Skip to main content

March Madness


The March on Washington was one of the most powerful and positive experiences in my life - all 56 years of this life. And this post, I have to warn you, will be as disjointed as the March!

 I got to go with Matthew!! And we weren't sure if Delaney was going to be able to join us, but were thrilled that she could. She got to our hotel about 6:30 am having driven all night with two of her friends. After less than an hour, we all piled into the Subaru and began our trek through the complicated and congested DC highways and byways. After our drive Friday along the tollway through Ohio and Pennsylvania, where we encountered many many many others also going to DC and the March - I wasn't surprised by the traffic or the packed-to-the-gills Metro on Saturday morning. What did surprise me, however, was that once we got to within a mile of the March, there were more people than I had ever seen in one place.



Okay so the last picture wasn't taken at the March - but it seems fitting.

Being in a wheelchair, I didn't see much. (a lot of backs and backsides!) But I heard the speakers and performers. I was brought to tears by Gloria Steinem, an adorable and well-spoken girl named Sophie, a poet paying tribute to her mother the freedom fighter, a pastor from the Ray of Hope Christian church, Alicia Keys, Madonna and so many others. 

But the best (aside from being with Matthew and Delaney) was meeting people from all over the country. Including the women from North carolina who watched out for me in the line for the porta-potties (the most disgusting I have ever ever ever used in my 56 years). And one of the funniest side-stories I read was that the company that supplied the portapotties was called Don's Johns- and this is what happened:



The crowds were peaceful and cooperative - even though they numbered about a million.

 I met one young man - Dylan - who was in a stroller. His mom kept the stroller alongside my wheelchair so that there was extra room. Well that was fortuitous because Dylan and I began comparing our strollers. His was blue, mine was red. His had eight wheels, mine only four. All of his tires were the same size, mine were different sizes. His had a hood, mine did not. He was at the March because he was sick and his mom made him go instead of staying home with a babysitter. He asked if I was sick too, and I told him that I was feeling okay and wanted to be here. 

 I met a mom and daughter from Kalamazoo who were glad to see me in my wheelchair because it provided a small 'pocket' of air for the mom who was claustrophobic. And there weren't a lot of places to move or be in this crowd if you were claustrophobic - so I had a delightful conversation with the mom and daughter (mom mostly) as we waited for the march to begin moving.

 There were four exchange students from the UK who were studying at Mary - land. One of the students actually called it Mary Land and was then corrected by another - "You twit, it's Maryland!" They had come the day before to attend the inauguration as well. "The crowd was angry and there weren't as many." They all spoke about how much they enjoyed the people they met at the March.

 There is a deeper, poignant post about the March. But I'm not going to publish it any time soon - I don't want to provide opportunities to sully my memories of this incredible human experience.

Comments

Post a Comment

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Old? Infirm?

A friend sent this article to me today: Are you Old? Infirm? I can relate. Though  I'm not old - despite what the three-year-olds in my Sunday school class say. And I am not infirm - and I'll wack over the head with my cane anyone, repeat anyone , that would call me that. I resemble Nancy in the article. She calls herself crippled. And Mr. Bruni wrote, " I confessed that I cringed whenever she called herself “crippled,” which she does, because she values directness and has a streak of mischief in her." I prefer the term 'gimp' and have also had others cringe when I say that. I like the term they arrived at "limited" but it's not perfect - maybe just a little more politically correct. I have felt that diminishment when in my wheelchair. But being a tad feisty and Irish, I fight that with every ounce of my being. My personality has always been a little on the large side and not very quiet or shy, so I make it a challenge to 'be see...
Post a Comment
Read more

Treatment begins

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Today is the day I begin, at last, treatment. Today is the day I begin to kick cancer's ass. Today is the day I start infusing ugly, nasty, side-affect laden, toxic chemicals for the greater good. Today is a day that I wish I could rewrite the script for completely deleting the part requiring me to need breast cancer chemo. And yet, here it is and at 1:15 EST I will be at the Cancer & Hematology Center in Holland. It's where I will be a lot for the next five months. It's where I will, I'm sure (and surety is something I have less of these days as I know not how I will respond to chemo), create new friendships and forge bonds with people that I am currently unfamiliar. Because that's who I am; a lover of people and a woman that wants to know and love on all the people she comes to meet.  I don't know why I have breast cancer but someday I will ask God (along with a whole bunch of other questions!). I do b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Christmas cards

I sat down to reluctantly address Christmas cards. While our list has slowly dwindled through the years it's still a sizeable number, especially when it's viewed as a task approached reluctantly . Know what I mean? Some Christmas 'tasks' are a lot less taskier - like decorating or shopping or eating or opening presents. I mean, there's a whole different level of enthusiasm associated with 'tasks' that aren't viewed as tasks - I can't ever remember a time when I sat down to reluctantly open a present or eat a Christmas cookie! Anyway, I approached the Christmas card addressing with a less-than-positive, more bah-humbugish attitude. I poured a cup of coffee, grabbed the markers (I had to have a green, a red and a black one), the list and of course the envelopes (which John had already stuffed with the card). I turned on some Christmas music, but not too loud or it would distract me (and it really doesn't take much to distract me. Squirrel!),...
Post a Comment
Read more