Month: May 2008

I visited Atlanta last year and some parts of the route will be re-traced to make this 20,000 mile Peace sign. I almost went around it this year though until I noticed that the WAND chapter here was hosting a Mother’s Day for Peace event with keynote speaker Alice Walker. Atlanta WAND is the local chapter of a national organization that” seeks to channel women’s voices into a powerful movement for change.” I was finally able to contact someone over the phone and they offered me a $10 activist ticket. It felt great to be acknowledged as an activist, even when I realized that means I am broke…..

It was a powerful setting- from the second I rode onto campus. Spelman in a historically black, four year womens liberal arts college. (that’s a mouthful). Howard Zinn, one of my favorite authors and activists, was a teacher there, actually teaching Alice Walker, one of my other favorite authors.

There were about 1,000 people at this fund raising event. It was so inspirational to be in a room of people working and believing in Peace. The event also honored local activists Jackie Adams and Alice Lovelace, older women whose actions and determination have helped to improve our world. I realized we are often unaware of all the people dedicating their lives to Peace work. There were a lot of little speeches and hurrahs before Alice came out, as there often are in these events. People in these organizations work very hard, do good work, all for little money-so I was happy to applaud them.

Alice was far more soft spoken than I imagined-for all the impact her work has had. Her presence is commanding, delivered with a Jedi’s strength and magnetism. She opened by offering several definitions of Peace, most of them personal, saying it is more than just the opposite of War, but something we can all have in our immediate lives. I’m falling off my church pew at this point, within just five minutes.

Her story is inspirational. Her first protest was at age 15 and she has worked since then for social change. Her skill as a speaker is in her truth as a human. She has not just the life experiences, but the intelligence to synthesize meaning from them and teach it to others.

When she addresses greed, war, Peace, and the collective consciousness, it is with such authenticity that even naysayers would be in agreement. She navigates difficult terrain that often divide us politically, by focusing on simple truths. She quickly isolates the truths and reminds us what to work towards and how to do so.

For instance, saying that, “while war may be old, it is not wise,” and reminding us of the percentage of children and innocents who die in each war. She asked that world leaders be the ones to take the losses of children, innocents and animals into consideration. It is a good point, and why the Peace Alliance is working towards legislation for the Department of Peace, to have a dep’t that presents this information to the Dept of Defense. Like I said earlier, this something even Thomas Jefferson thought fit for the Constitution.

Alice also compared the same greed her parents had to the greed that motivates leaders to start wars. It was an interesting conclusion and an appeal for accountability, which can only start by recognizing there are no shades of grey to something like greed.

Her personal story is an amazing one, as are her many books. Since no one had even charged me the $10 to get in, not sure how that happened, I purchased a book and joined my place in line for her signature. Once I was face to face with her, I asked for a picture. The person behind me then jumped up and began confessing her adoration. I stood there, with a piece of paper in my hand, with this website on it. Her  bodyguard noticed this and nudged Alice. “She has something for you.”

Alice turns to me to accept the paper. I tell her what an honor it would be for her to leave her definition here on the Wall of Beliefs. Her eyes are staring into me and everyone around us has disappeared, she is a powerful woman with incredible presence. She asks what this is all about and I say that I am driving 20,000 miles to make a Peace sign on the U.S. map and to hopefully inspire Americans to articulate what Peace means to them, as this is the only way they/we can acquire it.

I say I believe Peace is like health, something we must work at daily, not just wait until we are sick. She nods, as does her bodyguard. The three of us are having a counsel it feels. I tell her how exciting it was that she opened by defining Peace. She looks deeply into me again and bows, saying something like, I hope you complete this ride with mindfulness and be good to yourself too. Her bodyguard bows, we all bow, and say Namaste.

Namaste means the light in me bows to the light in you. It is a way of thanking another for an exchange. I first heard it in yoga class.

She had concluded her speech by reading from her latest children’s book, Why War is never a good idea. Sometimes the strongest messages are heard when conveyed simply.

I will conclude this entry with an excerpt of her interview about the book. And by saying that I am so glad I am visiting Atlanta. More on that and the incredible hosts I have here. This passage is profound because it addresses the questions we should ask before agreeing to go to war. I don’t feel like I have been taught to think about war in the way that is reflected below. I’m posting it because whether or not we go to war, we should think about these things.

“However, seen from the perspective of my children’s book, there is no such thing as a “good” war, because war of any kind is immoral in its behavior. War lands heavily on the good and the not good with equal impact. It kills humans and other animals and destroys crops. It ignites and decimates forests and it pollutes rivers. It obliterates beauty, whether in landscape, species, or field. It leaves poison in its wake. Grief. Suffering. When war enters the scene, no clean water anywhere is safe. No fresh air can survive. War attacks not just people, “the other,” or “enemy,” it attacks Life itself: everything that humans and other species hold sacred and dear. A war on a people anywhere is a war on the Life of the planet everywhere. It doesn’t matter what the politics are, because though politics might divide us, the air and the water do not. We are all equally connected to the life-support system of planet Earth, and war is notorious for destroying this fragile system.”

-Alice Walker

Have I mentioned yet that I want to mow at least one yard in each state into a Peace sign?
I need your help! I haven’t mowed a single lawn yet. I’m passing tons of John Deere’s on these country roads and just longing…..

