Category: Worcester

Hiroshima Day 2010, Worcester, Massachusetts

17 people gathered at Worcester City Hall today to repent, as Americans, for the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and to call for nuclear disarmament.

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Dave Griffith posted his great Hiroshima essay Pictures of the Floating World on his site today, in one of those Scribd-type crazy formats.

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Dan Dick and Me: The Old Rascal with a Good Old “catholic” Cause and the Young Catholic Rascal Who Admired Him

Daniel Eggleston Dick, a good old union man of eighty-six well lived years, died in the early afternoon of July 26th surrounded by his large family and a few close friends in Worcester, Massachusetts. I was blessed to be among those gathered at Dan’s bedside when he breathed his last. What a gift and privilege it was to be with him and his family at this most sacred time. This was a special grace that I had not anticipated receiving and that I will never forget. That’s why we call grace “amazing” I suppose. It is sheer gift like a 3D Photo Crystal that shows up as a surprise.
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Hundreds depart Worcester for war in Afghanistan

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As thousands gathered at Worcester’s Foley Stadium, including Worcester’s mayor and U.S. Rep, to bid farewell to more than 670 National Guard soldiers of the 1st Battalion 181st Infantry Regiment heading to Afghanistan, a dozen people stood across the street voicing opposition to the war, holding signs reading “Put away your sword,” “We are all called to be peacemakers,” and “I Love U: Please stop the cycle of violence.”

Though a few attendees expressed support for the protest, many more, of course, expressed disagreement.

According to the Globe, this is “the largest deployment of Massachusetts National Guard troops since World War II.” The troops will reportedly train in Indiana for 2 months before heading overseas.

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Vigil organized by the Saints Francis and Therese Catholic Worker Community.

Speak Out Against Bigotry

In August, 1993, I found myself waiting in line at the post office in Split, Croatia. I was there as part of an international peace effort called Mir Sada (“Peace Now” in Serbo-Croatian). Yugoslavia was breaking up. Slovenia was the first to declare its independence, followed by Croatia. Bosnia proclaimed itself a multi-ethnic state and was being dismembered by Serbs and Croats. Millions of people were displaced, over 97,000 killed. The peace activists from 18 countries who made up Mir Sada hoped to set up a peace camp in the no-man’s land surrounding Sarajevo, the besieged capital of Bosnia.

Although this lofty goal was my broad purpose for being in the Adriatic port city, my specific purpose at that moment in Croatia was to buy a stamp to send a postcard to my wife. While waiting in line, I asked an English-speaking native next to me, “What’s the best way to say ‘thank you’ in Serbo-Croatian?” A stony silence fell upon the entire room until my formerly-friendly neighbor said, “There is no such language. We speak Croatian.” Fair enough. I pressed on, “So how do you say ‘thank you’ in Croatian?” “Hvala,” she replied. But I couldn’t let it go there, so I asked, “And how do they say it in Serbia?” Everyone looked a bit sheepish because the Serbs also say “hvala.”
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