READY, SET.....

Art work by Natasha Mayers from Maine (Click on graphic for better view)

• I have to thank my Southern California speaking tour coordinators Randy Ziglar and Cris Gutierrez. They wrote my excellent news release and have organized a series of talks ranging from San Diego, Oceanside, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Anaheim. In addition they've arranged for me to do two advance radio interviews on the great Pacifica station KPFK based in Los Angeles. Yesterday I taped an energetic show with Leila Garrett and tomorrow I'll do one with Blaise Bonpane. Can't thank Randy and Cris enough. I'll be staying at their home while in the area and Randy is a great veggie cook and gardener. He's also a huge supporter of public transit so all of our comings and goings will be on local buses and trains.
• I also have two other radio interviews scheduled before I head west as folks in other cities are getting their local media to cover my trip.
  
• Most of the rest of my west coast tour train and bus schedule was arranged for me by Global Network board member MacGregor Eddy from Salinas, California. She used her Amtrak travel rewards to book most of my segments from Los Angeles north. What great support that is for the organization. MacGregor is a dedicated WILPF member and regularly organizes protests at Vandenberg AFB in California when they fire rocket launches toward Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
• Yesterday I finished working on my basic talk for the speaking tour and the schedule is now nearly complete. I've been out walking everyday this week trying to build up my stamina and making sure my mind is focused on the month ahead. I am excited and ready to go.
  
• Here is an interesting bit I saw this morning on the email about drone pilots and PTSD:

  Quaker House Counselor Lenore Yarger had a Hotline call from a member of the Air Force whose command was trying to ignore his medical conditions and discharge him at the end of his term of service. He described a number of PTSD symptoms and Lenore asked him if he had been in combat. He explained that he has been working here in the U.S. as a drone pilot. He had seen the effects of the drones he was operating, and was very disturbed by the effects. Even though he was continents away, he found the work traumatic and distressing. Lenore explained to him steps he could take to get his medical issues addressed before his administrative discharge is complete. In fact, according to rules of war, drone pilots are considered legitimate targets and this might alert more U.S. communities to the way the presence of drone pilots can put them at risk.