Why Not? Twenty Great Reasons to Fold

Today I found two envelopes and a box for me at the post office, each filled with cranes. From the post office, I went to my dentist's office, and picked up two ziplock bags full of cranes. All together there were seven hundred cranes when I combined them with the cranes my kids and I had folded in the last week. I now have over 1700 cranes in my possession. About half have been strung on cord, and then wrapped up and put away to protect them from damage, and until they can be displayed.

It is a lot of cranes.

But, about 98,000 more are still needed. Kind of puts it in perspective, doesn't it? When I was at the Origami convention a few weeks back I met someone who thinks even bigger than I do. She has begun a project to fold 1000 cranes for each and every soldier killed in Iraq. Yes, that would be more than 4,000,000 cranes. I am in awe.

My daughter and I sat down the other day, and came up with a list of reasons why you might want to consider folding a crane, or many cranes, for this project. From the shallows to the depths, we explored as many possibilities as we could think of. Surely, at least one reason
will make sense to you.....

1. Multi-generational. Cranes can be folded by five year-olds, fifty year-olds, and ninety-five year-olds. There are not many things that can be done across so many generations.

2.No athletic skills are required. There is virtually no risk of injury from folding cranes.

3.Your manicure is safe. You probably will not break a nail folding cranes.

4.It is multi-lingual and non-denominational. The crane as a symbol of peace is one that is understood worldwide.

5.Low cost entertainment. A roll of waxed paper can produce over 200 cranes. The package of waxed paper I bought recently was only $1.29. That works out to about $0.10 per hour of crane folding. A thousand cranes could be folded for under $10 of materials. How much fun is that?

6.No fossil fuels are used to fold cranes. Just the best form of internal combustion on the planet. Motivation to make a difference.

7.No batteries either. No fumes. No toxic by-products.

8.Great activity for dieters. You can’t eat and fold a crane at the same time.

9.You can fold cranes in your pajamas.

10.Eliminate the guilt of watching bad TV. Fold cranes while you do it.

11.Great family activity. (See reasons 1 and 12)

12.You can talk while you fold. Catch up with your friends and family while you make a statement about world peace.

13.It is portable and lightweight. You can carry the waxed paper squares with you nearly anywhere, along with a bag to put the folded cranes into. It weighs next to nothing, and does not take up much space.

14.Time flies when you fold cranes. I have folded more cranes sitting on planes, trains, buses and cars. Sitting in waiting rooms. Waiting for a concert. Waiting for a meal to arrive at a restaurant. Waiting for the Novocaine to kick in.

15.Folding cranes is meditative. Waiting for that Novocaine to do its thing could have been filled with worry about what was to come. Instead, I was relatively stress-free when dental surgery began. No mantra to remember. No special breathing. Fold enough cranes and your hands know what to do.

16.Great conversation starter. Fold cranes in a public place and you might find yourself striking up conversations with all kinds of people. They might even want to join in. That was how my dentist got involved with folding cranes.

17.You get to be profiled in the blog….if you want. The profiles are a way for me to show that lots of people are and will be contributing to this project. Be one of the folders, and you too can have your story here.

18.Be a part of something big. Small goals are accomplished with small steps. Big goals require lots of small steps. This big, hairy, and audacious goal requires lots of small steps by lots of people.

19.Bragging rights. When the project is installed for people to see you can say, “I folded cranes for that.”

20.Finally, several very good reasons, all wrapped into one;

Because you can.

Because you will be a voice for peace in the world.

And, because there is no good reason not to fold a crane.

At least none that come to mind.

I think I am beginning to understand what it is like to work on Public Radio or PBS during pledge drives. I am becoming shameless and relentless in my willingness to tell anyone and everyone about the project, and in asking for help. This is not my last plea. But be warned. They might only get more desperate if my mail box doesn't continue to have envelopes with cranes inside them! Please help me avoid increasing desperation. Make a crane. Put it in an envelope and send it to me. One is fine. Ten is great. Twenty is awesome. Fifty is fantastic. You get the picture. Just like those pledge drives. Whatever you can do will help. And you will feel better for having done it. I promise!

Invested in the Numbers

I find I am more invested in this war and the toll it is taking than I ever was before. I felt strongly about it, but now I guess I feel it more deeply, now. When I was away in New York, I was not able to check the latest statistics and keep the count up to date. I expected to find a change when I got home, but was happily surprised to see the count remained unchanged. As the week went on, I began to realize we had more than a week with no fatalities. I don't think we had ever gone that long without losing a soldier.

Then I went to the home page of the site, and saw an article about a veteran from South Carolina who had committed suicide. He was pictured in a photo that got wide circulation, early in the war, showing him carrying a young Iraq boy to get medical help. He ultimately received several honors for his service in Iraq. But, the war took it's toll. He apparently died of an overdose. Another soldier lost, who will not be counted.

My small excitement about the stretch of time that had passed without a casualty was immediately dissipated.

