Monday, November 22, 2010
Just like Mommy
I love that the girls are so excited for Thanksgiving. They are so excited that you would think it was Christmas. Ariana cannot wait to help me in the kitchen. She says she LOVES to cook. I think it is really sweet that she wants to help me. She is also excited for her Daddy's famous apple pie. She LOVES that pie. She would eat the whole thing if I let her.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Washington DC
I went to Washington DC for the first time and attended the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. It was an incredible experience. Trevor and I left early Friday morning on October 29th. We drove into Virginia and stayed with a friend for the weekend. The drive through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia was beautiful with rolling hills of barren trees and splashes of yellow.
The next day we headed out to Washington DC. I was very excited. I had never been to DC or a rally DC. I was going to DC for the rally and not to sight see. There was going to be too many people in DC tour the monuments and museums. We weren't sure how large the crowd was going to be but people were estimating the crowd to be about 150,000 people.
When we got to the metro station we were a little surprised to see the amount of people there. We tried to get there early but we were not early enough. The ride into DC was extremly crowed. At every stop a few more people crowded onto the train. At one point the doors would not shut and the driver warned us that if the doors could not shut then everyone would have to get off then train and then re board. I'm so glad the doors finally shut.
On the metro we went past Arlington National Cemetery. I saw it very quickly out the window. I also saw the Capital Building and the Washington Monument as we were going past the National Airport. We finally got to our stop and made our way out the door. If you ever wonder what the statement "packed like sardines" means, just ride the metro into DC for a rally.
Once off the metro, the first place we went was the White House. We were meeting some friends there and then going to National Mall. It was surreal looking at the White House. I had only seen the White House on televison in the news or in a movie or television show. It seemed so small. It was strange to look at the house and think, "This is where President Obama lives. He might even be in there right now. He could be in there right now sitting at his desk looking out the window. He might even see me standing out here in the street." I'm sure that he was not looking at me, but you never know. It was a strange feeling knowing the President so close. Some people might not feel the same way I do, but I thought it was pretty cool.
We started making our way to the National Mall. There were so many people walking to the mall. If you didn't know the way, all you had to do was to follow mass of people. Once we got to the mall I looked around to take in the sights but all I could see was people. lol. There were so many people there. I couldn't see anything. We wanted to position ourselves by a big screen television or a speaker but we couldn't get close to any of them. So we found a spot by some sectioned off grass. Some of the grass was sectioned off and people could not walk on it. I guess the mall's lawn was in disrepair and the fenced off areas were where new grass seed had been planted. We were able to see the far away screens but could not hear them very well.
When I looked around and all I could see was people. The planners of the rally only had a permit for 60,000 people. The big screens and speakers were in the area the rally had the permit for. But there were many more people people in attendance. The stage was set up in front of the Capital Building and the crowd stretched to the Washington Monument. The crown also spilled out on the sides of the Mall. I had never been in a crowd this large. I thought I would have been uneasy being around this many people. But I wasn't. The people there were very friendly. They were also pretty polite too.
Everyone was there for the same reasons. They were tired of hearing about the Tea Party and how many supporters they had. They were tired of hearing about how all muslims are bad. About how President Obama isn't an American and wasn't really born in Hawaii. Tired of hearing that his birth certificate was fake. Tired of hearing about Palin and her nonsense. Tired of hearing about how national healthcare is bad and how the republicans want to repeal it. Tired of hearing about how national healthcare has caused the cost of our movie tickets to increase. Tired of hearing Fox News exaggerating the truth or just making up fake news to cause panic and fear in our society.
Looking out at all these people I felt relief. Relief that there were thousands of people that felt the same way I did. Thousands of people were fed up like I was. Thousands of people came here like I did to show that we do care. That we do have a voice. That we can stand up for what we believe. That we can exercise our right to freedom of free speech and show our support for restoring sanity. That we can show the American people there is another voice besides the tea party voice. There are people out there that think there is a lot of nonsense in the media. That we are tired of the media creating news and fear. I know I am not very eloquent in my words and writing but this is what I felt. I was proud to be a part of it.
I'm glad I went to Washington. I will be going back. Next time Julia and Ariana will be with us and we will tour the monuments and see the museums. But I will always remember that the first time I went to Washington DC, I was there for a rally to restore sanity. And who knows, maybe next time I will see the President.
There were some really funny signs in the crowd. Some of the ones I remembered was:
I like turtles.
