Tuesday, May 5, 2009

My father just doesn’t seem to know how to take no as an answer.

I tried to give him a call tonight – just a general update and a cutsie goodnight from April – but I got no answer on the landline. When I tried the cell, I got through to him, but he was obviously outdoors at some kind of event. Where was he? Freaking Ohio!

He didn’t want to tell us and get us all worried and worked up, but he drove out for the big anti-war protests in Kent, Ohio (must have cost him a ton). Yesterday was the 39th anniversary of the Kent State shootings. Since the Mall in DC has been closed for big protests since the elections were cancelled in November, the opposition groups have been trying hard to find other locations that might resonate enough to get their message through.

I hadn’t even heard anything about a protest at Kent State – shows how much resonance this has had with the national media. But Gil has connections, whether with the Soup Kitchen and Food Bank networks or with just other hippie alterkampfers (wrong word? grognards? veterans? what do you call the old counter-culture warriors?)

Anyway, my Dad is back out there standing up and trying to be heard. He claims that everything is peaceful. The University and state authorities are all for the “convention” as they are calling it. I’m sure Liz is pissed as hell at him.