Rain showers and chilly weather greeted me in the morning. The forecast said that the rain would stop in time for the performance. Although the rain stopped the ground still had plenty of mud and puddles to mess up my shoes. After talking with some local students I took the inflatable suit outside of Porter Hall and began to inflate it.
Even though I refer to these pieces as inflatable suits, the suit part of the name does not seem to register in the audience’s minds until I put one on. This held true in Pittsburg as well. I careened into lampposts and jumped up on benches while chasing students around the center of campus. When classes changed I blocked a door to one of the halls for a bit.
I made my way to Broadway and noticed a camera crew trudging along behind me. The wind made progress up the street slow, but since it was lunch time the fast food restaurants were full. At each face stuffing establishment I slammed into the windows and looked into the eyes of smiling but perplexed diners. Many people came outside to snap pictures.
As I took a break at 4th and Broadway the intrepid camera crew from earlier caught up with me and asked for an interview. It turns out that they were from the local FOX and CBS affiliates. Part of the work is connecting with other people that I do not know and searching for the humanity in this world. I did a little of both in Pittsburg. As I stood wet and tired on the side of the road a local woman who said that I made her day asked if I needed a lift. I said, “Sure, and thanks.”
