Peace Quilt Arrives at Prime Meridian on September 11

Two Visions-of-Peace Postcards from England

While a sickly-minded minister named Terry Jones was threatening to burn the Koran in Florida, the Jubilee tube station line was closed in Central London because of potential trouble, and Oprah Winfrey was otherwise occupied taking a break contemplating her own retirement, peace happened. The wee butterfly quilt arrived at the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England on September 11 at 1:59 PM, one minute shy of the scheduled time.

Keadys and Pierces stand on the Prime Meridian Line at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. London's skyline in the distance.

Saturday was not an easy day of travel for my trusty companions and me. Less hopeful peace butterflies fluttered in my head as more and more transportation difficulties ensued. After jump starting our car in Langport, we drove to the Heathrow airport's long-term parking lot #4 and parked downhill. Continuing our quirky journey to Greenwich, we caught the shuttle, boarded a bus playing loud Lady Gaga music, and switched to several alternative tube lines and finally, the light rail. Speedwalking through the village gathering my blisters along the way, we arrived at the Royal Observatory at the top of a long hill five and a half hours after we had started. The trip from Langport in Somerset to Greenwich in London had taken twice the expected time. Thusly, Roger and Karen Keady, John, and I planted our feet on the longitudinal line of O degrees, O minutes, and O seconds, known as the Prime Meridian of the World. Four smiling friends in blue peace shirts. Just us. Just right.

I felt giddy and appreciative for a year well spent as I stepped on this imaginary line of beginnings and endings. The perfect day heralded by rainbows sighted on the Thames right above Big Ben on our return trip.

Phileas Fogg would have been properly proud of our attitudes in handing tiny glitches along the way while soberly identifying with our conveyance problems and the importance of meeting exact deadlines on certain dates. Chuckling, I juxtaposed the fictional plot of Jules Verne's classic novel Around the World in 80 Days that my social studies students dramatized every year with my past year of traveling for peace.

On my real journey, the plot wrote itself and I certainly won no wager. However, by reaching the Prime Meridian, in my mind, I had completed a teacher's promise in a timely fashion. For a year, I took the butterfly quilt wherever I was invited to share children's visions of peace hoping that their words would inspire others to help build peace too. My pledge was completed on a significant date. What a great way to retire! Again.

Nine years ago terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City jarred the world. I remember another personal photo taken that year in August while I was standing on Ellis Island by the railing. The panoramic shot portrayed a closeup of my red-polished forefinger pointing at the Twin Towers in the Manhattan skyline one month before the attack. Unsettling. I remember hearing Bekah's frightened voice as she called from New York City on September 11 before we lost communication for days. She had just witnessed the second plane crashing into the second tower from the top of her Astoria brownstone. I remember another important date too. A happy one. Prime Meridian day for me was also Grandson Will Pierce's 5th birthday. He was probably home in Bend, Oregon hosting his Star Wars Party.

To Greenwich I had also carried two visions-of-peace postcards given by Sue and Susan from the UK. These token cards previewed a peace event organized by the cards' authors who were inspired by the Zillion Visions of Peace Project. An upcoming festival of peace will take place at a healing arts sanctuary in Manchester on September 21, the International Day of Peace. Visions continue to multiply.

Negatives. Positives. Disappointments. Delights. A year of unexpected immeasurable gifts of peace and serendipitous outcomes in places least expected.

Double rainbows complete Lura's journey "around the world in more than 80 days."

In this final month of the quilt's journey, I plan to celebrate Marcee Long's "Peace Begins at Home" postcard vision. Final quilt stop #50 occurs at the Shedd Community Arts Center from September 27 to October 3 where it will be displayed as a quiet backdrop. In a much grander and classier style than I could ever have imagined, the building of peace visions will come alive on stage in a festival week of peace-filled performances by artists near and far. The outgrowth of these peacemaking volunteers' efforts will be the construction of a peace park commemorating the 24 U.S. Nobel Peace Laureates in Eugene, the only one of its kind. I believe that. Marcee believes that. John Attig , head of the American Nobel Peace Laureate Project believes that. Klaus Nobel himself believes it enough to personally dedicate the park and attend a fundraising gala on September 24.

Shasta Middle Schoolers believed that a peace park would be built two years ago. I'm proud of you, kids.

For information, see www.peaceparkevent.org.

(Note to Oprah Winfrey)

Oprah, you'll receive the postcards above and more from Manchester, all because of adolescents who dreamed larger dreams several years ago. Look for messages from Sommerton, England also. A group of 5-7 year old Rainbow Girls will draw their visions of peace for you because their Girl Guide Leader, Janet, heard about the million-visions-of peace project during the quilt's visit and will implement her version of peace visions just as Sue and Susan are doing.

By the way, I am pleased to report that I contacted your agent, Kevin Huvane, before I left for England. I detest making phone calls like that, but since I asked others to call about the quilt's 49th stop in Greenwich, I decided I'd better do what I find difficult. Daughter Rebekah and her friend Ronia called the Chicago number where your producer, Lisa Halliday, learned about the Prime Meridian visit too. We did our homework, our part, so to speak.

I phoned because I wanted you to know about the thousands of postcards that have been arriving one by one in your Chicago mail slot for quite awhile. I doubt that you've seen them.

