Picketing and Pumpkining

Two weekends ago we traveled downtown to experience Occupy Salt Lake City. We made and brought signs and marched around busy intersections for a while. Leo enjoyed the chanting and sang along from time to time.

He's very informed. And passionate about ending corporatism.

I'd never been part of a rally or protest before. The participants were an interesting mix. Many of those actually occupying Salt Lake (camping in tents at Pioneer Park) were probably scraped from the bottom of the hard-knocks barrel, and seemed to be happy to just have a place to congregate without getting hassled. They were ragged in more than one way (hair, beards, tattered bandannas tied to every odd body part). There were rows of denim jackets, shorts, and jeans strewn on the grass to dry, and a big cardboard sign that said "Weed Draws COPS. Do Your Drugs SOMEWHERE ELSE."

For the most part we kept clear of the campers. We were really just there for the march. The marchers were more evenly mixed; middle class folk, a few retirees, and two or three babies in strollers (Leo included).

There were quite a few Ron Paul supporters there, which I think Chris (our friend who went with us) and Jon were pretty happy about that. I think they weren't so happy about the fact that a lot of them were grade-A nutters.

And by the time we got back to the park, a brawl had broken out amongst the permanent campers. Pretty soon after that we headed home.

This week we went to Estrada Farms in Lehi to pick out some pumpkins for ourselves.

There was a bouncy house.

And a maze.

And a train ride.

And a corn pit.

We were some of the only people there, but we had fun. Leo enjoyed Michael Jackson on the loudspeakers, and the pumpkins we picked were so lovely.

We carved them for Family Night, but that will be in the next post. Halloween is just a breath away. Our house is going to be properly festive, so if you're around on Halloween night, drop by for some candy.