Day 18, 19 & 20 - Yeah, I'm Behind... Shenandoah to D.C. to Gettysburg - 186.6 Miles
Bill Nye speaking at the March for Science.
Friday was the easy day. We left Shenandoah National Park for an easy 92 mile drive to Bethesda, MD our home for our D.C. excursion. We stopped at a Taproom for lunch in Port Royal, VA for some pretty good BBQ Brisket and a nice porter.
Traffic getting to the area late on a Friday was a mess, as to be expected. But we made it fine. Saturday was the big day. The March for Science.
It rained all day long but that did not stop me, Vickie and Paul Gehler who we hooked up with in D.C., also from Salem. We spent about 6 hours in mist, drizzle and some real rain but we stuck it out to the end. Marching all the way to Capitol Hill. There were quite a few people watching from the south portico of the White House. I wonder what they were thinking about what was going on.
A very nice, and exceptionally persuasive young volunteer named Beth Hong took us through the mass of thousands using security aisles manned by the Park Police to get us to the ADA platform about 50 to 80 or so feet from the stage. I offered to adopt her.
We had great seats!
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| Up close and personal |
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| What Rain? |
Like a woman in a Tyrannosaur suit who could really cut a rug when the band was hoppin'. I saw Beaker, the lab assistant from the old Muppets show.
Wildly colored hair was big too, but it was hard to tell if it was for the event or just the way they wear it.
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| My Thoughts Exactly |
Determination to not let rain and 50's degree weather stop us.
Determination to try and persuade people to insure that scientific research wasn't slashed.
Determination that decisions are based on the best data available and not on ideology.
Determination to save the planet. There is no "Planet B" to turn to.
Researchers, former scientists, kids and interested adults like us. MANY women carrying signs that said "This is What a Scientist Looks Like."
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| Signs |
Partisan politics was minimized, but with a nitwit like Trump in charge, he was a focus of many signs and buttons.
What was amazing was how few of the crowd left because of the adversity the weather presented.
"We don't develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. "
- Barbara De Angelis
"If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit."
- William J. Clinton
We were near the end of the line when the march began around 2 pm. That's the price we paid for being so close to the stage. It was a crawl for the longest time, but finally began to move.
There was a true star there all day. One that everyone paid respect to and wanted their picture taken with.
No, not Bill Nye, though people wanted him too. No. the big star Saturday was the Environmental Protection Agency building.
No, not Bill Nye, though people wanted him too. No. the big star Saturday was the Environmental Protection Agency building.
Seriously, you had to stand in line to get your picture taken next to the plaque designating the building. Lots of cheers and chanting as the long line passed the building.
By the time we reached the Capitol, where the march disbanded, I was extremely cold and hypothermia was starting to set in. That's what happens when you sit in the rain for 6 hours with no food or water.
Paul steered us to the Judiciary Square Metro station and the warmth it provided. Heat and efficient transport. Thank you Metro.
Sometimes I stay up and watch Steven Colbert, and hear John Baptist and Stay Human, the house band. Well the band was there at the march performing between speaker sets. I have to tell you they were AWESOME. The sound was great and it got the crowd swaying and jumping.
We finally made it back to the hotel in the early evening and were pretty trashed out. time for diner, drinks and bed.
Sunday was cloudy and cool, and we hit the Washington Mall.
We took the metro to Union Station and put my rented scooter to good use. Past the Capitol to our first stop, The Museum of Native American History.
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| Museum of Native American History |
It's a beautiful modern LEEDS Gold rated building that echoes adobe structures of the Southwest.
Dedicated to all the indigenous peoples of the Americas, it shows the true story of how the Treaties signed by this nation went from respect and accommodation to blatant theft of land and genocide.
It is an awful blot on the character of our country, fostered by greed, lies and hatred. In other words, people just like Donald Trump. Disgusting.
After this stop we worked our way down the mall to the WWII memorial. The last time we were here Vickie, Travis and the family went and saw it. I missed that opportunity because I had picked up an infection and had to sit it out.
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| Sioux Warrior |
That was a time when the power of our people rose to the occasion to help save the world, It was a nobility that brought the country together in a single purpose with a vengeance for freedom that had never been seen before in the history of the world.
We are like humans everywhere. Sometimes we rise to preserve the beliefs we cherish in the Constitution as we did in WWII. Sometimes we cave to destruction and depravity like we did to the native Americans.
and we are there now, with the hatred of an orange haired freak who says "We should have taken the oil."
There is only one antidote to the stupidity we see today. The Memorial to Martin Luther King Jr.
This is the great edifice of Dr. King. Notice the sun barely peeking through the clouds above his head. It's quite a striking figure.
The think about the statue was the look in his eyes. It seemed to me fairly sten, and demanding.
He is gazing into the distance.
Maybe it was his call and demand for nonviolence as to only way to break the racism of the south, proving for all to see that the people oppressed were far better people than the thugs and haters.
Maybe it was the long walk from Selma to Montgomery that turned the tide for the Voting Rights Act, and President Lyndon Johnsom standing in the well of the House and saying "We shall overcome."
Maybe it was the Garbage workers striking in Memphis he was supporting, the night before he died, knowing that the road was long and that he won't be there to reach the finish.
What I really think what that gaze is saying, is where he's looking. He's looking across the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial, to remind Thomas that while all are equal, the struggle is never done.
I'm at Gettysburg now, the site of the turning point in the Civil War. More on that later.
But first, one more picture:
There is only one antidote to the stupidity we see today. The Memorial to Martin Luther King Jr.
This is the great edifice of Dr. King. Notice the sun barely peeking through the clouds above his head. It's quite a striking figure.
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Dr. Martin Luther King |
The think about the statue was the look in his eyes. It seemed to me fairly sten, and demanding.
He is gazing into the distance.
Maybe it was his call and demand for nonviolence as to only way to break the racism of the south, proving for all to see that the people oppressed were far better people than the thugs and haters.
Maybe it was the long walk from Selma to Montgomery that turned the tide for the Voting Rights Act, and President Lyndon Johnsom standing in the well of the House and saying "We shall overcome."
Maybe it was the Garbage workers striking in Memphis he was supporting, the night before he died, knowing that the road was long and that he won't be there to reach the finish.
What I really think what that gaze is saying, is where he's looking. He's looking across the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial, to remind Thomas that while all are equal, the struggle is never done.
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| Thomas Jefferson Memorial |
But first, one more picture:
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| This is at the Trump inauguration where NO ONE was standing. |
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