new york city bound!!! bye-bye bush
we left d.c. today - clear but cold day. rae & i stocked up on goodies for the trip & headed out. we didn't get far when medea called & said she was stranded at the train station - trains were cancelled due to the extreme weather; and the trains that were running were packed w/folks that had tickets before she did. medea is supposed to be catching a plane tonite to brazil for the conference there. we decide to turn around & pick medea up - what better way to go to nyc than w/medea benjamin in the front seat!!!! yeah!!!!
we hook up w/medea & head out to nyc. we engaged in many lively philosophical discussions as well as strategy planning for the next actions. we talked about war & if there is such a thing as a just war. medea talked about supporting the sandinistas and the armed fight against apartheid in south africa. we talked about the war to conquer vs the war to defend. i spoke of the story in daughters of copper woman - when the early people of the northwest coast of canada had exhausted all other options & taking human lives was the only option they felt open to them, several wimmin volunteered to fight, knowing they were also sacrificing their own lives - for in the abhorent act of taking a human life, one loses her own humanity & is therefore a danger to the whole community. the warriors that killed the spainards then took their own lives.
we spoke of the pitfalls of paid staff vs grassroots movements, where people worked because they were committed to the movement, not expecting a pay check. we talked of needing only a closet to work in - and what about windows or do we pay pg&e for light? and food, do we stop working for the movement & work to make money for food? and when the landlord bangs on the door, who pays him?
we plan our action for the governors - picking our states for now by how warm they are, how many active codepink chapters we have there, and how many governors might be on our side or persuaded! we come up w/texas, california, florida, ohio, virginia (already covered by shannon & folks), north carolina, new york, washington, oregon, minnesota, iowa, wisconsin - and others. we strategize about involving other groups & individuals; we repeat the need to have only wimmin & children in the offices on the 16th.
it has begun to snow as we speak. we've been on the road a couple of hours, we're almost out of delaware & to the bridge to n.j. & the snow is coming down REALLY hard, for a change! another blizzard ascends & traffic totally stops - there's been an accident and all four lanes of the highway have been shut down. we don't even crawl - and it's cold, wet, snowy! after several hours inching along, we don't even make it to the nearest exit. some suv-types are driving across the wide median, covered by snow, and turning into the oncoming traffic that's heading back to d.c. we do not attempt this trick.
finally, traffic moves again & off we go. medea was supposed to be at the airport at 2:00; then by 4:00, then by 8:00p.m. we thought we'd have time to hang out, rest & relax at sheree's apartment in new jersey, but no, we had to continue all the way to nyc. who knew a 3 1/2-4 hour trip would take 10-12 hours?
we finally arrived in nyc, brooklyn to be exact, around 8:00 - then it took us 2 additional hours to get to the airport! new york is HORRIBLE! snow everywhere - and 3 or 4 feet of it piled along side the roads -humungous amounts of snow - and humps where cars are burried under lots of fallen snow. all the streets are barely 2 lanes, one for each direction. folks are totally bundled up, picking their way thru piles of slush & cars & mounds of snow & ice & dirt! traffic is worse that horrible - but we make it, drop medea off, and attempt to find our way back to new jersey to sheree's.
we haven't been on the road for 15 minutes when medea calls - she has a hotel for us! her flight has been postponed yet again so they're putting her up next to the airport & we're invited!!!!! yeah! we get to spend the nite next to jfk in a warm, free hotel room! peace, sam
we hook up w/medea & head out to nyc. we engaged in many lively philosophical discussions as well as strategy planning for the next actions. we talked about war & if there is such a thing as a just war. medea talked about supporting the sandinistas and the armed fight against apartheid in south africa. we talked about the war to conquer vs the war to defend. i spoke of the story in daughters of copper woman - when the early people of the northwest coast of canada had exhausted all other options & taking human lives was the only option they felt open to them, several wimmin volunteered to fight, knowing they were also sacrificing their own lives - for in the abhorent act of taking a human life, one loses her own humanity & is therefore a danger to the whole community. the warriors that killed the spainards then took their own lives.
we spoke of the pitfalls of paid staff vs grassroots movements, where people worked because they were committed to the movement, not expecting a pay check. we talked of needing only a closet to work in - and what about windows or do we pay pg&e for light? and food, do we stop working for the movement & work to make money for food? and when the landlord bangs on the door, who pays him?
we plan our action for the governors - picking our states for now by how warm they are, how many active codepink chapters we have there, and how many governors might be on our side or persuaded! we come up w/texas, california, florida, ohio, virginia (already covered by shannon & folks), north carolina, new york, washington, oregon, minnesota, iowa, wisconsin - and others. we strategize about involving other groups & individuals; we repeat the need to have only wimmin & children in the offices on the 16th.
it has begun to snow as we speak. we've been on the road a couple of hours, we're almost out of delaware & to the bridge to n.j. & the snow is coming down REALLY hard, for a change! another blizzard ascends & traffic totally stops - there's been an accident and all four lanes of the highway have been shut down. we don't even crawl - and it's cold, wet, snowy! after several hours inching along, we don't even make it to the nearest exit. some suv-types are driving across the wide median, covered by snow, and turning into the oncoming traffic that's heading back to d.c. we do not attempt this trick.
finally, traffic moves again & off we go. medea was supposed to be at the airport at 2:00; then by 4:00, then by 8:00p.m. we thought we'd have time to hang out, rest & relax at sheree's apartment in new jersey, but no, we had to continue all the way to nyc. who knew a 3 1/2-4 hour trip would take 10-12 hours?
we finally arrived in nyc, brooklyn to be exact, around 8:00 - then it took us 2 additional hours to get to the airport! new york is HORRIBLE! snow everywhere - and 3 or 4 feet of it piled along side the roads -humungous amounts of snow - and humps where cars are burried under lots of fallen snow. all the streets are barely 2 lanes, one for each direction. folks are totally bundled up, picking their way thru piles of slush & cars & mounds of snow & ice & dirt! traffic is worse that horrible - but we make it, drop medea off, and attempt to find our way back to new jersey to sheree's.
we haven't been on the road for 15 minutes when medea calls - she has a hotel for us! her flight has been postponed yet again so they're putting her up next to the airport & we're invited!!!!! yeah! we get to spend the nite next to jfk in a warm, free hotel room! peace, sam
posted by Xan @ 11:36 PM
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