Partying with Kucinich and Pseudonym Decisions

This is a photo of me partying with US Congressman Dennis Kucinich. That’s right. You heard me. Willow Wonder was PARTYING with KUCINICH! My friend Activist Amy somehow roped Ethan, Ryan and Adam P. into hosting a potluck for the Rural Organizing Project, and Congressman Kucinich was the guest of honor. He gave an amazing speech about peace activism. He said that we Americans have resigned ourselves to the inevitibility of war, when really we should think of peace as the inevitable goal of civilization. We should look to our global neighbors with love and open hearts. We should learn to be compassionate listeners. We should try to see past partisan labels- blue/red, liberal/conservative- and look at one another through the lens of our common humanity. In this way we can begin an honest discourse about the issues most dear to our society and our planet.
Wow. Can you imagine our president speaking like this? Bush addressing the country with phrases like, “compassion,” and “open-hearts?” Can you see him encouraging his citizens to put down our swords and shields and just listen to each other? Sigh. Me neither. That’s why I’m so moony over Kucinich. He shook my hand, looked into my eyes, and gave me his full, loving attention while I stammered, “Welcome to Portland, sir!” As I walked to my car later, he called out to me, “Keep on smiling!” What a guy.
Now back to my usual gossipy self-absorbtion!
I’ve decided to go ahead and give my fellas pseudonyms. Most of the commenters supported this choice, and deep in my heart I know that it is the fair thing to do. Now, there may be a period of adjustment for us all. This is natural. The movement from transparency to disguise is jerky. Here is a players key to get us started:
Moose: Moose is the anonymous commenter who pleaded so eloquently yesterday for his name to be spared from blog scrutiny. He lives in the South, but is coming to visit this summer, and may possibly move here in the winter. We’ve been friends since 1999, when we worked together in the Colorado Rockies. Over the years we’ve shared a torch, a flicker, or sometimes a flame for one another, but the timing has never been quite right. (Aside from a romantic drive from Montana to Portland in 2002.) He calls me Buck. There is some funny moose story about him that I no longer remember, but I’ve chosen this for his moniker nonetheless.
Pablo: A painter/barista in town who I smooch occasionally. I’ve named him Pablo after the painter, of course, but also because the first three letters- pab- are also the the beginning of Pabst Blue Ribbon which he seems to drink in large quantities.
Jah: This is the man I had a breakfast date with this morning. I thought of calling him Rainer, because of the poem he wrote for me after our first, uh, encounter, but he’s not emo enough for that title. He’s got a pretty reggae outlook on things, so Jah seems to suit him. He is a musician and something of a drifter. I’ll write more about our date in a minute.
So there you go. If you have any questions about my new system, let me know. Now that they are suitably disguised, I promise never to reveal their true identities (in my blog anyway), even if they turn out to be super-jerks. So hopefully everyone feels reassured and respected, and now I can return to my Kiss and Tell formula with a clear conscience.
Which brings me to today’s date. Jah was half an hour late, and I was starting to think I’d been stood up when he finally stepped through my door bearing cherries, grapes and a melon. I made potatoes, (a terrible) tofu scramble and coffee. I became unexpectedly shy in his presence, which I guess means I like him more than I realized. We listened to his new EP, talked about compost, and looked at Monster Cards (I can’t explain because I don’t quite understand, but they are AWESOME!) There was no kissing, but we stood very close together, face to face in my kitchen just before we said goodbye, and shared a moment that was fluttery and warm. I’m going to see him play on Thursday night, but I think he’ll be in show mode as opposed to kissy mode, and that’s okay. Wow. I think I have a little crush. I wonder if he thinks I’m boring because I was sort of quiet all morning- not my usual sassy first-date self. Oh man. This is so fun.