Code Pink Journals CodePINK Journals

Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! I am on my mobile version of the door-to-door, going town-to-town holding readings/gatherings/discussions of my book "But What Can I Do?" This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels since 9/11 as I engage in dialogue and actions. It is steaming with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society we want ALL to thrive in

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

oklahoma city

Early this morning, I stopped in oklahoma city on the hunt for espresso, a library, and a copy place so I can run off some flyers re:don't blame me, I voted for Kerry - and some cards w/my blog address & codepinkaltert.org on them. I find the copy place first - as I'm parking my truck, the parking meter maid drives by in his little parking cart. I double check the signs, confirm I can park, and drop my quarter in the meter. I'm in the copy place for several minutes when I hear the employees talking about my truck and the police. I glance out the huge plate glass windows and see the parking meter maid has summons the oklahoma police.
I'm getting my things run off on bright pink paper. The side of my truck facing the shop is the codepink side. They are all wondering whose truck it is. I mention I'm glad we live in a democracy. They kinda agree and keep wondering. I have on my codepink: pink slip bush t-shirt. I kinda wave at them & tell them it is my truck. No, the big truck, they say. Yes, it is my truck.
Oh, you should go tell the police it is your truck, one nice white fellow recommends. I ask if people are not allowed to express their dissent in Oklahoma City without the police coming and checking them out. He nodds agreeably and explains that since the oklahoma bombing, police and everyone has been 'antsy'. I nodd agreeably also and ask if they think the truck is going to blow up the copy center. He informs me that the IRS building is about 1/2 block down from my truck.
Okay, so I go out to the police car, meet a very friendly white womon cop who smiles at me and says there is no problem. I tell her as I'm gesturing to the parking meter maid, 'he saw me park & go into the copy place'. He grumbled something as he re-mounted his little cart and drove off again as quickly as one can in those things! She waved and we wished each other a good day.
I decided to skip the library - it is a huge, modern, beautiful immense-looking place with absolutely no parking and too many unidentifiable (to me) large buildings around that could cause folks in o.c. too much undue stress, so I skipped the library, skipped the espresso (no soy milk - grrrrr) and headed out to the plains of ok and the pan handle of texas, to new mexico & arizona!!!! and then, yeah home!!! peace, sam