"Though I'm down in the dumps about yesterday's decisions, I thought I'd tell about my observations at the scene Friday. (photos coming later in the week).

I got in the law line in Kay's comfortable chair at about 11:30 pm. and after being asked what kind of law I did, admitted that I did none but was sitting for someone else. (I didn't know this at the time, but what I had become was a Democratic line sitter.)

The night got colder before we discovered that there was a hospitality center in a nearby brownstone. Meanwhile lawyers had gotten something of the mentality and aspect of the homeless: dressed in blankets and multi-layers and saying things like, 'You should check out the grate around the corner. It's really hot.' The hospitality center was run by clergy, and had posted the ten commandments in front of the door. It had a bathroom, cots, muffins, coffee, and a tape of Saturday night live political skits. People from both the public and the law line filtered in and out. It was there that I discovered that the second person in the law line was a professional Republican line sitter. She was having a conversation with a young man of the same trade, who remembered her from some other line, and from the McCain rally they had both enjoyed so much.

I would head back to the law line when my paranoia about losing my place surfaced. The front of the line was for the most part enjoyable. Everyone was a Democrat except for the line sitter and a lawyer from Chicago who wore a turban made out of a hotel towel. Time went slowly however, and it was with great happiness that I saw Kay coming towards me at 4:30. By that time the line was a lot longer, and Marcia, one of the lawyers Kay described, was restlessly reporting people to security.

Having been a CNN junkie for the past three weeks, I was excited to see Greta Van Susteren in line. I had grown fond of her, especially since she has my same messy hairstyle. I went to check out the public line, where a veteran line sitter from the Watergate mess was first in line and had organized a stringent number system to prevent cheating. Then, in front of the court, newscasters and protesters mingled. As the day went on the number of protesters grew.

When the lawyer for the Florida Republican legislature arrived to take his place at the front of the line, you heard from Kay what happened. Photos to come.

As Kay prepared to go inside, I photographed the protesters. A photographer from US and World News Report thought I was press -- until I started to chant Count Every Vote between shots. Then I walked around the building -- only to fall in front of an ABC news team, and watch my very expensive camera bounce along the cobblestones. The guards whisked me into the secured area, and I was wheeled into the Supreme Court, my leg bleeding. In the elevator on the way to the infirmary, the only other two people were Justice Ginsburg and a young man -- probably a law clerk.

I was taken to the most posh infirmary I've ever seen, where I got bandaged up and took a nap. On exiting, I went back to the front, only to find that my camera was inoperable. But then I was told to go into a Congressional building to a photographer in the basement -- and he temporarily fixed me up.

The scene in front of the Supreme Court was a little discouraging. The Bush people were louder and often brought the Gore people to temporary silence. Only small groups of Gore people were visible, and they didn't seem as practised as the Bush groups. But then, out of the right of my eye, I noticed a new movement on the street. Suddenly, a huge banner showed up, and behind it, thousands of Gore marchers flooded the area. It was a wonderful feeling -- here comes the cavalry! -- and I joined in behind them. They were mostly African-Americans, and for a while they stopped to engage the Bush supporters. The mood was emphatic and controlled.

We ended up in a group around Jesse Jackson, who came up with the best line of the day -- 'If Bush likes the military so much, why wasn't he in it?' That's where I was when Kay went looking for me, and soon afterwards I headed back to the law line side to look for her" (Alex Searls, electronic mail, December 5, 2000).