Dearly beloved: Austin couple gets married at Camp Casey II

CRAWFORD – The bride wore an embroidered peasant top. The groom was equally casual in slacks and a short-sleeved shirt.

For all its informality, the Sunday wedding of Genevieve Van Cleve and Peter Ravella at the main Crawford peace rally site was very much a formal statement against U.S. militarism.

The Austin residents said Sunday that they support Iraqi freedom and democracy, but question the U.S. military's role in that mission. Van Cleve and Ravella said they felt it was appropriate to start their lives by affirming love and peace into their marriage covenant, which was sealed before an audience of at least 300 peace demonstrators at Camp Casey II.

“I wanted to add some joy to what has been a somber event,” said Van Cleve, 34, who performed slam poetry at Camp Casey II a week ago at the behest of Liz Carpenter, former press secretary and chief of staff for Lady Bird Johnson.

Van Cleve and Ravella were to be married in a more traditional setting in the fall, but Van Cleve said she was inspired to rush the wedding after attending the peace protests and meeting with like-minded people near President Bush's vacation home.

Ravella, 46, agreed. The pair was able to convince family and friends throughout the nation to take a drive or flight to Central Texas.

“It's not a zoo,” said Ravella, referring to the atmosphere at Camp Casey II. “Most people here are people who have never spoken out against their country in a public way É The guts (to do so) is incredible. Their courage is incredible.”

While some may question the insertion of politics into a wedding, the Rev. Tom Nuckols said a marriage is inherently about politics. Nuckols, a professor emeritus at Austin College, officiated the couple's wedding ceremony.

Marriage is “about which values you'll choose to live and to set priorities,” he said.

A wedding at a peace rally is a first for Nuckols. But he said he agreed to perform the ceremony because he thought the couple's intentions and political statement match that of Jesus, who sought justice and compassion for the lesser of society.

The couple insisted that they do not want their wedding to be viewed as a sideshow. Still, they asked Cindy Sheehan for permission to hold a wedding ceremony at the protest site.

Sheehan started a sit-in on Prairie Chapel Road on Aug. 6 to catch President Bush's attention in an effort to bring an end to the Iraq war. It has since grown to two camps within a few miles of Bush's ranch.

Sheehan, who sat on the front row of the Van Cleve-Ravella wedding, said she gladly approved of the nuptials taking place at Camp Casey II, the larger of the two peace protest sites named after her slain Army son.

“I was so happy when they wanted to get married at Camp Casey because Camp Casey is a place of love, and what better place to get married?” Sheehan said.

A Day in the Life: Jo's Coffee House - event this evening

cynthiagood
Date: 8/26/05 at 6:12PM

I am thinking of traveling to Camp Casey, Crawford, Texas this weekend to participate in a slam poet's wedding - a kind of radical thing to do, don't you think? Getting married at a peace rally waiting for the USA President to appear and give us his "blessing" of words to the dead soldiers' Moms!

GENEVIEVE VAN CLEVE (slam poet) and her beau - Peter Albert Ravella are getting married this weekend in Crawford but tonight, check out the events at Jo's Coffee:

August 26 | Jo’s is proud to welcome U.S. TOUR OF DUTY to Austin. U.S. Tour of Duty organizes public forums about American foreign policy, and publishes news and opinion related to the anti-war advocacy of Iraq veterans, military families, policy experts and performers. On Friday August 26th @ 7:30pm we will host an evening with the honorable Scott Ritter, former U.N. Weapons Inspector, as well as, Iraq veterans and military families direct from Camp Casey. "Caught in the Crossfire," a short film about the U.S. bombardment of Falluja and its aftermath, will be screened. Come hear first-hand accounts and see exclusive, uncensored documentary evidence of the war being fought in America's name.
Friday, August 26
7:30 PM - 10:30 PM
Jo's (Outdoors)
1300 South Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78704
http://www.joscoffee.com
512.444.3800
Speakers:
MEL GOODMAN (former CIA analyst)
ANN WRIGHT (former Ambassador in Afghanistan, resigned in protest of Iraq war)
NADIA McCAFFREY (Gold Star mom)
JIM HIGHTOWER
Performers:
AMY COOK
ELIZA GILKYSON
FRANKIE J. MEYER
GENEVIEVE VAN CLEVE (slam poet)
Free admission - Donations accepted
Co-sponsored by Austin Center for Peace & Justice, Veterans for Peace, and American Friends Service Committee.

Saturday, August 27
Rally at Camp Casey, Crawford, TX
Featuring Gold Star families and Iraq veterans
12 noon to 2:00 PM
BBQ 2:00 - 5:00
Invited guests include President & Mrs. George W. Bush

Sunday, August 28
Wedding in Crawford - 4 p.m.

Buses from Houston depart at 7:00 AM from the Unitarian Universalist Church parking lot at 5115 Main Street, next to Mann's Eye Clinic. Buses from Austin depart at 8:00 AM from the UT LBJ School parking lot at Dean Keaton and Red River.

******

Peter Ravella has argued again for another development on the west end against the current residents concerns about their quality of life. Galveston Planning Commission of course approved it overwhelmingly.

http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?wcd=22779

Galveston Yankee

Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Centex Island, Texas

Let's see,now. Coastal Technology Corp. That is the same company that the geologist hired by Centex Development Corporation used to work for. Now I know where to go to get "expert" opinion on everything coastal that flies in the face of reason and common sense.

December 10, 2003

SARGENT — A study of Mitchells Cut is now complete and a final recommendation on the best way to keep it open has been made, but a true remedy is probably years away.

snip

Unfortunately, the jetty project could cost as much as $20 million to build and maintain, which means it would likely have to be federally funded.

Coastal Tech’s Peter Ravella, who headed the study, cautioned the crowd in Sargent Saturday that it can take a decade or more to get a project of that magnitude approved by Congress.

“It took 30 years to get funding for the revetment wall on Sargent Beach, so you need to know there is not going to be an overnight fix for Mitchells Cut,” Ravella said.

snip

The study was paid for with a grant from the Port of Bay City Authority and performed under the authority of Matagorda County and Navigation District No. 1.

snip

“If you speak with a unified voice, you have a much better chance of getting action,” Ravella said.

“But be aware it will take time.”

...But I'd like to have someone come and have a baby here,” Sheehan quipped

Then contact fenton communications, al-sheehani, no problem. They can provide ANYTHING, heck, they even provide the AP (associated press) wiith their liberalized, pre-written, ready to print news releases regarding events around the US and World.

I am certain they can find of liberal willing to forego partial birth abortion in order to provide you with yet another media event.

Git er done, al-sheehani!

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