Grand Opening was...GRAND!
Thanks to all who prepared the space and spread the word and played music and shared poetry and attended and donated and bought stuff and ate delicious food! A REALLY BIG thank you to Terry Aziere for being the recruiter, booking agent, tech person and MC! WOW!
I think Cater 2 U sold every morsel of food they brought: red beans & rice, jambalaya, veggie pasta, hot dogs with all the fixins. AND they supplied a Jupiter Jump to keep the little ones happy. We are so happy to support young entrepeneurs who care about justice. Next time you need entertainment and authentic Louisiana food, book Stefanie and Lavelle Cole. (I'll post their number at a later date--after getting permission).
Thanks to the door prize donors (mostly recruited by the incomparable Nancy Moran): Dwelling Spaces for a donated framed print and Veterans for Peace for the movie poster of Sir, No Sir and the cuban art gallery's Che Guevara poster, and three beautiful Japanese calligraphies of "peace" by Nancy's exchange student and a Camp Casey T-shirt donated by Diane Bostic and the sweet little handmade gift baskets from Janet Hutto's collection of crafts made by her late mother. And gosh, who donated that "I 'heart' Tulsa" T-shirt?
Poets Mary McAnally and Deborah Hunter kept the crowd spellbound and inspired. And there was a surprise appearance by Bill Zischang who shared a 3-page poem he wrote for the occasion: "How to End War Forever (in one sentence)" (I hope to post that later too.)
The music was awesome! Deborah Hord, Susan Herndon, Brian Parton, Mothers Brothers & Others, Lon Bartlett, Tiphany, Mike C., Terry Aziere, JT Gentry, Jonas Adrian, Timbre Wolf and oh no I'm forgetting names!!! Non-stop music from 1:00 to 8:00---our own little Woodstock of wonderfulness.
Several neighbors stopped by, their curiosity finally satisfied as they got a chance to check us out. And the Tulsa PD cruised by slowly more than once. Fox 23 showed up, but I don't think we got any airtime. Channel 6 came and filmed but had too many pro-military stories to air--including a truly nonsensical one about an OK quartermaster company (#172) retiring their flag and adopting a new number (#165?) with lots of shots of men in fatigues. And there was another OK funeral for yet another dead soldier--airtime none of us would be-grudge as we who love peace mourn along with the families of the dead. Peace-making just isn't as important as a military unit getting a new flag to carry into battle--or maybe it was something I said. Perhaps we need a different spokesperson. (NOTE: KOTV-6 did air a short piece about PH opening late on Sunday and early on Monday.) Urban Tulsa reporter Holly interviewed some of us earlier in the week and sent a photographer to snap some pictures of two of the old lady founders---Jeremy trying really hard to make us look not quite as frumpy as we really are in real life---we'll see how it all turns out.
AND we rescued a small poodle which had escaped from his human companion's truck early in the afternoon---all in a day in the life of peace-makers.
Whew! Now the real work commences: building the culture of peace.
Those of you who signed up for classes, activities actions, etc. will be hearing from us soon!
posted by Valerie Mapstone Ackerman @ 9/24/2006 11:11:00 PM
6 Comments:
NO party for peace will ever be as well attended or well received as one for WAR. Peace is kinda BORING, no? The only people who find peace exciting are those who have been to WAR, either in this lifetime or in past incarnations. So, quit tryin' to get the likes of local TV news even interested. It's pointless. Just do your thing. If they are interested, fine. If not, why bother? Santa has found that TV news trivializes his existence. So, you will NOT see him willingly on the 5 o'clock news. Notice to local MSM: Santa has refused interview request in the past, and as per contract, will continue to do so.
Hmmm... a peace gathering which included Che Guevara posters as prizes?
Ernesto Che Guevara might have started life as a physician. He did not end his life that way - he was a man who pursued his brand of Justice at gun point.
Che, the man who signed the death warrants of dozens of Cubans. Who personally shot convicts with his own handgun.
Che, the person who died in Bolivia ineptly leading a small army of guerillas. The CIA didn't catch him working in the fields, he was up to no good. Unless you consider "social justice" at gunpoint a good thing.
Be nice if you all over there were a bit more... consistent about peace.
Libertarian Dude
Yeah, but, Che posters are pretty kewl, ya must admit. Hang one up on yer wall. Makes you look the counter-culture art connesieur.
And, have ya EVER seen a kewl Ghandi poster?
The difference between Ghandi and Guevara is that as a former Marine you'd be treated far differently.
Ghandi would share his last plate of food with you. He'd give you encouragement to continue your quest for peace. He'd strengthen you by his own example and by his own sense of right and wrong.
Guevara would dismiss you as a "bourgeois", as he would dismiss the vast majority of the gullible who wear his image on T-shirts or on walls. He'd be far more interested to know your views on class struggle and your ideological correctness than your intrinsic worth as a human being.
To a Communist the individual is nothing. The Party, the State and "History" are all.
Once he learned that you were Marine and a psy-ops officer, and if he had you under his power, he'd order your interrogation. After a few weeks of sleep deprivation, beatings and starvation you would confess. He might give you the dignity of a bullet or work you to death in one of Castro's prisons.
Paul, only the vacuousness of our age, and the inability of the Left in the US to come clean about its latent violence allows the average citizen to wear this Thug's image.
We are taught about Guevara's journeys on a motorcycle. The decietful Paul Newman does not discuss Guevara's days as Castro's executioner.
Nobody talks about how he shot men in cold blood, men whose death sentences he casually wrote. We are not taught about his moronic operations in Boliva, where he lead men to needless deaths to inflate his own vanity.
To me Guevara is cut from the same cloth as Heidrich, Himmler or Beria. He's a Thug, a murderer and a tyrant.
Most Thugs are cowards. Beria crawled on the floor of cell, "squeeking like a mouse" while his executioner followed him around with his pistol.
Himmler took poison rather than face the noose.
Heidrich died of his wounds, history does not record his sufferings. Heidrich was vain, petty and deceptive, a perfect tool for Hitler.
Ghandi was never a coward, even when he was beaten by British agents or was confronted with the problems of the Partition.
Even on the moment of his death Ghandi only thought of peace. He also was shot and unlike Guevara he didn't plead for his life.
Yes, "Che" plead for his life, telling his executioners, "I am Che. I'm worth more to you alive than dead!".
What a contemptable petty and small minded little man. To even mention him in the same context as Ghandi is an insult to bravery and to peace.
LibertarianDude
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