Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. We did a whistle-stop at Court House Plaza in downtown Dayton today. Dayton’s NBC News was there. The reporter asked our daughter Sarah, 9, what she thought about her Dad running for president. Sarah said: “I like his message.” The reporter smiled and asked Sarah to talk about one of the “messages” she most liked (I’m sure expecting a cute, well, nine-year-old response.) Sarah said: “I like his stance against abortion. My Dad has a bumper sticker that says ‘He’s a child, not a choice…’ And I think that’s good.” Bravo Sarah!… This evening I was asked to participate in a round table discussion at Xavier University in Cincinnati on: “The Young Catholic Vote.” The topic of nuclear weapons came up. I asked: “What if we let the weapons inspectors into, say, Montana — what would they find?” (Answer: Some 2,000 weapons of mass destruction aimed all over the world.) “To the rest of the world, wouldn’t we look like a terrorist nation?” I posed… Tonight there was also a brief talk by a graduate student from Harvard University who was traveling the country trying to raise awareness about: Catholic Social Teaching and how it tied into the vote. Greg Mancini said there is more than just one “Pro-Life” oriented issue to consider when voting. He said some of these other “Pro-Life issues” include how we are responding to: the environment; AIDs in the Developing Countries; military decisions; the poor… Mr. Mancini called this a “consistent Pro-Life ethic.”

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. I gave a talk tonight at Bluffton University’s Nuefield Hall here in my hometown. It was a “Town Hall” style meeting and the interaction was quite lively. At one point I explained our administration would push for a simplified, one-page tax form (that is, if we continued with the income tax) that would also have an empty pie chart on it. The taxpayer, in turn, would get to divide the pie chart up: designating what % of his/her tax money would go to which program categories: environment, education, military, social programs, etc. “I mean, wouldn’t that be a lot more democratic?” I asked. What’s more, this might inspire more people to spend time researching existing, and proposed, programs in various areas. Which, ultimately, would increase their political awareness, involvement and so on. While the initial response, for the most part, was enthusiastic — there was some hesitancy. A couple students suggested that, for instance, there should be a base of money for each program and then taxpayers could get a say in, for instance, 50% of where their tax dollars go. (Some students were concerned not enough money would go to the environment, programs for the poor, and so on.) Note: President Bush is speaking in nearby Findlay two days from now and an Army helicopter was sweeping the I-75 corridor here, I’m sure looking for potential terrorist sites, etc. While the helicopter was a good two miles off, as we approached the Bluffton exit on I-75 this afternoon in the “average Joe” mobile — decked out in all it’s Old Nave stars and stripes regalia — the helicopter abruptly banked and then flew directly over us. And I’m sure the pilot was probably thinking: ‘What the heck is this…?’ I, in turn, waved.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Today the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper ran a rather lengthy “Voter’s Guide.” They noted there would be four presidential candidates on Ohio’s ballot and six official “write-in” presidential candidates — of which I was one. In the story, reporter Grant Segall noted I said of our campaign: “We’re influencing America.” And that’s exactly what we are trying to do, one town, one person… at a time.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Last night our kids, and some of the other neighborhood kids, raked a big, and I mean big, pile of leaves. Then for about an hour, we developed what I’m sure will become a new Olympic sport someday: Leaf Diving!… Today, a front page story about the campaign appeared in the Cleveland Catholic Diocese Universe Bulletin newspaper. Editor Dennis Sadowsky wrote that we have extensively traveled the country looking for people living out the Gospel message, then carry their stories with us. Which we do. Sadowsky noted that one of those stories is that of a family we met in Lisbon, Ohio recently who practice: “Apostolic Farming.” The children (eight of them) are being raised on the land, they grow organically with extreme respect for the environment… and offer everything they do on the farm as a “prayer.” While you can’t necessarily legislate this, you can talk about it with the hopes that other people (on a grassroots level) try it as well. And then who knows how far it will ripple out from there. (During a talk at Toledo University for this campaign, I said each time someone picks up on an idea we carry, “it’s as if we get a policy enacted even before I get to D.C. So, in effect, I’m sort of the president now.” They all smiled, politely. And my wife, Liz, enjoined: “It’s a happy little world you live in, isn’t it?”) And on we go…

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. A PBS film crew from the Netherlands came to Bluffton today to interview me for a Special they are doing on the American presidential race. How’s that for strategy? While the other candidates are exhaustively trying to get as much ‘American media’ as possible in these last days, I’m being interviewed by media from the Netherlands — where nobody can vote for me. The crew said I had 60 seconds to talk into the camera about “anything you want about the campaign.” I spent the first 40 seconds introducing my wife and our three children… then paused, and said: “Liz and I are running as ‘concerned parents.’ We’re concerned about these little children inheriting a world of global warming, increased violence, drugs… So instead of sitting back and complaining, we decided to do something about it. And one town at a time, we are.” After the interview, my wife (and campaign manager) Liz smiled in a consoling fashion, and (always the optomist) suggested maybe some people in the Netherlands have some friends in the U.S. they can influence. [Is it any wonder the polls are showing we’re not in the lead?]

