Colleagues 'in the way',
I have told this story a few times.
Following my cataclysmic RS1 in October of ’67 [David McCleskey - Dick & Linda Alton were POs (Participant Observers)], I attended an SDS (Students of a Democratic Society) conference in Chicago that December. I was a leader in the Canadian equivalent, SUPA (Student’s Union for Peace Action). After the conference, I visited 3444 Congress Parkway for a day. I was met by Tim Lush and taken on a tour. A significant part of that time occurred in the basement, where the trash got taken out. There, I met a very fashionable women by the name of Joyce Townley. She was obviously a suburbanite, covered with a smock, but with a colourful scarf and blouse. What a charming woman! And there she was, operating a hoist with oil barrels full of trash.
At that time, immersed in the 60s, as a committed socialist, agent of change and one engaged in many aspects of 60s politics and social change, I knew that part of the puzzle depended on the engagement of sophisticated middle class folks if real change were to occur. It wasn’t simply going to be a revolution of the oppressed.
And there she was! For me it was a sign. I returned May 29, 1968.
Here’s to Joyce Townley the grandmother.
With warmth and affection and…
Grace & Peace
Ken