Spring Break

So, I talked to one of the guys on 9th Street asking people to write letters to Claire McCaskill expressing support for green energy technology...I sat down to write a letter and was genuinely amused by the responses of other passers-by when they were asked... I at least try to form a somewhat polite response when declining to sign a petition. I at least try to throw out a calm "No thank you" and a smile. But these people could only muster rude no's and disapproving, hardly meaningful grunts. It was a wide variety too: men, women, young, old, stylish, shabby. I can see why someone might not have enough time, although it is a worthwhile cause, but at least attempt some civility. He wasn't odd looking or anything, the guy I talked to, though he did have a hippie-esque quality to him, with his tan and unkempt hair though that was probably from just being outside all day. He asked if I was writing in calligraphy. "No, just my normal handwriting." He talked to me all during the 4 minutes it took me to write a little letter to the senator. I crossed my legs and set the tablet on my right knee - the toe of my right foot touching his leg now didn't seem to bother him. I didn't want him to think this was a flirting tactic, almost sure he was straight, so I shifted a couple more inches away. He must have been thankful, with all that enthusiasm in his voice. I wanted to ask him more about his personal motivations for standing outside in the sun so that he could be rebuffed by people who think they can't afford to lose 4 minutes of their time. But I left, only returning his polite "have a good day" wishes.

This is the best Spring Break I've had in years. I went back to St. Louis for the weekend and ended up spending all of Monday with some of my cousins just driving around the city. It was so much fun. We went to the Zoo for a bit, had a delicious pizza (called Cherokee Street) at Pi on Delmar, and did a ton of exploring (being lost with me driving). Lyndsey and Sarah said it was the most fun they'd had all year. I have to say, I don't think I've laughed that much in a long time, a LONG time. They live on Olive Street now, so there's no reason I shouldn't see them more often. I just have that fear that if I see them too much, it won't feel as special.
We originally met up with them on Sunday at Chesterfield Mall. Mom and Dad had took me there to see what H&M had to offer. After the stores closed, all of us went to the Cheesecake Factory for appetizers and cheesecake(!). We had the bitchiest waitress, but we had so much fun laughing about her that I'm glad she took my plate from under me when I was still eating. Jordan, their brother, was much quieter than he was the last time I saw him a few years ago. Lyndsey and Jordan stopped going to high school when they moved to St. Louis. It seems they spend a lot of their time reading library books, which it alright by me. Sarah works as a nurse with kids in the city. Jayne, their mother, works as an RN at a veterans hospital. They have a nice town home (1400 a month), and they seem really happy.
Now back in Columbia, the weather is beautiful (85 degrees on April 1?), and sometime it feels like I have the city to myself. I've been walking all over. It's so much fun. I feel like I'm really on vacation.