In which Primo is praised for his protest t-shirt by someone who asked breathlessly if he had been arrested

Primo spent Friday and most of Saturday in the state capital with his party peeps, protesting. There were speakers from around the country and there was singing and drum beating and of course, there was a t-shirt.

The t-shirt was about the main protest event - a protest that has been going on for a couple of years now. I don't know what they are protesting against or for. The main thing these days seems to be that the protesters not being allowed to protest in the capitol building without a permit.

There is a case to be made that protests against the government should not require a permit, but there is also the case to be made that people who are trying to conduct business on behalf of The People should be able to go on about their business without having to listen to protesters in the capitol rotunda. I am all for people doing what they want, but once they start to annoy me, they need to knock that crap off.

I am not particularly tolerant of noise when I am trying to work. Now that I am no longer in an office and am stuck in cubicle land, I am subject to the endless sounds of eating of dry granola and carrot sticks by the woman who works behind me. She is also always on the phone, which is what happens at work sometimes, but then she makes personal calls that have been quite loud. And she brings in re-heated French fries, the smell of which makes me gag.

She never shuts up and she never stops eating, so last week, when we had our ANNUAL meetings with the three managers from France, Spain, and England, when she sent an email to everyone in our usually not phone-talking group because the people we deal with are in different time zones asking us to "keep it down to a dull roar," I wanted to march over to her desk and ask, "Really? REALLY? YOU are asking US to be quiet?"

But I didn't because I am a big fat chicken. Instead, I just slap on headphones when she starts eating and I listen to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.

Where was I?

Oh. The right to protest without a permit. It's a legitimate issue, but don't protest around me when I am trying to get something done or trying to get somewhere. You have a right to protest. You don't have a right to keep me from doing what I want to do.

So Primo went to the protest. He promised me he would not get arrested. There have been numerous arrests over the past few weeks. We agreed that he would not get arrested, even if he thinks it's a good cause.

He returned with a t-shirt about the protest. Let's call it the "Protesting for No Apparent Reason" protest, or "PNARP." He was wearing the shirt. We walked into town to watch a band perform at a town festival. A woman came up to Primo and gushed, "Were you there?"

Primo: Yes. I went today.

Woman: Oh my! Did you get arrested?

Primo: No.

Woman [look of disappointment]

Me [dryly]: It is not in our financial interest for him to be arrested.

Woman [confused look]

Me: If someone wants to make a point for The People by being arrested, that's fine. But we are not interested in spending $1,000 to make that point.

Woman draws back, smiles uncertainly. I am pretty sure she thought I was a weird bitch who wasn't properly supportive of The Cause.

She is correct.