I almost found myself being bussed off to occupy a coal factory with Greenpeace while on my lunch today.
I'm not sure why this sort of thing tends to happen to me. Maybe it's because I'm a soft touch and a sucker for passionate speakers.
Ocean - I'm going to call her Ocean, even though that wasn't her name, because Christy just isn't Greenpeace-y enough for me - stood at the base of a statue of Puck frolicking with his pan flute. Her dark hair was pulled into a sloppy ponytail. She wore a Surfrider Tshirt, worn jeans, ragged sneakers, and a fanny pack that proclaimed her affiliation with Greenpeace and her love of whales.
She was slim, tan, and so very young. Her eyes sparked with fervor. Her voice rang with conviction and passion. She stopped me, waving her arms until I looked at her. I smiled as she gave me her spiel, interjecting my name every other sentence the way I learned when I was 19 and working as a waitress. It's supposed to make your customer feel special, known. Instead, she stumbled over my name in her rush to get me to understand we must stop the coal factories now. Right now. This minute. We have to save the environment. We must. There's not other option and if we don't do something right now, her eyes took on the glassy sheen of unshed tears, what was going to happen to our earth?
I nodded my head, letting her voice rush past me.
Was I ever this young?
Was I ever this sure?
Was I ever this idealistic?
Did I ever see things in black and white without the many shades of gray making up our world?
As I nodded, she pushed a binder towards me, a Bank of America pen attached.
"Join us," she urged.
For a moment I toyed with the idea. I let my mind stray into fantasy. I imagined myself packing up the kids - me in a maxi dress and jean jacket, a backpack slung over my shoulders. I imagined Joseph and Elizabeth sporting comfortable shoes and explaining to them we were going to get on a bus and join a protest.
It was a very Elyse and Steven Keaton vision.
Then I realized I don't know where the nearest coal factory is and can only imagine it's too far away to occupy on a lunch break.
So I declined her invitation.
She suggested I donate instead and while I'm a firm believer in putting one's money where one's mouth is, I'm also a single mom. Which I told her, apologetically.
Her reply to me, said with zeal in her eyes was, "I don't have a full time job so I can volunteer with this organization. I sleep on an air mattress in a room with three other people. If you budget it in, you can donate."
"I tell you what," I said, tearing the contact information off the page, "I'll go online and donate when I have the money but I have two small children who prefer not to sleep on air mattresses."
She laughed and thanked me for listening and told me to have a great day.
I walked away as she stepped in front of a man wearing a suit and talking on a cell phone, wondering yet again...
Was I ever that young?
And what will happen to Ocean once she becomes Christy? The cynic in me gives her six, maybe seven years before life slaps her in the face and reality intrudes with shades of gray.
Until then, I'm glad she's following her passion. This her time to do so.
6 comments:
I chuckled at the vision of "LIFE SLAPPING HER IN THE FACE"... you really paint a great visual of Christy err Ocean.
AND no, your kids don't need to sleep in air mattresses so you can budget a donation to occupy coal factories. Aren't they in Pennsylvania?
Maybe you could make a phone call, or send a letter, in support of transititioning to carbon-free energy sources? (Check out millionlettermarch.org for a different way of trying to do what Greenpeace is trying to do.)My name is also Christy. I'm probably ten years older than her, and I sit here staring at my computer trying to decide whether I would count myself as idealistic or whether life has slapped me in the face or not. There's definately a million shades of grey, but I don't think the shades of grey should prevent a person from stumbling ahead in trying to make the world a better place. The strange thing for me is when I was young and had no responsibilities, I thought there was nothing I could do to make a difference. Now I'm older, have lots of responsibilities including three kids, and I'm out doing so much more to try to change things. I think when I was young I had a particular image of what would be required to help out, and I didn't fit that image. Now I think... its not about can I shape my life to do that, it is given where I am, what can I do?
Even through her involvement in environmental issues, Ocean is going to hit into reality. Environmental activisim is incredibly depressing.
I like that all of your imagined fantasies revolve around your different outfits! :)
Well, yeah. I'm only fashionable in fantasty.
You make a fanstatic point. It IS about figuring out what we can do based on where we are.
I think so. Can you imagine if I'd ended up in Pennsylvania??
Post a Comment