I WAS THERE WITH WALDO!
The Rally to Restore Sanity held on Saturday, Oct. 30 was a massive event! The Rally, held on the DC mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, smashed all time metro records but has gone largely unreported by the media. CBS aerial photos estimate 215,000 attended. After standing in a ticket line for 30 minutes at the East Falls Church, VA metro I finally reached the crowded platform with friends. Two metro trains came but were so crowded that we were unable to board. Finally the third train came, we held our breath and squeezed in.
The event drew a diverse crowd. Younger people and some brave older folks stood for 3 hours trying to get a glimpse of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Unfortunately there was not enough monitors and audio equipment to serve the crowd. Older folks, even people on walkers, and parents with young babies chose to “people watch” from a distance. Some people came in costume. Where’s Waldo? He was everwhere. Waldo was probably the most popular costume on the DC mall. I was over 1/2 mile from the stage but still enjoyed reading the signs which could be serious, funny or inane.
Some people may think the whole thing a spoof. It was a serious event for me. It was a way to express my anger at all the misinformation that is out there in the form of media and emails. A way to express anger but in a civil way. I met other Alabamians at the Rally. The DC mall is a great place to think about the diversity, history and freedoms of this great nation! And to react civilly! As one sign said, “ If you keep shouting like that you’re going to get big muscles all over your face.”