Skirmishes

Being an escort volunteer at the clinic was very interesting

very much a new experience for me

I'm a sheltered person

I'm fresh out of the shower now -- where I was thinking about the experience - -I do some of my best thinking in the shower

and one of the things that hits me is

this happens every day here

every single day

protesters come and protest
escorts come and escort the girls who wish to be there

and the rest of us -- hear nothing.

zip

it is not news worthy

on a day when CNN ran a story about dogs with prosthetic legs
on that slow slow news day
there was this same battle going on

day after day

the soldiers in this war are wearied.

they know each other -- each side has its veterans
grizzled in their own way
each has their war stories

and each side has their tactics

and they go into each foray
each knowing they have a role to play

and each side essentially knowing the outcome

they rarely engaged each other on this day
but I can tell by the stories they tell that they have engaged in the past
that the words the protesters pour over the clinic patients

they're also pouring over the clinic escorts

as each patient makes it inside the door -- both sides retreat to the starting point
waiting for the next opportunity to achieve their mission

So -- how did this experience touch me?

It's easier for me
as I am only there once

I was an outside observer -- walking in their shoes -- but not doing their true work
I let the words flow over me like water
I admired the tactics of both sides
and speculated about possible tactics of the protesters

but in time
I could see that I would become an old warrior as well
the hate being poured out cannot help but sting in time
the anger
the venom has to in time have an effect
and make you see humanity with different eyes