Peace in the Park

Today I met Colleen for lunch at Depot Park. This is the park downtown Kalispell where the Picnic in the Park concerts were held this summer.

I rode my bicycle as my car's battery is acting up again and my car wouldn't start without a jump from another vehicle. I hadn't driven my car in a week, and as the battery is getting old, I guess the battery's charge had weakened. Otherwise my battery has been working fine since I cleaned it after my Sundance Pass trip. For my to-do list: get a new battery.

I arrived before Colleen did. A band was in the gazebo playing music. They were playing some sort or punk/dirge music. Huh? Music? The concert series is over. Then I saw a few people holding small posters saying "Bring Our Troops home now". Ah, yes... the weekly "Peace in the Park" demonstration. I guess the band uses this as an opportunity to play.

The number of people in the park was small. The band was five people, and I think the "peace" people were another five or so people. And there were a few people taking their lunch break in the park. That would explain a few people eating and reading books. Not counting the band, all told there were about a dozen people.

Not much of a crowd. Not much enthusiasm as the people with the small posters didn't hold them much and listlessly stood around listening the band or talking amongst themselves.

Then a short overweight woman stood on the gazebo and rambled. The band played a repeating riff low in the background. Still, the microphone wasn't that strong and I couldn't make out most of what she was saying. Something about 9/11, war, CIA, constitution, and whatever.

She went on and on and rambled. At one point a guy stood in front of the gazebo with the words "Impeach now" on a large piece of brown cardboard. He only did that a minute or less. No one was really paying attention so he put it down.

This demonstration rates a listing each week in the "Flathead Activities" section of the western Montana independent newspaper?

Where's Colleen? I can't take much more of this.

Finally she arrived and we then found a picnic table on the other side of the depot building so that it blocked most of the noise.

While waiting for Colleen I saw a sheriff's car zoom past with sirens blaring. A minute later a fire truck rushed by. When Colleen arrived she told me about a car chase. The car ran over the strips used to deflate tires. Then a half dozen blocks from where I was it crashed into two other cars. The driver made a run for it but was quickly caught.

On the local newscast tonight I learned he was wanted in Illinois on a felony. He had been stopped in Browning and gave a fake name and got away. The police here were warned to watch out for him. He was easy to spot. He was a black man. The Valley is 97 or 98 percent white with Native American and Mexican making up the other few percent. It is unusual to see a black person in the Valley, whether a resident or a tourist. So this guy stood out. Not a good thing when the police are after you.

Fortunately Colleen wasn't involved with his car chase, just delayed from the aftermath.

A few nights ago the overnight low temperature was 33 at my place. Last night the low was 36. I visited Bob and Jan this afternoon and they were pulling their cucumber plants as the frost got them. I thought I had escaped the frost in my garden but tonight I noticed my cucumber plants have a number of wilted leaves. I *think* the rest of my garden escaped frost damage.

I better get to bed. Tomorrow is our hiking groups' hike over Gunsight Pass. The distance is 18-20 miles and the others want to get an early start so we don't hike in the dark at the end. Makes sense. The problem is that they will be by to get me at 6:45. Early!!!!