Letter - Decade-long peace line ends

To the editor:

Since before the invasion of Iraq, the corner of 7th and Broadway in Alexandria has been the location of a weekly peace observance. It has been a long observance, and some of us particularly remember that at the time of the invasion, we were promised that it would be “weeks, not months” before “shock and awe” would bring an end to the regime in Iraq and destroy the weapons of mass destruction (which were not to be found).

Possibly, the recent agreements in Afghanistan will begin to bring some possibility of peace and a measure of finality to this long season of war. In hope, we are ending our weekly observance.

As long as the years have been, there have been good times on the corner. We have watched the rising moon and sensed the chill of the setting sun. In the warmth of our regard for each other, we’ve laughed at temperatures dropping way below zero. We’ve welcomed the warmth of spring and later the cool of fall. The deep honk of big trucks and the blares and beeps of smaller horns were the music of the hour. Songs, poetry, recipes, jokes and meditations on the possibility of a world at peace entertained us well for each of the hours we spent.

We will miss our drive-by friends of the corner. We are not going away however, and we will persist with our dream of peace for human kind in other ways, at other places and during other hours.

Lowell and Kay Anderson

Joe and Janice Beste

Retha Dooley and Herb Davis

Sue Engstrom

John and Helen Etnier

John and Ann Heydt

Gayle Harrington

Beth Jansen

Tim King

Jeanne Johnson

Mary Ann Maameri

Tom and Ruth Obert

Mark Olson

Mary Pohl

Gene and Judy Rose

Ann Riggs

Rita von Holtum

Marilynn Tisserand

Mary Pohl

Gene and Judy Rose

Ann Riggs

Rita von Holtum

Marilynn Tisserand

Alexandria, MN area

Tags: opinion, letters, peace