Global Night Comute Report
Last night was the global night commute. It was great here in Cincinnati; we had between three and four hundred people turn out to sleep down at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (for you Canucks, that’s a museum celebrating freedom for people around the world; Cincy, being on the border of the North and the South during the American Civil War, was a major stop on the underground railroad for many slaves escaping to freedom in the North; so the location had a lot of symbolism for our GNC).
It was only about 45 or 50 degrees F, and it rained all night long. So we spread out tarps, people sacked out in their sleeping bags on top of them, and then we spread extra tarps on top. Unfortunately the plastic wouldn’t quite cover me; my sleeping bag got soaked, and before I knew it I was wet to the skin. It was a long, cold night for us all, not much sleep was got by anyone, and by the time I got home this morning I thought I would never be warm or dry again I put on my flannel jammies and slept for a couple of hours before getting up and going to the late church service. I woke up with a chest cold.
And think about those kids who commute every night! Frankly, I don’t know how they do it. I laid there last night and thought about them all, hoping they were able to sleep better that night than I was. Hopeully, our miserable night will help make all of their nights less frightening and miserable in the future! I pray that it will.
Hope. Peace. Life.
So, how did it go in your city?
May 1st, 2006 at 2:59 pm
I wasn’t able to go!
Because my bro in law and his family came in from outta town and we hardly ever see them and we had a great time. My kiddos love their cousins. So that was good. I heard ours was amazing though. 70-80 people…. a number of our young adults… really cold night…. some MP’s spoke (sort of like senators in the US).
nooc
p.s. - Canucks are well aquainted with the underground railroad. We tend to know a fair bit more about US history than yanks know about Canadian history.
May 1st, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Ah, but are you aquainted with Cincinnati history? I have my doubts. Most Cincinnatians are very proud of their history– whether they are West Siders or East Siders. It’s a city with a lot of quirks, a lot of history, and a surprising number of contributions to the national arts & culture scene, given its size. And it’s also a city that hasn’t been able to agree on anything except chili since before the Civil War! We’re not North, we’re not Dixie, we’re not West. We’re Ohioans, a swing state, and whichever direction the wind blows us, it is almost always the direction the presidential election goes as well.
We have a pretty good opinion of ourselves, a pretty bad opinion of our local night life, and a pretty general suspicion of politicians. And we’re well aware of the terrible reputation for racism, drugs, and homicide we have. I think the general opinion is that we’re nice enough animals until you poke us with a stick; then, all hell breaks loose. Thank goodness we’re in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest; if we were so mewhere near a center of commerce we might actually require being paid attention to, other than at election time.
All in all, a mixed bag. And one that I like, despite the fact that I am continually trying to move away from it.