What I Saw and Heard...and a few things I didn't

I'm back...had to take a breather. WHEW!

The smiles...

Okay, I know you probably won't believe this; but I was THERE and I am giving my testimony to what I saw and experienced. I'm not sure that I have EVER been in a friendlier more cheerful massive group of complete strangers. Folks were friendly and affable, conversational, and hospitable. Rarely a scowl. I watched one older woman (a little older than I am, I think) who was not happy with what she was hearing from the Jumbotron. I could tell that she objected to something that was being said, or it may have been the delay in movement of the crowd. In any case, all she did was purse her lips and gently shake her head from side to side. I watched her for about 15 minutes and that's as bad as it got. 

The signs...

So creative, so clever, so diverse. Anybody who thinks there was a single agenda for the half a million people who marched in Washington on January 21 is just not paying attention, then or now! What impressed me was that there were very few that even this old gal found offensive. There were a few I didn't personally care for but far more that made me cheer or smile in affirmation. I honestly did not see any signs that could be considered vulgar; to be fair, there were thousands of signs that I did not see. Here are a few of my favorites.

My friends didn't care for the one the young man was carrying, but I think I took it differently than they did. My interpretation is that men who are intimidated by strong women are more like boys and that strong men like strong women.

I can only recall ONE anti-Trump sign that I saw; I couldn't read the caption because I was too short. I could see the picture though...the famous Putin, naked from the waist up and a "fake" one of naked Trump from the waist up...well, I GUESS it was fake! Surely there were other anti-Trump signs, but aren't our eyes drawn to what we want to see?

One that I really thought was funny but that I didn't get a picture of said, "I wouldn't want to be the guy that pissed off all these women."

The sounds...

Though my friends and I arrived early to the site, we were never able to get anywhere near the "stage." As we moved around the rally, we came near several of the Jumbotrons and were able to hear , but not see, some of the speakers. The most famous people we heard were Alicia Keys, Angela Davis, and 6-year-old Sophie Cruz . Hear her inspirational presentation here:

Sophie Cruz at Women's March on Washington

There were some other sounds I want to report. The march became so big that it seemed to have covered every inch of Washington, DC, as we know it. Occasionally, there would be an audible WAVE of sound that MOVED through the crowd. It was very cool!

I can't tell you how often we heard throughout the day, "Where are you from?" followed by "Thank you for coming!" One exchange went like this: "Where are you from?" We proudly answered, "North Carolina, what about you?" "Pennsylvania...North Carolina has a lot of work to do!" PLEASE KNOW THAT SHE SAID THIS IN A FRIENDLY VOICE WITH A SMILE ON HER FACE. We answered, also with smiles on our faces, "Yes, we certainly do!"

There were anti-Trump cheers that I heard at the beginning of our adventure in the Metro and again at the end in the Metro...get ready...here it was, "Hey-ho, hey-ho! Donald Trump has got to go!" How's that for offensive, vulgar, despicable? Yes, I know...I am a Pollyanna who sees and hears the world through rose-colored glasses...but I am telling you the TRUTH as I saw and heard it...live and in person. 

My personal special moment...

Near the end of our experience, I noticed that my shoe was untied. Because the crowd was so close, I couldn't see how I could bend or squat down to tie it, so I just walked along, mindful so as not to trip. 

As we (finally) stepped into the avenue of moving marchers to get to the Metro, we got a little bit of breathing and walking space. At that point a young woman, probably in her early 30's and fit as a fiddle, tapped me on the shoulder to tell me that my shoe was untied. As soon as I turned to her smiling face to acknowledge, she said, "Do you want me to bend down and tie it for you?" She dropped down, smiled up at me and said, "Do you want a double-knot?" When she stood up from doing that kindness, tenderhearted me hugged and thanked her profusely. I just loved that sweetness! The rest of our brief exchange was this: I said, "I will tell you this, I have adult children who would have done the same thing!" And she replied, "That means they were raised right!"

If my adult children and old-enough grandchildren are reading this, don't make a liar of me! 

Coming next...the vitriolic aftermath...:(