Kathy and I picked up a friend and headed to Emporia to the John Lewis Good Trouble Protest on Commercial St. We joined maybe 25 others and stood at the intersection of 6th and Commercial with our political T-shirts and signs. With the rain that came through last night, it was much cooler today than it has been and it was a beautiful morning to stand outside.
I met several wonderful people today. One of them is in the Be The Bear Facebook group that I am in. When one makes connections, the world feels smaller and less scary. One person read my sign and gave me a hug!
We had way more thumbs up and honks of support than we did middle fingers. I would say the ratio was 9 honks for 1 middle finger or stink eye. That is a supportive ratio for red Emporia.
Kathy had a call from the VA this morning and needed to find a form so she walked down to the VA office. The lady told Kathy the form wasn’t needed but that isn’t what the guy on the phone said. I walked back down with Kathy and we talked to the lady again. This time she said to call the guy back and have him email Kathy the form she needs as the lady in Emporia doesn’t have it. Ummm…….
Kathy got a bit dizzy and lightheaded so we went to Commercial Street Diner and had breakfast so Kathy could sit down for a bit. Breakfast was delicious as usual. We went back out for a few minutes and then came home. We stayed until about 11:30 or so.
I think there were more protesters from Cottonwood Falls than there were from Emporia today. Several of our friends and neighbors were there. The two ladies I spoke to were from out of town too.
I didn’t sleep much at all last night so came home and took a short chair nap. It knocked my rough edge off and am hoping I can sleep tonight. I had trouble falling asleep and when I finally did the storm woke me up and I couldn’t go back to sleep. We got about an inch of rain. I texted with Nicole this morning and they had gotten 6.5 inches.
I got two packages today. One was a package of 50 stamped postcards and the other had a soccer ball and some note paper. It is like Christmas here with donations coming in for the Detention Center. I will take those, as well as the other ones people have given me this week, up to the Center tomorrow. I am anxious to find out how many cards and stamps were used this week. That will give me a hint as to how many we will use over the coming weeks.
I need to do a status update on the site I listed the fundraiser tomorrow. I don’t have answers to a few of the questions I was waiting for but will give them what information I do have. Trying to figure out how to send thank you notes to the people that donated. I have names for most but not many addresses. May have to use Facebook Messenger although I would prefer a handwritten note in the mail.
Tomorrow another lady is dropping off a donation and my cousin is coming with a photo album that contains pictures of my extended family. I will take things up to the Center and hope that I get to talk to the Director and get his wish list.
The steer a local rancher has raised is going to the butcher tomorrow. That means my freezer will be stocked with fresh grass fed beef in about three weeks or so. I need to get down to Olpe next week and give them cutting instructions.
Saturday I am taking two friends to Topeka to the state capitol for the late morning protest. Not sure if Kathy will go or not. We will see Saturday how she is feeling.
Next week doesn’t have much on my calendar. Kathy and I are going to KC Tuesday for an appointment Kathy has at a clinic. Other than that, the week is full of empty space. I am ready for a quiet week at home.
Not sure how much good the protest today did. It felt different than the other ones I have been to. Although I think we got more positive reaction today than last time I protested which was back in April. I was a bit disappointed in how few protesters there were but it is a work day. Most of the protesters were white and older. We had more men than I have seen before and we had a few younger women and men.
I was pleased that most of the signs today were positive and enforced Love One Another. We have got to change the energy around us to one of love and get out of the name calling and hate that has been going on for way too long.
It does feel good to do something to support a change in the way things are being handled in this country right now. Something is better than nothing. Both women I talked to today agreed that we need to come up with positive actions that we and others can take. This problem feels so big that we are stuck in not knowing what to do next. I trust the little group that met earlier this week can come up with something that others will join in and support.
Still sitting with the question of what do I want my life to look like in ten years. Not sure I have come up with an answer to that yet. I have never been a good long-term goal setter. I can set goals for projects and make them happen but long-term doesn’t compute with me. Part of the problem is I have trained myself to keep coming back to the present moment and not get ahead of myself as anticipation can lead me to dark places. I need to continue to sit with this and find a way to think outside of myself and envision the next ten years. How do I know what to ask the Universe for if I don’t know what I want?
Something has shifted inside me again. I have a stronger conviction that although the next couple of months are going to be hard for many, better times are coming. I have a stronger inner vision of what the world might be like next year and a stronger conviction that positive change is coming. Sometimes I get an inner knowing that I don’t know where it comes from but usually is correct. I need to keep returning to that vision and hold it for myself and the world.
I also know I need to do my part to lessen the pain and hurt that others will and are feeling right now. I sometimes get inner guidance on things I can do to help others. I need lots of quiet time and silence so I can turn off the outer chaos and hear the guidance. I am learning how to not discount the guidance because it will only help a few people. Doing something for one person makes a huge difference to that person. If everyone reached out and helped one person, we could change the world together.
Grateful for the privilege of being able to protest, grateful for the people I met today, and grateful for the wonderful people that are sending donations for the Detention Center project.