AaronGleeman.com

I won't miss cooking for myself every night, which essentially meant choosing between fast food or a microwavable fettuccini alfredo. I won't miss waking up early for class, or having to stay up late writing papers and reading books.

I won't miss not being able to see my dog, or missing out on all the dinners and get-togethers my family has. I won't even miss having to live in a cramped closet of a room that alternated between not having any air-conditioning and not having any heat.

However, there is one thing I will miss greatly, and that is seeing all the people on campus promoting their various "causes."

From the guy screaming about Jesus in the middle of the "mall" to the Peta people at their table in the student union, with the video of "animal cruelty" playing three feet from the food court.

I'll miss the campus republicans and the campus democrats, the Nader-backers and the anti-war protesters. I'll even miss the people who, despite me walking past them every day for a whole year, I still haven't quite figured out what it is they are for or against.

There is nothing that brought a smile to my face at 8 a.m. quite like seeing two people at a "Vote John Kerry" booth, and hearing one of them start a sentence with "Oh, I beg to differ" as I walk by on my way to class. If anyone ever hears me start a sentence with "Oh, I beg to differ," I am officially giving you permission to punch me in the face. Hard. And you can kick me in the stomach if it's before noon.

Last Friday, I was walking home from class when I saw a big get-together in the open grassy area outside of my dorm. A big sign said, "Say No To Cruelty." I thought to myself, "That sounds like a pretty reasonable position to take."

Then I saw the fine print and it had something to do with "Vegans." I'll say one thing -- no one parties outside of a dorm at 11:30 in the morning quite like 20 Vegans. There was a CD player playing music at an almost-audible level and they even had what looked like chips and dip. Good times.

The thing is, when I see something like that, I get this weird craving to do exactly what the group is trying to stop people from doing. I'm not saying I want to beat up a dog when I walk past a Peta booth, but I will say that, a few hours after I saw the little Vegan bash, I went to dinner at a Chinese buffet and ate like 400 pounds of meat. And no vegetables. I figure that'll teach 'em.

So here's to all the protestors and supporters and activists and pacifists and whatever else these people trying to spread the word about whatever it is they are into want to call themselves. You'll be missed by at least one person this summer. Until next school year, of course, at which point I'll go back to giving you dirty looks as I walk by.

Today's picks:

Pittsburgh (Wells) +105 over Colorado (Elarton)

Chicago (Wood) -150 over Los Angeles (Weaver)

Philadelphia (Millwood) -105 over San Francisco (Williams)

Cleveland (Sabathia) +190 over Boston (Martinez)

Seattle (Pineiro) +120 over Minnesota (Silva)

Toronto (Halladay) -185 over Kansas City (Reyes)