I might not agree with you but I know I won't stomp on your head.
The time is know.
I thought I voted for a muslim.
If a riot breaks out I am totally stealing an iPad.
I think the tea party needs more tea.
I prefer coffee.
Every word on this sign is spelled correctly.
God loves gays.
This is a double rainbow.
The next day we headed out to Washington DC. I was very excited. I had never been to DC or a rally DC. I was going to DC for the rally and not to sight see. There was going to be too many people in DC tour the monuments and museums. We weren't sure how large the crowd was going to be but people were estimating the crowd to be about 150,000 people.
When we got to the metro station we were a little surprised to see the amount of people there. We tried to get there early but we were not early enough. The ride into DC was extremly crowed. At every stop a few more people crowded onto the train. At one point the doors would not shut and the driver warned us that if the doors could not shut then everyone would have to get off then train and then re board. I'm so glad the doors finally shut.
On the metro we went past Arlington National Cemetery. I saw it very quickly out the window. I also saw the Capital Building and the Washington Monument as we were going past the National Airport. We finally got to our stop and made our way out the door. If you ever wonder what the statement "packed like sardines" means, just ride the metro into DC for a rally.
Once off the metro, the first place we went was the White House. We were meeting some friends there and then going to National Mall. It was surreal looking at the White House. I had only seen the White House on televison in the news or in a movie or television show. It seemed so small. It was strange to look at the house and think, "This is where President Obama lives. He might even be in there right now. He could be in there right now sitting at his desk looking out the window. He might even see me standing out here in the street." I'm sure that he was not looking at me, but you never know. It was a strange feeling knowing the President so close. Some people might not feel the same way I do, but I thought it was pretty cool.
We started making our way to the National Mall. There were so many people walking to the mall. If you didn't know the way, all you had to do was to follow mass of people. Once we got to the mall I looked around to take in the sights but all I could see was people. lol. There were so many people there. I couldn't see anything. We wanted to position ourselves by a big screen television or a speaker but we couldn't get close to any of them. So we found a spot by some sectioned off grass. Some of the grass was sectioned off and people could not walk on it. I guess the mall's lawn was in disrepair and the fenced off areas were where new grass seed had been planted. We were able to see the far away screens but could not hear them very well.
When I looked around and all I could see was people. The planners of the rally only had a permit for 60,000 people. The big screens and speakers were in the area the rally had the permit for. But there were many more people people in attendance. The stage was set up in front of the Capital Building and the crowd stretched to the Washington Monument. The crown also spilled out on the sides of the Mall. I had never been in a crowd this large. I thought I would have been uneasy being around this many people. But I wasn't. The people there were very friendly. They were also pretty polite too.
Everyone was there for the same reasons. They were tired of hearing about the Tea Party and how many supporters they had. They were tired of hearing about how all muslims are bad. About how President Obama isn't an American and wasn't really born in Hawaii. Tired of hearing that his birth certificate was fake. Tired of hearing about Palin and her nonsense. Tired of hearing about how national healthcare is bad and how the republicans want to repeal it. Tired of hearing about how national healthcare has caused the cost of our movie tickets to increase. Tired of hearing Fox News exaggerating the truth or just making up fake news to cause panic and fear in our society.
Looking out at all these people I felt relief. Relief that there were thousands of people that felt the same way I did. Thousands of people were fed up like I was. Thousands of people came here like I did to show that we do care. That we do have a voice. That we can stand up for what we believe. That we can exercise our right to freedom of free speech and show our support for restoring sanity. That we can show the American people there is another voice besides the tea party voice. There are people out there that think there is a lot of nonsense in the media. That we are tired of the media creating news and fear. I know I am not very eloquent in my words and writing but this is what I felt. I was proud to be a part of it.
I'm glad I went to Washington. I will be going back. Next time Julia and Ariana will be with us and we will tour the monuments and see the museums. But I will always remember that the first time I went to Washington DC, I was there for a rally to restore sanity. And who knows, maybe next time I will see the President.
There were some really funny signs in the crowd. Some of the ones I remembered was:
I like turtles.
I might not agree with you but I know I won't stomp on your head.
The time is know.
I thought I voted for a muslim.
If a riot breaks out I am totally stealing an iPad.
I think the tea party needs more tea.
I prefer coffee.
Every word on this sign is spelled correctly.
God loves gays.
This is a double rainbow.
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