Wet but Wonderful Action in D.C.
by Kathy Kidd and Wendy Greene

National Staff members share their experience of supporting Peace of the Pie 2008 on the Hill

From Kathy Kidd, National Field Director, The Peace Alliance

TOTALLY AMAZING! We had ten teams--three teams in the Cannon Building, three teams in Longworth, four teams in Rayburn -– and we visited all of the offices of members of the U.S. House of Representatives in a just couple of hours. We told them that "Peace Wants a Piece of the Pie" and where they could go and get their pies.

It was raining and that did not stop people from getting their pies! One office I went into, the staffer pointed to his hair (it was wet) and he said he already got his pie (some people were circulating emails telling other offices to go get their pies), so he found out about it before he was even visited!

The highlight of the day for me was when I walked out to the park [behind the Longworth House Office Building] where we had the pies waiting for pick-up and Ted [Nunn, Maryland State Coordinator] and Wendy [Greene, Peace Alliance Managing Director] had all the boxes stacked and this huge patio umbrella covering everything and a beautiful large sign of the pie chart and Peace Alliance poster stands on each side--and there were already a dozen volunteers standing around with umbrellas. As I was nearing the park, I saw people walking past with pie boxes and pacekts, and there was a line of people waiting for their pies. It was AMAZING!!!

And all of this was happening in the rain. We are UNSTOPPABLE!!! We were supposed to end at 1:30, but stayed until 2:00 because people kept coming up. We did have some pies left and they were delivered to Walter Reed Army Hospital.

It was wonderful day and I LOVE PIECE OF THE PIE!!! Thank you everyone, for all of your support!!

From Wendy Greene, Managing Director, The Peace Alliance

Adding to what Kathy has already shared, the action in DC was amazing--and made even more powerful when we told them about what was happening in the field.

Walking into the offices to tell people, Ted [Nunn, Maryland State Coordinator] and I were greeted with the expected dubiousness. Some even got that "Oh puh-leeze" look on their face when I mentioned we were with the campaign to establish a U.S. Department of Peace. But the second we mentioned pie and told them we wanted to thank them for the work they do, their faces dissolved, smiles came up, and there was a serious amount of incredulity that we would do such a thing. Even the most dubious wrote down where to meet us and when.

Staffer after staffer who came out acknowledged our commitment for being out there in the rain, and thanked us for the creative way in which we were going about spreading the word. And an unexpected bonus--not just Representatives' offices came out. We also got to meet, thank and share information with staffers of a wide variety of committees, from Foreign Affairs to Appropriations. And yes, even the building mail and maintenance folks came out, and it looked to me like we may have inspired a few more grassroots activists.

Several staffers of cosponsors were surprised when we told them their member was on the bill and started looking at it more seriously. One staffer felt sure his member was, and when he heard he wasn't said, "He should be." (Of course, we made note of that and will be following up!)

The highlight of the day for me was when a staffer who'd previously come for a pie came back and sought me out. I figured he'd come for more pie, but he hadn't.

He told me, "I got back to my office and thought, 'If I'm going to take a pie, the least I can is take a look at their stuff.'" He'd watched the YouTube videos, and thought it made a lot of sense and wanted to hear more. We stood there in the rain for at least 10 minutes. He asked really salient, thoughtful, serious questions, and shared some of the negativity he'd heard from other staffers in his office and asked for help in responding to those issues and questions. His role in the office is around Army relations. After he left, I looked up his member on our list.

He's a Republican.

As I said, notes have been made and follow-up will definitely be happening.

By the end of the day, I was shivering from head to foot, my feet were totally waterlogged, and all of us there were still beaming. The creativity and memorable nature of this action is so key to our work, and such a model of the way in which our being the change can make a difference.

As we all know, follow up will be key. And it'll need to come from the grassroots. Looking forward to seeing all the "official" reporting, as well as many more stories and pictures.

Thank you to Kathy and George who really were the key to the DC action, to all the DC area volunteers (and those not from DC who traveled out and joined!) and all of you who took action and inspired action.

We're opening hearts and minds!