i had a dream. part i

so today a bunch of us from the Simple Way joined a bunch of other people from groups like Chosen 300, Philly Restart, Food not Bombs, some churches and other organisations and concerned people, and attended the city council public hearing to speak specifically into the proposed ban that Mayor Nutter had made on public feeding of the homeless a few weeks ago.

we had phoned in this week to make sure that we could each get a spot to speak and share two to three minutes of why we think said ban is unethical and immoral and heading to the meeting i had not really planned mine. as we walked into the room and i got the lady at the door to cross off Valerie’s name [because she was at home, sick in bed with a hectic cough and flu] i noticed that my name was now top of the sheet and started hoping that this was sheet 2 of 3 or 27 of 30 or something like that.

this meeting had the vibe of principal’s office plus. official courtroom type setup with all the important people [president in the big chair, and council front row of the floor] inside and the plebs [us] outside the official floor part and so i decided that having notes might help a bit and fortunately managed to jot some stuff down.

turns out i was going to be first in terms of people voicing an opinion on this particular agenda item, but fortunately there were a number of other items happening before us like people being added to the council, someone retiring and some sisterhood of the delta beta gamma something something [i was about to speak, may not have concentrated completely at this point]

and then the president explained the rules and how you get two minutes when the green light is on and then the light changes to orange to tell you you have thirty seconds left to go [my own personal academy awards show, oh and everyone else’s there too] and then you must please stop when you’re done… and then they called out “Valerie Anderson” [fail, name crossing lady at door, fail!] and called it again [and Janell called out “she’s sick!” in the most dignified of ways…

then it was my turn and being first i started walking the wrong way [towards the front middle] until i was pointed to the back and rushed along to get there and suddenly i was at this podium with this mic and green not yet flashing light and two minutes of speaking to do…

“I have a dream…”

well, technically that’s not how my speech went, altho i think i freaked out Janell enough with all my impressions from Jim Carrey to Southern American Foxworthy style to Tom Cruise Jerry Mcguiring it and and and at the coffee shop beforehand… and it was possibly the most adrenalin filled pressure speech in my life in front of 200 or so official looking people and despite not sticking entirely to my notes [anyone remember an alleged 51 minute wedding speech i made with no notes] i nailed everything i wanted to say [the green light starting half way thru my speech and not even hitting orange probly helped] and it was when i was doing the long walk to freed… um back to my seat with the whole room clapping and people giving me the thumbs up and shaking my hand, that i thort maybe i didn’t completely drop the ball on this one.

i spoke about how the proposed ban affected our religious freedom and the mandate, not choice, that Jesus gave us to feed the hungry [clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison] and finished by reading the end of that sheep/goats parable in Matthew 25… and it was a powerful moment.

followed by a whole number of powerful moments. the story continues as they didn’t take a vote on it and after a LOT of people had spoken and shared [and sung – ai, see part ii] they said that they got the point and will take it further next week.

so my speech probly won’t go down in the annals of history as a quotable human rights speech, and i am bummed tbV wasn’t there to witness it and provide a kick butt one of her own, but i felt a little bit of ‘i had a dream’ as i sat down [i guess my talk at Newsong 2004 compares in personal intensity – first time i did starfish on the beach ii] and look forward to the next time i get to speak up on a matter of supreme importance.

in bonus news i am absolutely relieved i didn’t refer to the mayor publically as mayor ‘Nutjob’ as may have happened in a couple of my mock practice speeches.

to continue to part ii and the blooper reel… click here.