All of you who are not depressed by what’s happening in the United States—heck, the world!—can skip this blog.

Those of you remaining could, I imagine, use an endorphin boost. And I’d like to suggest one.

I was wondering what is so addictive about our Friday honk and wave at the corner of Zafarano and Cerrillos. Could it be the lovely bike ride to get there, along the Arroyo Chamiso trail? Delightful as the ride is, there’s something more. Is it catching up with the other protesters, which is always a pleasure? Well, sure, that’s lovely, but no, that’s not all.

Standing on the street corner, holding a sign, I wave at the people driving past and stopping at the intersection. I do my best to make eye contact, though given past experience, I tend to avoid doing so with white men in pickup trucks. Sometimes as a person drives by, she is waving or honking. When we make eye contact, a moment of magic happens. It’s electric. An energy passes between us that gives me a momentary high; judging from the other person’s smile, it has a similar effect on her.

Not everybody has the time or energy to join in regular protests. Some people clearly love to be able to signal their strong agreement with the cause. They particularly enjoy it when their agreement registers with the protesters. It’s about being heard and seen. It’s about being validated. It’s about reinforcing the sense of community. We are angry; many of us are scared. But we are not alone.

It doesn’t seem possible that a mutual glance of recognition between someone standing on the sidewalk holding a sign and someone driving past, honking their horn or giving us a big thumbs up, can feel like a hug. But it does.

Then there’s the good fun of shouting “¡Chinga la migra!” (“Fuck ICE”) at pickup trucks full of Hispanic men. They inevitably look surprised at the gringa and break into giggles as they wave and give me the thumbs up. One day a boy caught me yelling the words. He turned to (I presume) his father. The driver turned to stare at me. We grinned at each other; he gave me a thumbs up. We successfully crossed racial and linguistic barriers to assert a shared belief that abuse of immigrants is not okay, that human rights matter, that decency and humanity still have a place in this crazy mixed-up world.

All of that matters. And man does it feel good.

Our No Kings: Vote Early event was another opportunity to connect with our friends and colleagues, run into people we haven't seen in months, and get to know new people. The creative and funny signs, and the spirit of the participants, were all an energy boost. And for those who thought it should have been much bigger, fear not: we'll have an opportunity after the elections to get a lot more people into the streets!

Given a choice between staying depressed and joining in a protest where I get to make eye contact with supportive people, I’ll go for the endorphin boost whenever I can. I hope more of you will join us, Fridays 12-1 at the corner of Zafarano and Cerrillos. And fear not! There are lots of other opportunities to thank people for voting (button brigade), interact with people (Speaker’s Corner) and join other demonstrations (banner drops, Signs of Fascism, Signs of Strength, Vote to Restore). And if none of those work for you, start your own! We have a big surge coming up to election day, and then no matter what the results, we will have our work cut out for us in future.

But what a pleasure to know that we’re not alone, and that doing the right thing can also mean doing the fun thing.