Daily Diary of the Vermont Walk for Nuclear Abolition

Daily Diary
of the Vermont Walk for Nuclear Abolition
by Charis Boka

OK so here I am. I just walked 11 miles in 6 hours & my feet are dying! But when I stop and think about what a cool thing this is, it doesn't matter if my feet fall off. The walk started out great, with Jonathan Schell, Sara Shapiro, my new friend Ali, and others speaking. Afterwards Dragon Dance did a gorgeous mime and dance. Then Joseph warned us that 1,500 motor cyclists were enroute to where we were, so we began the walk surrounded by huge flying geese, and people shouting "Geese for Peace".
Once we were out of town, we started walking faster. After we stopped for lunch there were 4 or 5 more water breaks. It seemed like a million miles but finally we spotted the spire of our overnight church in Northfield. We were an hour late for dinner, but when we finally ate, we cleaned our plates twice. Even though it's only the first day, this has already become a powerful experience, and I need a foot massage!

   News for No Nukes: The headlines were hopefully about Seabrook tomorrow. There were a couple of people drove by and [ talked to us] .. ...... But who cares.
   17 blistering miles: There aren't a couple of people whose feet aren't peppered with little areas of pain, otherwise know as "blisters". Fortunately, for the people who didn't take the blister bus, there were plenty of willing people ready to talk about anything and everything.
   In Randolph we were met by 10 people bearing flowers and clapping for us. After a great dinner of everything imaginable, we listened to stories and music until 8:30.

   We started out psyched and ended up sore. Here we are 15 miles from where we started in Royalton, Vermont at the Vermont Law School. It's beautiful and spacious. Probably because it's the campus. Everyday, Kae has been asking what I will write. I remind him that since I am completely brain-dead at this point, I have no clue.
    We're all with geting realy tired and sore, problems range from lost heart medicine to swollen knees to feet that are one big blister like mine. But each new hardship we endure makes it all the more gratifying to see our porta-potty-carrying truck pulled up for the last stop of the day.
   The ovations, standing or not, that we receive from our hosts make me feel appreciated as a signal that - yes - they know we're tired but go ahead and eat before it gets cold. Today's the halfway point. I feel like I've been missing something. But I know I will miss these great people.