A Succession of Days by William Powers

Author:William Powers [Powers, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781623090173
Publisher: BookBaby

And every volunteer made it a point to glance up at one of the few fixtures in the community dining room that drew from the austerity of the dining area, a handsomely engraved sign over the entrance

“Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.”

Rabbi Abraham Herschel

The eight person lay group accepted a lifestyle (there were no vows) of voluntary poverty, and a more than passing focus on spirituality, and a Non-violent philosophy that was earnest enough for them to be working on a paper they hoped to encourage other like-minded groups to adopt:

‘How can we write a statement that absolutely opposes all wars, but unequivocally supports the troops, our troops after all, that fight gallantly for our country but had no say whatsoever in starting the war that they participate in’ for the Good Samaritan House, and all other non-violent groups of like persuasion.

Gary Shaw was the most serious activist of the GSH community. While other members of the group made conscious decisions to protest various social injustices, but stop short of being arrested, Shaw was willing to be clubbed, handcuffed, and locked up whenever it was necessary. And he often was, feeling guilty only about the bail money the GSH had to spend to get him out of confinement. After Cathy’s timid friend Elizabeth (“When I was a little girl I just didn’t like Liz, Lizzie, Libby (especially) or Beth, or Betty, or Betsy…) asked if there was a slogan that showed anti-war sentiment with troop support a part of the same slogan a conundrum was born There wasn’t any.

Shaw took it on himself to write the slogan, and the three, four, five even six words he would need for something bright with punch evolved into a seventy word free writing mess that he forged and polished into the 40 word proposal for trashing war while praising the troops. It was in its second year of discussion, always talking about how tricky it was to say two sentiments that you absolutely wanted to say in, shall we say, one gulp. But it wasn’t getting done. Working like Jayndice vs. Jaundice in Dickens’ Bleak House, the little slogan engaged everyone’s mind; finding a definitive statement that was clear and convincing for both sides of the anti-war issue until somebody, usually Cathy, would say, “Let’s move on.”

There wasn’t a ‘real’ person in charge of the staff at the GSH, although Grace Cullen was the Director, and she had the unmistakable savor Favre of a person in charge, albeit of a soup kitchen. Billy Pearson, although people rarely saw him, and if they did it was like an Elvis sighting, (‘Elvis Spotted in Wax Museum !’) ostensibly had the last word on all things having to do with the building, being its sole owner, but he rarely got involved in any of the GSH activities.

Phil Briley, the painter who lived in the studio, mixed freely with everyone who happened his way, but except for Cathy, he had no close ties.

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