The gist of the day-long event is this (as if you don't already know about it): Same-sex couples are encouraged to go to their local Chick-fil-A, to kiss in protest of the company funding anti-gay organizations, and to take their picture while doing so to share with the world. My girlfriend, Julie, and I had conflicting schedules this evening, so we wouldn't be able to make it down to one of our local controversial chicken sandwich joints at 8 p.m., when most gay couples across the nation will be making out. So we decided to make our political statement on our lunch breaks — and we only had an hour to do it.
With me coming from northern St. Pete and her coming from northern Clearwater, we found the perfect midpoint — the Chick-fil-A on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard. Once we got there, she nearly chickened out on me (ha, ha, pun totally unintended, but I'm leaving it in). With a little persuading, five minutes sitting with the A/C blasting, and a few bites of quinoa, she was ready to go.
Now, Julie easily has about 10 inches on me, and today she was wearing heels. I'm barely five feet and come up to her chest (trust me, I'm not complaining about this). So finding the right angle to get this picture would be difficult, and the time constraint didn't make things any easier.
Eventually, we got a couple of good pics. By good I mean you can see us both and the Chick-fil-A signs. So please, no judging how terrible we probably look. Plus, you can't totally tell, but in one I'm standing on a sidewalk to gain a few inches, and she's bending down in both.
We also didn't attract too much attention. I saw lots of families and young Republicans drive by us, but nobody stopped to stare or reproach us. At one point, trying to find the best spot to snap our photo, we unknowingly leaned up against a car, unaware the driver was still in it. We apologized to him, and he said, "Oh, I don't mind," in a way that made me think he might be lecherous. But after we finished taking pictures, I turned around and he wasn't being creepy at all. In fact, he wasn't even looking at us.
Will you be going to Chick-fil-A today? We'd love to see your photos and videos and hear your stories, so feel free to send them to me here.
