Before leaving Seattle, we went to the Nickelsville (Homeless Tent Camp) Pancake Breakfast Benefit on February 5. The event was well attended both by Veterans For Peace (around 10 members) and by other supporters.
The Portland, Oregon VFP chapter is hosting the National VFP convention in August, so we attended their planning meeting. We'll help spread the word about the convention wherever we are.
The RV is serving us well, although we have had to get some repairs made and there are more yet to do. Both of the beds work well, although the upper one is more comfortable and larger.
We attended the Western Conference of the Coalition Against FBI Repression in San Francisco on February 12. There were many good panels and presentations; however, the lack of workshops and discussions was disappointing.
We've been dancing and/or day-hiking almost daily and eating healthy meals. Our health is good and we're happy - retirement is great! We had a marvelous time at Half Moon Bay dancing with friends and brought fresh crab back to family in the Sacramento valley. Our biggest problem so far is that the bike rack we bought was a very poor design - it added 5 ft to the back of the RV meaning we could no longer park in normal spaces and the rubber handles that held the velcro in place failed on Highway 1. We no longer have bicycles and probably won't replace them right away.
Courage To Resist has a new office in Oakland, so we visited Jeff Paterson there and discussed the campaign to improve Bradley Manning's confinement conditions. He continues to be on 23 hours of solitary confinement and other restrictions despite our efforts. The torture he is enduring is taking its toll on him physically and mentally.
Gerry was on Jefferson Public Radio in Medford on Feb 18 for an hour, then gave a talk about Bradley Manning and war resisters the next day at a public meeting which was attended by about 40 people. We stayed in the Ashland / Medford / Grants Pass area and were able to attend a concert of five peace choirs and stand for peace with a couple that does so every day that the weather will allow (wow!). A man from Shanghai, China came by and took our picture for a Chinese newspaper and said that the Chinese people don't like war any more than we do.
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