It was a group of about 30 middle schoolers from Wisconsin.
They were a bit sleepy this early in the morning, but they were
still able to "hear" what we do, for about 7 minutes. At the end
one of the chaperones, an early 40ish guy, "Can we ask any questions?"
"Sure I said." "Name me one other country where you could do
what you do...!" blah blah blah.... He wasn't mean, and neither
was I. But we were both riled, and the kids saw that. "Do you
know why we can do this," I asked? Without awaiting his reply
I said, "There are two reasons. One, our brave young men and
women in uniform, the only group in this country I have any respect
for, defend our right with their lives. And two, people like us
here at this vigil are willing to go to jail to protect that right,
as we've gone to jail more than 50 times so far for doing this."
To his credit, he "got" what I was saying. The interchange with
the group ended positively.
As they departed and the group was moving, a good 20 feet
away now, a little red head came back, with another little
girl with her for strength. Tears in her eyes, "I really look up
to people like you," she expressed haltingly thru the tears.
"It has taken me a lifetime to learn how to stand up for us like
this, and I'm trying to have others learn faster
than I did. Your kind words of encouragement mean a great
deal to me. Thank you," I said.
I offered, and she gratefully accepted a gentle, fatherly hug.
Tears in my eyes, too, now. Such Joy. Such sorrow.
