Occupy Philly: Sunset, Day 2

Day 2, Occupy Philly. Left of center, the man with his arms raised was doing a "Mic check," which is the process for making a very short announcement or speech. His was "Look at that sunset!" The drummers in the foreground were pounding away, our iconic "Clothespin, Philadelphia" is clothed in red light (background, left), and straight ahead the sun is setting over Market Street and West Philadelphia, where I live. The atmosphere was like a carnival in all the good ways. About 35 tents were standing, mostly for people to sleep in, and all the lefties mingle and catch each other up on whatever's on their minds. I stayed for a few hours after a good day in downright perfect weather. I sensed no tention, no anger. No one was getting drunk or starting trouble. The police were chatting among themselves on the edges of things, happy for the overtime pay, you can be sure. Only two or three young turkeys had bandanas over their faces, but they were doing nothing.

This was another day when it was hard to choose a blip. The second-place went to a lovely gray cat who I caught in the middle of a wide yawn.