February 15, 2003
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What
if we had a peace march and people actually showed up?
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Well, that seems to be what happened on Saturday. The cops said there were 10,000 people. Didn't look like that many to me but what do I know? There were a lot, anyway. Check it out.
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Here's what it looked like when we first arrived. We were an hour late and the crowd, while substantial, seemed diffused, unfocused, particularly outside the central core where the PA didn't reach too well. |
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Early
on, I tried to get onto that grassy knoll to get an overview shot of the
crowd. Do I need to tell you I was prevented by those big guys with the
hats?
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It was old home week for us old hippies. Gray hair seemed to dominate the scene but there was a decent youth contingent. Fun for us though to see lots of friends. Here are Annie and Lauren, a new friend (next door neighbor to our dear departed Susan Lee). |
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| Some people were listening to the speakers, mainly those who could hear them. We missed Lloyd Doggett's speech, which we heard was pretty good. Did hear our pal Erin Rogers who made us quite proud of her. |  |
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We tried to get a view from the side up front. Could hear a bit but still saw nothing but people's backs, signs and cops. That's Annie with John Lennon in the air. |
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| I love that Empty Warheads image. Those guys are a cartoonist's dream - full of dumb expresions. |  |
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That duct tape business has also been a windfall for comedians. Bet they are regretting that warning about now. |
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| And then there were understated gems like this one. |  |
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And the more simplistic approach. The chimp part I would agree with. But pink? I don't think so. The guy is yellow all the way. |
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| And I was happy to see that some of the young folks were really traditionalists. Maybe they imprinted on the peace symbols worn by their parents. In any case, it's a good nostalgia trip. | |
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At last the restless crowd got to march and then things really started to cook. We took over the whole of Congress Avenue from the Capitol to the River. What seemed to have little focus before, became a unified, purposeful demonstration as soon as we started to move. |
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| Here we are leaving the Capitol grounds. The man behind the camera was getting excited. Still couldn't find a good vantage point for the full crowd shot but this was a small part of the throngs. |  |
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Downtown never looked so good. Maybe we can get 20,000 next time, eh? |
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| It was great to see families marching together. These kids are getting a good education. |  |
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She was a cutie, holding up those peace signs for every passer-by. |
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| And, lest we forget the increasing degree of police state we are becoming, I leave you with this image. As we tried to march back up Congress Avenue, this line of helmeted cavalry goose-stepped down the road, clearing out the last unsightly pedestrian stragglers and making the world safe, once again, for the parade of SUVs that was soon to follow. See you at the next one, ok? |  |
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As usual, for you gluttons for punishment, here are links to the archived former postings and websites: Our
NY trip and Mary Jo Freeman (Annie's mom) Memorial in the October,
2002 edition of the Pedernales Post |
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