As you read this, a group of grandmas from the Northland are making a ruckus down in Georgia.
These aren't just any old grandmas. They are members of Grandmothers for Peace.
Throw out any typical grandmother pictures that spring to mind.
Gray hair? Not necessarily.
Rocking chair? I think not.
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This weekend, the only rocking that's going on with these grandmas might be with the church choir -- strictly gospel, of course.
The grandmothers are on the march. They're not happy. And when grandma ain't happy....
On Wednesday I spoke with Duluth grandmother Lyn Clark Peg. Peg has two grandchildren in the Twin Cities, a delightful laugh and a very youthful voice.
She returned my call from Alabama, where she and several other members were on a "Living the Dream" march that started in Selma and ended in Columbus, Ga., Friday.
"(With the march) we're connecting the civil rights movement of the '60s to the human rights movement now," Peg said. "We're against poverty and racism, as well as militarism."
When Peg phoned, she and approximately 50 others had just finished walking more than 11 miles in the pouring rain, undeterred by a tornado watch that was issued at the same time. The group -- not all grandmas, also choir members, veterans and others -- was being hosted along the way by various churches, who would feed them and give them a place to sleep.
The Northland was well represented on the march.
March organizer Brooks Anderson was there, as well as Sara Thomsen, artistic director of the Echoes of Peace choir in Duluth. Other grandmother members on the march and subsequent protest included Coral McDonnell (grandmother to nine), Jean Kilgore (grandmother to one) and Penny Cragun and Mary B. Newcomb (both grandmothers-in-training, said Peg).
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Their final target? The School of the Americas, otherwise known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. The school is a training facility for military personnel from Latin American countries at which students learn combat and commando techniques, counter-insurgency and interrogation methods, among other things.
This same place made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon released training manuals used at the school that advocated torture, extortion and execution. It's funded by American taxpayer dollars.
From Friday through Monday, grandmothers from around the world are protesting outside Fort Benning, where the school is located, asking that the School of the Americas in Fort Benning be closed.
Grandmothers for Peace is an international organization -- started in 1982 by Barbara Wiedner in California -- but some of its roots are local. Barbara's sister, Jan Provost of Superior, started one of the first chapters right here in the Northland.
Rebel grandma Provost couldn't make the trip this year, but the other members went "with her blessing."
They are "unconventional" grandmas, Provost noted.
"We don't have a lot of meetings, we just get the word out," she said. While the group's primary message is anti-nuclear, Provost said they work together with other peace groups.
Peg said she hopes being grandmas lends a certain credence to their message.
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"I think we are building on (hopefully) the respect our society has for grandmothers, and the credibility we have as care givers of family and the community," Peg said. "We're not doing this for personal gain or power. It's for our community and our families."
Anyone who wants to get involved can check out the Grandmothers for Peace International Web site at www.grandmothersforpeace.org or call (916) 685-1130. Locally, the group is conducting a toy drive at area businesses. They ask for peaceful toys only, please.
Jana Peterson is the editor of the Budgeteer News. Contact her at 723-1207 or jpeterson@duluthbudgeteer.com .
