Elgan speaks
...and her words thunder across the land

Picketting for pensions

Tuesday, Mar. 16, 2004
8:21 a.m.
Yesterday was my first experience walking a picket line. Hubby was down there right at 7:30 when the university opened, and he said the response was really great. Many of the faculty turned out, and the support staff have been extremely, well, supportive. Even though they are now members of our union, they would not be in a position to join us out there for a couple of months at least, but the secretaries association gave us muffins and people have been super. Even students have been joining us with signs that say �We (heart) our profs�. It�s very, well, heartening!

I didn�t get down there until just after 9:00, and I arranged with the organizers that I would pull a series of half-shifts. As a part-time teacher I only have to do two shifts a week, so I will do four or five half-shifts, and join Hubby after I�ve got the kids off to school. Yes, I know, they�re not babies and could get themselves off on their own, but I feel my maternal responsibilities very strongly.

It was freezing out there yesterday, and today is colder. The wind picked up, coming off the river, and although I was dressed warmly, there were profs who were not. Our music sessional was without a hat, and must have been very uncomfortable. Today I have tights on under my jeans, and I�m going to hunt up some mittens, since gloves just didn�t cut it yesterday. Also, I think I injured my eye. A piece of grit flew into my right eye, and while I cried it out, it remained very painful. Once home I took out my contacts, and the pain of the the affected eye was marked. I put them back in later on, and was tearing excessively. So, a couple of hours later I took them out again, and this time the right contact coming out of my eye was excruciating. So I think I�ve scratched my cornea. I put my glasses on and applied anti-biotic drops, and I shall remain thus for the next few days.

Gotta go hit the picket line. Don�t forget to pray (or whatever you do) for Dagget

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