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. I was interviewed by a columnist for Kent State University’s newspaper today. I told her a couple years ago I had gone to KSU’s “May 4th Room” to do some research. The room is filled with books on the now famous May 4, 1970 shootings at Kent State during a Vietnam War Protest. I told the columnist that we must “learn from history.” And to that end (to avoid as many more ‘May 4ths’ as possible), we propose a U.S. Dept of Peace. This would include things like a tremendously expanded Peace Corp.; conflict resolution classes in school curriculum; much more humanitarian help to the Third World in general… I added that instead of often being in a defensive posture, we should be a lot more “offensive” when it comes to building peace, not only internationally, but at home. Note: In homeschooling, my wife Liz is teaching our children a lot about other countries, other cultures, as a way of trying to develop more international understanding and camaraderie. They are currently learning about: China. And Bluffton College here requires students to go on at least on Cross Cultural Experience to another country, or another area of the U.S. Students work with the poor in South America, with a Conflict Resolution Center in Northern Ireland, and so on..

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Still in Bluffton, Ohio today, my hometown. Tonight I did a phone interview on a large talk radio show out of Cincinnati. The host asked me what subject I would most like to debate (”If you had the chance…”) with the other presidential candidates. I said: abortion. I said there is all this “talk about terrorism these days, yet we have become one of the biggest terrorist nations in the country.” By midnight, I went on, 4,400 babies will be slaughtered in their mothers’ wombs. And we’re worried about our own personal safety, c’mmon?

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. I am in Bluffton, Ohio today where I have cloistered myself in the Bluffton College Library and am e-mailing letters to the editor of every Ohio newspaper I can in support of, that’s right: my campaign. I have started each letter with: “With all the ‘Bush/Kerry’ focus on Op/Ed pages these days, sometimes people forget there are other presidential candidates out here. I am one…” Today I also got a call from a woman temporarily working in Ontario, Canada, who is a resident of Vermont. She said she was writing my name in on an absentee ballot and needed to know my vice-presidential candidate’s name for this particular form. I told her it was: Barb Marlinski, an “average Jane,” if you will, from Lakewood, New York. Barb, who is a Catholic, puts her faith first in her life. In addition, she is on the same page with us on all the issues. She is a wife, mother and a piano teacher. What’s more, she told me several years ago she mounted a drive to keep out a proposed “News Store” that was going to sell pornography in her small town of Lakewood, New York. She won. Barb is the type of unsung, “extra-mile” American who is so representative of what makes up the real moral fabric of our country.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. A story on our campaign ran in the Logan Daily News today. It noted we believed in “common sense.” A couple examples the story noted: “How to balance the Federal Budget? Have someone in D.C. with a calculator — that works.” Also: “Ten fingers, ten toes, a heartbeat in the womb. Ten fingers, ten toes, a heartbeat outside the womb. Stop abortion.”

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Talked to a Sunday School class (7th and 8th graders) at St. Thomas Moore Church in Bowling Green, Ohio today about the famine and violence affecting youth their age in the Sudan currently. I asked them to consider a fundraising project (with a graphic display, etc.) to help generate funds for their “brothers and sisters” over there. A 7th grader volunteered to head the project and suggested maybe they could get a friendly fundraising competition going with a parish across town as well. I then went to Hicksville, Ohio where I talked to a Third Order Franciscan group there. Wonderful people. I told them of a model I researched at St. Blaze Parish in Bellingham, Massachussetts. (The parish there averages tithing a phenomenal 17% per parishioner.) They donate to an impoverished Native American Indian Reservation in New Mexico and a mission in a Third World country. Each month a woman at St. Blaze writes a story about how the tithing has helped, say, a little Indian girl get her first dress, or a family in the Third World who was able to buy a farm animal, or… One parishioner at St. Blaze said since the stories started appearing, giving tithing is no longer like impersonally: “just paying another bill.” I suggested maybe some area parishes could adopt the model and help in the Sudan at a grassroots level — because it seems our government (and majority American populace sentiment) is being slow to act amidst the absolutely horrific genocide there. I added if there was ever a “Pro-Life” issue, this would be one of them.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. A front page article in The Jeffersonian out of Cambridge, Ohio this week noted I said in this fast paced society of ours, youth are often being shorted emotionally, with both parents off working and otherwise just rushing about. Youth, in turn, are being ‘parented,’ if you will, by television, computers, and so on. Being a former counselor, I know when youth get shorted emotionally, they grow up angry (and turn to violence). They grow up empty (and turn to drugs, sex, compulsive work habits). Just look around society… In an attempt to spend some quality time with my children today back in Bluffton, I took them to the Senior Center annual Spelling Bee Contest, where they had a wonderful time — and I developed some empathy for former Vice-President Dan Quayle. (Remember when he mispelled: “potato”?) Well, sitting on the sidelines — without the aid of a ’spell check’ — I mispelled, oh, more than a few words. You’d think, in fashion or out, I could at least spell: “corduroy”. Boy!

