GfP Newsletter - July 2007

Dear GFP member, and Friend of GFP

I can't believe it is halfway thru August already. Time flies. I hope you have been having fun, because I have been very happy!

In addition to PPJ vigils and rallies, Homeless Coalition meetings, concerts at the pier and at the plaza, and acquarobics in the condo pool, I have just had two wonderful weeks away.

The first was with Mary Beth and Bruce in Maine. As most of you know, they coordinate Global Network against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. Very busy organizing an international week of protest to stop the Militarization of Space, Oct 4 - 13. Their flyer reads:

"Is this the world we want? Satellites, giant
romes, radar installations watching for military
targets everywhere? Cruise missiles,
weapons in space, global strike capacity from
US bases around the globe?

For more information, see their web www.space4peace.org Bruce will be in Bradenton on Jan. lst. He is a powerful speaker, with a powerful message. I will trey to set up a local venue for him here.

From there I went to an Elderhostel at Campobello, on the Bay of Fundy (Canada). It was held at the International Franklin D. Roosevelt Park. We were suffused with stories and anecdotes about FDR and Eleanor and their five children. I had always known of their commitment to Peace & Justice issues, but hearing and reading about Eleanor, especially, made me appreciate her as a woman, wife, and mother with a delightful sense of humor. My favorite joke:

"They named a rose after me, and I was very
flattered until I read the following description in
the catalogue: 'Not good in a bed, but fine up
against a wall.'"

The Elderhostel group was composed of 28 intelligent people from many parts of the U.S. We had a beautiful facility, marvelous food, a variety of workshops (the bog, the tides and fog, shells and rocks, the salt and salmon industries, folklore & music), and one glorious day on a windjammer schooner where we saw whales, porpoises, and seals. What made this experience different from other Elderhostel programs that I've been on was the amount of interaction with members of the Campobello community, so we learned of their efforts to preserve the lighthouses, to restore buildings, and to protect their environment. They are fighting hard to prevent a Natural Gas project from being permitted on their precious shore.

Now, I am back in Florida and thinking of the agenda for Grandparents for Peace. The 1st & 3rd Saturday anti-war vigil has been held at the Bridge of Lions for 6 years! At our last PPJ (People for Peace & Justice) meeting, we voted to move to Walmart, and set up a table so we could meet and talk with people, instead of just standing & waving signs.

For the third year, GFP together with PPJ will offer a scholarship essay contest. Instead of giving one high school senior $500, the decision was made to give $l00 to a winner at each of the seven high schools. I volunteered to undertake the marketing, i.e. contacting the guidance counselor or dean at each school, asking each one to promote the contest, and give us the name of the winner, so that on Earth Day, we will have seven winners up on the stage of a new Amphitheatre in St. Augustine.

August l9 GFP will attend a Bridges Across Borders event in Gainesville, FL.. Some of you know that BAB is especially active in Colombia and Panama.

August 25 and 26, GFP will be represented at the first meeting of the new Board of Directors of the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice in
Gainesville, FL..

November l6-18 is the big School of the Americas Watch at Ft. Benning, GA.. We are getting closer to victory each year. It is an important one-of-a kind international event, so come while you can.

And please consider planning to spend the long New Year's Eve weekend at the Crooked River State Park facilities - near Kings Bay, GA.

Before closing, I want to bring to your attention once again the organization Compassion & Choices.

"When faced with the possibility of uncontrollable suffering and loss of autonomy at the end of life, people need help to understand their situation and choices. They need guidance to navigate the medical system and achieve a peaceful, humane ending. Compassion & Choices has met these needs throughout the nation for 14 years. No one who comes to us will suffer in their dying or chose a violent course or die without loved ones present because they have no other choice. We affirm that no end-of-life decision, including aid in dying, is secret or shameful."

I think this is a pretty unique service which merits our support. Their address is P O Box 101810, Denver, CO 80250,

Read. Act. Enjoy.

END THE WAR NOW!

Peg