It is done
It is done.
5:42 am The day after, whatever day that is…
The one day during this forced march for matrimony when I could sleep in, here I am up and at ‘em. Ready to go. Must be because I don’t have any wardrobe issues to contend with…Yesterday, I did manage, at long last, to show up with the right tee shirt. Then one of the other riders gently pulled me aside and asked me if I knew I had it on backwards.
I never really sang in the choir. But, we all knew that before we left Oakland.
And, how was the rally? A rally. Low turnout, just like all the others on the road. Good media, just like all the others on the road.
The rally did what it was supposed to do, just like the tour. 44 everyday people stood in the shadow of the Capitol building and barked out those sound bites!! 44 speakers with 45 seconds to open our hearts. And, it worked. We all got our 45 seconds, by God. A few of the noble herd sacrificed 12 seconds here, 18 seconds there, to make it so.
Learning how to say what you want to say in 45 seconds is a fierce tool. We have unleashed the Love Warriors. The swords are in the air. They are not heavy in our hands.
This is where it’s at. Again and again people kept coming up to me and asking if I was worried about the turn out. Nope. Could it have been done better? Yep. This sub-set movement isn’t close to critical mass. But it will be. It’s only a matter of time.
The DC community did what it sometimes does best. Shunned the carpetbaggers. It kind of reminded me, yet again, of early Quilt displays. It took a long time before the DC community embraced the Quilt. It was heartland America’s expression. We had to do the heavy lifting. That is not the DC way.
When I first dropped off my check for the trip at Marriage Equality California’s office, I knew there was a connection that could not be denied. MECA’s office is in the old NAMES Project space. Molly’s office was where Cleve’s used to be. I tried to ignore that as I wrote my check and looked at the route map on the wall. Tour Time!
A few hours from now, we’re going to the White House with the letter signed by people at every stop across America. Stuart and John will actually deliver it and I think Rebecca may have a little surprise in store for George W, if he ever even sees that letter. A zap for Queer and Present Danger.
Stuart and John have some of her ashes. It’ll happen the way it’s supposed to. They’ll figure it out. Dust the cummerbunds? Sprinkle pixie dust on the letter? Leave the vial in the men’s room? I can see the headlines now: “Queer anthrax scare evacuates White House!”
I have only one request. No singing. Please.
It is done. We’ll be home soon.
History will record that we were here.
Grassroots activism is alive and well.
That is the point.
5:42 am The day after, whatever day that is…
The one day during this forced march for matrimony when I could sleep in, here I am up and at ‘em. Ready to go. Must be because I don’t have any wardrobe issues to contend with…Yesterday, I did manage, at long last, to show up with the right tee shirt. Then one of the other riders gently pulled me aside and asked me if I knew I had it on backwards.
I never really sang in the choir. But, we all knew that before we left Oakland.
And, how was the rally? A rally. Low turnout, just like all the others on the road. Good media, just like all the others on the road.
The rally did what it was supposed to do, just like the tour. 44 everyday people stood in the shadow of the Capitol building and barked out those sound bites!! 44 speakers with 45 seconds to open our hearts. And, it worked. We all got our 45 seconds, by God. A few of the noble herd sacrificed 12 seconds here, 18 seconds there, to make it so.
Learning how to say what you want to say in 45 seconds is a fierce tool. We have unleashed the Love Warriors. The swords are in the air. They are not heavy in our hands.
This is where it’s at. Again and again people kept coming up to me and asking if I was worried about the turn out. Nope. Could it have been done better? Yep. This sub-set movement isn’t close to critical mass. But it will be. It’s only a matter of time.
The DC community did what it sometimes does best. Shunned the carpetbaggers. It kind of reminded me, yet again, of early Quilt displays. It took a long time before the DC community embraced the Quilt. It was heartland America’s expression. We had to do the heavy lifting. That is not the DC way.
When I first dropped off my check for the trip at Marriage Equality California’s office, I knew there was a connection that could not be denied. MECA’s office is in the old NAMES Project space. Molly’s office was where Cleve’s used to be. I tried to ignore that as I wrote my check and looked at the route map on the wall. Tour Time!
A few hours from now, we’re going to the White House with the letter signed by people at every stop across America. Stuart and John will actually deliver it and I think Rebecca may have a little surprise in store for George W, if he ever even sees that letter. A zap for Queer and Present Danger.
Stuart and John have some of her ashes. It’ll happen the way it’s supposed to. They’ll figure it out. Dust the cummerbunds? Sprinkle pixie dust on the letter? Leave the vial in the men’s room? I can see the headlines now: “Queer anthrax scare evacuates White House!”
I have only one request. No singing. Please.
It is done. We’ll be home soon.
History will record that we were here.
Grassroots activism is alive and well.
That is the point.
posted by Leslie Ewing at 4:29 PM
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