[Peace] Thanks to everyone!

[Kranich, Kimberlie]

Dear Everyone,

We are fabulous group!!! My heart is warmed by our collective energy,
creativity, consistency and bravery. 

Thank you, Ricky, for your summaries of our actions on Prospect. These
little stories keep the momentum going and show the progress and process of
getting others to join us. I was happy to see some new signs on Saturday
including one that listed our meeting time, date and place. What a smart way
to recruit! Though I will be out-of-town and unable to join in next week, I
am happy to make some more phone calls. 

Our relatively large and consistent numbers has been a slow build. I think
that it is helpful to remember that just over one year ago Susan Parenti
organized the first group of anti-war demonstrators. They demonstrated five
days a week outside the Urbana Library for weeks on end. Their numbers were
much smaller, but they kept on keeping on! I remember seeing her emails and
wanting to join them but had a hard time getting over there during the week.
Then she added Saturday demonstrations and more people came.  It was scarier
back then to stand on the street corner with our anti-war signs.  We still
get the angry hateful folks today, but more and more people seem sympathetic
and are also willing to join us.  

So, thank you, Susan Parenti, for being there from the very beginning when
it was so scary (one time a jogger almost hit one of them and cars more than
once drove threatenly close to the curb where the demonstrations were taking
place and then squealed away). Susan used to be the one who week after week
posted the notices about the demonstrations, made the calls, and organized
some of the poster making for a group called "Art and Revolution."  

And now those efforts have expanded to include many more people. Without
this expansion, we wouldn't still be a visible force.  My thanks to all of
the people who expanded our street protests and involved greater numbers. 

Thank you, Sandra Ahten, for your peace postcards brainstorm. What a
spectacular way to use art as political awareness and protest. The postcards
are fabulous! 

There's more to be thankful for, I am certain. These are just some of the
things I am thankful for about AWARE. I'm involved because of all of this
momentum and because so many people have stood up and taken on the
responsibilities of doing what needs to be done. 

This effort is a long haul effort.  And at the one-year plus mark, I wanted
to say thanks to everyone who has ever been involved and to those who are
still involved and to celebrate the peaceful resistance that we have
collectively sustained. 

Here's to another year of more visibility, greater numbers, and more
peaceful pressure!

Kimberlie