Vigil Report from Fargo, ND/Moorhead, MN

[Chichiri]

The nationwide vigil was scheduled to take place at 7:30 PM. The Fargo/Moorhead vigil was planned about 6 and a half hours earlier, and learned about 2 hours before hand by yours truly. I had just finished a screenplay for a project of mine, and was heading out the door to obtain the Chinese food I so richly deserved when the information came. I jotted down the details and took off to obtain said Chinese food.

The vigil was to take place beneath the spires at the center of the newly-completed Main Avenue bridge connecting Fargo to Moorhead. Now, if you've never been to this region of the country, this is all you really need to know: the stretch of I-94 between central North Dakota and eastern Minnesota is quite possibly THE MOST BORING DRIVE IN THE COUNTRY. Everything is flat. Flat, flat, flat. Where I live, the outstanding geographical feature is the horizon. So on that bridge, high above the Red River of the North, it was windy tonight. I wondered to myself how we would keep the candles lit.

I was the first one there, but I was joined by about 20 true patriots from the F/M area in as many minutes.

First came press interviews. John, the great guy who saw that nobody was planning one for the area and said (I would imagine) "Fuck it, I'm planning one myself!" had the forethought to contact the press. The local FOX and ABC affiliates took him up on his offer. There were the standard camera group shots, and one-on-one interviews. Fox interviewed John and another guy named John, who came with a sign that said "BRING THE $$$ HOME", and the condescending-but-cheerful ABC guy, for some mysterious reason, chose to pick on yours truly. If anyone is in range of the WDAY transmitter, watch the 10:00 news to see what I look like.

Then the vigil itself, right there on the sidewalk underneath the spires, for which the press didn't stick around. Sure enough, the candles would not remain lit -- it was too windy. A few people had brought candles in cups, but they were not very visible -- from a distance, it looked like those people were just holding cups. Then, yours truly had another of his bright ideas: I sat down on the sidewalk between the street and the stone foundation of the spires, and discovered that there was much less wind there. My candle, bought an hour beforehand at Walgreens, managed to stay lit for the most part, requiring only a few relights.

So the Fargo-Moorhead vigil turned out to be a rough semi-circle of people standing halfway between Fargo and Moorhead, holding signs that said "MEET WITH CINDY," "BRING OUR CHILDREN HOME" and the like, with me sitting roughly in the center holding a single bright flame. It was very powerful.

We got many honks of support. At least, we presume they were such -- one of them came from an unhappy-looking woman in a yellow-magnetic-ribbon-clad SUV, but we were happy to give her the benefit of the doubt. We got innumerable thumbs-up, smiles and waves. More than one passing bicyclist shouted "I'm with you!"

We also got a freeper or two, showing clear displeasure with our pro-troop rally. One freeper in particular was determined to give us a bad night: he drove from the state of North Dakota to the state of Minnesota THREE TIMES for the sole purpose of insulting us. On his first pass he screamed, "I'LL KILL YOU, FUCKING COMMIES!" John, whose 5 year old son was sitting next to me helping me keep the flame lit, remarked that he didn't know the difference between a communist and a socialist. Not being either, I said nothing.

On his second pass, this freeper informed John's children that they were pieces of shit. And on his third pass he screamed something I didn't quite catch, but I'm pretty sure it was an expression of a desire, on his part, to damage us physically. That third pass, incidentally, gave me the chance to get his license plate number, so if you are affiliated with Fargo/Moorhead law enforcement, or are an otherwise interested party, feel free to PM me.

Other than that, the vigil went without incident. We broke up at about 8:20, as the streetlights were coming on (the irony of the timing escaped no one). I came home, a happy and fulfilled man.

More good timing: As I write this, the Fox affiliate is showing my candle on TV.