Run fast to tell your friends, family, co-workers-what have you. Help me get some grass,to mow. Here is the idea. I’ve approached Black and Decker to donate a 24V Electric, Cordless mower to raffle among those who let me mow their lawns. I haven’t heard back yet. Their mower is the better alternative to gas powered mowers, which likely contributes to 5% of our air pollution.

You can reach me about a lawn to mow, or even a place to stay, by using this sweet contact form.

There was no need for an alarm today. I leapt from the bed, showered and was packing the scoot within 15 minutes. Birds were chirping, the air smelled like spring, felt like spring. A smile broke out behind my coffee cup. Day 1 was here. My friend and boss lady Laura came by to snap some photos, while the scoot was being packed. At 1o am I was beeping goodbye to her and my roomie Wendy.

Off I sped, 40 miles down the road to meet my mom for a quick hug and lecture. Which actually never came. Mom handled the bon voyage with grace, although she declined a test drive of the scooter. The sun was higher in the sky and I felt a bit overdressed. This year a nice lady from scooterdiva.com offered me her Alpinestar knee/leg armor. Today is the first run with it on. It’s a completely necessary item, although I waddle a bit with it on, it’s hot and my knees are kinda chafed right now. Still, mere jeans don’t provide adequate protection.

The packing went rather quickly this morning, something I could do in my sleep by now. Compression sacks work magic on gear. Packed in a sack no bigger than a sleeping bag is my sleeping bag, jacket/pants rain gear, tarp, and towel. This is bungied onto the front rack. Later in the day, the weight felt like it was creating a wobble in the scooter, so some stuff was switched to the saddlebags.

When I stopped to adjust the gear, I felt a pressure to go, go, go, hurry, hurry, hurry. I’m torn about punctuality and its place. Punctuality on an epic ride like this seems to defeat the point, even though in every other situation, I try to avoid tardiness. I’m also still learning how to wrap up a candid, interesting conversation with strangers-that’s the Southern Girl in me.

Today I met and talked to 5 total strangers, all wonderful people and on most travel days, I meet more than that. I know I won’t break my back or compromise my health and safety to maintain the illusion of a schedule. It would be hypocritical of me to ask how we can improve our quality of life while compromising my own.

Dave Mangano was at Scoot Richmond when I arrived on time, at noon. It was nice to meet the man in person, having been interviewed by him for sctrsct.com. He is an intelligent man with great style and humor. Another Dave showed up to see me off and the three of us, plus Chelsea, hung around the showroom. We were lounging around on scoots and the fancy shop sofa, chatting away.

The Dave who rides a Buddy asked some questions about gear so we went outside for a tutorial. He’s a new scooterist, and we talked about his shift from driving a truck to scooter. He was a real solid guy, very generous, and he brought up some good references to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. We agreed that while in a car, everything is so insulated, framed whereas on a scooter you are part of the landscape. We talked the senses, and how they are used more. I joked this must be what makes me so hungry when scootering-shocking when all I’m doing is sitting on my rear 8 hours a day.

Dave M. asked me some questions for his podcast and shared some tech knowledge with me. Then it was time to sc00t sc00t. Time had slipped away, two hours. Chelsea thought the media might come out in addition to Sctrcst, but alas, it was NASCAR weekend in Richmond. Sadly, more interesting. It was a proper send off though and I took a moment to appreciate the absence of any stress.After hugs, I was off down Hull Street. But not before thanking Chelsea profusely for the scooter charity she has kicked my way-an amazing woman. And we worked out a fund raising idea that I will hold her to-just you wait….

Soon potholes, stoplights and urban buildings gave way to sprawling countryside. Traffic was friendly, thankfully, as I dropped my speed to handle the strong wind gusts. I was getting hit hard and had some serious wobbles that were made scarier with tractor trailers going past. The route today was a long open road, through sparsely populated countryside; couldn’t even tell it was rush hour on a Friday, somewhere at least.

Stopping for my third tank of gas, I lingered for a few minutes, making sure to hydrate. This is the most I’ve been out in the sun for awhile and I wanted to avoid dehydration. The break led to an encounter with Ricky Martin. Not the salsa dancing, pop sensation but the North Carolina raised truck driver. He had a friendly Southern drawl and asked a lot about the scooter, but never asked “Why?”

Why the heck are you doing this? So I volunteered the information and asked him how he defines Peace. He said, “I’ve never really had to answer that question.” Exactly. We talked some more and I discovered he has 2 kids and a grandaughter. We talked about how he would describe Peace to her if she asked.

His answer that Peace had something to do with freedom led us deeper into discussion. He said I could definitely make it to the North Carolina border by sunset, but not the original stopping point I had in mind. Around sunset I pulled into Eden. Knowing that I have free places to stay the next week made the motel room an acceptable splurge.

So here I am in Eden, North Carolina, traveling 235 miles my first action packed day out. As I pulled into town, the odometer switched over to 12,000 miles. Mostly all miles ridden on P.E.A.C.E Scooter, minus about 350.

I choose not to drive late into the night, at dark, as I find that foolish and not necessary. Did it enough last year and I know the force that is Southern bugs at night. They literally cover your coat and helmet, making visibility poor. Tomorrow is an early start to Asheville, NC, just under 200 miles away, where I have good friends to visit.

Thanks for reading and thank you to all those who sent me well wishes today!