This is about protesting the School of the Americas (renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation), legislative work to encourage Congress to close the school and to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate the school's curriculum and its alleged ties to human rights violations in Latin America, and other related issues.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Day two, 9:00 p.m.
Today was a good day. I finished my work for my Big Media Job, and I got to go to Stella Niagara in Lewiston for my friend Jinni's watercolor painting class. Lewiston is a beautiful village, with lots of interesting shops and a state park dedicated to visual and performing arts (Artpark). It's also right on the Niagara gorge, and that is always a stunning sight, winter or summer. Springtime is best for me. I was well distracted from the yelps of my tummy by the beauty of the hyacinths, forsythia, jonquils, and daffodils. Also, I've noticed some azalea bushes starting to blossom. The trees are turning green again.
Hmm, well, I learned a lot about horticulture when I was in prison and working in the greenhouse (which has since fallen over in a windstorm).
But I digress. The painting class was great fun. We all made paintings with people in them, which was good because last week, we found drawing people to be a bit nightmarish, and we started to rebel. This week, we learned a new technique, which made drawing and painting the people to be a whole lot easier. My painting featured a couple dancing on water's edge beneath a full moon. In the background, there was a lighthouse on a hill.
Sister Celia looked at my painting and said, "Love is in the air."
I'm not entirely sure of what motivated me to choose this romantic theme but I did...
... and I'm glad that I did...
I'm thinking that my choice of themes to paint may have been a reminder to myself that my protest isn't just about getting rid of the negative... the violence of wars that leads to torture and assassination... it's about saying that all people deserve to have positive, life-affirming experiences... which they can't really have if there are military trained to commit human rights violations running around their countries!
My tummy wasn't really growling while I was painting... I was probably well distracted... so all is good... I'm feeling strong and happy that I chose to make this statement for human rights.
I hope that you are feeling well and, if you're fasting, too, I hope that you're feeling strong...
I'll post again tomorrow.
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