leaving nebraska

i make sure i go to wild oats before i leave omaha - what a growing city! i unsuccessfully try to connect to the internet after i go shopping. a middle-aged white man approaches me swiftly across the parking lot. 'i LOVE your truck' he gushes, telling me how much inspiration it has given him to see me & the truck. another young white dyke comes out the store to tell me that omaha has already voted to impeach bush! she explains she's a playwrite and last year wrote a play putting bush on trial - a partication play where the audience is the jury. apparently the play ran several weeks and each verdict was consistent: bush was impeached!

i drive by the library to try to get on-line - it is closed. as i proceed slowly past, several homeless men come running thru the park facing the library, waving their arms, shouting excitedly & leaping with fists extended into the air!!! enthusiastic peace symbols proceed their rush across the street. i stop to talk with 3 or 4 of the guys, a racially mixed group. they tell me sad stories of viet nam vets & now iraq war vets homeless, hungry, without medical & especially psychiatric help. they disparage bush & cheney, they mention haliburton & those kellog & root people. i'm amazed at how informed these raggedly looking men are. they even mention the national guard & new orleans...

i mull over this experience in nebraska - my last trip, i ran into many miitary families still supporting bush - now they are either silent or absent. yeah! on to iowa & the midwest! peace, sam