by Barbara Thorngren, NH State Coordinator

With the end of summer, garden harvests, the beginning of school and preparing for our big Gift of Peace play fundraiser on September 21st and 22nd , it was an understatement to say our small New Hampshire Department of Peace group was busy  . . . So, when we talked about who was going to the Labor Day parade in Milford no one spoke up.  We were just getting over the July 4th parade!  We decided to wait and see how life unfolded, and if any of us could attend, great, if not, that was OK, too. 

When Jake, our Student Peace Alliance Coordinator for the state, called me on Friday and asked who was going, what could I say?  I’ll go if you go!  Great strategic planning – At the last moment we had six adults, Jake and his two younger brothers.  We were invited to march with the group, WMD (Women Making A Difference).

It was 12 noon on Monday, a really hot day, lots of people, community groups, bands, politicians, cameras, etc., strolling around.  We decided to wait under the tree by the school until the last minute instead of standing on the street waiting for the 1:00 p.m. start of the parade.  We are such a small group that no one bothered us.  People passing often commented positively on our signs.  We had eight 2 ft. x 2 ft. light blue signs with white writing conveying positive messages -- "Hope is on the Horizon", etc. -- and all signs had "Support the Department of Peace HR 808" on the back.  We also had our big NH Department of Peace banner and the Martin Luther King/Gandhi poster.

We wore our bright green T-shirts and spoke to anyone who would listen.  We were approached by a local Registrar of Deeds who said he wants to meet with us in the future to support our campaign; then he walked off in his lederhosen and played This Land is Your Land for us with his brass band!  Crazy!

We then heard that Senator Obama was right behind us!  He had appeared from the building and was shaking hands and doing the photograph thing with the people who were standing around.  So, we scurried over!  Jake shook his hand and asked for his support for the Department of Peace.  I then asked if I could have my picture with him, he said yes!  I stood next to him, cameras all around and thanked him for his willingness to enter into dialogue with others, etc.  I also shared with him that my son was overseas for a year.  I felt he was genuinely concerned about my son and really listened to me.  He had his hand on my shoulder and said told me to tell my son he personally thanks him for his service to our country, which of course I did.  Then he looked at my Department of Peace shirt and thanked us for our activist work and told us to continue to keep the pressure on, continue to do our work . . .I thanked him and I returned to the group.  We were all very happy!

As we returned to the tree and basked in our good fortune, I noticed Candy Crowley from CNN was standing right next to us!  I re-introduced myself as we had met at the Memorial Day celebration at the Cathedral of the Pines.  She then asked us many general questions about the presidential campaign here in NH.  Whenever possible, we brought in the Department of Peace perspective.  We talked for about 10-15 minutes.  Then she brought the cameras over and asked us a few pointed questions, which were edited down to a few sound bites on that nights CNN political show.  Our posters were seen as well as our T-shirts.

Our little Department of Peace group was feeling really good by now, as the parade started!  The mood of the crowd was very different this year.  Last year I was the only one marching in the parade for the Department of Peace, having to recruit my 8-year-old niece to help hold up the banner, and the crowd was not very supportive.  This year, as we walked the  mile-long route, people cheered!  They read the messages on the blue signs and said, YES!  The young people in the crowd cheered more than the older people . . . the young ones get it!  One of our signs says simply, TEACH PEACE, another, PEACE WORKS!

It was an exhilarating day!  As we walked back to our cars, people continued to talk with us.  We had another fabulous meeting with a women who is writing a book about women working for change!  She wants to interview us in the future . . . We find that whenever we are “out there” the response is so positive that people are attracted to us like water to a dry sponge.  They then tell us their stories and why they think the Department of Peace is a good idea!  We ask in turn for them to contact our political representatives and ask them to support HR 808!  Now, we need to translate all that good will into people attending our play on September 21st and 22nd.

Sometimes there is just so much to do, it feels completely overwhelming.  But, like one of our brilliant state coordinators said, “It really is about simply showing up . . .”

Thank you all for your continued support and love, which is truly what makes this campaign unique.  We really can make a difference, each and every one of us!