|
Comment on this article |
View comments |
Email this Article
|
|
News :: Miscellaneous |
|
Democracy Pilgrim Luvs U/C! |
Current rating: 11 |
by Jeanette
Email: grievancegirl (nospam) riseup.net (unverified!) |
26 Jan 2003
Modified: 30 Jan 2003 |
|
Jeanette Wallis' Latest Online Journal Entry from Urbana/Champaign |
It's 20 below here in Urbana/Champaign, Illinois. The
sidewalks were once again obscured in a few inches of
fluffy snow. Sherpa is recovering from a cut on her
footpad which cost $165 to stitch up. She had her
first walk in 6 days today, but it'll be another 4
till she can get the stitches out and walk in earnest.
My support car was at last put out of her misery.
She's staying here in Urbana, while the rest of the
crew will continue the long walk to D.C. carrying all
we need on our backs.
Before you despair on this situation, let me make it
perfectly clear that I do not. It's a relief to have
lost the car. It made sense when I had a support
driver, but it's been a long time since I had one of
those, and the vehicle has really become a burden.
Besides the "How many pairs of shoes have you gone
through" question, the "How do you WALK with a CAR?"
query had become the bane of my existence. I briefly
considered buying a new vehicle... perhaps upgrading
to a fancy van that I could live in with some degree
of comfort from the cold. The thought of that was
appealing, I must admit - but after a few phone calls
and e-mails trying to raise the money, I realized this
was not going to be a possibility. For a few hours, I
felt a bit anxious over my situation. Not much, mind
you - I rarely fret over problems for very long. You
always have a choice when faced with a dilemna: you
can despair and feel sorry for yourself (which I did
often before this campaign), or you can fix the
problem. I figured out that no amount of worrying has
ever solved a problem for me, so I set to figuring out
a solution as quickly as possible.
It was my current host who gave me the inspiration,
really. I was rattling off some of the options
available to me (and at that time, backpacking was a
remote one), when he made an unfortunate observation.
"Sure, you can probably get a new van. But then
that'll break down after long, too. Or something else
will happen. It's always going to be some problem.
It's never going to end."
At the time, I thought it sounded so nihilistic. It
also sounded achingly familiar. It was what I used to
say to myself at the appearance of every little
obstacle that came my way before embarking on this
walk. If that nihilism has diminished, it is only out
of force of habit. There were always problems to deal
with, but I had to force myself to accept that if I
couldn't get rid of the problems, at least I could
change my reaction to them. It wasn't easy at first. I
had to pretend... to "act as if" I could overcome
anything, even when everything in the world was
telling me I was failing. Over time, it became a
natural response. Even when I didn't know what I was
going to do as I watched the head gasket blow on the
car, I knew it was all going to be okay. What other
option is there?
Sometimes you have to lose everything to gain
everything. For months, I would lament the lack of
change in my immediate environment. I had come so far,
grown so much, and encouraged so many - so how was it
that nothing in my immediate environment had changed?
Most everything I had was exactly what I had left
Seattle with... improper gear, tempermental support
vehicle. All this time, I thought that improving my
environment meant just getting a better car and gear.
For the first time, I had the realization that perhaps
improving my situation meant getting rid of all the
excess baggage. The thought of it didn't scare me at
all. I thought of all the benefits: I won't have to
drive 30 miles to find a place to camp. In rural
America, it's easy enough to duck under a bridge or
into a grove of trees. I've done it for months
whenever I took my three-mile break. Now I can simply
walk until I find a suitable place to spread out my
bedroll.
Bedroll. That was yet another problem. I had been
using two three-season sleeping bags along with a pile
of blankets to sleep in. It was all fine and well when
I had a car to stow it in, but there was no way I
would have room for all of that in my backpack.
Problem #2 - I didn't actually have a backpack. I
fired up my cell phone and worked my way down the list
looking for someone with a spare zero-degree rated
sleeping bag and a bivouac sack to replace the heavy
tent. Of course, those things are hundreds of dollars
apiece, and I had about $8 in my account outside the
$200 I had been saving towards the purchase of a plane
ticket to Seattle (see the bulletin board for my
"Jeanette Goes to Court" post). Obviously I would have
to drop out of the court case. That didn't bother me
much. I had sent out dozens of press releases about
the lawsuit, and no one seemed the least bit
interested. I had to come to terms with the fact that
nothing could take precedence over the walk. The plane
ticket had to go.
I found a lovely backpack at the local outdoor store
for $175, which is actually a really good price for a
quality pack. An old friend in Seattle, probably
horrified at the thought of me traipsing through the
Midwest winter with inadequate gear (and he knew I
would try), offered to send his winter bag and bivy
sack for free. I bought a couple of new polypro
thermals, and am now good to go.
Here's what I'll carry:
- bedroll, bivy, and small tarp
- 5 polypro tops
- 5 pairs of winter socks
- 3 layers of pants
- fleece jacket and parka
- wool gloves and outer gloves
- 2 balaclavas
- 1 bomber hat with visor
- 1 wool watchcap
- lighters
- flashlight
- Camelback water container
- several handkerchiefs
- comb, toothbrush, toothpaste
- glasses and contacts
- copies of my and Peace Pilgrim's message
Sherpa has her own backpack for a little food and
water, but mostly we'll rely on the town down the road
for resupplying food. It's everything I really need. I
probably don't even need all of that, but it is pretty
cold out here.
