Vigil - the weather

 

Here you see me in full winter gear late in the day with the sun very low. The temperature was 18F so a balaclava is a must. Under it is a hood from a sweatshirt I wear under my coat. The signboards provide some shielding from the wind. As I am always on duty for over a hour and my movement is limited to turning 90 degrees to face one or another direction of traffic, I am essentially sedentary, so body heat isn't enough to keep me warm. I use a couple of battery powered hand warmers and heated socks. It works. The greatest challenge is keeping my feet from going numb, thus the heated socks. They do not keep my feet feeling warm, but feeling them at all is good enough. My body temperature still drops, so a nice hot cup of coffee is much appreciated after I am done for the day.

As you can see, traffic is heavy and this is true of all four directions. I'd estimate many hundreds of vehicles pass and see my messages. I am amazed that anyone would curse me as a few do, as I am simply asking for human life to be respected. But Zionism is a fanaticism, required in order to take the land from fellow human beings, killing them to do it starting in 1947, and with no limit in 2024-5, while failing to understand why there is violent resistance (HAMAS). I am on this vigil because my country, the United States, is fully backing the atrocities being committed and far too few Americans are showing any objection. The positive responses are very gratifying. Note the Palestinian flag flying at left. I look forward to warmer weather when people will stop on the sidewalk to talk as they did before cold weather hit.