Putting Peace on the Map

Not every peace demonstration this summer is happening on foot. Alix Bryan of Charlottesville, VA has decided to "put peace on the map"- literally. She will create a peace symbol on the U.S. map over the next ten weeks.

The 9,000 mile voyage, dubbed "A Patriot's Exhibition Advancing Community and Environmentalism", on a Scooter, or P.E.A.C.E, Scooter began at the White House in Washington, D.C. on July 15th and will end at the Bush ranch in Texas, around the middle of September. She is traveling the entire trip on her Genuine Buddy 125cc scooter, which she received as sponsorship from the Genuine Scooter company after approaching the company's owner, Philip McCaleb with her plan.

She has chosen to ride a scooter, which can travel 100 miles per gallon, to demonstrate an "environmentally friendlier" mode of transport. Approximately 30 stops have been planned during which Alix will be distributing postcards and stickers and asking the people along the way to define peace in their own words. She is creating a documentary of the experience.

Although the itinerary includes a memorial when her scooter's odometer reading is equal to the number of fallen U.S. soldiers, Alix describes the project as "a pro-peace demonstration," emphasizing that the war is not the focus of her trip and that "the more we focus on war- even "anti-war" the further we are from the heart of what peace is and what it means to the individual."

The project's website, www.peacescooter.com features Alix's vision for the journey as well as an area for visitors to post comments. A link for making online donations is available and the site's blog keeps viewers up to date on Bryan's progress. Genuine Scooter and dealerships also offer support and links for the P.E.A.C.E, SCOOTER ride.