Everyone now has had a chance to see the phenomenal turnout of passionate protestors at the Women’s March yesterday but let me tell you firsthand what it was like in Seattle.  AWESOME! Families, men, women, old, young, gay, straight, black, white-diverse as Hell-all walking quietly and peacefully to make a statement.  We care.  And what a statement we made with our pink hats and colorful signs.

Yes, perhaps I wouldn’t want small children to read some of the expressions on the signs but our new POTUS forced our hand to have the whole “pussy” and “golden shower” conversations with our elderly parents and our children.  Shame on him.  Not just despicable but deplorable and icky too.

But the March wasn’t about him or even Hillary on the whole.  It was about protecting our hard-fought rights for affordable medical care, the right to make decisions about our own bodies, to offer a safe refuge for immigrants, quality education and support for those in need and so much more.

As far as logistics, with little time and no money, the organizers of the Women’s March did a great job.  I was surprised at the lack of Seattle City support in the way of facilities and the police presence was underwhelming at best.  Thank God there were no incidents because I didn’t basically see any police support until we got to Seattle Center where groups of bike cops played with their cell phones, pepper spray cocked and ready to go.  They didn’t even clear the March route of vehicles-pity those who cluelessly parked on 4th Avenue.  Hope they didn’t need their cars all day as the crowd exceeded 100,000+ and dominated the streets for hours.

Pink pussycat hat purchased from a fellow marcher in advance and Thom resplendent and quite popular in his “icky Trump” t-shirt (people kept taking pictures of him), we made friends along the way sharing advice on how to get involved and encouraging each other to make a difference going forward  As voices raised and the silence ended, sporadic waves of joyful shouting rippled up the route, all of us rejoicing at just being together.  While there weren’t any formal refreshment stations, restauranteur Tom Douglas joined in with his staff by The Dahlia Bakery to hand out free water and cookies.  What a nice guy!

This will not be my last protest but it was my first with Thom.  Surprised?  Those who know Thom will not be surprised that this was just one of many protests he has attended through out his life.  Outspoken he is and fearless in his strong liberal ways.   I have been more moderate and less active.  But that all changes now.  It has to because The Resistance has only just begun.  We will not go silently into the night.  Affordable health care saves lives.  Our leaders should not lie or get elected with help from Russia.  People being kind and working together will make the difference that saves us all.  March on!