20,000

That's (the generous) count of the people who showed up to see Bernie and AOC on Saturday morning.

Foolishly, I thought the event would be held in the gym.  That's where I saw Tim Walz.  I knew I could manage that crowd. 

I arrived at the high school 15 minutes before the doors were to open.  The line was five people deep,  turning the corner, five blocks away from the school gates.  I drove by, slowly, smiling, loving the energy, looking for a parking space.  

A similar line snaked the same way in the other direction.  A group of about 100 followed a neon vested man toward the end of yet another line.

Neighbors were on their roofs, filming the scene, and relaxing in lawn chairs in their driveways, coffee cups in hand. 

I turned another corner to find a similar scene.  There was nary a place to place the UV.

Besides, I thought, all these people cannot possibly fit inside that gym.  Not wanting to be in an over-flow area, I drove home.

I wish I had looked harder for a parking spot.  I wish it had occurred to me that (obviously) they were holding the rally outside, in the stadium I passed as I made my final turn.  But it didn't, and I called TBG and told him I was on my way home.

And then I began to wonder if they were having it outside and that was why everyone was smiling because they weren't worried about getting in.  The lines were long, but not impossible.  How many humans can fit within the confines of a high school football stadium (Texas not included)?

I drove on, with volatile emotions, furious that I was missing a once in a lifetime experience and unable to figure out why I didn't put more energy into figuring out a plan.  Would a friend in the car have figured that out, gotten in line, and left me to park and catch up?  I had no one to answer to, no demands on my time, and TBG could be called again.  

And yet, I drove on.  

It's been nagging at me ever since.  The photos of the crowd 

credit Kyra Berg

are the stuff of my nightmares, and the notion of standing for three hours is, in retrospect, something that my body rejects out of hand.  I didn't go to the UofA when Barack came back to town, but I'd seen him in my hospital room and that was reason enough to skip a standing rally then and it should be enough now.

Perhaps it is JannyLou's reaction to the rally she attended in Tempe.  It was nice not to feel so alone.

Bernie and AOC talked about building community and taking action and not relying on the Democratic Party to bail us out of this mess.  Run for local office, Brothers and sisters, don’t let them divide us up by the color of our skin or where we were born or our religion or our sexual orientation. Let’s stand together as one people. Proud people. Let’s take on Trumpism and defeat it.”

The tour said they expected 8-10,000 attendees.  Double that number showed up to drink the Kool Aid.  

I wonder if my Congressman was paying attention.  These are his constituents, and they were making quite a statement.  

I'll be mentioning that in my phone call tomorrow.  

I spend too much time in FFOTUS-adjacent territory to feel comfortable.  I do feel energized and empowered by the presence of so many like minded individuals coming together to do right.  

I am beginning to have a tiny bit of hope.  And my back and feet are thankful.