I also noticed the large number of articles about attacks in Iraq with fatalities. The number of Iraqis dying in this war is still incredibly high. Since I started working on this project, the death toll of soldiers has climbed by about 230. Over the same time period the death toll for the Iraqi civilians, has climbed by about three to four thousand, according to the Iraq Body Count. And that is considered a more conservative estimate than most of those trying to keep track. Nearly fifteen to twenty Iraqi civilians are dying for each soldier we lose.

There are many, many cranes left to be folded. Maybe you can join in and fold one, or ten, or one hundred.

The Long, Hard Slog

The site where I get the data about casualties in the Iraq war had this statement recently, on a page where there is analysis of the casualty trends:

U.S. Fatalities are currently at the lowest levels since Rumsfeld called our war effort a "Long Hard Slog" in 2003. Then, U.S. Soldiers were dying at a rate of one per day, and through June they have been dying at approximately the same rate. The question facing our political and military leaders five years later, as they negotiate a long term Status of Forces Agreement And encourage the Iraqis to make concrete political progress is, "How long will this slog continue?" (The same question applies to Afghanistan, where fatalities In June were 27, equaling the highest total of the war in June 2005).

What a difference five years makes.

Five years ago, one soldier dying each day was call the Long Hard Slog. Now, one soldier dying a day is seen as a sign that the war is going well. As I work on the cranes to represent fallen soldiers from 2004, there are months were the average is over 4 deaths per day. There are weeks that there are more than 7 deaths per day on average. As I write this, the situation in Afghanistan is declining. Nine soldiers were killed in conflict with Taliban militants near the Pakistan border today. The worst single day loss in Afghanistan in many years.

A few days ago, Iran tested missiles. Saber rattling is increasing on all sides.

And as I fold the cranes, I feel like I am in the middle of the long hard slog. Certainly, there is no comparison to the challenges that the soldiers face, but as I fold cranes for these days of heavy casualties in the war, it can be discouraging. I usually make eight cranes in one sitting. It takes about an hour, and the pan I cure them in will hold eight cranes. When I finish eight, I add to my total, and note the date on the last crane made. When I make eight cranes and progress by a day, or not even a day, it is discouraging. The task seems endless.

Adding to the sense of the long hard slog, I struggle with the motivation to stay on track. Focused on making those 16 cranes per day, when to this day I do not have the answer to the question I hear most often. "Where will they go?"

I have not yet found a place to exhibit all the cranes when they are done. I know as I get closer to catching up to the current toll, it may be easier to find a place. There is a leap of faith to commit a space to an unfinished, immense project. Yet the lack of a firm, external deadline can create lots of desire to do something else. When I had the conference in New York to prepare for, I got behind. Away from home for several days, I got further behind. Having to attend to business and get orders shipped, I got further behind. I am now about 250 cranes behind my target. It is a strictly self imposed target. But it still feels as crappy to be behind my target, as if it was a real deadline. I know I will catch up. Eight to sixteen crane extra, a few days a week, and the gap will shrink.

Taking on an immense project will inevitably have this point. You are in it. You have committed to the project, and want to complete the project. But the endpoint seems impossibly far away. It is necessary to remember, it is many small steps that get to the final goal. Refocusing on sixteen or more cranes per day. Taking little steps to find folders, to find a place, to string up cranes. Lots of little steps. Perpetual motion, even when it seems as if nothing is moving.

E-mails, comments and donations from you have helped when I feel a bit overwhelmed. Five hundred cranes are coming my way from the west coast, and one folder has made a donation as well. A teacher folded cranes with her class and has a box of cranes for the project. Someone who has one hundred cranes folded.

Folding by Relation

Hey! I’m Kaela, and I’m going to be helping my mom with this project over the summer. I wanted to do something worthwhile this summer, and my mom needs a lot of help getting all those cranes folded (you can fold them too!), so that’s what I’m working on it. I like what this project is trying to accomplish, and it will feel good to be able to say that I helped make it happen.

My mom first taught me how to fold a crane when I was in elementary school, and I’m happy to say that I’ve gotten a little better at them over the years. In other words, what I fold now actually resembles a crane.

My goal for the summer is to fold at least 1,000 of them – which would be about 25 a day. I’m not just going to be folding cranes though – I would get bored much too quickly, and there’s a ton of stuff that has to get done. I’m going to be stringing cranes, writing for the blog, etc. I’m excited to be a part of this project and I can’t wait to see all the cranes when they’re finished!

Another Story From Another Folder

The next folder to be profiled is from Springfield, Oregon. She had contacted me awhile back when she had seen my polymer clay cranes online. She told me at the time about how she folds cranes from fabric and sells them at an open market in Eugene, Oregon.

Mary heard about the Crane Project recently and has jumped on board with enthusiasm. She has told me she will be trying to fold 1000 cranes from waxed paper for the project, and expects to have them done by the fall. She also wanted to know if she could ask other people to fold cranes. YES!! Please! If you know anyone who might be willing to help in anyway, go ahead and ask. If Mary was not clear across the country, I would give her a great big hug! I hope Mary's story inspires you as much as it did me.......

How long have you been folding cranes? and Who taught you how to fold cranes?

