We were in Washington DC at the weekend for the peace rally.

We went up on Friday and were trained by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) (who organised the march and rally) as security marshalls. We bundled up Sat morning in umpteen layers of clothes and were out on the Mall by 9. The rally went from 11-1 - we stood at the front, at the press risers, checking that only press people went on to the risers. And we could just see the stage. Many spiritual leaders started the rally with prayers of all traditions. And then some great speakers - an Iraqi; a Brit who assured us that the Brits are not behind Tony Blair and Bush; Jesse jackson; Jane Fonda, Sean Penn, various senators - the crowd was 4-500,000 strong (by the estimates of organizers who have been at many of these kinds of things) and completely peaceful. Angry, but peaceful. Not one arrest was made all day.

And then, for the march, Paul and I were on the front line, in front of the celebrities carrying the banner, and holding off the press. Susie roared with laughter when I told her - "you two little people holding off all those?" - well, yeah. We worked as a team, had been trained how to link arms and stand firm, and we sure did! And the Capitol was completely surrounded by the people in the march!

And then, that night, Paul read at Washington's poetry club, Busboys and Poets, along with about 20 other poets - he was great - they all were.

We pray that we, the people, will prevail in the end. And we are committed to doing what we can. Paul especially has been doing a lot of work for Move-On.org

On another note. Daffodils are blooming. And surviving the freezing nights somehow. They are lovely to behold.