Stop the Insanity

Along with my faithful friend, A., her sister,F., and several hundred thousand or four million others (not all of whom are A's sisters), I attended the Stewart - Colbert rally in DC. Just about everybody I know who lives in the US was there. It's incredible that I didn't run into any of them, which makes me believe that they're just saying that they were there but that they weren't really.

It took longer to ascend the stairs from the metro stop than it did to travel by car from somewhere on the outskirts of Annapolis, MD, to another metro stop that didn't have a never-ending, snaking line of ticket buyers, to the metro stop near the Mall.

As we arrived slightly after the 12 noon starting time, we ended up standing 3/4 of the way back on the Mall or somewhere near the North Pole. I could glimpse the action on a giant screen when I held my head at a 90 degree angle, stood on tiptoe, climbed on someone's shoulders, and had binoculars cemented into my forehead. We were so far away from the stage that we could hear only every third or eighth word, which probably meant that the speed of sound had slowed to a near-whisper. We ended up walking alongside the Mall, which took us about an hour.

So, no I didn't get to jump rope with a Muslim. But I did see a sign that said, "I love my Muslim, foreign-born President!" and another that asked, "Does this sign make my ass look big?" There were thousands of other signs, many quite amusing, but I was tired of standing, then walking slowly, then trying to (nicely) push my way through the crowds.

Whatever number the media, the naysayers, and the boo-hooers claim attended this rally, they are off by a godzillion. Even as we reached the metro station, more sign-toting young- and oldsters were pouring out of the subway cars.

I'm glad I went. Glad I lived to tell the tale. I'll have to see a replay of the rally, though. I was there but pretty much missed it all.