DAY 19
October 23, 2006

Marshall is in Panguitch, Utah tonight and has no computer or access to the
internet. He is doing well. The weather is great, his feet are fine, and
he was encouraged when Lanny and Phyllis Younger, a couple from Chicago,
showed up to walk with him today.

We're still unsure about the lump on our daughter's neck. It hasn't grown
or shrunk since we started her on the steroids and antibiotics. We will
watch her closely for the next week, and if it still there, we will have it
surgically removed so our doctor can do a biopsy. We appreciate all of the
e-mails we received about Eliza and we have found comfort in your stories
and comments.

Sincerely,

Kristen (Marshall's wife)

When Marshall called tonight, he shared the following insights that he wrote
for an on-line news site:

I'm over halfway through my 500-mile peace walk in Utah, the "reddest state
in the nation". I spent last night in Panguitch, Utah. Panguitch is a
Shoshone word that means big fish. It's been over a week since I've been
able to find a news magazine or a national newspaper. The supermarket
magazine racks are overflowing with People, Us Weekly, and Teen Cosmo. When
you consider that I can learn more about Ashley Simpson's latest surgery
than I can about the situation in Iraq (both of which are superfluous and
hurt humanity as a whole), then you can begin to understand why so many
Utahans still think the Iraq War is about September 11th and weapons of mass
destruction.

In my hotel room, the only news station I could get was Fox. I
caught the Bill O'Reilly interview with President Bush. O'Reilly was
smarmy, but Bush was still defensive. My favorite part was when he
accidentally admitted that we invaded Iraq to stop the "Islamofascists" from
starting a caliphate across the Middle East to control the oil. It makes so
much more sense now.

Still, I couldn't help but notice that Bush is increasingly lonesome in his
"stay the course" alternate reality. News of the possible blueprints for
withdrawal even made it on Fox. Later that night, a panel of Senators
Lugar, Warner, Biden and Leven discussed the need for a plan for a
responsible withdrawal from Iraq. The soldiers are saying it. The American
people are saying it. And now even Congress has rubbed the sleepy dust out
of its eyes and begun to murmur. It's the most hopeful thing I've seen in a
long time. This war can end. It can end soon. It can end well. Bush can
even claim that he's staying the course as we begin to withdraw. Things are
looking good, even from Panguitch, Utah.