Wednesday, November 9

Glenwood Springs, CO

Tuesday, November 8

Glenwood Spring, CO

There is a path Charlie and I walk every morning and evening in Paonia. It runs beside an elevated irrigation ditch on the North side of the town. In the morning, Christina walks with us and points out where the coal is mined, the gas station with three generations of gas station owners, the apple orchard, the Chaka shoe plant.

Yesterday a reporter from a local paper came to Christina’s house to interview the Wheels group. Charlie may have made more of an impression than the rest of us. “What kind of dog?” she asked while scratching his head. And wrote down my answer. The best kind.

When we went in the bus to take pictures, Charlie climbed into the driver’s seat. The reporter jumped off the bus and began shooting him from the street. “Hey, chould you open the window?” she asked, pointing to the glass beside Charlie’s head, “I’m getting a glare.” This happened once before. We left Charlie in the bus while I gave a presentation at a charter school in Denver. When Bob and I returned to the bus there was a group of kids standing by the front of it, taking pictures. As we got closer we saw Charlie, sittting tall in the driver’s seat, occasionally turning his head as if offering different poses.

Today we are heading to Glenwood Springs . On Friday, back to Denver and the end of the Wheels tour. A day or two of rest and Charlie and I will begin to head back to the east coast.

Kristina took this shot of Charlie and me on the irrigation ditch path. Charlie has a stick in his mouth that he has just subdued.

With Bea (tour manager) and Kevin (bus driver) about to leave Paonia

November 7

Crawford/Paonia, CO

details coming

About to meet with a group of art students at Vision School, an alternative high school in Paonia. We have two hours so I’m hoping it’s a talkative group.

Paonia is a small town in the middle of the Rockies. Many artists live here.

November 6

Crawford/Paonia, CO

unconfirmed

Saguache, CO 7:30PM
Description: forum and art at Saguache Gallery and Espresso
Date: Friday, November 4, 2005
Access: Public

November 4

San Luis Valley, CO

unconfirmed

Crestone, CO 4PM
Description: presentation @ Crestone Baca POA meeting hall on County Road T just west of Crestone

info: crestone peaceworkers, tomas@slvirc.org
Date: Friday, November 4, 2005
Priority: Medium
Access: Public

This morning we were at a high school in Alamosa, CO. Again, after our presentation, kids raised their hands to ask about the military. One had already enlisted and wanted to know how he might be able to get out. In all four high schools I’ve visited on the Wheels tour kids have shared stories of recruitment. One girl from Alamosa said, “They [the recruiters] are here all the time. They kind of pull you in. Ask a lot of questions.” She went on to say that a couple of her friends were being persuaded by the promise of a college education. In the No Child Left Behind Act there is a provision requiring public secondary schools to provide military recruiters not only with access to facilities, but also with contact information for every student. If they refuse, they face a cutoff of all federal aid.

From my friend Michael Berg of the Carolina Peace Resource Center:

Today, military recruiters have unprecedented access to public schools. The little-known Section 9528 of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 grants the Pentagon access to directories of all public high schools (supplying them with student names, addresses and phone numbers) to facilitate contact for military service recruitment. A student or parent wishing to protect privacy must actively contact the school to opt out and protect their personal information. In some districts, it can be difficult to withhold information specifically from recruiters, yet still allow this information to be used for other purposes that parents and students may approve of, such as honor rolls or school TV shows.

Candy standing with Dennis Apuan at Camp Casey in Colorado Springs.