Pride parade

What: Pride Parade/ Pridefest
Where: Lakeview
How Much: Parade is free, fest $5
How to get there: Red line to Belmont, walk to Ohio and Broadway

In the case of the Pride parade, a picture is worth a thousand words. So enjoy! Overall, I was disappointed in the general lack of depravity in this year's parade. I know it's a family affair, and for the sake of the little girl across the street (whose parents I could not identify), I suppose I am glad there wasn't more T and A present. This might have had something to do with the fact that I watched the parade from pretty much the end of the route, and most of the walkers were half unconscious from heat exhaustion before they reached my vantage point. I did see one boob and lots of mostly naked bodies.
I am lucky enough to have a friend whose apartment faces the parade route. So while others sweltered on the sidewalk, my friends and I watched the goings on from the air conditioned comfort of her bed. The parade officially kicked off at noon, and it reached the apartment at about 1:30. It ended at 4:00. That's right, two and a half hours of parade. I would say about half of it was politically oriented and the other half was just for fun.

Every major group I can think of was represented, from the Jewish to the Egyptian. Some of the floats featured crazy club dancing and others chose to emphasize unconditional love. I saw countless "I love my gay (insert relative here)" shirts, signs, you name it. The floats handed out stickers, wristbands, and condoms. One thing that captured the attention of my company was these two girls, who decided it would be prudent to remove their shirts and put stickers over their nipples. Only, it was about a thousand degrees on Sunday and the stickers kept falling off due to sweat. Here they are asking someone from the parade for new stickers. He seems happy to oblige.

On my way to my friend's apartment I passed some crazy street preachers. These people make me angry in a way that few things can. I just don't understand the religious need to force one's beliefs on other people. Those of you who know me are snorting because I happen to be quite opinionated about more than a few topics. I think the difference lies in what happens to those who disagree with me. At the worst, you'll make a bad decision. At the best, I'll be completely wrong and you will attain great wealth, happiness and success. Compare this to evangelists. At the worst, you're damned to an eternity in hell. In addition, the police surround these negative nellies and protect them from the dangerous, body-flaunting crowd.

One of the best things I see happening from my little festival experiment is that it is really helping me remove some layers of shell. I haven't had a free weekend moment in the last month and that's ok with me. I can tend to be the friend that waits for you to call. Now, I find myself asking friends out more and more, and I feel so enriched.

That's Sarah in the middle, it was her apartment. Sarah's brother is on the couch and his girlfriend Robin is in the back in the pink. Kim is leaning over and Sarah's boyfriend Mike is in plaid. Sarah's friend whose name I can't remember is on the bed.

Thanks for having us over, Sarah! Kim and I also went to the Green Music Festival, post to follow.