Green Mountain Meandering Missives

  Nearly every Friday afternoon, beginning around Noontime, there is an anti-war vigil held by one or more protesters in front of the federal building on State Street in downtown Montpelier. This afternoon, one gentleman -- who had mentioned that he is 100-years-old -- held vigil alone with a large dual-sided sign with two messages, despite the heat, in order to call attention to the plight of Palestinians at the hands of the government of Israel. Text of sign (side 1): TO MY FELLOW JEWS  IN ISRAEL- HOW COULD THE NAZI  GENOCIDE OF JEWS  1933-45 BE FOLLOWED BY  THE ISRAELI  GENOCIDE OF PALESTINIANS  TODAY? Text of sign (side 2): KILLING & STARVING: WHAT NAZIS  DID TO JEWS  80 YEARS AGO,  MY FELLOW JEWS  IN ISRAEL  DO TO PALESTINIANS  TODAY _____________________ I DON'T HEAR GOD CRYING Update 1 : Had come across the gentleman around 12:30 PM, after briefly attending the community meal held at Christ Episcopal Church ...

Two pieces of prose of mine were read during the Vermont House of Representatives devotional in honor of Homelessness Awareness Day this afternoon (Thursday, January 18, 2024):  Archived video, here   Text of prose: Homeless Sneakers, here ; In Lieu of Flowers, here . In the meantime, vtdigger reports that Vermont is turning away people seeking shelter in motels during winter weather, here .  Go figure!

* Updated * (view update below) First photo taken by a neighbor last weekend. Due to getting a somewhat late start, it was not possible to do the tentatively planned greet and wave at the intersection of State and Main Streets on Thursday morning (December 21st).   Instead, Santa boarded the Green Mountain Transit City mid-day commuter bus for various stops along Route 302 in Berlin, including having breakfast at a roadside restaurant located on the border with Montpelier. The reception received at the restaurant was great as it was at the shelter for those living unhoused located down the road and also at a nearby pharmacy across the road where Santa went shopping for a personal item.  Then, while waiting for the bus back to Montpelier on his way home, he did a few different greet and waves at various locations alongside the road as well.  Once home, he took a break for a little bit before heading out again, doing a brief greet and wave at the intersection of Main and St...