Update on Crawford

For those just tuning in: Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a serviceman killed in Iraq, has traveled from California to Crawford, Texas, to ask that President Bush speak with her about the reasons for the ongoing war. Bush has refused to see her, so Cindy has set up camp on the country road to his "ranch" where he is on vacation.

This is a report from a volunteer who went to the vigil site:

Greetings to all! It is midnight Thursday. Robert and I have just returned from Crawford. When we were there last Monday-3 days ago, there were about 20 people and a small encampment. There were media calls coming in fast and furious. It was a quiet yet determined small group of supporters. Today there were over 75 cars and over 150 people from all over the country who came in to support Cindy Sheehan. All had stories of hearing about Cindy on the news, dropping everything they were doing, getting in the car and coming to Crawford to support Cindy and meet her. People were arriving continuously streaming in to come help from all over the country

One couple drove in from Los Angeles. They brought white crosses. They lined up the crosses 3 deep on one side of the county road leading to the Bush ranch. The crosses are set in the ground for over a quarter of a mile. It was a gut wrenching sad sight to see these crosses lining the road. As far as you could see there is nothing but open grassy fields-cow pasture and blue sky. The crosses stand out alone against the open sky. There were constant comments from on-lookers wondering how George W Bush sleeps at night as he flies over in his helicopter looking down at these crosses. He has flown over several times in the Air Force One helicopter. Volunteers were busy placing the names of the fallen soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq on the crosses. A sad and solemn task that was not completed when we left at 9:30pm tonight.

Condi Rice and Rumsfeld arrived at the ranch today. Rumor has it that George W's entourage will finally have to drive by the encampment tomorrow. So far he has been flying in and out and has not used the county road.There is alledgedly a neighbor hosting a fundraiser party for Bush tomorrow. We saw catering trucks arriving at the Broken Spoke Ranch today where the event is being held. The Broken Spoke Ranch is only half a mile away and in view of the Sheehan encampment. If they leave the ranch by car they will have to drive by the crosses and encampment to get to the party.

Today I quickly went to work helping return media calls. There are 4 people now assisting with this and scheduling interviews for Cindy and the other parents of fallen soldiers who have arrived to help.We were receiving calls from all over the country and world. I met a reporter emailing a report to Germany. Cameras from MSNBC, People magazine and, CNN, to name a few.TV, newspapers, radio station calls were pouring in. For every call I took 4-5 calls would come in while I was on that call.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference sent in a minister today to assess the situation to see what they could do to help. He gave a sermon on the importance of non-violence and said some very inspirational things. SCLC will possibly be sending in more help and representatives from their organization the minister told me tonight.

The level this action that Cindy Sheehan started from an idea she had last Saturday has gathered momentum exponentially and is truly explosive and miraculous. In my opinion she is giving voice to the outrage,frustration and upset many Americans feel about this war and all the actions and policies the Bush administration has instituted against the will of the majority of the American people. What I saw today were people from every walk of life, age and race. They all care deeply for their country and are upset about the direction this president has taken us in. All were there to help, to do something, anything to stop this war and bring our troops safely home.

The opinions and observations I have expressed in this account are mine only. I do not represent Cindy Sheehan or anyone else. After visiting and talking with the folks who showed up in Crawford this is what I came home with. I only wish I could do more. All we are missing out there for now is someone to cook vegeterian meals for Cindy, AND for Bush to have the guts to walk out his gate and talk to Cindy.

If you haven't done so already, please take five minutes of your time to sign a petition, write a letter to your local newspaper, or call the White House (202-456-1111) to demand that President Bush meet with Cindy Sheehan.