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Was in Jackson, Ohio this morning. Cook Gina Pittman, 35, at the Main Street Diner here is a single parent of three children, ages 15, 13 and 8. She walks with a noticeable limp (and a lot of pain). She said she was born with a seperated disc that has progressively gotten worse and she would soon be going for an MRI to assess a situation which her doctor says almost for sure will require surgery in the near future. (MRI cost: $3,000. Ms. Pittman told me she makes: $156 a week.) She has no health insurance and said she knows between the MRI and surgery “…my credit will be ruined.” In an interview shortly after talking to Ms. Pittman, I told a reporter from the Jackson newspaper that one of the things we would push for is a National Health Care System, like there is in Canada, so people like Ms. Pittman had a safety net. (We had recently interviewed Randy Mueller M.D. in Jamestown, New York who has written the book: As Sick As It Gets about our current health care system, and how it needs to be majorly reformed — so everyone can get adequate help. It’s only right, we also believe. That simple.) Note: One of the waitresses at the restaurant in Jackson had a t-shirt on that said: “Special of the Day: Road Kill… order at your own risk!” Yet another “average Joe” five star restaurant stop.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Stumped at M.R. Mack’s restaurant in downtown Logan, Ohio early this morning and talked with Logan Daily News columnist Edgar “Bud” Simpson. He said growing up in northern Maine he watched as clear cutting and pollution from the paper mills all but destroyed the Penobscot River. (He and his brother, as youth, used to fish in the small Mattawassuk cove there, which he said, seemed the only spot that wasn’t totally polluted. Sad story.) I told the Logan newspaper later that bad forestry management practices need to be reversed and commended the Chief Logan High School Forestry Management Team for their recent state championship… Staying with the environmental theme, I then traveled to Nelsonville, Ohio where I interviewed a Hocking College student who is majoring in eco-tourism. Mark Sdrang told me the thrust of eco-tourism is to take people to places like rain forests in Third World countries to educate. What’s more, some of the tourist dollars are then funneled into raising the standard (better water treatment, more food, etc.) of living in nearby rural villages, and so on… From Nelsonville I went to Athens, Ohio where I stumped downtown, and, at one point, was surrounded by two reporters from area papers, a photographer and a television camera man. I mean, it was almost a: “media event.” When asked what I had to say to the people of Athens, I told the news people that, although we don’t pander to anyone, the people of Athens (home of Ohio University) need to know the first thing I’d do when I get to D.C. is change the national symbol from the Eagle to: the Bob Cat (OU mascott). (I’ve got to stop doing that!) On a more serious note, the reporter from the Athens Times Messenger asked me about the economy. I said families should consider house sharing. This would halve expenses, which would allow for, say, more job sharing (20 hour work weeks). In turn, there’d be much more time for faith, family and community, I said… I then went to McArthur, Ohio, where I interviewed Penny Alzayer who spent 13 years living in Saudi Arabia. She said culture and religion are interwoven there and she was extremely impressed with the depth of spirituality in a majority of the people there when it came to helping others. For instance, she said if you get a flat tire there “100 cars won’t whiz by before someone stops to help.” She adde she’s concerned about the perception Americans are getting about the Arab world because of how it is being portrayed in a lot of the media with the recent conflicts. While in McArthur, I was also interviewed by the county newspaper. Afterward, I interviewed Tabatha Sexton there, who is a senior at Vinton County High School and involved with a “Marketing Class.” This class allows for students to work part-time, and the rest of the curriculum is geared to teach about the fundamentals of running a business, etc., for students who may not go on to college. This seemed to make sense, common sense. I then stopped at the Vinton County Chamber of Commerce where I interviewed Brandi Boggs who is heading up an eco-tourism project for the county. Ms. Boggs the project involves fixing up a series of covered bridges in the area (with area volunteers) to increase tourism to Vinton County, which is in the heart of Appalachia and one of the poorest counties in Ohio (17% unemployment rate currently.)… From McArthur I traveled to Wellston where I talked with Michael Morrow who regulary keeps up with politics, he said. Morrow said the country wasn’t founded on a party system, which he says he believes effectively “locks everyone else out.” I closed out the day, stopping in tiny Hamden, Ohio where I put up a flyer at the small grocery store there (my continued answer to the million dollar advertising).