Isn't it grand? No more worrying about when the car is
going to break down next. No more worrying about where
I was going to get money for gas or camping fees. It's
an entirely different level from the one I'd become
accustomed to. I feel invigorated and completely at
ease with this new challenge. If I can pull it off,
perhaps it will encourage the folks out there to
approach their own problems with the same creativity
and optimism. We all have it in us, y'know.
I've tried to do this as a "real" campaign for quite a
while now. I know it has been a succesful one, though
I have very little proof of this to show anyone. Many
worry that the lack of interest from the vast majority
of the Left and the media is a sign that no one really
cares about this "democracy" thing. While I admit that
this seems to be an accurate observation, I know that
no effort is ever wasted. Every step I take will have
an effect in this world, though it may take some time
to see it manifest. If progressive organizations
aren't supportive of efforts like mine, it only shows
me that it's a problem which needs to be worked on.
There's a lot of fear and arrogance in this movement,
no matter how altruistic the people involved may want
to be. I will say this time and again: people who wish
to dedicate their lives to helping others should take
for granted that they will be supported, not face the
kind of silence or ridicule that I have had to endure.
There must be respect for a wide variety of tactics
and strategy.
Personally - I don't believe you can learn this lesson
of respect until you have deliberately placed yourself
at the mercy of the world. Until you have put yourself
out there, depending on total strangers for your
survival, you can't understand the level of courage
required to take on ANY sort of benevolent action.
Mind you - if I sound critical of the movement at
times, it is only out of love for all those wonderful
people who dedicate their lives to helping others. I
just want this movement to grow. I want it to be truly
inclusive, not limited to people who think exactly
alike. I am constantly singing the praises of the
people who chose to live simple lives out in rural
America. The lack of response to this sentiment by the
Left has the unfortunate consequence of making the
people I speak to wonder why the hell I bother to
encourage people to align themselves with any of these
"progressive" organizations. If they don't care about
me, why should these rural folks care about them?
Won't they also be met with the same disinterest for
their ideas?
All I can say is that it's a problem that needs to be
fixed. I have to believe that it's happening to me
because it's also happening to a lot of other people,
and all I can do is refuse to be defeated by it.
Perhaps that's the lesson history will take from this
campaign. As for me, I no longer see this as a
campaign. It is now a true pilgrimage. I'm not going
to waste any more precious time faxing press releases
or project proposals that never get answered (though
anyone who wants to do this for me can simply e-mail
me). No more driving around trying to make
connections. From now on - folks will have to come to
ME.
I have chased the light for a long time. Now I will
wait in receptive silence for the light to find me.
Peace Pilgrim says you cannot mistake the light which
comes from the source. It fills you with hope, and
gives you a complete understanding of your mission. I
truly feel that I am ready for this level of
understanding. Now we shall see what becomes of it.
|
See also:
http://www.thewalkfordemocracy.org
|
|
Re: Democracy Pilgrim Luvs U/C! |
by Robert Porter
bwp61 (nospam) ix.netcom.com (verified) |
Current rating: 0
28 Jan 2003
|
|
This is an absolutely inspiring story. I am amazed that Jeanette can talk so casually about sleeping outside in this kind of weather. all of us who oppose the war can learn something from her courage and determination. |
|
Re: Democracy Pilgrim Luvs U/C! |
by Robert Porter
bwp61 (nospam) ix.netcom.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
28 Jan 2003
|
|
This is an absolutely inspiring story. I am amazed that Jeanette can talk so casually about sleeping outside in this kind of weather. all of us who oppose the war can learn something from her courage and determination. |
|
Meet Jeanette, Give Her Your Grievances To Take To DC |
by ML
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Jan 2003
Modified: 06:19:59 PM |
Jeanette will be at the UC IMC, 218 W. Main St, Suite 110 on Friday, Jan. 31 from 1 to 3pm. She will be accepting written grievances from citizens to take to DC. Please stop by and wish her well before she resumes her cross-country walk.
Also, the Thursday News-Gazette had a good article on Jeanette, her dog Sherpa, and her trek on the front of the B-section, which, unfortunately is not available on-line.
There were also articles on concientious objecters and a commentary from the IMC's own Sehvilla Mann, none of which is available on-line, either, so you'll have to find a copy if you'd like to read all of this.
Kudos for the N-G for actually beginning to look more like it really covers all local news, rather than a carefully-selected slice that they think won't upset advertisers. They might wish to consider that the younger readers most iinterested in these stories often use the internet and it would be good if some of them could appear in the N-G On-line edition, also. |
|
U/C Luvs Democracy Pilgrim |
by Joe Futrelle
futrelle (nospam) shout.net (verified) |
Current rating: 0
30 Jan 2003
|
|
I'm busy tomorrow afternoon, but best wishes to Jeanette and Sherpa. I handed you my grievance the other night, and I thank you for hand and paw-delivering it! |
