WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul
By Alice Gerard
Aug 5, 2008
We left our campsites at Devil’s Lake State Park early on Saturday morning. It didn’t take us long to depart. We seem to have become quite proficient at packing our luggage, the air mattresses, and the tents in a short amount of time.
We all got on the bus and returned to Baraboo. Just the previous day, we had walked from Devil’s Lake State Park to Baraboo. It was a short walk but a workout, nevertheless. Half of it was uphill on winding roads. Saturday’s walk was promising to be longer. Fortunately, we started early. I didn’t really feel awake yet and was hoping that I would be halfway to our destination before I realized that I was tired and that my feet hurt.
We walked out of town on sidewalks. I have learned to appreciate sidewalks greatly since I began this walk. Many places are not equipped with either sidewalks or paved shoulders. Walking on the loose gravel that seems to be a staple of many country roads certainly plays havoc on many feet and shoes.
So, I enjoyed my time walking through the town that was so famous for circuses that it had a huge circus museum in its downtown section. I got to window shop and to look at windows and architecture. Before long, we were out of town. The sidewalk had ended and we were back to walking on gravel. After a while, we were stopped by a Sauk County Sheriff’s Deputy. He told us that the shoulder was coming to an end and that it might be a good idea if we were to walk in the closed lane on the opposite side of the road. We thanked him and crossed the road.
From that point on, Saturday’s walk had become quite easy. When we switched to another road for the rest of our trip to Reedsburg, we were able to walk on a wide shoulder. This enabled us to walk together and to chat and to hold up our signs so that passing motorists could see them and honk, wave, and flash peace signs. I walked with Cassandra, one of our day walkers. She is part of the Christian Peacemaker teams, and she is planning on spending two months in the West Bank next spring. She has already been there, so this is a return trip for her. Conditions there sound very difficult, especially for children, she told me.
While we were walking, we saw our usual share of road kill. Speeding cars and animals are a very poor combination. One of the deceased was a skunk. We could smell the deceased long before we saw it. Helene, who has a poor sense of smell, fortunately, was spared from experiencing that aroma. The most difficult sight for Alice the cat lover was an orange tabby cat that lay dead in the middle of the road.
The cat looked as if it must have been someone’s beloved pet. Somehow, the cat got out of the house and lost its life in the middle of a high speed road. I wondered if the owners had put up lost cat flyers or if they had advertised in the newspaper. Most likely, they will never know what had happened to their beautiful cat.
A pet is as much a family member as a human. We grieve when the cat or dog dies, just as we grieve when a human dies.
But when a family member, animal or human, simply disappears, we don’t know what to do. During the course of this walk, during our presentations, I have heard so many stories of people who have disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again. Their families are left sad and wondering, where is our son? Where is our daughter? Where is our father? Our mother?
We had to keep walking. Eventually, we found our way to Dick and Tricia’s house. There we had our lunch on their deck. It was a beautiful space, and lunch was delicious. It included a cucumber salad, fruit, pasta salad, feta cheese, and iced tea.
Dick told us about the devastating floods in the area. He said that the rainfall was torrential in June. One day, 12 and 1/2 inches fell, and the next day, another five and a half inches fell. Many houses had to be condemned because of the flooding.
After lunch, we walked toward Reedsburg. I was so happy to see a horse stable. The horse were outside, running in an enclosed pasture. They looked free and happy as they ran.
At about 2:15 p.m., we arrived at Oak Park in Reedsburg. The park was full of kids and coaches. They were having a practice session: throwing, catching, and batting. Some of the people were so impressed with the Wheels of Justice bus that they pulled out cameras and started clicking right away.
Soon, we all piled onto the bus and went to St. John’s Lutheran Church. It was to be our home for the night. We were greeted by Pastor Marsha Swenson and the pianist, Leta Palmer. Pastor Marsha mentioned that there would be a service at 5:15 p.m. I was very happy about that. I wrote in my journal, bathed my feet in epsom salts, and then went to the service.
The service was a good experience for me. Afterward, Helene said, “You look all happy now.”
Dinner was provided to us by Barbara Hoffman, Pat Belongie, and Joanne Robson. They prepared lasagna and garlic bread. They also made a salad. They had made two versions of the main course: one for vegetarians and one for vegans. Laura and Leah were so happy with their vegan feast. We even had vegan chocolate cake. Leah told me that it had no cholesterol in it! It tasted great!
After dinner, Barbara got her guitar out and played songs. We all enjoyed singing. We also sang a good bye song to Helene and Bob, as they were leaving the walk on Sunday. We would have sung to Laura, too, but she was singing. Bob is coming back soon. Laura is unable to return, and Helene is going home to Sweden.
For the most part, it had been a happy day. I had gone to church at St. John’s because that was the church that provided us hospitality. Pastor Marsha had created the warm, nurturing, meditative environment that I needed. She said everything that I needed to hear.
The world was a beautiful spot for me.
I was determined to continue walking to end the war. It seems to be the least that I can do… and the most that I can do.
(to be continued…)