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. I stumped with the regulars in the Blue Bell Diner (’50s motif and “…the best coffee in town”) in McConnelsville, Ohio this morning. (In a front page feature piece on Election 2004, USA Today had come to McConnelsville to get a pulse on the rural Ohio vote.) The “pulse” I got was from McConnelsville’s Dave Ruckman who said the whole presidential election process was getting “so far from (average Joe) reality.” He said, basically, that it was his assessment the two current candidates came through the “perfect channels,” and as a result, were out of touch with the common man. This ‘common man’ then went to the Morgan County Herald where I was allowed to type my own press release, on one of their computers no less. (Being a former journalist, I felt right at home.) Afterward, a secretary there asked me for my autograph on a newspaper article, and a button. She has a collection of political things dating back to the late 1800s and regularly displays parts of the collection at area schools, libraries, and such. When they are not on display, they are tucked in a dresser and she aptly calls the display: “Politics Behind Closed Drawers…” From here, I did a brief stop in New Lexington… Then it was on to Lancaster, Ohio.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. I headed into Marietta, Ohio late this afternoon where I stumped on the street in front of the Court House, then interviewed Stephen Moore. Moore is here from California helping staff a Small Business Association emergency loan operation in the aftermath of a major flood here. (Hirricane Ivan had elevated water in the Ohio River almost four feet above flood stage in these parts.) More said while many downtown businesses and residences were damaged, he was amazed at how people have pulled together to help each other. I later sent a news release to the Marietta Times applauding the people here for their efforts, while also noting other Americans — like many in the inner city — are ‘flooded’ with crime, hunger, drugs… And as people pull together in a flood (or other natural disaster), we should pull together to help these others as well.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Was interviewed by Wheeling, West Virginia’s newspaper per: a whistle-stop in Martin’s Ferry, Ohio today. I said a “common sense” answer to our country’s energy situation is for some to: house share. Not only would two families share, say, the energy needed to heat a place; but conversely, they would cut their energy expense in half. I then told a reporter from the Times Leader that in tandem with this strategy, our administration would focus on developing better clean, renewable energy alternatives (wind, solar, hydro-electric…). It’s just good “environmental stewardship,” I said. I then headed west to Cambridge, Ohio where I was interviewed by The Jeffersonian newspaper there. On my way in, I contacted the editor who said: “Oh yeah, I know you. You’re, like, ‘nobody’s Joe.’” (No, that’s ‘everybody’s Joe,’ I smiled to myself). After the interview, reporter Dan Davis offered quite an idea. He said the eastern part of the country, with the recent flooding and all, has more than enough water. Why not build a transcontinental pipe line and send water out west where there is currently a drought? Good thought. [While stumping in Martin’s Ferry last night, Roger Kinney came up and said he was quite supportive of what I was doing. “I have the choice of 31 flavors of ice cream at Baskin Robins, but I only really have the choice of two presidential candiates,” he scoffed. Actually, if our campaign was likened to a flavor, I’d have to go with: Rocky Road — because, at times, it has been one.] Note: For those of you reading these entries, and are behind the campaign, we need supporting “letters to the editor” of Ohio newspapers. Thanks.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Stumped in Colleen’s Place Restaurant in Lisbon, Ohio this morning. Local contractor Bill Martin told me with a lot of lumber going to Iraq for reconstruction, it has hurt him because lumber prices here have gone up considerably as a result. I then headed to East Palestine, Ohio where Larry Walton told me he gets frustrated that a candidate’s first obligation is often to the party, even if this means passing on a good idea from somebody of the other party. Walton was Chairman of the Young Republicans in Columbiana County, Ohio when Barry Goldwater ran for president in 1964. Walton also volunteers his time to tutor youth in reading, and I told the local newspaper in East Palestine it is people like Mr. Walton who we consider “extra-mile Americans.” I then headed south to Stuebenville, Ohio and Franciscan University. There I was met by editor Dennis Sadowsky of the Catholic Universe Bulletin of the Cleveland Diocese. (He had driven down for the day.) After an initial interview, Mr. Sadowsky shadowed me for a time. I stumped in Stuebenville’s downtown. Saline Township Clerk Connie McCourt, who was on the street this day, told me she was concerned about Governor Bob Taft’s statewide budget cuts. Candice Hill, who worked for the county Mental Retardation Services here, told me she was involved in programs for helping the mentally retarded find work. “I’d much rather work with the mentally retarded than many others,” she said. “They don’t back stab, they work hard, are generous, caring…” I then met with Josh Miller, who runs People Management, in Stuebenville. His firm helps people match their talents with a profession through a series of rather extensive discernment processes. [Even though we spend a tremendous amount of time working, many people take little time in discerning where their talent could be best used. They often just follow, say, a money path, I would later tell Stuebenville’s The Herald Star.] I then headed further south to Martin’s Ferry where I stumped downtown there passing out literature and talking to people on the street.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Spent the day with Tim and Ann Miller in Lisbon, Ohio. They have a small family farm they are raising their seven children on. And they practice “apostolic farming.” They look at farming as a “lay apostolate.” They raise everything organically, use small techology and look at farming as, in a real sense, a prayer to God. Tim said he believes raising children on a farm develops a strong work ethic and intimately connects them with the cycles of nature.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. At the Algonquin Festival in Petersburg, Ohio, today, story teller Ralph Borror did an imitation of Abraham Lincoln. “Abe” said a defining moment for him came as a youth when he happened upon a Slave Auction in New Orleans where a brother and sister were sold — to two seperate people. “I realized they’d probably never see each other again. And right there I vowed I’d do everything I could to end slavery,” “Abe” said. And he did… Our platform points out, however, that there are still many who are “slaves” to inner city poverty cycles. And we ask those doing well out in the suburbs to slow down, cut back and roll up their sleeves to help the people in the inner city in a much more dynamic way. While doing some research on the Southside of Chicago several years ago, for instance, we saw many little children trying to dodge drugs, bullets and hunger, every day.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Was interviewed by the editor of the newspaper in Cadiz, Ohio, today. I said we saw one of the biggest travesties in America is the demise of the small family farm, because farmers are not only losing their farms, but we as a society are losing a way of life that was so important to the fabric of this country. She nodded in agreement. What’s more (wouldn’t you know), her and her husband have a small farm. Cadiz, by the way, is the hometown of Cary Grant for any of you who: ‘frankly give a darn.’ (Sorry, but we’re running on a family (id, post_author, post_date, post_content, post_title, post_category, post_excerpt, post_status, comment_status, ping_status, post_password, post_name,to_ping, pinged, post_modified) VALUES platform.)

