Day 39 Tuesday April 19, 2005
Harrisburg PA - Rest Day
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| Day 39 Tuesday April 19, 2005 Harrisburg PA - Rest Day |
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Harrisburg- Grace United Methodist Church (1871)
After our visit to Three Mile Island (TMI) yesterday, most pilgrims were looking forward to washing themselves and their clothes on our rest day in Harrisburg ! There seemed to be many things happening that day around town, so I tried to fit a few of these in as well in and here's how my day eventuated... My first "out in the world" activity for the day (being with the walkers is oh so familiar now !!) was to find the Public Utility Commision, where there was a hearing for the merger of Exelon, the company that manages TMI and PSEG, a smaller energy provider. It was basically an executive meeting, though open to the public, and they seemed a little surprised when Bilbo and I walked in !! We had been invited to attend by Eric Epstein, co-ordinator of the EFMR monitoring group, and so were handed the merger documents and left to stare at the pie charts and corporate lingo while the suits drolled on about projected outcomes . Basically, though both companies will retain autonomous call centres, the new conglomerate will operate through most of Exelon's systems, being the larger and more established of the 2. The natural gas part of each company will also remain separate. I flipped through the booklet and ascertained that in real people terms, there will be noticeable staff cuts over the next four years (though a large amount of money budgetted as redundancy pay) and a marked increase in IT spending. We didn't stay until the bitter end, instead opting out before being overcome by the urge to voice our opinions about their nuclear operations ! Probably more interesting was my lesson in how to remove signatures from cheques ! There was a mini office expo in the foyer and the woman flogging the new generation "your signature can't be removed" pens was more than happy to share how they can be if you don't use one of their swanky pens !! From here I headed across to the soup kitchen that had offered the walkers to come for lunch. We checked in with Carter, one of the "Downtown Daily Bread" coordinators, to see if they needed any help. He had stayed with us at the church overnight , and is one of the Harrisburg Friends (Quakers) organising our stay. We were soon at work cooking up a big pot of vegetarian tomato bean sauce and rice, as there were only meaty dishes prepared, and a few vegetarians/vegans . Carter generously let us use the DDB showers and washing machines while there, so that achieved a few missions in one !! I went back to the church to round up the walkers and then we joined the community for lunch . It's a very welcoming space , incorporating a clothing bank , mail delivery , showers, lockers, good lunches and compassionate people working. Everyone was welcoming and interested why we were in town - I don't know how many Buddhist monks have eaten in their soup kitchen before !! With a full belly I wandered in the baking hot sun along the riverfront to the library. Time to plug in to the interNAT !! Though I would like to be writing more updates to send to people directly (cf just posting on this site) , it is good also to be uncontactable sometimes, if only to be really present in the group and focussed on our mission as a travelling community. I sent off a few days worth of media releases before becoming involved in a lengthy discussion with 3 of the staff about the walk, TMI, why the local newspaper were ignoring our visit and nuclear issues at large ! Everytown we have visited we have found people are really concerned about the possibility of nuclear accidents and/or warfare, but here there is the added dimension of TMI being so close, and having had the near critical accident just 26 years ago...There is a mixed response, in that many people (including workers) campaign actively for safety issues and the plant to be closed, where others have resigned themselves to its being there. I myself am very, very aware of the cooling towers billowing smoke only 10 miles away and look forward to walking further up the road ! Just around the corner was the weekly "Women in Black" silent vigil to protest war, rape as a tool of war, ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses all over the world. In Harrisburg, this weekly event is open to men, and any colour garb, but the solidarity with the worldwide WIB movement is strong. There were mostly positive responses to our banners and flags, the most upset man I think having his neck-tie done up far too tightly (he couldn't quite get his words out !) . The Harrisburg WIB crew were very friendly and diverse people and I am glad for the chance to stand with them in solidarity, if only physically on the corner for this one afternoon. I rolled home along the riverfront with Dave, who is living in Harrisburg and recovering from a motorcycle accident one and a half years ago. He is a very gentle and warm character with lots of amazing experiences and stories of his exploits to share, and many ideas for future projects. I know he walks with us in spirit, and hope he is able to come to meet up with the group in New York, as many people connected with him strongly. The sun was dancing orange along the river as it sank and I sighed remembering again how close TMI is... (in fact located under the flood level of this river !). No surprise visits from police this eve (someone had accidently set off a silent alarm last night) so we all settled down ready to embark on another week of walkin'. Many, many thanks to all of the locals who shared their knowledge and resources about the TMI accident , offering us posters and books and support for the remainder of the walk ahead. I will carry the stories from here with me to the UN and beyond, continuing to walk for justice for all people who have been affected by nuclear accidents and with the prayer in every step that the nuclear madness will end . 2 walk weeks to go !! Stay tuned !! Nat |
Day 40 Nuclear Time-Line Post Cards |
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