I went to a meeting of Toastmasters, and it was a really interesting experience. They did the Pledge and I sat, and my heart actually pounded a little, one of the guys there is a Marine and I didn't know if they were ultra-fundamentalist or just conventionally patriotic. But it was an enjoyable meeting and I'm considering becoming a member.

The Marine said he agreed with my decision on the grounds of free choice, and told a story of wearing his uniform to some happening and how he told someone he wore it to show respect and honor for the military person the event was for, and a Navy soldier who wasn't wearing his uniform got mad and said "So you think I'm NOT giving respect because I'm not in my uniform?" He answered, "I'm not saying anything about you, it's your choice, I'm not interested in taking that away from you, just because I'm showing respect one way doesn't mean you aren't doing it in your own way."

He's a math tutor and another intuitive, so I'm definitely going to hang out with him again. People you get to know when fear doesn't stop you. I was invited to talk for a minute extemporaneously and they were really impressed, I talked about how I like going into different environments and learning about people and how to bridge differences with empathic dialogue. One woman said it was brave of me to speak at my first meeting, I guess a lot of people don't do it but I've been in "sure why not" mode for a while. I love my weird life.