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Trio Taking Steps to Stop the War in Iraq
Mario Pe?alver, left, Elliott Nesch and Gordy Heuer prep to walk from Beltsville to College Park. The group has walked 1,600 miles and plans to hit the District on Tuesday for the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
(By Richard A. Lipski -- The Washington Post)
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It drew slightly more than one honk per minute yesterday during the trio's 62-minute walk. One driver, stopped at a red light with her window down, leaned towards them, smiled warmly and clapped. "I'm with you!" she said.
"Right on," added an oncoming pedestrian, sporting a gray-haired ponytail and raised left fist.
Pe?alver planned his walk while studying at Chicago. He had big visions, e-mailing a friend about what it would be like to pick up 100 fellow walkers in Pennsylvania, and swell to 300 walkers by Maryland. "Imagine the headlines," he wrote.
Instead, he attracted his two companions: Nesch and Gordy Heuer, 21, of Pittsboro, N.C.
In Ohio, Nesch, who had by then learned of Pe?alver, got a ride to Cleveland to join him. Heuer heard about Pe?alver's walk from his dad and joined the two in Youngstown, Ohio.
Heuer's major point of protest: The war is draining funds that could address problems in the United States such as health care. His sign spoke to that point of view: "Cost $ of War 452,234,800,000."
In all their miles, they say they've been generally well-received. Nesch reports two hostilities in Pennsylvania: A man wrestled away his sign and shoved it into his chest, and a passing motorist threw a bottle of Mountain Dew, striking him in the shoulder.
Their route yesterday offered a sampling of Route 1: The Ikea store, a bridge spanning the Beltway, a palm reader named Madam Flora, car dealerships, an expanse of green at the University of Maryland in College Park.
Other than the SUV passenger who claimed divine knowledge, the three drew few critics. "Hippies," shouted one motorist.
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