Thin Orange Line: 40 Days of Life
Sep. 25th, 2010 03:51 pmThe "40 Days of Life" kicked off on Wednesday and made for an interesting shift at the clinic this morning - at one point there were 34 protesters (including children and babies) and 2 of us. We called for reinforcements, and another escort arrived about 5 minutes before the large family groups packed up and left, suddenly taking us down to about 8 people (there would be three by the time we left). I told the new escort that she was obviously a very intimidating person to scare so many off just by arriving.
The large group was pretty well behaved - a couple of the kids ran into the parking lot, but they'd been running around in general; I'd bet that they don't really even know what's going on. There were walkie-talkies being held aloft, which was really confusing until the time that the priest in attendance led a prayer while talking into one -- apparently our group was part of a coordinated pray-in at multiple places, with the walkie-talkies keeping everyone in contact.
Thing is, while they're praying and singing, they're not too much to worry about - in fact, their own voices tend to drown out Eeyore calling to the patients and she behaves herself when there's a priest around.
( But once the large family groups were gone, it was a different story )
On the up side, someone stuck at the light started yelling "Pro choice! Pro choice!" While I was on the outside edge of the parking lot, a woman called me over and said "You keep right on doing what you're doing. Thank you." I got to evangelize Sherlock (turns out our team lead's wife is deeply into All Things Holmes). And best of all, the new escort told me all about some hoop dance places around town, including listservs and a demonstration where I can try it for free. Educational thing, escorting.
I kind of wish I had the time and energy to polish this post into something deep and meaningful and well written. But to tell the truth, I'm knackered. It was a crushingly hot morning. And I haven't read my flist for 48 hours, so if I don't start now, I'll probably get the shakes!
The large group was pretty well behaved - a couple of the kids ran into the parking lot, but they'd been running around in general; I'd bet that they don't really even know what's going on. There were walkie-talkies being held aloft, which was really confusing until the time that the priest in attendance led a prayer while talking into one -- apparently our group was part of a coordinated pray-in at multiple places, with the walkie-talkies keeping everyone in contact.
Thing is, while they're praying and singing, they're not too much to worry about - in fact, their own voices tend to drown out Eeyore calling to the patients and she behaves herself when there's a priest around.
On the up side, someone stuck at the light started yelling "Pro choice! Pro choice!" While I was on the outside edge of the parking lot, a woman called me over and said "You keep right on doing what you're doing. Thank you." I got to evangelize Sherlock (turns out our team lead's wife is deeply into All Things Holmes). And best of all, the new escort told me all about some hoop dance places around town, including listservs and a demonstration where I can try it for free. Educational thing, escorting.
I kind of wish I had the time and energy to polish this post into something deep and meaningful and well written. But to tell the truth, I'm knackered. It was a crushingly hot morning. And I haven't read my flist for 48 hours, so if I don't start now, I'll probably get the shakes!