I woke up at 4:30 am on January 21, 2017, having slept so very little in my excitement for the Women's March in Los Angeles. My friend L had organized several buses, and thanks to Facebook, the buses filled up quickly.
Though we were groggy boarding, we were excited. We were ready to join what organizers expected would be 100,000 other people, mostly women, marching in LA as a sister march to the Women's March in Washington DC. Our bus was filled with more than 25 women and 3-4 men. I was honored to be among friends: L, M, and L, and L's 5-year-old daughter Z, strong women all.
As we rolled along, I looked out the window. I noticed several people taking photos of our bus, honking and waving. One woman in a pink pussy hat drove alongside for a while and waved. I felt bolstered by solidarity from strangers in cars!
When we arrived in LA, it was obvious we weren't going to easily get to our disembarkment area, so we got off the bus and walked a couple blocks to the marching starting point. And we stood for a while. We could hear speakers, but couldn't make out what they were saying.
The crowd was full of positive energy. It was palpable. There were a few chants and a few "Mexican wave" type yelling. People were cordial, convivial. It was obvious that this was historic.
We stood some more. And longer. The time for the March to begin passed, and we kept standing. At some point, the crowd began to chant, "Start the March! Start the March!" Some of us began adding "Please!" Heck, we're fierce strong women, but we're still polite! (Indeed, it was reported that there was not one single arrest at the march!)
We didn't understand it at the time, but the streets were gridlocked. There was to be no march! The streets were filled to the brim with people and there was nowhere to go. We found out later that instead of the expected 100,000 marchers, we were part of 750,000 Californians! More than the mother event in Washington DC! I am deeply honored to have been part of over 3,000,000 people marching that day, from coast to coast and all over the world!
Eventually, once we understood there was to be no marching along the planned route, people started making their way backwards, making our own route. Finally, we were marching!
It was an awe-inspring, uplifting march, instilling hope and inspiration. The signs were funny, poignant, clever. Sure, there was some anger, but that definitely was a minor note. One of my favorite protesters was a man standing by himself off to the side. He held a piece of paper, and on it written in ballpoint pen: "Respet Women" (sic). I wish I had a photo. He was so earnest, like all of the protesters.
There were as many men as women marching among folks of every age, color, and size. The crowd was full of positivity, with thoughts of progress, change, inclusion, and acceptance.
I was so caught up in the moment, reveling in the energy and the awe, that I didn't take a lot of photos. I didn't even stop to take a selfie or ask anyone to take a pic of me!! Oops! My one big regret! I wish I could've captured every single sign.
I came back full of hope and love. We must continue to foster that hope and love. That's what it is all about.
Here are pictures and video.
The first is the two sides of my Very First Protest sign. After that, images from the remarkable citizens that I marched with.
