poetwarrior

I was a member of First Unitarian Church of Dallas and I had returned from the GPM. I found out about a seminar for political activists sponsored by George Washington University. This was back in 1987, I believe. I got to go to topic groups that stretched the gamut of different tactics to help create political change.

I remember this one group lead by Senator Arlen Spector. His advice at the time was to send correspondence to our elected officials in our own handwriting. Of course, this was before the days of anthrax scares and the Patriot Act. We were warned against signing petitions since it only counts as one voice.

Now in this age of email, it is probably best to use the Interent to contact our elected officials. I have received quite a few responses to my personal emails, many of them quite positive.

As a digital activist, I encourage all citizens of the USA to use the Web to make sure your voices are heard. After all, a wise man once sang,”...if nobody wants to share the blame
Then everyone gets more of the same” (Todd Rundgeren)

I know this is starting to sound like a broken record, but when I was on the Great Peace March (gosh, I sound like someone’s grandpa!) I was able to visit this remarkable part of Central Park. It is dedicated to the memory of John Lennon Ono. This was a man I greatly admire, and it was sad for pretty much every one of his fans when he was murdered. Yet, Strawberry Fields is a place of hope, not grief.

The great mandela alone is reason enough to make a pilgrimage to this lovely garden area. It is a wonderful place to meet kindred souls and make new friends. If I had the chance to go there again, I’d be there right now. I’d light a candle for peace and hum “Give Peace a Chance” as I thank God for creating John Lennon Ono.

I went with a friend who was going off to Hampshire College to see David Byrne at the Inwood. He was fielding a Q&A session before screening Stop Making Sense to a full house equaly divided between serious film students (SFS’s) and Talking Heads fans (THF’s).

After answering such obviously lame questions such as, “Why the big suit?” David Byrne introduced the movie. After the lights dimmed and the projector whirred, an amazing thing happened. Scattered among the SFS’s were pockets of THF’s standing up to dance. The SFS’s tried shaming the THF’s from participating in a way to which we were accustomed. Scattered among the audience, a small cadre of THF’s would get up to dance and sing, only to be forced down by the SFS’s.

My friend and I grinned to each other and mouthed along with “Crosseyed and Painless” and “Life During Wartime” among other wonderful songs. I don’t know if there was ever a truce between the SFS’s and the THF’s. All I know is that it was a night of memories that will never fade away.