Catching up: Rally for Sanity in DC

On the last weekend in October we went to DC with 200,000 other people to see the Rally for Sanity and/or Keep Fear Alive with Jon Stewart and Co.  Turns out, if there are that many people crowded into the area of a few blocks, the cell towers are completely overwhelmed and you have no coverage for the entire day.   It was like we were all isolated on our own remote little island.

If you got your report of the Rally from a major news source, then chances are they completely missed the boat.  I just want to dispel any falsehoods and say, it was awesome.  The weather was perfect, the mood was incredible, the crowd so amazingly friendly, and the message central to why everyone was there for the day.   Yes, the medium for the message was comedy (and sometimes the program was silly), but I also really think that people who were there were completely serious about the message: that we're a nation of diverse and good people who compromise and cooperate with each other everyday, and that it's time for the media and government to take it down a notch or two and do the same.  If you missed it when live, then at least  read Jon Stewart's closing remarks.  Or watch it here.  (He even gives a shout-out to Mormon Jay-Z fans--to which Adam replied with a hearty whoop).  I also thought that this analysis was pretty spot-on.

We left early from our house with our lawn chairs and sack lunches.  Adam's mom was even with us too (although she's extremely skilled at escaping our camera).  We were early enough that we sailed into town and parked at a lot really nearby the the Mall.  That turned out to be a good decision since we heard that the Metro stations from the suburbs were completely jammed. We had a spot in view of one of the jumbo screens and we spread out a place for ourselves with blankets and chairs.  Adam took the kids to see the National Gallery to pass the time before it started while Sharon and I staked out the spot.   

And when it was all over, people stayed milling around on the mall just hanging out and photographing each other and their funny signs. We did too.  Seriously, the friendliest crowd of hundreds of thousands that I've ever been in.  The couple next to us kept trying to share their food with our kids.  People were walking around with trash bags helping collect garbage.  A cute, eager little couple came by our spot with some trash bags just as I had finished changing Saul's diaper.  And don't think that I didn't take them up on the offer to carry it off for me. 

And after all of that, we walked over to the National Portrait Gallery to see the current Norman Rockwell exhibit.  Nothing like rounding out a day of friendly rallying with some good old-fashioned Americana.  Actually, we really loved the exhibit too. 

Although, by the time we were driving home Max complained that "We haven't done anything fun today!"

I guess sanity really is in the eye of the beholder.