twenty-two: study break

Nervous Girl kicks over glass,
It shatters,
Gracious Boy (previously drinking from glass), says its nothing and starts cleaning up glass,
Crowd of strangers huddle over wet shards, (paper towels in hand)
All start cleaning.
Nervous Girl attempts to buy Gracious Boy another drink,
Barista has made it before she orders it, and gives it to her on the house.
Everywhere people empathetically cram against strangers, as though the knowledge they seek is only imbedded in this one physical space.
Shockingly, amidst hum of productivity, everyone (from nervous to gracious) breaks form and helps to clean up some spilt milk.

twenty-one: bear territory

“If you’re riding a bike you have to smile”
Darning a bear suit in the rain, shouting into a megaphone, the man is a bit hard to miss.
“If you’re walking across the street rite now you have to smile”
It has been scientifically proven that smiling releases endorphins in the brain that create a subtle, momentary euphoria.
“Its easier to smile than it is to frown, be a good lazy American and Smile Now”
No agenda or soapbox, just a Sunday morning and a bunch of people suddenly a bit happier, or at least they look like they are.

twenty: Free Press

He undresses the paper from the glossy advertisements like a familiar lover.
Patient yet intrigued, one can tell this is a well-rehearsed, much anticipated dance, as he slides of the protective plastic guarder.
It’s a weekend edition type ritual that you can tell he spends his week longing for.
He is of a dying breed; actual paper buyers.
A young homeless man approaches his table, unable to remove his eyes from something beneath the fold.
Though he has yet to touch this page the older man hands over the story as if it were the first dolor of an investment

nineteen: sweat relief

It’s not just that it’s the last day to study before finals began, its more the fact that the weather reflects the drama and gloom of the impending crunch in its genuine unpleasantness.
It causes students to scurry in way that is particularly cockroach in nature: rapid, as though they are hiding from academia’s can of Raid.
She has left over candy from a mid-week study group, and decided to help sweeten the sting of the impending week.
Standing in the 40-degree rain, garnering a welcoming grin and a bit of empathy she passes out “study treats” and some solidarity.

eighteen: all hands on deck

The two stand hesitantly inside the gym, internally negotiating the potential route they plan on taking through the downpour that has manifested while they were sweating and stretching.
They’re strangers, waiting in opposing corners for the other to make a move, so they can calculate the errors and successes of their personal odyssey through the storm.
Unprovoked one turns to the other and points to her umbrella.
They join in the middle doorway and embark together, stumbling a bit less, but laughing a lot more than before.
Each with one wet shoulder, a worthy sacrifice for a bit of companionship.

seventeen: cleaning crew

This is clearly a systemic act of kindness; these notes are strewn though out the Moffat Library and the Free Speech Movement Café (See day one).
Their significance is two fold:
One: This note is in the men’s restroom, challenging notions of hetero-normative, overly masculine, chest beaters who care little for the emotional well being of their fellow man for fear of displaying their weakness.
Two: This has been here for over a week, during which, routine removal of graffiti stripped the walls of typical “Call ###-#### for a good time!” leaving this behind.
There’s a difference between smart and educated.

sixteen: provisions

They are giving protesters a good name…kinda
Staging peaceful occupation, providing reinforcements, nutritionally and with solidarity for the hearts, minds and economic futures of their peers.
Speakers and sleeping bags, coffee and laptops they’re working steadily and diligently to sway the administration to keep education from being swallowed up by the insatiable appetite of the corporate elite.
Chaining themselves to the building left everyone a bit burnt, so now they’re going a little Trojan Horse, sans the attack, but plus a buffet of smile.
In my mind, the revolution will not be stabilized,
But you can’t blame them for trying.