Gratitude Guerilla Action
....because there is so much to be grateful for

photos by Crystal Liepa

Today the 75 Gratitude Guerillas walked 54.4 miles /108,800 steps as sunset colors painted the dark waters of the Mississippi, the trains rattled past as elongated shadows stretched across the cobblestones. We walked until lamp light replaced the sun and then we drank a champagne toast to the completion of this phase of the projects as the crescent moon and Venus came into full view. (pictures soon by Crystal Liepa) Then one last lap around the island to imagine what will come next- a full moon walk Nov 13 , starting phase two.

Tough day for giving out balloon we only saw a half a dozen walkers before our clothes were so soaked through we had to give it up. We had hopes of giving away 500 balloons on Como Lake  which is normally the most populated park in the city on any given day. But even the most dedicated walkers were deterred by cold winds and sloppy wet snow. The plan right now is to go back the first sign of spring!

Deborah & Isabelle the super gratitude guerillas were not  defeated by a little snow (Photos by Crystal Liepa)

Check back soon for great snowy day pictures- for now here is Anchorage...

 Laura Jeffrey Academy

First Gratitude Guerrilla Thank-you Balloon give-a-way. I was a rainy day but thank to  the enthusisam of a small group of Gratitude Guerillas  and a receptive community the day was not dampened!

October 1st Sheppard Road, old NSP Plant to Wall street and back.  It was a beautiful morning, crisp fall air with the warm sun rising in the east.. Happy people walking their dogs near their riverfront condominiums, ever flowing river, jumping fish and migrating geese. At Chestnut  I was stopped in my tracks by the new public art plaza which visually connects the St. Paul Cathedral on the hill with the promenade on Harriet Island across the river. Standing on this spot I was instantly reminded of pictures I've seen of early settler embarking off the river boats to explore the new frontier capital city of St. Paul. At that same moment I remembered this was the place that one of the largest conflicts during RNC came to an end, as a initially small group of protesters were herded together with  a larger group of people enjoying the music floating over from Harriet Island. Everyone, involved or not with the protests, was detained and many arrested. This memory stayed with me for the rest of the walk as I followed the path to where the confrontation started at  Jackson. All the way I was looking for any trace of what happened, realizing that the only trace was in my mind and that trace was sketchy and biased.  Having seen the images and hearing some of the personal accounts it is difficult to reconcile what happened here and in other places throughout the city on those few days in Sept. I am convinced we will never really know the whole truth. But I know this much, as I walked today, it is sad that this hurtful event came to pass here in our city and at this beautiful place along the river. It brings to mind the small art garden Kellogge and Robert that tells us "the river remembers".

Walking back from Wall I caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure walking along the train tressle over my head. I watch as a man with his lunch bucket  walked along the railroad bed and up a 50ft flight of stairs to his little house on the bridge, just as he reached the door he turned and gave me a friendly wave. Is that a peaceful job I wonder? Watching the river flow, listening to the train rattle along the tracks and seeing the sun rise and fall day after day.

Mississippi River Blvd. People were asked if they wanted to carry "thank-you" balloons while they walked and rode there bikes along the river.

The always positive Josie Winship! And here,below, Josie tests her balance.

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Last day of the RNC, to the great relief of many of us St. Paulitans. On this walk we went right past the dump truck barricades of the Smith Ave. Bridge. Crystal walked up and looked into the windows of the BUSH BUS idling at the back end of Harriet Island. And a large crew of bicycle patrolmen gave us no mind. Apparently white balloons are not a problem....

We spent most of our time in the Peace Garden on Kelloge and Robert, one of the best art  spaces in the city, and we were able to put some of this RNC stuff in perspective, be that for good or bad... we were reminded of a bigger picture.

New walker Linda Dobosenski at Como Lake.

  Pat Pendleton, a great river:  teacher, mother, grandmother and friend to many.

   Lee Orcutt, Lilyday Walking Path                     "Full Moon Walk" Deborah, Steve & Isabelle (& Kitty Davis "the  pup" not shown)

Krista and Mary Esch with the sun rising down river walking along Shepard Road.

At 7am. on this amazing morning Heidi Prenevost and I met on the Lake Street Bridge. The fog was so thick you couldn't see the water in the river or oncoming cars until they were  8 feet away from you. I was having a little trouble feeling grateful this morning and my balloon seemed to know it. ( ha!) I always  ask the walkers to breath their gratitude into the balloon when they blow it up. Today my balloon blew right out of my mouth on the first puff then once I have it completely blown up it slipped from my figures and flew around the entrance to the bridge. On the third try however I was able to  inflate it properly. Did it clear my head? Well I had a couple of really good laughs at the folly of trying to get it blown up and attached to my stick... so as they say laughter can cure a lot.

There is always so much beauty to be grateful for and we really had a great deal of that this morning.

            Heidi emerging - and soon to be in NYC!                       Spider web covered in dew.

