“Hi, how are ya doin today?”

My shoulders ache, my back aches, my legs ache, and my hands are freezing. No, I haven’t just come back from a run in the chilly New England fall (sadly, I haven’t run since the peak of my short lived running career at the Cork Mini-Marathon in June). Worse than running, I’ve just finished a ten hour day standing in the wind and rain in front of a Walmart holding a five pound can filled with money. Observe:

Scenario A: People walking into the Walmart.
Me: “Hi, how ya doin today?” Insert smile.
Person: “Good, how are you?”
Me: “Not too bad, not too bad.” Insert smile.

Scenario B (30 minutes later): People walking out of the Walmart
Me: “How ya doin today, would you like to help support volunteers going to Africa?”
Person: “No thank you / Sure, what is this about? / Why don’t you help America instead?!” (angry)
Me: “Ok, thanks, have a good day! / Insert preset speech about project / Thank you so much, you have a great day now!!!” (sarcastic)

Repeat x 800. Day 2 in New York = finished.

The Ithaca region of upstate New York is an interesting mix of conservatives and hippy liberals. Two of the five radio stations are Christian (one seems to be straight up Christian classic, the other solely dedicated to the country loving Christian). It’s very discomfiting for me, who is far from comfortable with religion, especially the Catholic religion, to find myself absentmindedly humming along to a catchy tune only to realize I’m humming to “Jesusssss loves me….” crooning on the radio. In another example, compare the high-end organic co-op in the middle of a college town (Ithaca and Cornell) where I stood Monday for 3 hours with a Walmart that has an entire section dedicated to Nascar where I stood yesterday for 10 hours. Hippy clothes, reusable bags and mini-hippy children versus Ford trucks and children eating McDonalds. All set amidst the backdrop of a lovely New England fall foliage.

Now of course these are stereotypes. In both stores that I fundraised in the last two days there have been a handful of really ignorant, mean people, a good number of people who just want to buy their food and get home, and a slightly smaller number of nice, good-hearted people willing to give and/or listen to what we have to say. If my description of the two stores seems a bit biased it may have something to do with the three hours I stood comfortably indoors at the Co-op versus the ten that I stood in the 50 degree wind and rain today at the Walmart.

Attempting ‘street’ fundraising and staking out a gay bar today. Weather: cold and ominously gray. Wish me luck.