May 13, 2007, Mother’s Day, at 1pm — I invite the deaf and hearing community to stand with me as we join the other Standing Women (and men) in this positive global demonstration of our own commitment, individually and collectively, to attain a better future for our deaf and hearing children, our grandchildren and the seven generations beyond. We are not protesting anything, but rather committing to our future.

(Read more…)

“At a time when most news is bad and people feel powerless, here comes an inspiring story of 2 grandmothers whose simple act of caring has the power to change the world. Soon they are joined by others who believe that great things are possible through a simple act of peace.

This book is written by Sharon Mehdi, a writer, teacher, healer, mother and grandmother. She has lived and worked in Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Guatemala, Mexico, Spain, France and Canada. She is a woman who believes peace is possible.”
~ The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering

Here’s a summary of this book:

“A busboy who worked in a café whose window faced the public park noticed that two grandmotherly looking women had been standing in the park all day without moving at all and without talking. They were dressed up in their Sunday best and were just staring at the town hall. He asked the other patrons in the café what they thought the women were up to. They speculated on a variety of things.

Then, a five-year old year who was in the café spoke up and said “One of them is my grandmother and I know what they are doing. They are standing there to save the world.” All of the men in the café hooted and howled and laughed.

On his way home the busboy decided to ask the women what they were doing and sure enough their answer was “We are saving the world.”

Over dinner that evening the busboy told his parents and he and his father hooted and howled, but his mother was totally silent. After dinner, the mother called her best friends to tell them.

The next morning the busboy looked out the café window and the two women were back, along with his mother, her friends, and the women who had been in the café the day before. All were standing in silence staring at the town hall.

Again, the men hooted and howled and said things like “You can’t save the world by standing in the park. That is what we have armies for,” and “everyone knows you have to have banners and slogans to save the world–you can’t do it by just standing in the park.”

The next day the women were joined by the women who were in the café the day before and a number of their friends. This brought the local newspaper reporter to the scene. He wrote a derisive article about the women. The day after it appeared, hundreds of women showed up to stand in the park in silence.

The mayor then told the police chief to make the women leave because they were making the town appear to be foolish. When the police chief told them they would have to disperse because they didn’t have a permit, one of them responded that “we are just individuals standing in our public park and we are not giving speeches or having a demonstration so why would we need a permit.” The police chief thought about this and agreed with them and left the park.

At this point 2,223 women including the mayor’s wife, the police chief’s wife, and one five-year old girl were standing in the park to save the world. The news quickly spread and soon women were standing all over the country. The story ended with women standing in every country throughout the globe, standing to save the world.”

So, on May 13, 2007, at 1pm — I invite you to stand silently with me for 5 minutes, your local time. If you cannot stand at 1 p.m. your local time, feel free to stand at another hour. You will then be standing with women from a different time zone. Stand in your local park, school yard, church, neighborhood or any place you deem appropriate, to signify your agreement with the statement above. We ask women of all ages to invite the men and boys who you care about to join you.

During the silence, please think about what you individually and we collectively can do to attain a better and more peaceful world. If you need to sit rather than stand, please feel free to do so. Afterwards, hopefully you and your loved ones can talk together about how we can bring about this world.

Posted by LaRonda on Thursday, May 10th, 2007 at 8:26 pm.