How to Explain This Mess to My Children???

            Crossing the  Nevada border into Utah, I stop at a rest stop and meet several white wimmin voters: one Australian woman who votes in Arizona rushes up to me and gives me a big huge hug; another sturdy middle-aged blond in a red SUV surprises me with a deep, husky shout: “Yeah! I LOVE your truck darlin'!”; and yet another careens off the freeway, claiming she's been trying to catch up with us to take a picture of the truck to send to her mom who lives in Michigan.

We give everyone CodePINK info and get a $20 donation from one of the wimmin!

Off we go to Salt Lake City - we have to repaint the numbers on the truck - the count is up to 1043, over 30 more u.s. lives taken since we left California and who knows how many Iraqi and Afghan lives. More and more people (finally) are talking about how we have to bring our young people home. I spot a truck with several Latino men in it and one of those yellow ribbons on the back. As we get closer, I see someone has pasted a "bring 'em home safe" sign inside the ribbon's loop - yeah!! I suggest a “NOW” needs to be added and the guys all solemnly nod in agreement.

We have to stop at an auto repair place because the cigarette lighter isn't working - Rae and I counted 8 hi-tech contraptions between us that we have to charge - hmmmmm - so a broken lighter is disaster for our communications abilities, etc. While the young man at the desk is speaking with us, an older white fellow comes over and says he can't work on trucks today. As we're wondering how he knew what we we’re driving & I’m debating confronting him, a late 20's white womon swiftly approaches us to effuse about bush and all the horrendous things he's done, effectively silencing the old man and sending him scurrying out of the room. She fervently expresses her happiness seeing us and says, once again, we have given her hope. Back in the parking lot, two adolescent girls shyly approach and ask if they can take our picture.

We decide to go to the adjacent parking lot to repaint the numbers on the truck - it is not a walmart, my preferred place to stop and repaint the numbers, but it is a huge shopping center. We get a prime space right in front. In no time, lots of folks are driving slowly by, staring but not saying too much. Two young women approach the truck and ask us what we're doing. They agree to talk on camera, that Rae whips out. Both are in their early 20's; neither have ever voted and are not interested in voting. We cannot seem to get them interested either.

As they leave, a car pulls up and an angry young white woman yells at me to move my truck. I approach her old, beat-up car and see she is seated in the passenger's seat, her husband (I assume) driving, and two young girls in the back. She claims she's security and wants me to leave immediately. As I begin to ask why, she shouts: “It is against the law for you to be here harassing people.” I wonder what law this is but I ask out loud why she's so angry. She tells me, with a furious wave at my truck, how is she supposed to explain that mess to her children? I volunteer to talk to them or suggest she can tell them the truth.

Now she threatens to get the real security to make me stop harassing folks and leave the parking lot. I tell her it looks like she's the only one harassing anyone - and that's me! She makes her husband pull off and that's the last we see or hear from her but of course, we're ready to leave anyway.

So the poll thru Utah is 13 yeahs to 1 no to 1 f.u.!!!

We enter Wyoming late so we only get 5 yeah's to 2 f.u.'s! At the rest stop, a truck driver who identifies himself as an Asian-Canadian, approaches us and we speak about CodePINK and getting rid of bush. He expresses his sincere wishes that this one time he could vote to help us out!