I couldn’t be there yesterday, so I bribed my sister to go in my stead. She just lives across the river in Arlington, and this was definitely not the type of thing she enjoys, but she went. She took a bunch of pics for me, and I got a little bit of a “live-blogging” update from her from time to time:

The metro it we bad as I knew it would be…not even there yet…Oh it is…just so many people…

there are a ton of people here. Idk how many exactly but it us getting close to the washington memorial…prob a mil…managed to get decently close…don’t think I’m going to try and get much closer…I’m in the shade and have a good angle on a screen. I’m close enough to have seen him walk out on stage. The atmosphere is exited…happy energetic…but considerate. Took some vid but ran out of room…

I’ve got pictures from her if anyone is interested. I can get them uploaded somewhere and share links. She was very impressed with Marcus Luttrel and his demeanor on-stage. She’s a sucker for military guys.

From talking to her later, I got a different take on things than most people I’ve heard comment. The impression I got from her was that people were pretty mellow and kind. They were excited to be there, but didn’t seem to think this was an end to anything, or that this would lead to a utopian turnaround. Rather, this was a statement of yes, we’re here, this doesn’t necessarily change anything, but we’re never going to go away again. It wasn’t a show of strength to D.C. from middle America, it was a show of solidarity with each other and a recognition of the long struggle ahead.

Of course, my sister would probably disagree with my take on her insights, but that’s OK too.