My notes are scrambled, taken sideways and with a balky pen on a Starbucks receipt I was keeping for the 2 p.m. cut rate iced frappuccino.

I should have been better prepared, I know, but this came as a surprise to me, and it still is that there is anything at the Democratic National Convention to protest, other than silly hats and balloons.

A guiding rule of any undertaking should be this: where there are balloons, nothing can be taken seriously.

(It might be remembered at the last DNC in Boston, balloons got caught in the rafters as if they were rejecting John Kerry, a signal of things to come. And poor Jimmy Carter, already President, couldn’t get his balloons to even pair up. He lost to Ronald Reagan. My one rule of thumb at conventions is, watch the balloons.)

But more on the balloons anon.

So, there I was in downtown Denver, on not the usual vacant Sunday, trying to wiggle my way to work. One policeman shouted down an almost empty street to another cop, “No more traffic on Colfax!”

Well, now, we certainly all wish for that, but this order was to make way for the most bedraggled looking bunch of souls this side of a sleepwalkers reunion.

This, I thought, deserves a note or two. One protestors’ sign asked, “Who would Jesus bomb?” If he expects to find the answer at the DNC, I could warn him that easier questions than that go unanswered.

There were objections to racism and war, and I think I can safely say that the Democrats are against each. Equal pay for equal work. No dispute there either.

Someone was shouting into a loudspeaker, “Revolution is what we need.” And here I would guess the Democrats might cage their support by offering change.

Still, what it seemed most to be about was a denunciation of Bush, Cheney and the rest, none of whom are in Denver. And it is very likely the Democrats will go along with that, too.

It is very hard to stir up confrontation when the people you are protesting are on your side. Now, it they really wanted an issue, they should have thought about balloons.

That was my sole mission in attending the opening of the DNC, to find an answer to the balloon question. I had heard that there would be no balloons because this is supposed to be the greenest convention ever and outdoor balloons would somehow harm the environment.

(I might suggest that the 25 or 30 buses lined up by the Convention Center turn their motors off, not to sound like an eco-nag, or a Republican.)

But, back to the balloons. My inquiries to assorted press liaisons at the Pepsi Center were passed up the chain of command. I left the building not knowing balloons or no balloons.

And by the way, getting into Stalag Wazee is not an easy thing to do. But basically you’ll know you are on the right track after you pass the condom booth and the fence with the dead roses in it.

It is also as difficult to get out of the place as getting into it, and I know my way around. In trying to exit I found myself in journalistic hell, or what is known as the blogger’s lounge.

I can report that bloggers seem as human as you or I, but I would not feed one.

Where was I? Oh, yes. The balloons.

I have seen balloons often used in celebration at Bronco games and they do waft up towards heaven, which would seem to fit in the general worship of Barak Obama. The Broncos don’t worry. The balloons become Nebraska’s problem.

Whether Barak Obama will have balloons or not on his big night is still, ahem, up in the air. He will be at Invesco Field, maybe a little small for a self-identified “citizen of the world,” but the largest we have.

My balloon question finally got a response by phone as I was once again wriggling my way through the city’s heart. I was told to call a phone number with area code 202, Washington, D.C.

No answer, but I was impressed that my inquiry was being considered in our nation’s capitol, or at least on a cell phone registered there.

Finally, I reached a helpful soul who would give me an answer but only on “deep background”. Really. Not for attribution. So, I can not say balloons or no balloons. But I know which it is.

All I can say is this. Nebraska has nothing to worry about.