Granny Peace Brigade Blog

Dateline:  Friday, July 15th.

Ouch!

According to the Madison Park Conservancy, their mission is “…dedicated to keeping Madison Square Park a bright, beautiful & lively public park.”   Therefore, we certainly thought an information session with Ms. Gizmo definitely qualified as a “bright, beautiful and lively” event — especially with the Raging Grannies along for song.  Unfortunately the Conservancy minions did not share this opinion, and we were required (after a lengthy and spirited debate) to pack up and depart the public premises — leaving the park safe and sound for business at the Shake Shack.  We sure would love to know what makes Danny Meyer and his soda-jerks a more desirable group than the Grannies and Ms. G.  Any thoughts on this one?

- Fran Sears
Photo: Phyllis Cunningham
for the Granny Peace Brigade

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It’s market day in Cadman Plaza.  Nydia’s sign is inviting Brooklynites to vote with 20 pennies for the kinds of spending of our taxpayer dollars that makes most sense to them.

These guys on their lunch hour thought about it.  They’re telling Edith that what matters most is health care, “because what good is a job if your health’s no good.”

An interested visitor (and there were many today!) is looking at the literature Pat has given her after her vote.  There’s the graph from War Resisters’ League showing how the tax dollars are really spent.  She’s saying, “you can see today’s penny poll results on our blog, and here’s the web address (on the yellow quarter sheet)”

Sometimes we ask ourselves, is this time with people and Ms Gizmo (our penny poll machine) really accomplishing anything? Then we see how everyone’s concentrating hard, thinking about what matters, how many people are always willing to approach a table with PEACE written on its skirt.  We think it’s part of a picture we can’t see yet, but we’ll believe and keep going.

- Caroline Chinlund – words and pictures
- Edith Cresmer – chart
for the Granny Peace Brigade

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The scene: Just outside City Hall Park, NYC on Thursday, June 30 at lunchtime.

Two people are voting with 20 pennies each — as another, her vote in our gizmo tubes already, leaves reading the War Resister’s League info on where taxes are actually spent.  A third volunteer contemplates his vote.

This family from ‘way upstate’ approached.  “We love the Granny Peace Brigade..can we take your photo??”  Here they’re thinking about their priorities for tax spending as they agree to give us a photo of them.

Today people are sure that one category that really matters is jobs.

And here are the tallies for the day. As usual New Yorkers say we should spend most of our tax dollars on education, health care and jobs.

- Caroline, Edith and Eva-Lee
for the Granny Peace Brigade

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