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Stopped first in Salem, Ohio where I stumped downtown and talked with Salem’s Karen Christy who said she and her six siblings were raised on a nearby farm with the “Golden Rule.” Wouldn’t it be nice if more people were still following that, she smiled… I then traveled to Alliance, Ohio (home of the ugliest hot dog store in the country — bright yellow building and a giant, and I mean giant, simulated hot dog on the roof), While being interviewed by political reporter George Salsberry of the local newspaper, he told me the city has a Good Samaritan Health Clinic. It was started by volunteer doctors trying to help those who are uninsured… From Alliance I went to Canton where I passed out campaign literature downtown and was interviewed by a reporter from Canton’s newspaper. I told her that with 24,000 people starving to death every day in the Third World (U.N. figure), that we saw this situation as a tremendous “Pro-Life issue.” I mean, it’s just common sense, I said.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Talked with Phil Zeber, owner of the Rock Creek Country Store in Rock Creek, Ohio. He’s had the store for almost three years, but can’t get a bank loan because he’s just barely breaking even, he said. It’s a Catch 22, he went on, because the bank loan would save him some $400 a month. I then entered into a debate with one of the regulars at the Rock Creek Cafe next door. (The group meets most mornings here and calls themselves the ROMEOS — “Retired Old Men Eating Out”.) In response to a question about what I’d do about terrorism, I said I’d work to fight it at it’s roots. That is, as kids grow up seeing no way out of poverty in the inner cities here, some join gangs. The same with some of the kids in the Third World, only there some ‘gangs’ are called: “terrorist cells.” I said to fight terrorism at it’s roots, you have to get more humanitarian help into the Third World. “Why would you want to help them,” one man shot back. And the “debate” ensued… (And unlike the nationally televised Debates of late, I had more than two minutes to answer.) Later in the day I met Rita Linehan. Fascinating story. In order to help a diocese in El Salvador, the family decided to do a fund raiser to get a priest there a 4×4 vehicle to traverse the highlands. They ended up raising money for five vehicles! What’s more, the family’s initiative sparked 10 sister church projects between the Youngstown Diocese the the Diocese of Chaltaenango in El Salvador. (Light ‘one candle,’ and look what happens.)