I have been folding origami cranes for about 17 years. I was going through a very difficult time in my life when I bought a package of origami paper with instructions for folding a crane. It took me several tries to figure it out, but when I did I was so very excited by their beauty and grace. I made mobiles out of them, Christmas ornaments, cards, and book marks. I have always loved to make things with my hands and folding paper cranes I found very meditative and comforting. About five years ago I started making them out of fabric and selling them at a local market.

Why did you decide to fold cranes for this project?

I instantly knew that I wanted to contribute to this project. Not only because I respect and admire one woman's vision and dedication to such an enormous undertaking, but also because the origami crane is the symbol of peace and the bird itself being a symbol of transcendence, what a beautiful thing! Who could not be touched deeply by the massive loss of human life and suffering that the war has created. I have a son who was sent to Iraq at the beginning of this war. I felt great despair over the situation that was compounded by what seemed like apathy around me.
For me it is a joy and a privilege to do this one small thing that might help give recognition and perhaps a bit of comfort to those who have felt the impact of this war so very deeply. May we all realize that with each precious bird representing one precious life, our losses have been and are great.

Thanks Mary! You're the best!

Letting Go and Holding On

Our trip back home from the Origami Convention in New York last weekend, took us through Penn Station. We had a forty-five minute wait for a train back to our car in New Haven. My kids and husband had brought books to read. I entertained myself with some people watching.
One woman who caught my attention was about six or seven rows away from us in the waiting area. She was standing and talking rather loudly about a class or conference she had attended. Having just left a conference my curiosity was aroused....had she just been to the same conference we were at?
No sooner did I look her way, and she was gesturing and speaking even more loudly to a man who was directly in line with our seats, about the same six or seven rows away.

"That's my seat! I'm sitting there!"

She went over to where the man and his wife were putting down bags and beginning to sit down and wait for their train. He stood up from the seat he had just sat in, and she pointed to her open computer sitting atop her bags and maneuvered her way back into the seat next to the computer.

I could not hear what was being said, but clearly she felt she had laid claim to the seat by her earlier occupation, and she was going to prove that by replanting herself there now. I thought she was being a bit possessive of the seat for a public space. Had I been the man, I think I would have moved on and found another seat.

But he didn't.

The next thing I knew he was flinging a bandanna in her face. And she was shrieking "He hit me!"

Soon the room was against this man. He crossed a line. But, he did not seem to be backing down. He made another fling of the bandanna in her direction. Soon the man sitting next to the action was on his feet. "Show some respect! She's an old woman." Two roosters, chests puffed, staring each other down, noses about an inch away.

An Amtrak employee was there in an instant telling the two men to back off from one another, and calling over the police. The woman was continuing to cry out, "He hit me!" The employee got things calmed down quickly. He advised the woman to let the incident go. "It is not worth it", I could hear him say.

The man with the bandanna was brought over to another spot in the waiting area, behind us. The police went over and spoke with him. Then it was up to talk to the woman. Finally back to the man, and soon, he and his wife were paraded out of the area. Apparently the woman with the seat and the computer could not let the incident go. She wanted him to pay for his actions.

What if....

What if the man had just gone and found another seat when the woman came back?

What if she had recognized she had walked away from her seat in a public space? What if she had closed up her computer, and moved closer to her conversational companions?

What if the man recognized he had crossed a line? What if he apologized for his behavior?

What if she had just let the moment pass? Let the man apologize, and recognize that the stresses of travel can fray nerves.

In an instant we can react emotional, without engaging our brains. Even when enough time is given for us to think, there is a tendency, it seems, for people to hold their ground. Holding on to a position can feel less wrong in the emotional stew than admitting a momentary lapse in judgement. From where I was sitting, both of these people seemed to have behaved badly, to varying degrees.

Was the alternative at any point so much worse? Was there something so precious about that seat? What will be gained by pressing charges? Will it make for a better story of an aggrieved victim? What stress was this man under to reach a point to behave so badly in a such a public space? And what price will, or has, his wife payed for this moment?

People watching doesn't usually get so dramatic. It is usually far more subtle, and nuanced. This event made me think about the Iraq war and how once a choice was made, people did not, and in many cases, still will not, admit that perhaps it was the wrong war at the wrong time.

Condoleeza Rice was recently quoted as saying she was proud of the actions that United States has taken in Iraq. She spoke about how people might suffer, and we may never be able to repair some of the damage we caused, but in the long run of history it will be viewed as being the right thing. It must be scary to be in such a position. To see that you made choices that have played out badly, and so publicly. How much courage would it take to be able to stand up and say, "We were wrong. We never should have done this. We did not anticipate that it would turn out this way."

It seems as if it is easier sometimes once an act of confrontation or aggression has occurred to stick with it. Perhaps it is a way of justifying what has gone before. It takes more strength, it seems, to be able to not fight. Walking away. Letting go. The more we hold firmly onto our position, the deeper we get invested, and the larger the price we pay.

It is the choices we make every day. Are we an aggrieved victim, or someone with enough strength and grace to let go and move aside when necessary? To give up the seat. Can we let go, or do we hold on firmly to our position, unable to admit a moment of bad judgement or bad behavior? We all have our moments, in public or private. Do they stay as a moment, or do we hold on so tight that they stretch and begin to occupy more of our lives?