I hoped that I would get your busy agent's voicemail. Instead, Mr. Kuvane answered from his Los Angeles' office sounding gruff and impatient. I proceeded to plunge into a one-sided conversation, but he didn't hang up. Paring my words to basics, I explained the project's goal of one million visions of peace, the butterfly peace quilt's visit to the Prime Meridian, and asked for one easy favor. Out of respect for all the people who had written and sent so many visions, I asked him to tell you personally so that you could be aware of them. The rest of the 250 Russian cards recently gathered in July will be mailed at the end of this month, for example, and you don't want to miss them.

He said he would let you know.

"We'll see," as my mother used to say.

Oh, my gosh, OH, My Gosh, OH, MY GOSH! We Won! All of us.

The peace quilt has taken on a life of its own. It just won a prize, a big one, on August 28. Out of 80 entries in the Eugene Celebration Parade, the peace quilt entry entitled "Raise the Roof. Build Peace" won BEST Of SHOW under the umbrella of the Nobel Peace Laureate Project.

Actually, the middle schoolers who wrote, taught and inspired people of all ages to write 1,000,000 visions-of-peace postcards to Oprah won too. After studying a diverse group of heroes, the 24 U.S. Nobel Peace Prize winners, those sixth graders derived their own personal ideas for making a more peaceful world. The quilt went on its way this year voicing those messages as far as Russia and as near as Gary's Coffee Shop in Eugene. The Prime Meridian in England is next and a final international destination.

On the other hand, the Nobel Laureate Project Board which is building a peace park won too because we all walked supporting their vision of peace.

However, the real winner of First Place for Best View (representation of the parade theme) as well as Best of Show is obvious.

All 70 people who gathered early Saturday morning to walk for kids' visions of peace won the prize. Apparently, they got across the message of building peace to the secret judges in the crowd that clapped and clapped as we walked by. Every person did his/her part in the "moving play" of peacemakers. People from age two to 76 walked in line for about a mile in downtown Eugene along with the 80 other parade entries having a delightful time. We never expected to win. Now we can donate $450 to the developing peace park for the fun of it.

At the awards ceremony, even the incredulous announcer noted that our group had never been in the parade before and yet, we had won the top coveted prizes.

"Where have you been?" he quizzed.

That's a question we could ask Oprah or any of the rest of us who have yet to both envision peace and then act.

One sure thing is that little seeds of planted ideas sure can grow a lot larger than initially imagined. A tad out of control...

My friend Jen made a comment last spring that grew larger than anyone ever would have thought. The Vanlues, the quilt creators, held a similar thought. These delightful thoughts initiated a transforming or metamorphosing(butterfly language) event that turned out to be "better than good enough."

"Lura, why not bring the end of the quilt's journey to a close in the Eugene Celebration Parade?"

"I will."

Thusly, this past Saturday a diverse group of people headed by the U.S. Nobel Peacemakers walked under a raised roof followed by children's visions of peace protected by the fluttering butterfly quilt at the end.

Close by, walked Marcee Long announcing upcoming cultural and artistic events depicting her vision that "peace begins at home" at the Shedd beginning September 27 and ending October 3.* Peace ripples in the pond continue to expand. Seeds are planted. All of those metaphors seem to be working.

I wonder what British metaphors or sayings will be discovered in London on September 11.

*For information, check www.peaceparkevent.org. The upcoming set of visionary events are really, really big.

Open Invitation to Peacemakers in England

Peacemakers, you are invited to come and meet the quilt on the PRIME MERIDIAN in Greenwich, England. Be at the observatory on the hill at 2:00 P.M. on September 11.

The greeting/meeting will be short as we all step on the imaginary line together. This will take a small amount of your time but will be memorable for us all.

If you can put this on You-Tube, do. Bring a camera. If you want to bring some postcards for peace for Oprah, see November 11th entry in the archives for instructions. Make the cards to Oprah larger...more like 4 by 6 inches. Cards from Somerset are being hand delivered for the occasion, for example. I'll bring some blanks just in case you forget.

Are there Quaker peace groups in the area? Just come if you are a person of peace and action. Would you like to be there but can't but know someone else who can? Spread the word.

Look for the mini quilt and somebody who looks like me. The quilt's message of kids inspiring others with their varied visions of peace will spread at its 49th stop.

The journey is about over and others can take over. Where will the quilt find a home? Suggestions? I have kept my teacher's promise.

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Partying and Praying for Peace

Seventy people are signed up to walk in the Eugene Celebration Parade both to celebrate the quilt's return home and to spur other people to build their own visions of peace too. What an entry this will be! All ages walking "the peace talk" inspired by children's visions from Shasta Middle Schoolers who got this ball rolling two years ago. August 28.

On August 8th, I responded to a request from McKenzie Valley Presbyterian Church to talk about the Russian trip I had just made. Still jet-lagged, I wasn't planning on this but 250 postcards collected for the Oprah Project seemed too good not to share. This small church's pastor urged me to share the quilt's story and its ever moving "self" while she was out of town. (That's not why she left.) Stop #47. No surprises...just the usual surprise. Every place I have shared kids' ways of making the world a better place, at least one person has understood and taken immediate action. This time, the worship leader was particularly in tune with the quilt's message of inviting the creation and action based on individual ways for making the world a better place . Married to an Iranian, she wondered about my taking the quilt there. She smiled when I said my journey was almost over and I was ready. "God might have something else in mind. One never knows," she replied.

Wouldn't Iran have been a powerful quilt stop this past year? By the way, my new friend's 8th grade daughter will be taking blank postcards and examples of the Russian children's visions of peace to her school this Fall. She understood peace envisioning, plus she liked my outfit too. Can't beat that combo.