Photos from the Tax Day Rally (click on photos to enlarge)

Here is my version of patriotic attire: blue jeans, red tie-dyed top, and white sneakers, and my flag! It was good to have long sleeves because after the sun went down, it got quite nippy along the river last night. My legs and hips were quite tired but a good tired, standing up for America!

Here is a crowd shot, in the center of which is the honor guard, wearing attire similar to that worn for the first Revolution, followed by a woman dressed as Lady Liberty. On the stage was a group of singers who performed patriotic songs, including one written by a man who had long been associated with communist groups. I found that amusing, figuring the organizers/musicians were not aware of the irony.

A new take on an old flag, listing the items needing the attention of the elected officials, those now in office as well as those who are going to be voted into office in November. The chant was "in November, we remember!" I am not a good chanter, left that to the others. Just like clapping in church, just can't get into it....no mantras for me.

The man in the center of this photo, holding a glass of soda (I'm sure....) is George from Victory. I saw a few other folks from Victory including a man who is in the printing business who was handing out bumper stickers, and a couple who are snow birds between Jacksonville and their cottage 'up north' in WI.

See how closely packed the folks were in the middle of this venue? The organizers had to encourage those already there to move toward the middle (this crowd wants nothing to do with the 'middle'!) to allow those arriving a place to stand. We saw two helicopters go over which we can assume were counting heads, so to speak, and I heard on the radio that our number was 'several thousand'.

My friend and driver, Peggy, and her husband, John, at the Tax Rally. They are going up to Washington for some other type of event in May, and their son is participating in an event in Washington, geared for young people, arranged through his school, which is Justin's alma mater. They will be attending the Freedom Concert in Orlando this summer, which raises money for the children of our soldiers lost in the war. Martie, Justin, and I went to one in New York/New Jersey in 2005. Orlando is a far closer a venture!

Here is another crowd shot, and from our vantage point, we could look into the plates of those sitting below us. How cruel they were to eat in front of us, or below us! When it was time to sing the National Anthem and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, these men dropped their forks and stood at their table, even singing along. I believe they were of Arab descent, and as you scan this photo, you will see many races represented. In fact, a cool thing happened on the step just up from ours: a man was coming around, asking if folks wanted a copy of the Bill of Rights. The Asian man, perhaps Japanese, refused it, saying, in broken English, "I got mine from Heritage...", which is the Heritage Foundation. It really gave me pause...

This little guy just caught my eye and made me think of how I used to dress Justin when he was a toddler. Somehow Timmy did not spend a whole lot of time in 'dress mode', all part of the experiment I guess. Justin would have been wearing his saddle shoes, though. I love this little guys' outfit and his face was so precious as he tried to chant along with the group. I think they might be Hispanic and I believe, a Navy family, as they applauded really hard when this branch of the military was announced.

A good tired

I am a bit hungry this morning, but I did have a bite to eat before going to bed. The people I was with last night were divided on whether to get something to eat after the Rally or just getting home. They had kids waiting for them to get home which was cool with me, but I think John would have liked to have had dinner. He had his own car so he easily could have stayed to eat. I was cool with however it worked out. I was very cool, in fact, after the sun went down, it was in the 60's! No tank tops for us, not those of us with the thinned blood. My hometown of Manitowoc was warmer than we were in north Florida. And only a week ago, exactly one week earlier, we woke to snow coming down in Manty! The world is upside down! One of my more recent reconnections on Facebook was spending time in the Orlando area at a timeshare. Rae Sue mentioned that this is the coolest its been in their years at the timeshare but managed to suntan her goosebumps!

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Justin was my first call of the day yesterday morning, asking me to go to the store and get him some poster board. He dictated to me what I should write on it, because my penmanship is better than his....My writing is also quite small so in that case, we could use a Post-It Note! Anyway, we made our arrangements for pick-up at UNF at a certain time in front of the library, where I used to pick him up before he had a car. Before I headed out, since I needed to pick up a scrip at Wal*Mart anyway, I began working on postcards to distribute on Sunday at church, inviting the ladies to the Mother/Daughter Tea event on May 2nd. My forte is the publicity thereof. After getting the layout and such worked out, I realized I had no white card stock paper to print them on, not even colored card stock that would work in my printer. Foiled again! Added that to my list for the store, plus ink for the desk printer, as I had enough for the auxiliary photo printer.

