After having my bicycle headset repaired by a local bicycle shop in Brooklyn, I rode smoothly on the way to Prospect Park on this warm and breezy summer day. When I arrived at the park, I was warmly greeted by Jessie and Farah. Unfortunately, Oswald and Kelena had to take the day off, but nevertheless, there was work to be done, park-goers to entertained, and postcards to be signed.

Jessie gave Farah and I a fresh stack of postcards, and with our trendy t-shirts on, we departed from our supervisor and began to travel the sunny roads of the Loop Drive. We met many friendly faces and received many signatures from the early bikers and joggers who also want a car-free park. Afterwards, we walked into the field and encountered an enthusiastic dog walker who wrote a sweet little note on his postcard expressing his passion to eliminate cars from the park. Meanwhile, his giant energetic dog slobbered all over me and Farah. I guess dogs like a car-free park too. Then, I moved on to an attractive and friendly Polish family having a picnic, explained what our campaign and postcards were all about, and asked them for their signatures to support us. I only realized until after I finished speaking that, little did I know, they did not understand English. However, after some crude sign language, they were nice enough to trust me, and each one of them signed a postcard. Next, we stumbled into several baseball players, some of which who drive, and asked for their support. One said he'd be a hypocrite for signing one, but he signed anyway. Maybe he parked his car outside of the park. Or maybe he was just very kind. Either way, we're glad we have him on our side.

Later on, Farah and I continued walking along the Loop Drive until we saw a barbeque. There, we met fantastic people. There were tourists who just visited Prospect Park for the first time, high-class citizens with fancy outfits on, and delightful family folks. One caring and sweet mother agreed to sign a postcard, and even offered us hamburgers for our work. Well, it would be impolite to say no, so we had some of her delicious food, thanked her, and went on our way.

It was almost time to meet up with our supervisor for another street theater show to entertain our park-goers. Along our path, we encountered a middle-age man sitting next to his bike under a tree and asked if he would sign a postcard. He did not understand me, but Farah was able to communicate with him in one of her many languages, and he happily signed two postcards for himself and his wife.

As I walked back to see Jessie, I noticed that at least ten cars were on the Loop Drive at the wrong time. It seems that the rules are too complicated to enforce, so it would be better off that there are no rules but the cars being out of the park. I spotted Jessie, with a smirk on her face, and asked what we were going to do next. She replied that she only had enough materials for one costume, and that one person who was going to be dressed up was none other than… me. Anywho, Farah and Jessie helped dress me up by taping homemade shoulder pads onto my shirt, wrapping bubble wrap on my arms and shins, my chest and back, and finishing it off with a bicycle helmet on my head. As soon as they were finished, they were giggling and laughing, but I guess that meant I looked cool, right? Then, Jessie gave me a sign to hold up as I walked that read: "Just going for a Walk in the (Car-Filled) Park."

All three of us began to walk to amuse all the Prospect Park visitors, while the cars began to roll in. The first person sitting on a bench we went up to was already smiling and willingly signed a postcard to support us. Many of the walkers, joggers, and bikers along the path cheered at my costume, and then stopped to find out what we were doing. People were laughing after they saw my costume then read the sign. I told them it was because "Safety's first."

I also noticed that there were a large number of bikers and runners who smiled and nodded but didn't stop. It's hard to ask people to slow down their run or ride when they're a few steps away from setting a new personal record. However, some people were awesome enough to come back to sign after they've finished their lap. I especially liked it when one tall bearded rollerblader rode past us, but then slammed the breaks and came to a screeching halt after he heard "Car-Free Park." One mother biking with her son wanted to sign seven postcards for her family, especially since they were both nearly hit by a car that drove into the bike lane just to speed up past the other cars. She was very glad that we are in this campaign to finally make the park car-free.

Soon after, we approached a big joyful Latino family having a picnic in the field and asked for their support. The parents only understood Spanish, so I went in and, with my four years of Spanish classes, proudly spoke to them to the best of my ability. I was in euphoria when I found out that they understood me, I was even happier when they said they would sign. The children were giggling and laughing when they saw me, so I went up to them and told them how cool my outfit was and that they should all buy one. Then, they came closer and started popping the bubble wrap covering my arms and shins. I playfully told them to quit it, but they wanted more. Those kids were having so much fun with my costume, but I had to go, so I thanked them and bid farewell to that happy family.

It was drawing near the end, and Farah, Jessie and I stopped by the area where the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was going to be performing at 7:00. There, we met an amazing group of students from the Manhattan Language School. They were a diverse and attractive bunch, with people from Russia, Japan, Spain, Korea, Turkey, and the list goes on. They were all learning English in America with their wonderful and charming instructor Susie. After a long series of translations, they all signed our postcards, and caused a tremendous scene, causing bikers, joggers, babysitters, and everyone else to stop to find out what was going on. We were running out of pens to hand out to people as they signed, but they were all pleasant enough to wait their turn to sign a postcard for our cause. People smiled at me in my costume, and some stopped to take a photo while they had the chance.

While this postcard signing frenzy was happening, just above the hill following traffic was a car accident that left a cyclist injured. That was gloomy news…The list of reasons why cars shouldn't be in Prospect Park keeps growing. The ambulance came and brought the cyclist to the hospital and hopefully that person is doing okay.

At the end of that incredibly busy, amusing, and eye-opening day, Farah and I alone were able to collect 239 postcards. What a success! People were all lined up to see the dance performance in the Prospect Park Bandshell, while I was about ready to go to bed. Just as a famous Beatle once said, "It's been a hard day's night; I should be sleeping like a log." After I took off the costume, there was sweat covering my arms and legs. This was the sweat of success, allowing me to feel the cool breeze payoff. All three of us said our goodbyes, and I safely cycled home.