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Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! I am on my mobile version of the door-to-door, going town-to-town holding readings/gatherings/discussions of my book "But What Can I Do?" This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels since 9/11 as I engage in dialogue and actions. It is steaming with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society we want ALL to thrive in

Friday, July 15, 2005

elko, espresso, & free internet

I'm back more than a month later at the red lion casino in elko nevada - free internet access & $3.70 latte's - a big change from the $5.17 plus tip i was paying in nyc!

Last time i was here, i couldn't get on the internet - long line waiting & way too hot - this a.m. i have to hurry - i want to beat the heat thru nevada - ha!

Driving thru Wyoming yesterday and only one fuck you for the whole state!!!! of course it was hot as hell, lots of truckers on the road, about 18 yeah's, waves, enthusiastic gestures and picture-takers. two naysayers - one crazy sign.

I had to stop at a rest stop around 2:00p.m. to wait for the sun to drop - i rested, read, hung out in the shade of a tractor-trailer. As I was getting ready to pull out around 7:30p.m., a large, white male truck driver walked slowly around the truck, reading everything. He looked at me & apologetically said he was just reading the truck.

"wanna weigh in?" i invite. He tells me he totally agrees with me, especially the rights part - our rights are being devastated, he says, and with the agreement of many americans.

he tells me he's ex-military, vietnam vet, pow for 5 months, special forces, and 15 year active duty. he tells me his two sons are both special forces - one in afghanistan, one in iraq. and they (the military) tried to get him back in. but he's no fool - he had the papers he signed when he quit, resigned his commission. he told me he knows how the military lies, not just to new recruits but to all it's members.

i'm totally surprised he was special forces - he has long white-blond hair, full beard, santa claus body in shape & form with only a pow tatoo on his broad arm belying his benign fantasy image. i talk with him for a long time, trying to sense that macho, violent edge i usually get from such men. he talks about GREED - he sees everything we're doing, have done, in the name of greed. he's been around the world & has seen first hand the devastation we've inflicted on many nations, nations that do not want nor need our 'help'.

i'm again surprised he's come up with this analysis - i say it must have been hard for him to do his job, feeling this way. he's always protected g.i.'s first - his men, the men under his command. i say it must be hard to see his sons fighting for greed. he seems both proud & sad, thinking his sons have a high enuff rank that they are protected from the most dangerous situations, but also knowing they will never be the same when they return.

he talks about how he returned unharmed - he pauses as a torrid of emotion flashes over his silence - and re-states how's he returned relatively unharmed from vietnam. he returned last year on a mission to find pow's, unsuccessful mission - he believes there are still pow's there but they don't want to come home. he concedes maybe they're living a life they want to now.

interesting fellow. i head into the sunset, he heads east. i speak with another woman in wyoming, she identifies herself as a native womon - she says we are not changing because not enuff of us are standing up. she appreciates me standing up - i give her codepink info & ask her to start a cp if she's interested. she promises to check it out! in pink peace, sam