Day 1
October 2, 2006

The walk this morning started with rain. Although the fall wasn’t heavy, I had to put on my nine-dollar yellow rain suit. I looked like a representative of Fishermen for Peace. Despite the dreary weather, my brother-in-law, Jackson, and a former high school teacher, Mr. Jack Greene, walked with me. Two brave souls and their dogs met us in Richmond. They were amateur bee keepers and gave me a button that said, “Give Bees a Chance.”

The weather cleared up by the time we reached Smithfield, but when I got to Logan, my feet were paying the price for wet shoes. They were wrinkled and blistered and I had a strange rash up to my ankles. Not exactly a heartening beginning.

At 2 p.m. I put on a dry pair of shoes and walked to the corner of 1400 North and Main Street. I was amazed to see almost 150 people waiting. Who could have imagined that on a weekday, during work hours with bad weather, this many people would show up?

The walk was quiet and had a certain power because of it. People shared experiences and shook hands as they walked. We stopped by the Eyes Wide Open exhibit of boots and shoes representing those who have died in Iraq. Brenda Chung helped bring it to Logan and I’m glad she did. It’s harrowing, but helpful to have a visual representation of the human cost of the war. We had a moment of silence and then continued walking.

We ran into a pro-war protestor with a homemade sandwich sign. It was a person my wife and I know from church. He’s a really nice guy and he wasn’t yelling or being rude – just doing what he thought was right. He feels we owe something to the Iraqi people for messing up their country. I couldn’t agree more. I just think the best way to do that would be to give them their sovereignty and freedom. Still, I was deeply touched by his civility.

On the south side of Logan, I waved goodbye to the wonderful crowd and headed toward the Jensen Historical Farm. I can’t say how touched I was by all the good people who walked. Today was Gandhi’s birthday. We learned this after we planned the walk, but it’s good to remember. I think he would have been pleased to see so many people walking to support peace.

VIEW JACK GREENE'S EXPERIENCE