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Thursday Evening, 8/11/2005; Crawford, Texas

excerpts from a report by William Rivers Pitt. August 11, 2005

7:22 PM: As remarkable and heartwarming as this has been, there are those moments that stomp your heart out. A woman arrived here not long ago with her teenage son. Her husband had been killed in Iraq. She had never in her life been involved in any activism, but heard about this and came out. She too, wants answers, like Cindy.

8:05 PM: I spoke to Cindy about the "so-called" family who attacked her today. This godmother, according to Cindy, did not know Casey at all. They saw each other maybe once a year. As for the other family members, they have always been at political loggerheads, so their response is no big shock. Cindy treated it with a shrug. Her husband will send out a more detailed response soon. In the meantime, Cindy says the letter is to be treated as little more than bad, dumb noise. The vigil goes on.

10:35 PM: I am back in the hotel room, sunburned and ant-chomped and utterly thrilled. Being here these last two days was the rarest privilege. It was a Happening in the truest sense of the word, and it is growing. If you can get here, get here.

BUT: Understand that this thing could be killed by its own success in two ways. 1) It could get so large that the cops would be forced to shut it down. Remember, there is very little available space for people and cars. We were all in ditches. 2) A lot of people could show up and turn the thing into a multi-faced multi-subject disorganized mess, and that would be a disaster. If you go, focus on Cindy and the families of the fallen soldiers, and ending the war and calling George to account. Period.

Cindy and the other families, and all the activists who were there, and everyone keeping this vigil, are patriots and the rarest of heroes. Don't let disgruntled outsiders or blathering right-wing pundits tell you any different. It was an honor to stand in that ditch, to watch these Americans demand accountability from the public servant over the hillside.


You have been reading excerpts from "One Mother's Stand" by William Rivers Pitt. You can follow along on the internet here: truthout.org/cindy.shtml. Thanks to truthout.org. We visit often and we hope you will too.

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