tooling around iowa, the whole damn day

i make it to iowa in the wee hours this morning - maybe 1 or 2a.m. i pass thru omaha, missing the wild oats stop - they're closed at this hour.

i stay a few hours at a very modern rest stop - free wireless internet, if only i had wireless! when i wake, i do my stretches, then jog, v e r y slowly, several times around the stop for 25 minutes - second time on this trip. yeah!!! it has been VERY windy and this a.m. there are more dark clouds covering the skies - at least i'm outta nebraska & tornado country.

i drive thru des moines during rush hour - trying to expose as many folks as possible to ambushed & cheneyed - no more fuck you's! lots of smiles, 6 peace signs, several honks & waves. truckers are unusually happy & supportive.

just outside of des moines i spot an oil change place - poised, alert & ready, i approach the workers. they're all white, all male. in the office are 2 white females. everyone stiffens at my approach, but no one says anything overt.

i can't find anyone to have a conversation with - the wimmin busy themselves working, staring at their computers, the guys disappear - but not until they have all kinda mosyed over to the truck & nonchallantly read it all around. the one guy who works on my truck is friendly enuff - i watch to make sure he really does change the oil, the filters.

2 1/2 hours later, i'm back on the road again. it is still overcast with a few hazzy drips of rain - not enuff to turn on the wipers. i look for the college town rae & i stopped at but can't find it. i decide to stop in iowa city instead - carly & janet (from san diego) have told me about this town, their home town.

i find the library - it is gorgeous - modern, huge, well-stocked, 9 FREE public meeting rooms, hours 7 days a week 10a.m. until 9p.m. amazing! i can only use the computer for 30 minutes again.

i find the health food store - time to restock. at least 5 young white wimmin approach me with excitement & great enthusiasm, at different times as i shop. we talk about codepink - i give them 'join codepink' flyers. at least two of them say they want to start a codepink in iowa city! hope so.

i'm in davenport now - had to fuel up. an older white man in a big truck hauling a motor boat, reads the codepink side of the truck & asks me what it says - 'codepink women for peace' i tell him. he chuckles & states 'you girls have a huge job ahead of you'. i chuckle & say 'only until you boys step down & get out of our way.'

he tells me he doesn't know about everything i'm saying but he thinks bush is a terrible leader & he certainly didn't vote for bush. we talk more as he tells me how scared he is and how scared he will be until bush is no longer in power.

this seems to be reoccuring - not the fear part, but the folks who are talking fear of bush - not the usual 'choir', but the folks that i suspect at some point might have supported bush, but have finally started thinking & seeing.

i spend 20 minutes in the bathroom talking to the white womon who is cleaning the toilets. anne is a single mom, has never heard of the patriot act, but thinks the war is totally wrong & we need to stop it now. she doesn't have a computer but promises to go the the library & look up codepink. i hope she does. she has a brilliant 14 year old daughter who anne has already told she needs to work on changing our country.

so close to nyc, yet so far - gotta run! in pink peace, sam