History Makers...or Not Really...

Location: Manhattan, NY- Central Park South Entrance
Time: 8:30 AM EST
Goal: Take a relaxing and romantic Sunday morning stroll through Central Park.
What We Expected to See: Runners, Joggers, Kids with parents, Women with strollers and a few random New Yorkers who would also be out to take a relaxing and romantic Sunday morning stroll through Central Park.

The series of events:
8:30 AM EST: Entered the park and soon found ourselves surrounded by a sea of people rushing towards the top road of the park. Odd? No but not what we expected.
8:35 AM EST: Found the path less traveled and headed deeper into the park.
8:40-8:55 AM EST: Took a relaxing and romantic Sunday morning stroll in Central Park.
9:00 AM EST: Alerted by the booming sound of voices and cheering over a loud PA system a few minutes from us.
9:01 AM EST: Andy had to check it out...maybe it was a church service??
9:10 AM EST: The crowd around us began to change. Hundreds of people were now in view. Lots of guys holding hands with guys, girls doing the same as well. People in matching shirts. Signs every now and then.

Thoughts for the moment: "Hmmm, this is a little odd. I am pretty sure this isn't going to be a church service. But hey, it's Manhattan so it's not like this is too far out there for Manhattan right? I mean, none of this is too strange, like crazy strange. Let's keep going and see what's happening here."

9:25 AM EST: Bruce Villanche (from Hollywood Squares) and Hal Sparks (from various TV shows such as I Love the 80's) take the stage.

The Opening Line: "Let's just take a minute to celebrate what has gone on recently with the advancements in the rights of Gay Marriage people!!!! Let's also take a minute to be sad for those who settled for members of the opposite sex and hate it."

Thoughts for the moment: "Ok, well...this might get a little awkward...but ok that's a big issue throughout America for some people so I get it. I mean once again this is NYC right?"

9:35 AM EST: For the first time we actually begin to survey the area around us.
9:37 AM EST: A bright green sign reading "Condoms Save Lives." Not too strange for me, I get that.
9:38 AM EST: A tall man (or woman) dressed in an outfit that resembled a large banana suit, which I later realized was indeed not a banana suit at all. Ok, this is getting a little odd.
9:40 AM EST: A bald man, wearing the slip of a wedding gown, with nipples drawn on his sleeveless t-shirt, sporting a pink stick-on beard on his chin, pushing a gold spray painted grocery cart loaded with trash bags and a small chihuahua who was dressed in a dog-sized clown outfit, all while keeping a parakeet perfectly balanced on the man's head. Side Note: Andy seemed to think that the clown-suited dog was the only thing odd about this guy as he passed us...which I found kind of humorous and a little scary at the same time. Ok, this was getting weird.
9:45 AM EST: A glance past the same sex couples, the cross-dressing man with the bird on his head and the huge gospel choir (yep, they were there too) revealed literally thousands of people gathered in groups at the back of the clearing. When I say thousands, I mean thousands.
The realization of the morning begins to come from the stage:
"Welcome to all of you who have joined us today. (Crowd of thousands goes wild.) Thank you so much for being here to participate. This is one of the largest events in Manhattan and YOU are all a part of it."
Me: Ok, participate...Ummm Andy I think it's time to go.
Andy: Yes babe, let's get out of here before we get run over. I think we are standing on the starting line for whatever this is. Huh, isn't that odd?
9:50 AM EST: We head to exit the park. Happy for those who were walking for a good cause however I was feeling quite out of my element. That's just the truth of it folks.
10:00 AM EST: We find ourselves being cheered for and clapped at as we are mistaken for 2 dedicated Walkers being that we chose to take the path out out of the park that was the actual route for the Walk. (In retrospect I think we need to pay more attention...I get that now.)
10:10 AM EST: Cheers in our direction turn to scowls and "you know where you can go buddy" looks as we actually, it needs to be admitted, wiggle past the barricade set to keep the route in place for the Walk and truck it out of the park.
10:15 AM EST: We noticed, for the first time signs up and down the streets of the city,

Sunday, May 18th 2008
Central Park, Manhattan
New York City Aids Walk

In one light: Andy and I were a part of one of the largest events in Manhattan and did something to make a statement for a good cause. We were a part of history!
In another: We were 2 people from the Bible Belt who even though believed in the cause, were admittedly out of our element and I had never been so nervous of getting slapped in the face by a man dressed from head to toe in the latest styles from the Gap.