Richard Harding Wood was riled up before Occupy. Along with other friends from Malden, the then-20-year-old started coming into Boston on weekends early last year wielding placards to protest the Federal Reserve Bank. So when Occupy Boston settled across Atlantic Ave from the Fed in late-September, it was a no-brainer for Wood to get involved.

Last night in Chicago was surreal . . . There was zero violence, unconditional love, and peaceful pandemonium. I accidentally stepped on some dude’s Jordans and he shook my hand . . . Cell phone lines were so jammed that people couldn’t reach one another, but I was far from alone. I must have wrapped my arms around 100 people .

I wasn't even at Daley Plaza for two minutes when I ran into Vermin Supreme. From Austin to Boston to here, I've seen him more than I've seen my family over the last six months . . .

Like Vermin, there were a few thousand other heads out there assembling peacefully at the National Nurses United rally . . .