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Friday, 17 September 04 :: today's hero.

Minutes after Cheney began to speak, a man in the crowd started yelling at him. That's when another man standing nearby grabbed the heckler, covered his mouth and wrestled him to the floor. After a brief pause, Cheney continued with his speech.

i have a hero for today. unexpectedly.

i was watching the 5 o'clock news, not something i planned to do, but it was on and i was darting about the house getting rain ready to go downtown. i was distracted, so the news being on was okay. and after hearing about protesters at cheney's appearance in eugene, i wanted to see if i could spot any of my friends holding up signs.

next thing i know i'm shouting at the top of my lungs "LET HIM GO, YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO HIM, DON'T HURT HIM".. it was my friend peter. my sweet accupuncturist friend peter. he was the man who shouted down dick cheney today, and when i saw them hurting him as he was telling the truth that would never be spoken in that crowd, my heart lept into my gut which lept into my voice, and undoubtedly my neighbors were disturbed.

i called peter that moment. afraid i would get his partner on the phone, he was in jail, or maybe in the hospital. but he wasn't. he wasn't in either place. he was his usual calm, peaceful self. proud, happy that he got on the news, glad to hear my voice.

i finished on the phone and got on my bike to ride downtown. i yelled as i rode...

I HAVE THE COOLEST FRIENDS!!!!

and i do.

and today my friend peter is my hero. peter had the courage to speak the truth to one of the men who is responsible for the killing of the innocents, who is responsible for killing the innocents here and abroad. my friend peter today looked into the eyes of a man who believes that we live in a world just for the rich white men and has the power to create that world and told him exactly what he is. a criminal. he told him, he voiced the rage that so many of us hold in our hearts, he got to direct it at the person who should have it. and that person heard him.

today peter is my hero. i'm so lucky my heros are my friends.

posted by brooke at September 17, 2004 08:25 PM

comments

Excellent! Yay Peter!!! And even better that he is home safe. This gives me hope.

posted by: Chasmyn at September 21, 2004 12:18 PM

about
i'm brooke, born in '73. i am currently a phd student in instructional technology. this is the blog where i capture all the neurotic, and the few non-neurotic, moments that seem to come with being a phd student (if you want to read less neuroses and more professionalism go to: oer's, dl's, reuse and culture: it's about a phd student researching digital resources in a multicultural world). i have been from eugene, oregon for a long time.. 8 years specifically (its my home now, but i grew up in southwestern virginia), but now i'm here in logan, utah at utah state university. after finding my roots in eugene i never could have expected that i would leave that liberal oasis and head to utah. but i did and there are days when its a blessing and days when i'm tempted to go back to oregon and beg the folks at lost valley educational center to let me move in. but i won't leave because there are days when this process is better than any kind of high i could ever imagine. what else? i collect things, i have 2 cats, 2 kayaks, 2 laptops (i'm a geek - one mac, one pc). i can be emailed at brookesblog@rivervision.com.