marching down Market

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve done the St. Louis AIDS Walk.

Considering the nice weather, our dire need for exercise and a genuine desire to show support – we piled into the car and headed downtown.

Despite the Walk and a cardinals game, the parking gods smiled upon us and we got a spot on the street only a block away from the event.

Similar to the previous years, the pre-walk festivities always strike me as a little distracted and disjointed. Folks mill around Kiener Plaza aimlessly, information booths are set up and a string of folks in khaki shorts speak into the PA including the mayor of St. Louis.

My critiquing comes to a screeching halt once the walk begins and the street fills with people…. a LOT of people. Market street downtown becomes an living, lurching thing stretching over ten blocks. It’s a touching and uplifting show of support.

We found the contingent from the local bear club but didn’t linger. The grouping was all new guys and we only knew the president. Since going into nesting mode and moving to the suburbs, I guess we’ve estranged ourselves to the club. The new guys weren’t particularly interested in socializing either. So – we moseyed along and hooked up with a group from Chad’s work.

We bopped into the tourist trap mall downtown and poked around… It’s been years since I’ve been in one – but I have to confess – OH MY GOD – Brookstone HAS COOL STUFF.. We must have spent a good 30 minutes in there picking up every gadget and making mental Christmas list notes.

Hmm.. If I had a damn blog I could just do a post and laundry list the items from the store that tickled me the hardest so when the inevitable call comes from the in-laws asking “What the the hell does Jim want for Christmas” – we can point them to a nicely organized list, complete with catalog numbers).