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Ithaca mothers/First Report from Crawford
8:50pm Sunday We have arrived in Texas. After our plane arrived in
Austin, we rented a car and began driving to Waco, where our hotel is
located. The area is rural but with strip malls interspersed among the
cow pastures. We pulled into practically the first restaurant we saw and
had an excellent Salvadoran meal of rice beans, yucca, pupusas and
guacamole. It is hot but with a strong breeze. Everything is very green
because there have been lots of thunderstorms here recently. During most
of our drive from Austin to Waco there was a brilliant rainbow that
appeared to touch down in the field along the highway 12:28 am Monday
We drove along Texas Hwy 6 and 185 from Waco to Crawford just as it was
getting dark. We drove into Crawford, a tiny crossroads town, and began
to look for signs of the peace gathering. Right near the main
intersection we discovered a small house with many cars in front, signs,
people and a glow with lights and a party type tent set up. It had a
beautiful garden with mulched walkways for people to walk through and
meditate on peace. We parked and went into the small house. People were
set up in every corner working on computers, there were large poster
boards with volunteer sign up and logistical information around the
walls. There were also many pictures of young men and women with names
below. They were service people killed in Iraq. Many people were walking
around wearing t-shirts bearing photos of their son or daughter, brother
or sister killed in Iraq. Many people seemed extremely exhausted and we
heard how their had been thousands of people there all weekend with
constant shuttles running from the house to Camp Casey. We heard how
just two weeks before, Peace House had been at the point of having their
phone shut off because of lack of funds. After a few minutes we were
directed by Brigid to a minivan which would take us to the vigil site,
near Bush’s ranch. The minivan was driven by Brigid’s mother, Donna.
At the crossroads are two enormous fake granite plaques bearing the ten
commandments. I was struck by seeing “THOU SHALT NOT KILL” in huge
letters just a few miles from George Bush’s ranch. Donna told us how
there had been thousands and thousands of people here over the weekend.
As we pulled up we saw the roadway was lined as far as we could see with
crosses remembering soldiers killed in Iraq. Donna told us that the
landowners on both sides had prohibited anyone to step foot on their
property. This means that people must hang signs, vigil and camp on the
narrow public easement. We saw one family with two babies, one asleep in
a porta crib, camped along the road side. It was a pleasant night with
a strong, cooling breeze. There were probably about forty people camped
along the road. There was a large tent set up with food, water and other
supplies. People sat in lawn chairs talking or playing banjos and
guitars. There were signs with each family’s camp reading things like:
“George: Meet with Cindy,” Support our Troops, End the Occupation of
Iraq”, “If you are not outraged you’re not paying attention”, “What is
the Noble Cause?” When we got back in the shuttle that would take us
back to the peace house, we met Mary. Mary and her husband have owned an
Italian restaurant in Waco for over 30 years and their families have been
in the area for hundreds of years. They had heard that Cindy was a
vegetarian and brought her their special whole wheat crust vegetarian
pizza. It turns out that Mary has a son in law in Iraq and her son is in
basic training for the Marine Corps. Now I understood better why Mary
was so overwhelmed by the site of the crosses along the road.
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