Hope in our Hearts

What a wonderful day in Regina!

It was quite an effort to arrange - revising the chicken coop to make it impenetrable from the outside for four-legged carnivores and from the inside from scratching imprisoned chickens, picking the corn, zucchinis and cucumbers to take to the city, organizing our travel bags with "things to return or drop off", recreational items like yoga mat and bathing suit (just in case the opportunity arises)  and the shopping list (like good fairtrade coffee, woman's work gloves, a special spatula, etc. - we always look in Wynyard first).

We successfully dropped off everything - book to Jan, toilet seat to Shayna and garden goodies in the evening.  We managed to get most of the essentials - didn't get to David's Tea or to visit the museum; I did yoga in the Balkwall park but Bill didn't get a swim.

We participated in the short march from City Hall to Victoria Park in opposition to military action in Syria, made some new friends and met some old friends, carried a sign (If I can learn how to post pictures to my blog, I'll show you.) heard some good speakers (who knew how to make a point briefly), and was interviewed by some excellent young journalists.

Part of my Spiel at the interviews:  In the 1960's we in the peace movement thought that we had more or less "won the war" against war - Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement was founded on principles of non-violence and they had prevailed over legislative racism.  In the 1980's we thought that we had turned the tide and the world would disarm itself of nuclear weapons - and eventually all weapons - this was not a utopian dream, it is the view of the founding nation-states of the United Nations, it was the view of the United States in the late 1920's when, tired of death and destruction, it passed a motion not to engage in wars of aggression anywhere!  It is not utopian, in fact, it is the only way the world will survive.

Military action to "punish" the use of a banned weapon is so exquisitely childish but action is needed.  The manufacturers of banned weapons must be identified.  The flow of arms into the conflict areas must stop and negotiations must begin. Do it now or do it after more infrastructure is destroyed?  May as well show the maturity to do it now.

We capped off the evening at the Briarpatch 40th Anniversary Party.  We  were delighted and proud to discover that our daughter, Beth, was the MC although we knew that she was the event organizer.  An incredible amount of volunteer time must have gone into the historic slide show!  The audience was engaged throughout.  And the audience!  What a wonderful mix of people of all ages and backgrounds!  Again, we renewed old friendships, and met many whose paths we will pass again!  The energy in that room will "change the world - it is the only thing that every has"!

When we pulled into the yard, the chickens had all put themselves to bed safely and the dog was pleased to be let out to mark his territory, have a barking fit and check for invaders.

We slept a satisfying sleep.