Geeks and Freaks

I was at a public radio conference in Portland. Cue the geeks.

On Saturday, I checked out the Portland Saturday Market which is a huge arts and crafts market. Vendors bring all sorts of handmade products and hundreds of people show up each weekend. Now the first thing you need to know is that Portland's inhabitants are...well...weird. Very edgy, alternative, punk, hippie...all rolled into one.

Now factor in that this past Saturday was Pride Day in Portland and you suddenly have one very, VERY interesting market experience.

I saw midgets, an entire group of people in pirate costumes, hippies petitioning for medical marijuana, white women with dreads and peasant skirts, transvestites and one guy wearing a purple corset and hot pants who held a sign that said "Spare change for sex change." Cue the freaks.

Let's just say in this glorious melange of humanity, I probably stuck out as a total weirdo.
One of these things is not like the others...