Keep Fear Alive!

I went home to my parents last Friday, in pursuit of a shirt I'd left in the laundry and some time with my parents away from Williamsburg. Since my time in the area coincided with Stephen Colbert's March to Keep Fear Alive (sorry, that's the bit I loved; I'm not so much about the Jon Stewart side of things), I had no excuse not to attend an event that I wanted to attend.

Here's the thing though: I didn't really plan ahead on, um, anything regarding this trip. I knew it started at noon. On the Mall. I knew it takes me 20 minutes to get to the Metro and less than an hour from there into the city. I knew I didn't care if I was at the back of the crowd, and I didn't care if I was a tad bit late. So I left home at 10:30.

Fail plan. Traffic was backed up three miles before the exit for the Metro, based on the light cycles off the exit. Just to give you an idea of how crowded it was. The line to purchase farecards stretched through the station, across the bridge, into the parking deck, outside into the sunlight. The standing room in my Metro car was filled by the time we left the second station. I didn't make it into the city until 1:30. I spent 3 hours on a journey that should not take more than 1.5 hours.

When I got into the city, I followed streams of people coming in just as late as I was, held up by the same traffic. I walked around, looking at snarky signs and hilarious costumes... and offensive signs and offensive costumes. I pushed my way through a variety of crowds, attempting to find a friend whom I was supposed to meet. Text and phone calls wouldn't go through. Eventually I gave up and wandered the outskirts, catching bits and pieces of the rally speeches and music as I walked past speakers. So I enjoyed the "Legalize Pot" signs and the anti-Christine O'Donnell and the people dressed as Jesus and bears and holding fake tea parties. Then I caught the Metro at Capitol South, a few stops ahead of where the masses of ralliers got on, and headed south again.

At one point, I hopped off the change lines, and a man waiting for the same train asked if I'd been to the rally. Which set the stage for a conversation with him all the way home. It was a very random conversation, and a little awkward as he mentioned failed Match.com dates and glanced at my hand (I wear a ring on my left ring finger; I think it helped me out here). However, the overall impression I got was that he's rather lonely. He was glad to find someone else who went to the rally alone, and I hope our conversation brightened his day a little. It made me laugh, which always brightens my day.