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Did a series of whistle-stops along Lake Erie in the Northeastern part of Ohio. In Conneaut, I was on WWOW’s Louie Free Show. In talking about the environment, Mr. Free said that by letting what some might consider an ‘unimportant species’ go extinct, could that, in reality, disrupt the whole eco-system chain and, ultimatley, throw everything off? Good question. In Jefferson, Ohio I interviewed two high school Juniors involved with a course on “Service Learning.” The course has them volunteering in the community with things like: A Buddy Walk for Down Syndrome children, painting the high school stadium, walking dogs at the Humane Society… I told the Ashtabula Star Beacon newspaper that we’d like to see one-third of the American curriculum (K-12) being volunteer work out in the community because: “I want my children learning as much about helping others as they do about math, science, English…” In Ashtabula, I also met with Rita Sarell who has a rather prolific (large posters, and so on) Pro-Life display in the window of her computer firm downtown. A picture in the News Standard newspaper the next day showed myself talking to Mrs. Sarell — with the display in the background. When I asked Mrs. Sarell if she was worried about the display hurting business at her store, she said. “Oh, it’s not my store. It’s God’s.” After talking to Mrs. Sarell, I had also told the Ashtabula newspaper that I recently heard in Nazi Germany, while adults and children went by screaming and wailing in box cars toward the Concentration Camps — many of the churches turned up the organ music to: drown out the sounds. And, I continued, isn’t that what we’re doing now in American society? That is, metaphorically, we’re turning up the music (pre-occupation with entertainment, sports, obssesive work patterns, and so on…) — while these little unborn babies (4,400 a day in America) go down the tracks to their deaths.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Did a whistle-stop tour down Rte. 224 through the interior of Ohio yesterday, stopping in Nova, Sullivan, Lodi, Willard… At the end of Mass at a church in Willard, the parisioners (as they do every week), read a: Prayer for Peace. Part of it reads: “God… cleanse our minds of retaliation and help us to be instruments of Your peace.” Note: We propose a U.S. Department of Peace that would, for instance, exponentially increase things like Peace Corp. help to the Third World. If we became more proactive about building peace and social justice, we believe tensions would diminish in kind.

Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. *Note: WE NEED DONATIONS TO KEEP GOING RIGHT NOW! IF YOU CAN HELP, PLEASE CONSIDER IT. THANKS. (Schriner Election Committee, P.O. Box 15, Bluffton, Ohio 45817). Yesterday was just a great “backroads of Ohio” day on Rts. 68 and 235. A few vignettes: I was interviewed by the Xenia Daily Gazette in the morning, then headed north to Yellow Springs where I stumped on the main street there. Barber Greg Hasser said his shop had been broken into twice, once after he even installed metal bars on his back window. “Those guys (presidential candidates) are talking about protecting our borders… and I can’t even protect my back window,” he half smiled. In St. Paris (pop. 2,000 “…counting the dogs and cats”), Tom’s Varsity Barber Shop owner (my day for barbers) Tom Roush has the place filled, absolutely filled, with sports memorabilia. He said his favorite is a basketball former Indiana University coach Bobby Knight had signed for him. I then went to Rosewood, Ohio and talked to the Rosewood Grocery and General Store owner about supporting local business. After putting up a flyer in Rosewood (my response to the million dollar adds), I headed to DeGraff, Ohio where a man playing the ukelele on the main street there, stopped playing, looked up and hollered “Go Joe!” In Quincy, Ohio I talked to Sue and Bill Weiskittle, who had just returned from a trip to Marion, Ohio to see the “Moving (Vietnam Memorial) Wall.” Bill had been in the service and said to me that the news media seldom focuses on the good things that are happening in Iraq, like the kids going to school, the women having more rights… The Weiskittle’s daughter told me she’d seen a piece about our campaign on Channel 7 News out of Dayton and wanted to wish me “luck.”