Stretching ourselves too thin...

Occupy Harrisonburg Virginia

I arrive in the historical downtown part of Harrisonburg, VA just as light is filtering slowly thru a thick, heavy slate grey cloud cover. It feels to be 20 degrees outside and fall colors are still brilliant.

As I park in an empty lot that says "Farmers Market", a couple young white women jump out of their cars, parking also. I ask them about Occupy Harrisonburg and they haven’t heard of that or of Occupy Wall Street. Now they have, and now they know I think it is THEIR time to be out in the street.

I ask the few people I come across as I head toward the “visitor center” sign. No one knows what I’m talking about but some have watched Occupy Wall Street on the TV.

At the visitor center, the middle-aged white woman tries valiantly to find the protest, looking in the paper, resorting to the internet, and finally making phone calls. She ascertains the location – at the courthouse square under the gazebo that seems to be built on top of a spring.

I head there in the icy cold, glad I put on my down jacket before leaving the truck. No one is occupying. The 2 city workers picking up trash think the county worker walking around with xmas pics in her mittened hands, should know, but she doesn’t and I’m referred back to the visitor center.

So the lesson might be that one job local occupies can do is a better job informing the public about what we are all doing!

I head to the local coffee shop: one is not open, the other doesn’t serve organic coffee. So it’s off to the local food co-op!

The workers here have heard of the occupation but rarely participate, indicating with sweeping arms the huge job and long, sporadic hours they work.  One middle aged white womon would consider herself lucky if she gets out of the coop in time to make the 6:00 G.A.

She is the same womon who mutters regretfully: “We are stretching ourselves too thin” when I mention we are presently bombing 6 nations in the world.