About a dozen board members, spouses, and friends showed up at Deb & George's Saturday afternoon and evening. Including the pizza dinner, we stayed a little more than four hours. The work consisted of assembling the invitation materials in pink envelopes, sticking on mailing labels, sealing and stamping the envelopes.
Why pink? Not for the typical reason during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As it happens, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin will be in Houston as the primary honoree at HPJC's annual Peacemaker Awards Dinner on 8 November at the UH Hilton.
Together we stuffed close to a thousand envelopes, and some of us stuffed ourselves on veggie pizza. There was also plenty of enjoyable, informative conversation over the pizza and pink envelopes. In other words, it wasn't the usual Progressive Gripe Session: We discussed a variety of topics, including our families, our home towns, and the popular movements that inspire us. Yes, we also griped a bit about the state of the nation and the world.
Today's adventure took place at Sunday Streets, a monthly program co-sponsored by the City of Houston, this time on West 19th Street in Houston Heights. The seven long blocks from Heights Blvd. to N. Shepherd Drive were closed to gas-powered traffic for most of the afternoon; pedestrians, bicyclists, skaters, and people riding motorized coolers with wheels on them took over. I got to hand out some campaign material, some to the many people there I can claim to know, and some to folks who looked hungry for electoral alternatives. The local merchants on 19th were ultra-gracious hosts: Special mention must go to venerable establishments Carter & Cooley & Co., Vinal Edge Records, Replay, and Venus Hair.
The next "episode" of Sunday Streets will take place on 2 November along three streets in Third Ward:
- Dowling between Elgin and Alabama
- Alabama between Dowling and Almeda
- Almeda from Alabama to Arbor Place
That's more than 20 blocks with no automobiles for one afternoon. More exciting, the route passes within a block of uRth HAUS co-op, my place of residence since 2012. You can bet that HAUS Project will be participating that afternoon, and that I'll be promoting the Green Movement in my usual laid-back campaign mode.