geoffism.com

Ok. So I’m a little late with this update.

When we last checked in with our noble Georgia State Government, they were planning some prayer on the steps of the Ga. Capital hoping to induce a downpour. With a little time to kill, and the fact that I read there was going to be some protesters, I hopped in the trusty Pathfinder and jettisoned to the heart of the action, the Capital Steps. This I had to see for myself. You can play along - “Where’s Geoff?” in the pictures to the left. More event images here.

Well, my first disappointment was the location of the protest. It literally was around the corner and way out of earshot of the event. Maybe about 20 strong and just waving some hand-made signs that looked like something created by Edward Scissorhands. Man, I’m just way too used to NYC protests. Little more “In your face”. They get out the big inflatable rat, hand out flyer’s, and enlist some radicals to stir it up a little bit. Then things starting looking up a bit. As I turned the corner towards the capital, you heard this guy yelling at the top of his lungs - “This is a public sidewalk. This is my free speech.” Oh the insanity! 2.7 seconds later, he’s being escorted into his very own black and white taxi, complete with handcuffs and “Christmas lights” (that’s what we called them in college). Weeeeee…. Dammit! I really wanted to see the clash of religious fanatics. Tear gas. Riot gear.  Cats and dogs. Sta-Puft marshmallow man.

I’m not quite sure how to describe the rest of this. It was definitely a “religious event”, complete with a choir and multiple religious speakers. There must have been a template for the speeches - greet the crowd, make a comment about the shortcomings of scientific explanation, toss out a religious joke, and kick into a translation of Wikipedia’s definition of miracle and divine intervention. “There has to be a problem for there to be a miracle” was repeated over and over. There was lots of “Amens” and plenty of “Say it Again” through out the afternoon. At one point, a lady standing a couple feet away stated, “it looks like its getting cloudy (wink wink)”. Folks, she was serious. Let’s just say the afternoon was filled with 15 minutes of overcast skies followed by dramatic sunshine. Shucks… Any drops of water would have turned the capital steps into a scene from the Green Day Woodstock ‘94 mudfight. So, I’m not against religious gathering, but was this Sonny’s answer? Is there a Plan B? I do hear in China that they are shooting frozen hydrogen capsules into the clouds to create rain. If Sonny was just a touch smarter, he would have worked something out for Tuesday. You know what, for all the bibles I saw, there was only one person with an umbrella. Is that wavering belief?

I’m going to keep myself from going off on some crazy tangent talking science vs. religion, because this blog has been known as a strong sleep aid (please do not operate heavy machinery within 15 minutes of visiting). Everyone has their right to believe in whatever they want to believe. Does every moment that is “unexplainable” be classified as divine intervention? Then I’m hoping for divine intervention and winning the lottery. The point that everyone is missing is the issue of separation of church and state, which is derived from the US Constitution. It is a political and legal doctrine which states that government and religious institutions are to be kept separate and independent of one another. Really? Isn’t our elected officials supposed to uphold that? Or is the constitution just a set of “guidelines” open for interpretation? Who is overseeing this one? Anyone of capital hill (the big one) slapping Sonny on the wrist? Is there a sign-up sheet? How about with a fungo bat? He makes Georgia seem really smart.

So, if you were playing along, I’m the guy in the green. The top image is the CNN broadcast. The middle image is the Nightline teaser. The bottom image is ABC News (no I’m not praying, I think the guy in front of me farted). This basically became a game my girlfriend and I played, “did I make it into the newscast” for the next 24 hours. I tallied 5 appearances. I’m gonna get that star dammit. Those wasted about 1:27 of my 15 minutes. Its amazing where they will let you go with a nice camera. I think all those times I went to concerts at small venues, and my ability to work my way up to the front is finally paying off. Its a skill - not really marketable though. Check out the rest of my pictures here. I promise, no more shots of my handsome mug.