Occupy Philadelphia Day 25

Yesterday an early winter came to Philadelphia. We had rain, wind, sleet and snow, and conditions at OccupyPhiladelphia were difficult. The group went ahead with plans to march to Temple University, where former president Clinton was supposed to give a speech at the kickoff of Philly mayor Nutter's re-election campaign. However, the event was cancelled due to the weather. OccupyPhiladelphia demonstrators had waited in line in the rain and snow for about an hour. After the cancellation was announced, we rallied inside the student activity center before returning to the occupation at Dilworth Plaza. My medic buddy yesterday was my friend Emilia, who is an RN. It was a difficult day to be outside.
While I continue to be fully supportive of OccupyPhiladelphia, I have decided to limit my participation to marches and other demonstrations where a street medic can be of help. I cannot continue to be on staff at the medical tents due to the problem of second hand cigarette smoke. Even though they are medical people, almost everyone smokes, and with the bad weather the smoking moved inside the medical tent. Also in the past few days I have had problems with several homeless people who were abusive. I am not trained to deal with their mental health issues. It has also been difficult to establish friendships and feel like a medic team member. Most of the medical staff are a couple of generations younger than I am and there is ageism to deal with. Finally, I need a break from the seven days a week shift schedule that I have been putting in at the occupation.