By the end of June, I felt defeated. I felt heart broke. People I didn't even know felt that it was appropriate to show up at a public place and call me a fringe element who doesn't care about the moral order or the public good. People were allowed to point fingers at me and say horrible things. And no one, not the sub-committee, not the city council, called them out on their incivility. And that's when this woman and this baby stepped up to the plate.
I got an email from my friend, Christine, at the end of the summer, asking whether she could help with my hens and come to the meetings. I told her no, it was all right, I was handling it, it wasn't going well, but I would see it out, blah blah blah. And Christine acted like quintessential love-filled Christine. She ignored me and emailed me right back and said, yada yada yada, you're not in this alone. You have people. I will NEVER forget receiving that email. And seeing the words, "You have people." It helped turn a nightmare into a positive wonderful experience. Immediately, I felt protected and loved and not even a little bit alone!
So, she goes to the first meeting with me, as does her husband, my friend Jorge. And we bring along other friends -- I will tell you about them all later. And it's amazing. We sit there. I'm feeling deflated and small but at least protected. And Mr. C*nnell stands up and I'm afraid. But I think he does a mild job and that he's not too bad in his message of hate and misinformation and not too mean in his disdain for me. And I'm relieved that my friends didn't have to see him at his full-tilt hate mode. And I turn to look at Christine and she's got this jaw-dropping appalled look on her face. Her expression says it all. He's over the top! Christine couldn't believe how mean he was and was shocked when I told her that he was pretty mild compared to how he usually spoke.
But here's the kicker. I'm looking at her and I suddenly realize -- Christine's an activist! And sure enough, she became the world's best advocate for backyard hens and worked her tail off to try and make a home for Thelma and Louise in Bowling Green. Christine took me to dinner and lunch. She designed a logo. She made t-shirts. She encouraged a friend to make buttons. She wrote letters and emails. She spoke to her neighbors and her councilpersons. She attended meetings. She invited others to attend. She spoke at public lobbying. She wrote a letter to the editor. She did her dead level best to make a positive change in our town and to help a friend. And watching her sweet spirits and enthusiasm and kindness helped make this pretty bitter experience into a bittersweet one -- where I learned about politics and the dark side and I learned about lovingkindness from friends. Christine made this whole experience a good one!