Dear Friends,
I attended yesterday’s May Day rally in Sebastopol. Work stoppage days like this are close to my heart.
Back in 2003 the Iraq war had just begun and there was a call for a day of nonviolent resistance in San Francisco. I thought making a small figure of Gandhi, displaying the event’s website on his chest, and carrying him around on my shoulders, would help spread the word.
I was looking for an armature for his papier-mâché head when the owner of Mill Valley’s “Hopscotch Kids” handed me a beach ball and said, “Here, use this!” I knew it was too big for the small body I had in mind, but I just couldn’t refuse her generous offer … and so the 9-foot tall Gandhi Puppet was born. He became a beloved companion, joining me every Friday for 18 months at the “Mill Valley Seniors for Peace” demonstrations to end the war.
That beach ball moment has stayed with me all these years … how a stranger’s open-hearted generosity can transform your plans into something far bigger and more beautiful than you could ever have imagined. Isn’t that how movements work? We show up with our small ideas, and the kindness of others lifts them to greater heights.
There’s going to be a HUGE nationwide strike next May Day, 2027. Please join us!
Peace & Love,
❤️ Jes