Calling higher for lower prices

Md. man's mission, prayers for cheaper gas garner international attention

In a way, it's all in a day's work for Twyman, a portly, gray-haired and gregarious fellow with a booming voice and a long history of community activism - most of which is has focused on action over supplication. Though he has loads of nieces and nephews, he doesn't have a spouse or children, which he says leaves him time for the causes he is passionate about, including homelessness and bone marrow donor registration. He became interested in the latter after a close friend died of leukemia, and by his own estimate, he's roped 14,000 people into joining a national registry of donors. He also - and he's almost as proud of this - was behind the (failed) effort to nominate Oprah Winfrey for the Nobel Peace Prize.

"It comes from my mother," he said. "She just really taught us to be concerned for others."

On the face of it, the prayer drive may seem rather intangible compared to his other campaigns, but he also has big - if vague - plans to combine the spirituality with action, kind of like the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott.

People should carpool or walk, he said. They should drive cars other than SUVs. They should push their representatives to search for alternative fuel sources. He also has a petition up on his "pray down the high gas prices movement" Web site.

"I don't know how we're going to get this activist side started, but we're working on it," he said. "People need to make sacrifices."

His ride is a Buick LeSabre, which costs about $40 to fill up. It's the only practical way to get from Rockville to Baltimore to Washington, the commute he did last week when he had to play the organ at a funeral before the date with German television.

Technically, he could take the subway from his home to the soup kitchen where he's been going on weekly praying jaunts, but that would get in the way of the photo opportunities. "I have to fill up my pump for the story," he said. "I just feel like the results outweigh the violation."

[e-mail]