Sam's second demonstration was on March 22nd. Two days after war began he joined his grandparents and uncle john along with 200,000 others to walk down Broadway from 49th Street to Washington Square. Sam was a trouper. He loved checking out the crowd. And there was a lot to keep an eye on, especially the cops. These guys in blue were generally pretty good. And like everyone else they were so charmed by Sam that they willingly agreed to serve as his private bodyguards. Not that anyone would want to do anything bad to the boy; on the contrary, Sam made a concerted effort to amputate, via his new teeth, his uncle john's finger. It's true, of course, that going 5 miles in that front pack thingie is exhausting. Food, food, right now! No time to stop and picnic, we're in a march! After that quick bite, John took him over to visit more friends. See the guy with the club out? When John and Sam started walking back to our group, John heard the cop standing next to club man saying "hey dude, what do you think you're waving there? Put that damn thing away." So John brought Sam back to his family for a kodak moment. The fellow to the right of Sam/John/Mary is our friend Jeff Wiens, just about the finest actor Sam's grandpa has ever seen (not including mom and dad of course!). It was hard to know how much Sam was getting, on a deep intellectual level, from this outpouring of protest; how much he grasped of the complex hegemonic arguments. But I'll say one thing: he already has more wisdom than the Blair and Bush war cabinets put together. Think I'm wrong? Just look deep into those beautiful eyes and tell me who you'd rather follow!

We were tired and a little sore, but we reached the end with a satisfaction that it had been worthwhile. Just to show the world that there are a few Americans who think the Bush/Blair war is unjustifiable. Short term gain (Saddam gone) long term pain (America as an ever-expanding pariah, incurring an ever-expanding hatred, on the world stage). I want my grandson to grow up in freedom. Without fear that he will be a terrorist victim someday, or be silenced by his own government(s) when he speaks forbidden thoughts. Sam brings me life, and hope. In these hard days, we grasp at that. Like drinking from a magnificent fountain while surrounded by endless desert.

So Sam wants everyone to have this flower as a token, a hope for a better future.




p.s. after the march we stopped by aunt desiree's famous specialty jewelry store to show off Sam to her friends. Let me tell you, this shop is amazing. What you're seeing is just about the entire shop. It's small. On a tiny street. No name on the door. Very posh and exclusive. And frequented by more celebrities than you could shake a stick at. I figure about half the Academy Award winners were wearing jewelry from Desiree's shop...