Searching for Occupy: Packing Up and Heading Out.

 Just back from washing and vacuuming the car.  Trying to figure out how we cram clothes, camping gear, photo equipment, food, two people and the dog in my little Prius for a 6 month to 1 year road trip… Searching for Occupy.  I commented to my partner in this venture, Denise Valdez, that at least when we were occupying in D.C., we had tents.  Suddenly, the memory of those frozen, leaky tents translates into plush, cushy, comfy luxury.  We don’t know where we’ll be sleeping from night to night… What if one of us gets sick… How do we avoid corporate food stops... What if we get arrested and they take the video equipment that has been depleting my bank account...What if… what if … what if what the media implies is truer than we believe and we can’t find Occupy?

Those were the thoughts crowding my already unfocused brain as I decided to check my email before vacuuming and cleaning my condo for the renter who arrives tonight.  Then, lo and behold, the first email I opened was from a guy from Occupy Waldo County, Maine with photos and news accounts of the actions they are involved in to stop LPG from building a massive liquid gas tank in their community of Searsport.  There was confirmation of the dinner we’re to have in Brunswick with the Maine chapter of Veterans for Peace.  Then, a letter to the editor by the VFP member who is putting us up suggesting war dollars might be better spent on the city’s decaying water and sewer system.  More confirmation of meetings with members of Occupy Portland.  The next email offered us shelter for a couple nights at the home of a retired judge and his wife in New Hampshire. They headed up legal teams at the height of Occupy, and are planning to risk arrest (again) in defense of Bradley Manning.  More invitations from New Jersey near beaches where Occupy Sandy Relief has been working non-stop.  There are so many offers of places to stay in D.C., we risk offending someone if we don’t choose them!  And, in St. Louis where activists are training for Keystone Pipeline and Mountain Top removal actions… more Veterans for Peace have said we can share their hotel room.  We have invitations from Wichita, Kansas, Paonia, Colorado, Chicago, Ohio and Oregon. 

Well, that’s a relief.  Now the worry becomes… there’s so much going on… how do we pick and choose?  What’s the best route to follow?  There’s an action in Kansas City at the same time as the conference in New York…

Please follow our blogs here, and on our website:  www.searchingforoccupy.com as we follow the unfolding story of Occupy in 2013.  You can contact us directly through our website.  We would love to camp on your floor and hear what is impacting you and your community. There is a lot to be done, exposed and documented.  We’ve got a camera, a car and a very friendly and well-behaved little dog.  Let’s get together and Occupy 2013.  

http://youtu.be/cx86qi-fLOA