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It sure felt good to be among the million folks worldwide who turned out yesterday to say "NO" to Bush and his bloody gang. New York City was magnificent. The crowd estimate was 100,000, but it sure felt like more. |
Ten Rochester Grans went down on the Metro Justice buses, and we were joined by Granny Elaine (who had come by car) and by Granny Carla of NYC, who was gracious enough to let us use her apartment as a meeting and rehearsal space.
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The march began at 1 p.m., and by that time we had been joined by some more wonderful Grannies from Boston and Croton. We were one of the first contingents in the march, and after marching together for about four blocks, we stood on the sidewalk and raged for everyone else. The marchers were still streaming by when we decided to take a rest, after which we went back to the staging area where we waited to sing from the main stage again. But the march took so long and the program was running so late that the organizers decided not to have us sing again. |
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We didn't mind. We got tons of media attention by hanging around in the staging area, and got to meet all of the speakers, including Dennis Kucinich, who gave us a big hug and a kiss and now sports one of our "outraged" pins on his lapel. |
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(My one disappointment was that we didn't get to meet more of the NYC Grans, who were raging on a different street corner. Maybe next time....) |
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I've been told by Granny Peggy R. and by others that we've been heard on CBS, CNN, WNYC, PBS, CBC (Canada) and other radio and TV stations, and Peggy's sister read about us in the Philadelphia Inquirer, which actually quoted from our lyrics. (Way to go, Diana! That was the song you inspired!) |
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We also were interviewed by TV crews from Japan, Norway, Spain, and the UK. And tomorrow, I'll be doing an interview with a writer from "Vanity Fair." Ah, the drawing power of the Grannies! |
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We should never lose hope, Grannies. We bring a strong message in a package that ensures that we will be heard! And while we do it all with a good dash of humor, I think folks understand that we are dead serious in our resolve to leave this world a better one for our grandchildren. I sometimes wonder how many more overnight bus trips I can endure, and how many more choruses of "Doo Dah" I can belt out, but when I listen to the rally speakers (including young folks like Camilo Mejia, the US army reservist who is refusing to return to Iraq, and Khuri Petersen-Smith, the RIT student who returned from Iraq with an understanding of the parallels between "Baghdad and Brooklyn") and when I see the faces of the folks marching behind the banners of the "September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows" and "Military Families Against the War," and "Veterans for Peace," then it all makes perfect sense. |
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I don't have my voice back yet, but I'm hoping that another day of rest will bring it back. And I'm so very grateful to all the Rochester Grans -- Alice, Barbara, Diana, Elaine, Janet, Marcia, Margaret, Peggy, Philippa, and Sally -- who were so very wonderful to rage with. I've let Carla know how much we appreciated her hospitality and her wisdom in choosing to live in an apartment just four blocks from the Rally site! And I hope that Ron and George know just how much we appreciated having them there as our Granny Groupies. |
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And I hope you'll all keep ragin'! |
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Love and hugs, |
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Granny Vicki |
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P.S. You can read a full report of the day's events in NYC by going to the International Answer web site. |
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last updated: 26 MAR 04 Web Granny Designs |
