1,2,3,4....

There is an ornamental gate on campus, right at the point where the college ends and town begins. It's located in a very central location -- one of the main streets of town empties right into another one right at this gate. All of the bus lines stop there. I guess you could call it the heart of town.

This gate is a popular spot for a number of groups--itinerant preachers (most notably in recent days the one I've dubbed Biblemouth. I've mentioned him before. Three months later, he's still at it) as well as other, more organized religious groups who sing hymns and hand out leaflets to passersby. Fraternities and sororities set up at the gate to fund raise for their charities. On election day last week, people were there organizing rides to the polls for anyone who needed one. Periodically Quakers for Peace stand there protesting the war in Iraq, with signs asking you to "Honk for Peace," and "Bring Them Home Now."

And tonight a huge group of students, some of them members of the LGBT community, stood at that gate with rainbow flags and signs that say "Marriage is a Right" and "Honk for Equality" -- protesting California's Proposition 8. Shouts of "1,2,3,4, open up the closet door! 5,6,7,8, don't assume your kids are straight!" were punctuated by car honks from drivers who read the signs as they went by. The car horns were greeted cheers from the protesters.

Usually the students don't start protesting until spring. Something woke them up early. I wonder if it was the election.

I love watching students protest. They throw themselves into it with such vigor. And I prefer their youthful enthusiasm to some dude in a straw hat screaming through his Bible that we're all going to Hell.

On a completely unrelated note: I've never had fifteen entries in a month before. Woohoo, landmark!