We had a nice, relaxed weekend. Saturday morning, we attended a "Join the Impact" Equality March, which was one of hundreds being held simultaneously across the nation. We were very glad to see that one of these gatherings was being held here in our own small town, which was a nice break from having to travel over an hour to attend a bigger, more "newsworthy" event held in Salt Lake City. (Since we were just there 1 week earlier.) Besides, I despise SLC (the migraine-inducing traffic, construction, parking, etc. It's a very inhospitable place, Salt Lake City.) and I was thrilled that we got a free pass to avoid it while still being able to participate in the event.
We had maybe 50 people in our crowd (more or less); we assembled and marched for about 2 hours. There was a neutral-to-positive response along Logan Main Street. I think most people tried very hard to ignore us. Several people honked and waved in support or gave us a thumbs-up. A handful of people drove by with their thumbs down. There were 2 guys that stood in front of City Hall chanting a rather crude slogan, which shall not be repeated here. One image remains at the front of my mind, however: as we crossed 400 North, we passed a car stopped at the light. A man and a woman, dressed in their Sunday Best (suit & tie for him, lace-collared dress for her), sat in their car frowning and shaking their heads at us. The man was giving us his most enthusiatic "thumbs-down" gesture. The woman had the most scornful look on her face (eyebrows furrowed, lips pursed, head down, eyes scolding, the works!) and she mouthed the word, "No" over and over at us as we peacefully crossed the street. I wondered which of our signs or group members had made her so upset. Everyone in our group was very positive and cheerful, and I saw no evidence of any angry or derisive language or offensive behavior that would elicit such a response. I wondered right then what this couple thought of me, holding my rainbow-colored "Honk 4 Equality" sign, and what exactly it was that was so shameful or scorn-worthy in their eyes. (Equality? hmmmm...) It struck me that I found their attitude a little bit shameful and scorn-worthy in return, and I immediately felt remorseful for my reaction. Surely these were good, nice people, yet I felt almost as negatively about them as they did about me--and not a word had passed between us. Reactions are so unpredictable. All I could do was smile and keep moving.
I've been thinking about that woman's face all weekend. I wonder if she's given any more thought to our little crowd. I feel sorry for my gut reaction of judgment against her, and I would apologize to her if I could. I wonder if she'd let me do that, if she ever knew who I was? She looked so unhappy. I wonder, did someone hurt her or disrupt her own happiness in some way that she would be moved to express so much anger toward a smallish parade of people walking down Main Street? Would I ever know where that disapproval came from (although, I have an idea)? I wonder if she's used that "shame-scorn" face on anyone else in her life. What if it was one of her children, a sibling, a niece or nephew, or a neighbor that was having his or her rights eliminated? Would she behave or react the same way? Has she already? I wonder.
Sadly, John and I had to cut our participation in the march a little short due to other plans, but it was nice to get out and meet with our friends here. We haven't seen some of them since the College Democrats debate parties on campus. (Feels like ages ago.) It feels great to be active in social/political events, even though it's really hard to get me out of the house most days. (social anxiety. it's still in there.) John went to his game day on Saturday and I stayed home and tackled some light housework, napped, ate a lot of toast and watched about 20 "Friends" re-runs. Ah, the high life. ;)
(p.s. If you want a great laugh, go to YouTube and look up the Friends Gag Reels. I almost keeled over from lack of oxygen, I was laughing SO HARD. great times.)
I organized my CD collection this weekend, too, which (if you've seen my CD collection) is a Herculean task. Everything was completely messed up, scattered to the four corners and out of order. It took hours. I tried really hard not to injure my back in the process--which I always manage to do when I have a "floor project"--but I didn't get away entirely unscathed this time (despite being hooked up to my TENS unit for about 8 hours yesterday and sitting on a birth ball). I'm crippled. Bah.
AND! I'm still missing a handful of CDs and hoping like crazy that they turn up somewhere (where are you, George Harrison's "Brainwashed," Massive Attack's "Mezzanine" and "High Fidelity" soundtrack? WHERE?! *sob*). But at least the rest of my CDs are in order! ;)
This morning I found out that my friend Meghan is finally in labor! It's a good day to have a baby! :) Can't wait to see you, Baby Aiden. :)
Monday, November 17, 2008
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I was sad to miss this one, but my husband was out of town and I was alone with two babes and no car. It sounds great, though. Sometimes those small protests are just lovely. It's hard to understand the reactions of some people. I felt so full of positive, hopeful energy at the SLC rally and everyone I saw seemed to feel the same. We meant no animosity, no harm to anyone, and I believe that was obvious in the way we gathered.
ReplyDeleteHey, I have a huge CD collection, too. About ten cases. It takes a lo-o-o-o-ong time for me to organize it but I do it every few weeks because I can't stand for things to get out of order. "High Fidelity" is one of my favorite movies and soundtracks.
How did you get a TENS machine? I have fibromyalgia and I'm pretty desperate for some non-drug pain relief since starting a job and being on my feet 8 hours a day. Do you just happen to have one for doula clients or did you acquire it some other way? Inquiring minds want to know!
I got my TENS machine online. Somewhere on Google shopping (I tihnk it was AmericaRx.com). It was under $40.00 and came with a carrying case, wires, electrodes and 2 batteries. Not too shabby! I wouldn't say it's on par with physical therapy-grade units, but it resembles one I begged off my sister about 7 years ago, and it gets the job done. It uses a 'D' battery and you can buy replacement sticky pads for about $8.00. I plan to stock up on the disposable sticky pads and make it available for my doula clients, too (it's kind of how I justified the expense, even though I found a super-cheap one).
ReplyDeleteChandelle, were we separated at birth? (LOL) a CD-collection control freak who loves freedom marches, feminism and "High Fidelity"? My hero. ;)