New York State Marches for Peace

The Ithaca leg of New York State Marches for Peace began its walk today with a sending off ceremony at DeWitt Park in downtown Ithaca. In great spirits forty-five of us walked through downtown Ithaca, up through Cornell, and out of town. The overall response from pedestrians and vehicular traffic was that of enthusiastic support. Walking with us were veterans from the Korean War, Vietnam War, members of Iraq Vets Against the War, teachers, mothers, children, fathers, grandparents.We arrived in Dryden a little foot sore but in good spirits. We all gathered at the Dryden Municipal Building for an evening full of good food – Macro Mama’s Peanut Lime Noodles, salad provided by the ABC Cafe – and music by Ron Christi and Terry Burns. Michael Blake, a member of IVAW, shared briefly about his experience as a conscientious objector and the work of IVAW.

It was also fun to hear from the Rochester group and to hear about their successful walk today. And, by the way, the New York Times is joining us when we meet with Utica and Rochester next week on Wednesday. A great day for others to join us as well.

We are all ready to go to bed now, so we can get back on the road tomorrow,
We look forward to greeting all of you who are joining us tomorrow.