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Needing card stock meant I had to venture into the stationery department which can be dangerous for me but I managed to find the bulk papers in a display all their own. Whew! That was close....When I was checking out, the clerk had to remove one of those alarm attachments from the ink cartridge box so folks won't steal them. I said to her that it would be cheaper at this point to buy a new printer than to keep buying the ink! But likely not worth the hassle, plus the new printer would require ink refills at some point anyway, right?

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As I was driving out to Fleming Island, my phone went off. Once more it was Justin! I answered, "I was just thinking about you!!!", and I was. A year ago on this date, I had to meet him at the OP Hospital ER because he was having stomach pains, so we missed the noon Tax Rally downtown. Judy J. and I did attend the one in Orange Park from where I posted photos. Anyway, he started out by saying, sadly, "Mom?" Oh, oh, now what? It seems he checked his syllabus for the afternoon class he would be skipping out of for the Rally, and discovered he was being quizzed today, a grade which counts. I did not say anything one way or the other, leaving the decision entirely his, him knowing I would attend the Rally either way. Finally he decided to attend the class and not mess up his grade, and, at that point I confirmed his choice. He has a lifetime to do this type of thing but only one day to attend this class and pass the test. And I think he did pass the 'life' test in making his decision for school. No worries! I called Judy J. to see if she wanted to ride with me but she opted to sit it out, too, saying she was working in her yard, etc. I called my friend, Peggy, who was going to the Rally and she picked me up on her way through. Perfect! Only one car to park (parking is a problem downtown) and away we went!

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Although I had a step to sit down on, much of my time was spent standing up, too hard to stay seated with all this excitement and stirring speeches and the music. The honor guard was dressed in period clothing from the time of the first Revolution, followed in by a woman dressed as Lady Liberty. The band played regular music prior to the event beginning, and even played a local favorite, even in Florida it's a favorite, "Sweet Home, Alabama", written and originally performed by our own Lynyrd Skynyrd. John, Peggy's husband who had joined us, wondered why a Jacksonville band sang about Alabama and I said they were broadening their base! No one cares, you know, it's just a fun song and last night it brought the house down!

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At the Rally I was constantly on the look-out for people I knew, and did spot several people from Victory, four different folks. One guy who is in the printing business was distributing bumper stickers as he walked through the crowd and some people stuck them immediately to their hats or shirts. He is the man from whom I order the banners for church events and such, as he gives us a discount. His wife and her family were near charter members of Good Shepherd and I did get to see them at GS on Christmas Eve's candlelight service, complete with the grandpa in tow! I saw one couple who used to own a restaurant near Mequon, WI going up the stairs opposite of where we were stationed but they did not see me. Evidently they skipped bell and choir rehearsal last night!

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Our spot was directly above an Italian restaurant and we could see/smell the meals coming out for the el fresco diners. At a point before the Rally ended, a man dressed all in black came up from waiting tables to stand near us. He turned around and looked at me. I flashed him a smile and he left. Well!! I must have scared him....Nope, I did not. He came back a minute later and gave me a stack of discount cards for the restaurant to use on a future visit. I shared my booty with Peggy since it would not be likely I could use that many discounts, and since John works downtown, he might use them faster than me. I was most grateful, though, to Hector for giving those to me. No one else around us got them, only me. I must look like a pasta eater!

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I have made the appointment for my Well-Women check-up and that is what I am! My paperwork from Life Line Screening came at some point in the last two weeks and when I read the report yesterday, I did the happy dance. All systems are go, all reports are within 'normal' range, and even the one cholesterol test I thought indicated borderline is within the normal boundaries. Yippee! I AM the new normal--deal with it!