Heading Home

Hey everybody, I know there is an obvious lack of posts the past few days, especially at a time when I have so much to tell you about!
Right now me, Daphne, and Lil C are headed home to VA, after a couple of great days in Austin, TX and a day in New Orleans. I have a lot of photos to share with you and characters to introduce from both the OK City and Crawford adventures. For months I knew the trip would end in Crawford, but nothing prepared me for the day’s actual events. There will be a lot to write about. Shockingly, I’m pretty exhausted and still not anywhere near catching up on sleep. I’m traveling with two people who have never seen the Southwest or Southeast, so the adventures are still abounding! It’s very strange to be riding in a car, yesterday we covered 500 miles in just eight hours. I said my tearful goodbyes to Audre, who is now in the hands of Urban Moto. She is being shipped home, thanks to Genuine Scooters.

Honestly, I can’t wait to arrive back home, carve some pumpkins and walk the dog. The question I get asked the most is, “What’s next?” Well, Crawford was only the finish line of the ride-there is still a lot of work to do for Peace and Justice. And I can’t wait to tell you about the wonderful people I’ve met recently. If you want the scoop through some other people’s eyes- check out Steve’s site http://thescooterscoop.blogspot.com/

Also, the photographer from CNN, Erika Dimmler (thanks and it was really great to meet you!) sent me her Flickr pics, which you can view at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60411680@N00/

Meeting Kay, who runs the Crawford Peace House, was a huge honor. She is a very wise and loving woman, and my biggest regret is that we had no time to really spend with her. My favorite part of the Crawford visit was the walking meditation me and Kay took through the Peace Labryinth when I first arrived. It was a necessary action after an 11,000 mile Peace Pilgrimage. Despite all the hoopla, CNN even followed us around the walk for awhile, the walking mediation helped me to reflect on my personal transformations and to focus my intentions for future activism. Below are her words about P.E.A.C.E SCOOTER:

“CNN was there with cameras rolling when Alix B. pulled her scooter into the parking space in front of the Statue of Liberty at the Peace House on Saturday, Oct. 13.

Synchronicity was really playing out for her visit to Crawford. In a Friday phone conversation Alix asked me about inexpensive motels in Waco where she could meet her friend and supporter Daphne from Maine who was driving in with her eight year old daughter on Friday night.

But Alix and Daphne, both really tired and sore from long drives, 11,000 miles on a scooter for Alix, decided at the last minute to splurge, and met at the Waco Hilton instead, to take advantage of the hot tub there. Unknown to either of them, the Hilton is where the WH press core establishes residence when Crawford’s faux cowboy visits his compound.

The universe placed Alix next to some reporters and they all got to talking. One of the CNN reporters told me she even thought it was synchronistic that Alix chose this weekend to end her ride in Crawford. The local peace community only learned on Thursday evening that GWB was coming to town. Check out the CNN video here. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/13/peace.activist/#cnnSTCVideo

In all there were twelve adults and one child on hand to share a meal in the Peace House garden with this intrepid traveler for peace. Two were also on motor scooters from Austin and another scooter rider from Houston braved a 200 mile trip, saying it was the least he could do to honor Alix’s 11,000 mile ride.

As soon as CNN finished their interview, Alix and I walked the labyrinth and discussed peace. It was a profound experience for me and I am in awe of her level of commitment to engage in discussions about peace with individual people all across this country while she put a symbolic emblem of peace on the face of the landscape of the United States of America.

Local peace activists were also on hand later that afternoon, to greet Alix with signs and banners when she pulled up to the Secret Service checkpoint near the Bush compound and joined her in toasting the culmination of this chapter of her empowering journey for peace. ABC was there to film that event.

Please visit her web site ( https://peacescooter.com/ ) and share your definition of peace. She says that the only way we can achieve real peace in the world is through consciously exploring, defining and sharing our vison of what we believe peace is. Then we must create that vision. She is an articulate and brave individual.

Indeed, is not a sincere dialog crucial in understanding that it is individuals who must engage and connect on a grassroots level to bridge the gaps created by leaders who seek to divide us into opposing factions, based on fear programming, in order to continue to grow their wealth and power? This is the old game of divide and conquer. But we can overcome the game by understanding that we must grasp our connectedness by maturing to a higher level of consciousness; that we must truly ‘be the change’ if our world is to survive. “We must get back to the garden,” as Joni Mitchell said.”
Thanks for those words Kay, and we will talk soon.

So, stay with me people-I’ll have some goodies up on the site for you soon! As I write this, a live video stream plays. I just heard, President Bush saying, “We need to put aside politics and find a common ground.” He should have quoted me on that, but at least he’s been listening! :0