Green Mountains VT to Portland Convention

In Vermont I stayed at the Hapgood Pond campground of the Green Mountain National Forest.  The pond is a good swimming hole and there is a warm shower there.   It has begun to rain a lot and that limits my camping to places where I can park the truck and stay in it.  I camped in the White Mountains in a “dispersed camping” site off of highway 118.  The White Mountains National Forest  clearly marks roads that are non fee dispersed camping areas…the first national forest I have visited to do so.  It rained from midnight to my writing of this.   I will spend about a week in the White Mountains as I am early and want to arrive Portland on August 23rd.  I’m camping at Russell Pond just south of Lincoln, New Hampshire in site g2 until Monday morning.  Join me if you can,  there is room for more campers.   The pond is an excellent swimming hole and there are no mosquitos or biting flies…first camp where there are none.  I can’t explain it because there are pools of water everywhere.  The White Mountains are thickly forested mostly of deciduous trees and the leaves are already turning although the hummingbirds are still here so summer is not yet gone.  I have finished Sex and War and posted a review under issues at this website: 

http://www.vfpsb.org/2010/08/sex-and-war/

Now I am reading “Don Quixote’,  by Cervantes,  a veteran and former POW who was a contempory of Wm Shakespeare.   They died on the same day.  Its another story of conflict and aggression.

I’m safely settled at my cousin Neil’s home in Windham,  17 miles from Portland,  right on the river….we canoed up the river yesterday and I’m at the convention now.

At the convention, just ending today,  a lot of attention was given to the Middle East and very little to Latin America so I am recommitting myself to understanding and assisting the Hondurans in their struggle and may go with Alliance for Global Justice to Honduras:  http://afgj.org/?p=682.

The convention has been a lot of fun and a very progressive one.   National is getting its arms around the budget and focus issues,  important for a peace group.  “How Is The War Economy Working For You?” would seem the message that works.

Ben Cohen,  partner in Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream not only fed us more ice cream than I have ever eaten but did a truly brilliant cost of war display with Oreo cookies that HAS to be our outreach to middle and elementary schools!  I was gratified when Col Ann Wright stressed that it was Santa Barbara’s Arlington West that recruited her into Veterans For Peace.  Arlington West displays across the nation got the award for Cost of War efforts!  Jim Brown of San Diego’s display was there with Gilbert Robledo and I to accept the honor.  Jim set up the first duplication of Arlington West in January of 2004.
Stand outs in the convention include Eduardo Cohen’s Media workshop and Chris Hedges summary of our future.