LATER THE SAME DAY  A perfect bookend walk with the 13th walker Carolyn Smith on a day steeped in Beauty . We encounter one amazing color washed moment after another as the sun set.This was a 2 hour, 5 mile walk along the river and into the heart of St. Paul, along Kellogge Park, though Irvin Park and home again to the West End.

Last year, about this time, a devastating wind storm hit Como Lake and we lost a lot of big healthy trees.

Replanting started right away. This year those young trees are really struggling because of the drought.

Thanks to our city parks and this nifty invention ( Treegator) they are being well watered.

Summit Ave. Blvd/ Lexington Ave. to Fairview Ave and back. Some of the things walkers were grateful for: houses with big porches, Macalester College ( good education for children & bag pipes), new babies, "Wish Cotton was a monkey", found keys, people willing to take pictures, St. Paul Police, smiling faces, reconnecting with friends and much, much more.

WALKING IN THE RAIN was beautiful, just as imagined by Lisa D'Amour.  The rain didn't stop Shaun Walsh and I from walking along the Mississippi River on Harriet Island and the Wabasha Bridge. But a long, long train did! So we spent some time being grateful for trains and graffiti art among other things.

Walking Mississippi River Blvd. today with Lyz Preus we were asked by a women walking in the opposite direction. "Does walking with those balloons burn more calories?" ( people think up the most marvelous questions for us)  We both thought that would be a great idea and theorized how that might actually work, considering things like wind resistance etc. And we speculated how we could market this idea and have an infomercial on TV!  Then one could wonder does the mental concentration of being grateful burn calories? Why not!

Lyz Preus 2nd Gratitude Guerilla to join the Action.

First additional walker , Wendy Lane.

I really love walking in the high bushes on the Summit Ave. Boulevard. Today the Boysenberries are ready to pick!

When I moved off the path so a runner could have the path to herself she said "Thanks"

My last walk was June 25, then I got two big blisters on the bottom of each of my feet and had to take a few days off- I'll be back soon.

I was driving home from the 6:30 pm 48hr. film festival screening in Mpls. and feeling a little disappointed that I hadn't walked in a while. I took a route the over the Ford Parkway bridge and right then I decided to take a gratitude walk. It was a beautiful night the sun was beginning to set and it was not windy at all like the last time. One of the things that caught my attention on this walk is that there are , what seem to be, small poppies growing right along the very edge of the sidewalk. Were they planted by someone? It's  just that I have never seen anything like it before...

I got my first honk and yelp from a car and a young man on his bike circled back and asked if he could take my picture. We had a talk about mosquitoes and ticks (he had just pulled one off his leg which he must have gotten while in the woods by the river) So I said "sure" and he said "you know you are the first friendly person I have talked to tonight " And I said "Well, if you were trying to take their picture in the woods, people might be a little less trusting" he agreed. He dug his video camera out of his backpack and took a few minutes of film as I continued to walked away shouting back do you know about the 48hr Film Festival? no?, look it up!" 

 This was my first officially spontaneous walk that fit right into my normal routine, it felt just how I imagined. And another lesson learned, I have to carry contact information from now on, so I could have had the young man email me his video.

(Imagine this great little video right here, now)

It was a very blustery day at Como Park walking around the lake. The balloon was blowing around madly,but it was going fine and I was feeling proud of my wind coping methods. But when I stopped to take a picture of a goose and her gooslings the balloon stick snapped in half and the balloon launched into the lake and quickly sailed away from shore.

So I spent a half hour trying to retrieve it  as it raced to the other side of the lake. I thought I found it a couple of times but it turned out  the first time to be a plastic grocery bag and another  time a styrofoam cup. I plan to look for it the next time I am there.

This was something I really wanted to avoid and I need to keep working on solutions before larger groups start carrying the balloons. 

Today ( 6-11) I was asked by a woman "How many miles have you walked with  your balloon?" I told I didn't know how many miles but  I have walked on 9 days in the past 3 weeks in 9 in different parks and walking paths in St. Paul. I told her I would be walking all summer.

She then said " Nice idea"  and I said " Thank you"  We smiled and walked off in different directions.

I will do some calculating and start a  tally of miles and steps so next time I can answer that question, it's a nice idea.....

Each Gratitude walk has been a different experience. I am learning new things everyday about the city I  have lived in all my life. For  three weeks now I have walked in some familiar places but  I see them with new eyes , I've walked in places I knew only by name and by studying city parks maps I  found some wonderful places I had no idea existed.

I went to a completely new place yesterday ( 6-9-08) - Marydale Park near the corner of Dale & Maryland.  It is an extremely intimate park with a  walking path around a small lake. It feels sort of like a "bonsai park" compared to Como or Phalan.  When I parked my car I noticed a green Subaru wagon parked in front a near by apartment building that had a "Support the Arts" sticker on it. I've decided that  if the car is there the next time go I will eave a note on the windshield asking  "Would you be willing to help with an arts event in Marydale Park in August?"  and sign it Krista, a Gratitude Guerilla ... [this would be my first recruit that didn't already know me- except for the woman that volunteered her mother,  but I wasn't able to follow up on that at the time.]