5:01 PM

June 16, 5:01 pm. It's history now, in every sense of the word. As of 5:01 today, same-sex marriages are legal in California. Where was I at 5:01 pm? San Francisco City Hall. Where was everyone else? San Francisco City Hall.

Well, ok, not everyone, but a lot of people. They were there to celebrate, to watch, to shout at those celebrating. I was trying to leave. I ran into one of the attorneys from our office attempting to get off the 3rd floor. "Trying to get the best view?" "Nope, I'm trying to leave." A security guard pointed me down the little stairs. I heard a loud cheer from somewhere, "must be 5:01," I thought. As Mayor Newsom started the only ceremony of the night, I snuck down the side stairs. I was surprised by how empty the front security area was. One or two people were going through the metal detectors. I thought there'd be lines of people wanting to get inside. Then I looked at the doors.

Outside, covering the entire sidewalk span out front and stretching back through the park across the street there was a huge crowd. Directly in front of City Hall's steps, front and center, stood a group of people come for reasons other than celebrating. Their jeers and large signs proclaimed that clearly Jesus only meant to love some of your neighbors. To either side of them, a few supporters of the day yelled back. But the majority of the people outside were just celebrating. "This is the way out?" I asked another security guard. "Yup. You can try to squeeze down on the side there." And so, I headed out the big glass doors.

People were generally obliging and tried to let me through. It probably helped that they could see I wasn't trying to get closer. But I still had to navigate narrow paths while carrying my bag, purse and puff coat (it had been very cold in the morning). I saw what I thought was an opening and stepped into it. Whoops! That wasn't an opening. That was the spot for the trombone player's slide from the band that had just started playing The Wedding March. Video cameras, digital cameras and tv cameras every-which-way. Bouquets, couples holding hands, and rainbow flags hanging from all the light-posts filled the city and announced to everyone the historic moment.

Finally, I made my way to the curb and saw as my only outlet, the bike lane in the street. As I stepped off I heard a voice "stay on the sidewalk, sir." I found this a bit odd since I clearly wasn't a sir. (Although at a celebration of gay marriages, it's possible a sir would be there in a pink sweater, skirt, seamed stockings and 5" stilettos.) I stepped back onto the curb, assuming the voice meant me anyway, and turned back. There was a police man working to keep the crowds out of the main street in front of City Hall. But I had no way out without going into the street. I stepped off the curb once more, and again, "sir stay on the sidewalk." I looked back and saw that a man had stepped into the street. I kept going. After passing 3 or 4 news vans, I could see the sidewalk was clear and got out of the bike lane. As I reached the end of the block, the crowd erupted into a rousing rendition of "Going to the Chapel." Oddly, it reminded me of my little sister when she was 5.

To the octagerians in the Mayor's office, this was a momentous occasion, a day that many thought would never come. To me, it was just a zoo at city hall. Maybe it's my optimistic outlook, maybe it's the things my generation has seen, but I don't think this is a big deal. I expect things to happen eventually. The Cold War ended, the Berlin Wall came down! Yeah, and? We've eradicated small pox. Yeah, and? Same sex couples can marry! Yeah, and? I always think, "it's going to happen; it's just a matter of time."

(Original Post)

Bed

Exhausted

Extravaganza - Jamie Foxx and Kanye West