and the beat goes on
Big deal tonight! Wed. June 14, 5:30 - 7:30, Fundraiser for John Cranley, candidate for Ohio 1st Congressional District, with speaker Richard Clark, former counter-terrorism adviser to the U.S. Nationally Security Council, noted for having been pointedly ignored by condescending rice and the bush-league administration prior to 11 Sept., 2001, and current outspoked critic of the bush-league invasion of Iraq. Details to follow on that later.
In the meantime...
Today was a big day for the HCRWC (Hamilton County republican women's club) because today is a "day in columbus" event for them. They met at 8 a.m. at the Kenwood Towne Center parking lot on the montgomery road side and for only $30/person they got driving expenses covered, a private tour with Justice Stratton of the Supreme Court and State House, then lunch at the Capitol Club with State Representative Michelle Schneider.
This morning started out beautifully, temperature pushing 70, clear blue sky, and new sidewalks Sycamore Plaza and Kenwood Towne Center, just perfect for a political protest against an a war and an administration based on lies, avarice, and self-serving piety.
The women of the HCRWC arrived in dribs and drabs, but soon all four cars had pulled in. Three of the cars had only the drivers inside, but one car had four grey-haired women, one of whom in the back seat was the spitting image of the skinny feisty one from Golden Girls, except the lady in the back seat of this car had a kind of silly, happy look, like a pleasant altzheimers patient on a rare outing.
Anyway, I parked away from the plaza, to avoid getting my car towed, and walked to the corner of Kenwood and Montgomery. Not a whole lot of traffic, but that was OK.
I was looking for the HCRWC crowd, but didn't see any sign of them near Kenwood. I was on the Sycamore Plaza side of Montgomery, so I walked on up to the entrance to the plaza and stayed there for a while. On the towne center side of the road was a fairly small sidwalk area with a couple of benches (probably a bus stop), so I went and stood there with the sign. I noticed there had once been a brick sidwalk, probably running the lenght of the Montgomery frontage, but it seems to have been grassed-over. Around 7:55 I saw the car full of old women mentioned above, and they saw me and pointed at the sign. I also saw they where they went in the parking lot, down to the end across from McDonalds.
There was no sidewalk along that side of Mongomery, so I waited for the light and started to cross the road when the fellow in a stopped car I was passing blasted his horn at me as he sat there in the curb lane at the red light. I stopped and looked at him. He was yelling and waving his hands, but his window was up, so I couldn't hear him.
There I was, holding my sign right in front of his car, and he was yelling and waving in silence. I yelled to him that I couldn't hear him and he should roll down his window. Instead, he pointed over my shoulder and leaned on his horn and slowly drove forward until he hit me and the sign and pushed me backwards a bit. I kept yelling at him that I could not hear him, and eventually he stopped with the horn and the car and took out his cell phone and punched three buttons. By now the light was no longer in my favor so I went back to the sidewalk and the driver pulled into the driveway beside me and continued with his call. I assumed he was calling for police assistance, and wondered if he'd hang around for the law to arrive.
The light changed again, and I proceeded to cross the road and walk down to the entrance to McDonalds, where I could see the HCRWC women. As soon as I arrived a couple of them became a bit agitated. There was much pointing at the sign and animated discussion.
A short time later a Hamilton County sherriff officer pulled up in front of me in a squad car and motioned for me to talk to him. I crouched down to window level and he said "Look, I have absolutely no problem with you doing what you are doing, just don't do it in my traffic, OK?" I said "you got it" and he gave me a smile and a snappy salute and he was on his way.
A few minutes later the HCRWC group, which by now had coalesced into two cars, began their journey to Columbus with the aged space cadet in the back seat of the trail car. I had a couple of brief conversations with two men, one old, one young, and both in suppor of the sign sentiment, and then decided to call it a day to get in to work in time for a meeting that would turn out to be postponed until tomorrow.
So it goes!
Today's sign event is dedicated to old dogs everywhere, many of whom can be taught a new trick if we can be patient and repeat the message often enough.
