Setting: The check-out line at Walgreen’s; 51st Street and Telegraph; Oakland
The Characters: Me and The Old White Guy (OWG)
The Scene:
The OWG tries to pass Me in line. Me, not sure what the OWG is trying to pull, looks him in the face.
OWG: Excuse me. I am in the wrong line. I am just trying to get out of here.
Me: No problem.
Pause. Just a beat. But, in this beat, Me is able to move her look from his face to his entire body. She sees a man in ratty pants and a sweater almost the same color. That special military green. The color of hard work and sacrifice. As her eyes land on his boots, black and unapologetic, Me can confirm that this man has more important things to worry about than being in the line at Walgreen’s.
OWG: It’s a great day, isn’t it?
Me: Yes. Yes, it is.
OWG: We just sent that asshole back to his 1%!
Laughter from Me – almost as if she is tossing the laughter into the air so that OWG can catch it. He does. They hold the laughter together between them for one more beat before OWG exits the store. Me is left in line, still smiling.
The End.
I was so afraid that I think I composed an entire blog post in my sleep about what we would have to do now, as a state, to make sure that we don’t lose an entire generation of children to this crisis. 
Lynn Johnson 