Outside of "We"

"We" can be the coldest word

I leaned against the trunk of my car, and checked my text messages. I was waiting for a fellow organizer to pick me up so we could test walk the route of the Nashville Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage. After attending church that morning, I’d headed out to my car where I’d stashed a small backpack with snacks and water, my walking shoes, and a sun shirt. To save myself the trouble of having to change clothes in the church bathroom, I’d worn a clean pair of hiking pants with a crisp button-up white shirt and dress shoes to church and passed muster in a sea of people dressed in varying degrees of dressiness.  A technical smartwool tanktop under the button-up shirt allowed me to simply swap shirts and shoes at the trunk of my car and be ready to walk almost nine urban miles that morning and afternoon. 

I finished ten minutes before my ride arrived and as it was pretty, sitting in my car to wait for her never occurred to me. I chatted with a friend who was going into the next service, and then ch…