I was wandering around Boston on Sunday when I suddenly found myself standing in the middle of a huge get out the vote march, ostensibly in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. I say “ostensibly” because — as I expect is the norm at most major rallies — there were representatives from various causes from labor unions to socialists to rabid fans of LaRouche. It was surreal, but the gospel music was nice and it was interesting to see the various people. It was actually sort of sad when the white speakers started getting up and just not doing very well at all at mustering the enthusiasm, power, and outrage that their black counterparts put forth. There was also a big contingent of City Year volunteers who seemed to be participating in the organizing. The other obvious presence was a large group of black men wearing fancy suits. They also looked pretty official/organizer-y, in contrast with the assorted other people in various sorts of dress, like me in my t-shirt and shorts. It was interesting in a purely time-wasting sort of way to think about the logistics of the event and try to understand who really was in charge (if anyone). The serious-looking men in suits I just couldn’t quite figure out.

The other notable aspect of the rally was when I was slowly walking sideways/backwards while observing the crowd. I turned around just in time to stop about five or six feet away from John Kerry, in the flesh. Running into him would have been sort of embarrassing. Based on my brief observations at close range, however, I think I can confirm that he is not, in fact, a robot. He even put on his “trademark” bomber jacket, although there was no motorcyle in sight.

So anyway, that happened.