How Berkeley Can You Be

The other big event of the weekend.

I volunteered to walk with the Berkeley Public Library contingent in the How Berkeley Can You Be Parade. (Kent agreed to come along. For our trouble we got tshirts featuring the library's winged book logo.)

We walked alongside the library's electric car and handed out stickers announcing the library's new Sunday hours. Since the budget cuts the library had closed Sundays. When the budget looked better the administration passed around a survey asking if people preferred return of evening hours or Sundays. Sundays won.

The talk of the parade is always the group of naked people. The brief naked people protests around the persecution of the Naked Guy, a UC student who wanted merely to walk around unclothed all the time (I think he was eventually expelled), were one of the inspirations for the parade. Naked people protests? How Berkeley can you be! ... I saw a small cluster of nudies; what's the fuss?

Walking ahead of the BPL group were three men wearing baskets on their heads and playing shakuhachi flutes.

Behind us was the Crucible with two vintage fire engines outfitted with gas pipes, out of one of which they'd blast a big ball of fire every half block. All the sidewalk spectators would jump and gasp. We marchers would feel the heat on the backs of our necks. Kent fumed about how careless they seemed about keeping a driver behind the steering wheel.

The parade culminated in the park where there were craft booths and advocacy booths. I recognized Josh Garey playing guitar onstage with the Gun and Doll Show. I'm on his email list but never get to any of his events.

It was fun. Maybe I'll do it again.