with an official in the CIA who knew her father when he worked there in a very high level position many years ago. Through him, she discovered that her father was not complicit in the many misdeeds of that agency which have since come to light. This discovery brought her immense relief. As she put it, she reconnected with her father in a very telling way. And, as she continues her journey, she finds that she herself is changing into a much more gentle advocate for peace, finding that personal one-on-one contact is more effective in changing minds or at least in sharing views than mass confrontations.
Note: The expenses for this trip have mounted. Patricia has decided to accept contributions from those who might wish to show support for her and for this cause in this way. Here is her invitation:
If you would like to become a Friend of my Lebanon Peace Initiative by making any donation, large or small, please email me and I'll send you my snail mail address to which you can send a check made out to Patricia Lay-Dorsey. If good wishes and prayers are all you can afford right now, please know they are deeply appreciated
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Day 8 of my Lebanon Peace Initiative
People are so kind. Yared, the Ethiopian host at my favorite restaurant here in my DC neighborhood--The Elephant & Castle--wouldn't let me pay for my dinner tonight. While I was eating my fish & chips, we'd talked about my work here in Washington to raise awareness of the plight of the Lebanese people. I guess my story touched him because when I asked for the check, the waiter said my dinner was free.
I'm finding this kind of family-feeling everywhere I go in DC. Whether it's the police checking to be sure I'm OK, strangers offering to get me water, people helping me open doors and getting out of the way so I can use the curb cuts, or simply being met with smiles even when I suspect they're not real fond of my message, I am feeling taken care of wherever I go. Although I'm alone most of the time, I do not feel lonely. Besides, I feel very strongly the support and loving thoughts of you, my faithful readers. Your support means more to me than you can imagine.
I got a late start this morning after needing to catch up on my sleep. The only trouble with having an evening activity like yesterday's film at the Women's Museum, is that I still need/want to put up my blog before going to bed. Last night that translated into a 3 AM bedtime! So I let myself sleep in this morning until 10:30 AM.
I started out at the Code Pink/Troops Home Fasters' tree across from the White House. I'd read on Democracy Now! that Code Pink's founder, Media Benjamin, had been able to get into the joint session of Congress for yesterday's speech by the Iraqi Prime Minister, and had interrupted it by standing and yelling, "Iraqis want the troops to leave. Bring them home now!" She'd been arrested for disturbing the peace, and she and Diane Wilson, who's in her 24th day of a water-only fast, had been interviewed by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez on today's Democracy Now! show. I wanted to hear the story from the source.
Well, Media wasn't there, but Diane was. And so was Fr. Louie who had his own stories to tell.
A number of Code Pink/Troops Home Fasters were doing their best to get into the hearings on Captiol Hill being held to consider renewing John Bolton's nomination as US representative to the United Nations. In everyone's opinion that I know, Bolton is a disaster, a one-man promoter of ever more anti-American attitudes worldwide. I have my own personal issues with him. It was John Bolton who single-handedly squashed any attempts to pass a UN resolution censuring Israel for "disproportionate use of force" against Lebanon. And he, with the help of Ms. Condi Rice, also destroyed any international calls for a ceasefire. John Bolton is an enemy of peace, in my humble opinion.
But the Congressional police apparently saw not John Bolton, but Franciscan priest Fr. Louie Vitale, as a "dangeous enemy" this morning. Louie has spent up to six months at a time in federal prisons for civil resistance actions against nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site. They held and questioned him for an hour after he'd tried to get into the Bolton hearings, which were supposedly open to the public. The only way he got free of them was to ask that they call Congresswoman Pelosi's office where he had an appointment, and have her OK him. After meeting with an aide in Pelosi's office, Father Louie walked over to the Korean War Memorial where he'd heard VP Dick Cheney would be speaking. He managed to yell out a few words about bringing the troops home before he was ordered to leave.
Now, I don't know how Louie had the energy for all this--he's been on a juice-only fast for 24 days and is a skinny as a brown-robed serpent. What a sweet, deeply commited man of peace.
After checking-in with the fasters, I scooted up to Capitol Hill to do my work. I chose to spend the day in front of the House Office Buildings because there seems to be more activity over there. Besides tomorrow is their last day in session before the August summer recess.
As I said to my friend Dorothy in a phone call during a break, holding a sign for hours at a time is quite meditative. It becomes timeless time, but the key is to stay totally present and engaged. I try to catch people's eyes and smile, so that even if we don't agree, we've made a connection.
The vast majority of responses today were positive. I sense people are waking up and not liking what they see. Of course there are still those who see Hezbollah as the #1 Enemy, but their numbers are decreasing day-by-day. Rarely do these folks stop to speak to me, so I just smile and let them go on their misinformed way.
As always, I had wonderful conversations with passersby. Andrew Bestor was the first. He is focused on the CIA's role in just about everything and has a web site that you might find interesting.
Next it was Eva from Toronto and Tenzin from Connecticut. They've been in DC for months working with the International Campaign for Tibet. Tenzin is Tibetan and was born in a refugee camp in India, so this is work about which she feels passionate. And Eva impressed me as a deeply compassionate woman, one who longs to bring peace and justice to the world. She offered to help publicize my work for the Lebanese people, and asked me a lot of probing questions. Our time together was like a cool shower in the middle of this hot muggy day.
And for me it was a special delight to reconnect with Tammara of the Miltary Families Speak Out whose Operation House Call was set up not far from where I parked with my sign today. I'd gotten to know Tammara when the Midwest Bring the Troops Home Now Bus Tour came to Detroit last September. I was their driver/liason from Camp Casey Detroit. Earlier today, Al and Stacey of the MFSO group had given me fresh cut-up fruit. A real treat!
As I say, I received lots of positive feedback for my cause today. More thumbs up--literally--than ever, even one from a high-level Navy officer dressed in his whites. Many people thanked me for doing this, often God-blessing-me too. I appreciate all forms of blessing, especially when I know it goes directly to the people for whom I stand.
I took a different way home and found a hidden treasure along the way: the Bartholdi Park at the corner of Indpendence Avenue and Washington Street. It's run by the Botanical Gardens and offers an oasis of peace in the midst of the city. It soothed my soul just to be there. Like yesterdy when I realized how much I'd missed music, toay I saw how much I've missed flowers. But now I know where to find them again.
