"Is it Kennedy's birthday or something?" Volunteer Art asked, pointing to my display of books about JFK.
"He was assassinated on November 22," I said, pointing to the book in the center of the display: The Death of a President: November 1963.
"Oh. I knew you had a reason."
I've said before that Art doesn't seem that smart, but he is my age, race, & class--how did he miss this?
Art and I annoy each other sometimes, but I give him credit: he does a lot of good.
He's retired, and he volunteers a lot at a lot of places.
He successfully hounded Big
Boss into devoting some display space to information about public
assistance in housing, which Art worked hard to gather--connecting with County and City services.
He complains a lot, but
he puts his money (time) where his mouth is, and he's relentless.
Watching Art hound people, I see what a successful strategy that is.
I told him I admired his persistence.
"I like to think I'm persuasive," he said.
Ha. No.
It isn't the strength of his argument that wins. It's the strength of his pursuit. Luckily, he's arguing for good social services.
"It's our mission," he said.
He's right.
Of course he's right. Not because he read the mission statement but because I'd told him the mission statement describes "a network of friends working to create a more just world".
Art's persistence works, but only up to a point. Art retired early because he got fired from his job with the State because he wouldn't drop some crusade of his.
Trump's arc shows this too. Repetition works. But not forever.