Iowa DUers..If you can't go to DC this weekend, come to

[MaggieSwanson]

the Cedar Rapids protest.

Saturday, Sept. 24, “Stand in Solidarity Day”

Support the thousands marching in Washington, DC that day, as we add our voices here at home and call for an end to the war.

11:00 to 1:00
First Ave and 27th St NE
Cedar Rapids

There will be plenty of signs provided, or bring your own.



Peace,

Maggie

[Bluzmann57]

1. OK I'm there!

Heck, I'll even leave home early so I can find the place. See, like a lot of men, I get lost,er, misdirected easily. But yeah, I'll be there. Please save a sign for me, as I can't draw worth a darn. See you there!

[MaggieSwanson]

2. I'll be in DC...

But I left a whole bunch of signs with my friends.

-Maggie

:hi:

[pstans]

3. Thanks for the info

I might make it over to CR on Saturday.

[CornField]

4. Can't come

I've got a training session in Iowa City. *sigh* I still be with you in spirit. And, if the pro-war, pro-Bush fellow shows up again... someone offer him a big lollipop "to sweeten his sour pucker." ;-)

[rurallib]

5. No one showed up!!

My wife and I went to 1st ave & 27th street on the way to Lindale. I am not from CR. CR has always been one of the most confusing cities for me to navigate. At 1st & 27th there is a bridge over 1st ave, right? NO ONE SHOWED UP! Someone had told me that there was another 1st ave & 27th street. So we drove over there @11:15. NO ONE THERE EITHER! Drove about 40 miles to CR for nothing.

[pstans]

6. That sucks

I almost made the trip over, now I am glad that I didn't.

I agree that CR is hard to navigate. All of these NE, NW, SE, SW, Ave's, St's. can get confusing.

[Bluzmann57]

7. Um...I was there

as were a few others. I got there a bit late, around 11:30 or so, and it appeared they were just getting started. It was raining so I think they delayed it. There was a real estate office on one corner, some type of coffee shop on one corner, and you are correct, there is a bridge over First Avenue. It was First Avenue and Twenty Seventh Street NE, which is where I initially made a mistake also. When I got there, there was a woman talking to Maggie Swanson on her cell phone. Apparently, Emmy Lou Harris had just got done singing. There wasn't a great big crowd at the corner, but we covered all four corners of the intersection and got mostly positive feedback. There was one guy who started saying something about "Being trapped in a building", apparently a reference to 9/11. He then called us "pussies" and drove off after a couple of us asked him to enlist. Especially one of our group whose son just returned from Iraq. He was visibly angry at that clown, but overall, a pretty successful mini rally. Too bad you weren't there at the same time I was. It would have been good to meet you.
On edit,there were two wrecks in a period of about ten minutes at the corner. The second one happened while the cops were there investigating the first. There were a few guys on the skywalk, bridge, whatever you want to call it, and one of the organizers, Wendy something or other, told them that they should come down as they were causing a distraction to drivers. Damn hippies! Of course, actually paying attention to driving is helpful too. And lest I forget, there was a guy in the group walking across the street holding up two signs every time the light changed. Good thinking on his part.

[CornField]

8. I drove through about 4:45-5 p.m.

I was hoping you all were still hot at it. Oh well... I have little doubt we'll have to do this again.

As a side note, maybe we should posts links to one of the map sites showing the location for those who want to come in from out-of-town. I understand the confusion. Cedar Rapids gave me huge fits when I first moved here. The secret (at least for me) was knowing the quadrants aren't divided by geographic location. That is, just because a street is NE don't expect to find it on the NE side of town. The dividers are pretty much 1st Ave/Williams Blvd. and the Cedar River. (If you cross the river you are on the west side of town -- everything is either NW or SW, depending on which side of 1st Ave./Williams Blvd. you are on).