public comment ended before the pain did

three minutes per speaker.

the timer is louder than the building.

the building is, for the record, loud.

a woman in a homemade t-shirt talked about a tree.

a man in a windbreaker talked about a road.

a teenager talked about the same thing both of them were talking about but used the word future and people shifted in their folding chairs.

the council thanked everyone for their input.

input is a word that does a lot of work in this town and gets paid in nothing.

public comment ended.

the pain did not.

i left through the side door because the front door had a camera and a smile on it.