I WITNESS WOMEN'S MARCH

At least 200 people were there. Believe me, I can count a crowd/audience. Our theatre holds almost 800. I've seen 3,800 at the Met. What I saw was a hundred times a full house at our theatre: 80,000 to view. 80,000 in front of me, 80,000 behind me when we were at a standstill for the rally watching a big screen that was blocked by a tree and thousands of pink wool hats. 80,000 anyway I could see. We were packed in tighter than we had been on the Metro getting there. Any request to find a friend or go over the concrete barriers or hold onto a child seemed unreasonable. But all requests were accommodated. We broke down and helped, even if it meant budging off your good spot. Some stood on the concrete protection barriers which had a slim ledge at the top giving about a three foot vantage. Some sat determinedly on that ledge with a water bottle beside them. I thought those standing were like contestants on "Survivor" trying to endure and maintain balance. The sight of the vast crowd sustained balance. We suddenly heard that a four year old boy with a pink bandana was lost in the thick throng. The word was passed from ahead of us and shouted back and back again and again. Then fingers pointed to where he was found. A crest of pointing fingers followed his movement forward to his parent. A doctor near us was called for in two directions. Her first visit was away from us. All was well. Then there was a call of "doctor" near us. When she was assisted over the barrier near us and up into the hedge we were proud to help her, just to see her. It was the picture of universal health care.
A speaker told us that "in a few hours" we would march to demonstrate peacefully. The thought caused a visible shrinking in listeners. We had been there since 8:30, three hours already. Amazingly more people were wriggling into the pack all the time. How could the group thicken anymore? The Pre-March Rally opened with a piercing Native American chant swelling with bravery and touching emotion. It was a moment of beauty clarified. She had no mike for her drum but, thank god, did not wait for technical adjustment. The arrow of her voice fell straight into our hearts. Then America Ferrera was so clean in her introduction of the march. No ego.There was a song, a kind of rap corridos, which I could not hear well.Then Charlie welcoming us and then the organizer of the march with her new baby and then Gloria Steinam. After Gloria Steinem we could not stay still. We had to find Alice's friend Stephanie for whom we had been waiting since 8:30 at the FedEx Office on 10th and Independence. And we had to find answers for the call of Nature. We tried to edge through the sardine pack, back to the Hirshorn where a bank of toilets was. There were slipstreams to join, one moving horizontally across the crowd, two haphazardly parallel down the street. NOT ONE CAT FIGHT!!!! In an ocean of woman for eight hours, and yes, there was edginess in the bathroom line, but never a scratching, never a hissing, hackle-raised moment. No fashion competition. Something about those hats. Like taking the veil, there was a higher purpose than what we wore. Herding cats meant something different than stampeding horses. The symbol of the day was sinew clothed in softness. Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, standing, sky and outdoor