We worked together all day

12/3

A day for preparation, for cleaning up, getting everything ready. Remembering how it was just a year ago. The Columbia Preservation Alumni and other community people gathered to clean up the church. Marsha and Hope are first on the scene, then Amanda.  Jane and her gang arrive. And volunteers from Occupy Wall Street, especially Ryan who is a tireless worker all day long. Luis is there, too, and his family. And Tony.

It’s amazing to me after all our clean up days and dumpsters how much junk can still be there.   Load after load is carried out. The cleaning closet is completely reclaimed, reorganized. Everyone all together, it feels good. 

Sarah has an idea. She wants to bring Rachel the aerialist back.  It takes a lot of work to figure out how we can suspend the fabric from the ceiling in Mc Alpin Hall. But then we can’t figure out how to get it down from the gym ceiling.

She asks how it got up there. The only person I can think of to call is Rudy. So I call him, put them together on the phone. But the whole complex and painful story emerges. Still standing between. Later he will call and say he’d like to find a way to resolve some of these issues. It’s worth a try. In many ways, he was a pioneer of what we are trying to create now. The solution is Rachel will bring her own fabric. 


Marsha orders pizza for everyone. When we're done, I go to the Christmas tree guys across the street and offer them some. 


In the midst of all this, blues rock singer Paul Mark and his band, the  Van Dorens keep popping up in different places doing a photo shoot for the album they recorded last summer in New Orleans. It's that urban decay look again.

The day is growing long. The cold is seeping into me. The boiler not quite done. How close? I ask them. About 99.9 they say. Someone behind me says We are the 99 percent. 

Speaking of which, last night late I agreed to take the Occupiers from SPSA in. If... I’ve been waiting all day for a respnse to my if..I need an accoutability/responsibility structure.  And the first one arrives with his back pack, They told us we’re staying here tonight...So it’s calls to Andre at SPSA. To K. This space between tight organization and chaos is beginning to annoy me. 

And more keep arriving. But I see Teddy, big bearish, responsible. I tell him, Get me the list from SPSA. Only those who are on the list. You’re the man. 

It will be our biggest group yet...50-60 people. But I finally feel free to leave. It’s been a long day. A long day.