Maybe Shower For Peace Would Work Better

I'm still considering my opposition to the many plans we have to attract young people...as a means of giving them something to do.

I also wonder just what it is in various newsrooms of newspapers that causes them to consider covering such nonsense as below...

Teens marching cross country for peace

MONTEZUMA - Two teens from separate ends of the nation are in Iowa while marching across the country for peace. They're, heading for Williamsburg today and Iowa City for the weekend.

Ashley Casale, 19, of Clinton Corners, N.Y., and Michael Israel, 18, of Jackson, Calif., had hoped others who opposed the war in Iraq would join them on their 3,000-mile walk from San Francisco to Washington. But since starting off May 21, it's usually just been the two of them.

Which is exactly why they deserve coverage...huh?

How exactly do you write a press release so effectively as to cause a newspaper reporter and editor to actually put pen to paper and cover something as ineffectual as this?

Either the writer was an intern and this was their big chance to cover a story on their own for the first time - or something else is going on.

After checking Google, there have been a total of 37 news stories written about the two...everywhere from New York, to Boston, Colorado, and Vermont...even in France.

Virtually every one of the stories mentions how lonely and ineffectual their "rally" and "movement" has been...it hasn't grown one iota.

In Ohio, there's this story from the Columbus Dispatch - "It seems like the country is asleep," Israel said one recent morning on a roadside. "A lot of people we meet are against the war. But it doesn't seem like many people are doing anything about it."

And you are?

As the CR Gazette points out, it's any body's guess as to whether or not there will be an actual rally...

They were hoping for a peace rally in Iowa City on Friday. Already scheduled is a 3 p.m. Saturday rally and reception at the Wesley Foundation basement, 120 N. Dubuque St., in Iowa City.

Yes...hoping for a peace rally. And?

In reading the rest of the story, they never say whether or not there actually will be one. Even still, I'm sure the folks at the Iowa City Press Citizen are gearing up for it with cameras and such.

This wasn't what Casale planned when she started a Web site and sent fliers to colleges across the country to promote what she called, "March for Peace.'' Still, after 1,600 miles and three pairs of sandals, she seemed satisfied.

Despite those moments, Israel said he feels good about what they have accomplished. "I hope it inspires people to be more vocal and politically active and become more aware of what's going on around them,'' he said.

Yes...as inspiring as it has been. Nada. But since everyone else is on a bike this week for RAGBRAI coverage, the Gazette is still sending a couple of people left over in the newsroom to continue their "in-depth team coverage..."

The Gazette's Alison Gowans and Brian Ray are catching up with the walkers today in Williamsburg. Watch GazetteOnline.com today and Friday's Gazette for their report.

Reading the France version of the story - and curiously left out of most other ones - is the true reason no one is joining them on their "Walk for Peace"...

They rely on each other for emotional support but insist their friendship hasn't become romantic. "We're just friends," Casale said, smiling. Casale and Israel said they've gone two weeks without clean clothes and a week without a shower.

Whew...

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