Building Arlington East - What it means?

Building Arlington East is building friendships based of ideas, not things ! "I ve got a feeling, we've been here before" and "Where is the Anger, Oh Where is the Rage:

by Veterans for Peace Pat Scanlon

Check out USA Today (Click on the words below) Link is built into html)
Arlington West
film clips!




Watch the most excellent AFSC music video of Robert Cray

John Bangert here, parent of a Harwich High freshman at 3:15 AM. Back pain woke me up. But I wanted to use this awareness to remind folks that the war in Iraq is omnipresent in the lives of those families, who have lost loved ones.

My thoughts go to Carlos, Melida, and Brian Arrendondo, Joyce Kevin and Debbie Lucey, Celeste, Dante, Raphael, Al, Zappala, and Joan Kosloff and to 100's of thousands Iraqi families who live with death and pain everyday. As you know these God Star families will be with us at Nauset Regional High School on Friday, October 13, from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm. Some of these families will stay in Harwich, Eastham, Orleans and Chatham.

Alex Arredondo, Jeff Lucey and Sherwood Baker Presente!
These and many other spirits will be present this first day of October.

With every cross stake we paint, it means a group of families members not being together for holidays, birthdays, weddings, and graduations. Giant gapping holes in the human families lives forever. I am reminded of these families pain by my annoying symptoms, but my pain will eventually go away. The effects of war never does.

Some of the cut sticks are old recycled dark fir, and oak wood, some, new pine samplings just coming of age, their annual rings reminds me of the young Marines, Navy, Coast Guard and Army youngsters barely a few months in uniform. Some of the wood is nicked or with rusty nails or stapled like those with family problems, drinking, drugs, loanliness (owing money on CC cards) and using the signing bonus to get out of debt. And real loneliness from society wanting to be all they can be, the few and the brave and yes, the poor.

Recently, I call to mind being with Carlos in Provincetown and in South Chatham labor day weekend. Carlos told me to look into Alex's face on the enlarged picture on Alex in Najaf three weeks before he was killed. He is on a Humvee(*) with a rapid fire machine gun. The next enlarged picture is Alex laid out in his Marine Corp dress uniform in his coffin. Carlos said something so profound, "Killing begets killing and is eternal. It never stops until all are dead." War is never winnable. War is NOT the answer!

Kevin Lucey calling from Chicago yesterday, during a break at a seminar, spoke on his cell in his hushed sweet parents' voice, reminding me of how Gandhi would speak. Kevin & Joyce's profound sadness is resulting in community education. Jeff's death is not counted in the death count, but we count Jeff and 90 other know or admitted suicides of hundreds coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. How many families are not coming forward? Kevin found his son hanging in their Belchertown basement after returning home from a family gathering. Jeff had hanged himself. Kevin removed his son from the garden hose and took his son down and cradled him one last time home before the Belchertown police came. The dog tags Jeff had laid out on his bed were those tags of Iraqi killed.

So today Sunday, let us give up our churches, or autumnal walks and get together as a caring, loving community, to paint, and assemble markers which stand for the dead for crosses, crescents, and stars' of david. Come be among like minded folks. Turn off your talking tubes and make history.

Talking of history-! Today is also Elder John Brewster Hopkins birthday, we learned at the Whitman House restaurant following yesterday's painting. I was awe struck, but not shocked, to learn that we were sitting six degrees from history with true patriots descendents of John Adams, Elder William Brewster Nickerson from the Mayflower, Pennsylvania's David Rittenhouse, Daniel Boone, and yes a few Irish, Italians, Germans as well as native Americans and ofcourse, the great Turco line from Sicilia and Massena!

Come today and next week and the week after.
Change your plans join Harwich highschoolers and thier parents to build this moving memorial. Have a hand in Arlington East now! All Day Peaceful Pot luck lunch starts at 1pm, come earlier we have a lot of work to do.

(*)The Humvee name comes from the pronunciation of the abbreviation of its prosaic military title: High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle -- HMMWV.

Come today, Sunday Oct 1, and join a wonderful community effort to paint the memorial markers for Arlington East. Bring a dish to share. Painting all day-potluck begins about 1:00.

From: Elder John Brewster Hopkins, VFP

"Just a reminder about painting grave markers this weekend, bring a 2" brush for latex, primer or white latex paint if you have any old usable cans at home, maybe a rag or two and paint clothes.

Directions to my house: is 314 Route 6 at Augustus Construction sign right after great Hollow Road and after the Whitman House Restaurant. Everything is set up in the barn.
Phone: 774-836-6403

All day is okay for any amount of time you can do. 8am to 5 pm"