ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI IN ST LOUIS

I arrived in St Louis Sunday after an early flight out from Portland. After organizing the demonstration Sat. in Brunswick, which was a smashing success with over 300 folks in attendance, I had to get to bed early Sat. night to rest up for this trip. I am doing a week-long speaking tour that began in St Louis on the Mississippi River with a 9/11 Cruise for Peace. We took a riverboat trip two hours long up and down the river. I kept thinking about the folks at the southern tip of the river in New Orleans and how they are suffering these days. I was one of a couple folks who spoke to the large group on the triple-decker riverboat. Then this evening people moved back into the city for a nice dinner together and after that I spoke to them in more detail. I told folks about our protest Sat. in Brunswick and how we had challenged the notion that the Hell's Angels flight team was "family entertainment." I told them about Dexter Kamilewicz who spoke at the rally about his son who has been in Iraq for just two months and has already narrowly missed being killed. Dexter told us, his son Ben, is describing the conditions of the Iraq people as being similar to conditions in New Orleans. Little water, sewage in the streets, little electricity, and growing hatred for the American occupation of their land. Ben tells his parents to keep protesting and bring the troops home. After St. Louis I head on to Columbia and Kansas City, Missouri and then on to Wichita and Salina in Kansas. Will try to send some updates as I move along. Best wishes to all.