Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

On 30 October, 2010, the Moreiras and some friends ventured into Washington D.C. for their first rally as a family. The Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear was hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert from Comedy Central. Its stated purpose was to provide a venue for attendees to be heard above what Stewart describes as the more vocal and extreme 15–20% of Americans who "control the conversation" of U.S. politics, the argument being that these extremes demonize each other and engage in counterproductive actions, with a return to sanity intended to promote reasoned discussion. The rally drew about 215,000 people, according to aerial photography analysis.

The day turned out to be very eventful, though we will spare you the minor details.

Cristy, Nathaniel, and Troy arrived in D.C. via metro and were not able to meet up with their friends. Apparently, when you have a big rally, cell phones don't work. Is it the lack of cell towers, or "the man" keeping us from launching a coordinated attack?

The family walked around for a little bit and then decided to split up. Cristy would walk around a little more, then return home via metro before the crowd hit the metro stops again. Nathaniel would walk around, take in the sights and posters, then head home later.

And there was A LOT of signs!

And security too!

It was a real pleasure to see some people came just for fun and to give their own initiatives face time, like these folks supporting our Space Program.

Nathaniel had worked in D.C. for 4 years and never seen such a group assemble. People were everywhere! Even the trees...

Many people wore costumes just for fun!

At one point Nathaniel climbed a giant wall by a museum and starting taking pictures, but then a very mean security guard threatened to call the police on everyone, so most of us got off the wall (the ones of us she could see!)

Horses. Just because.

The event ended with a really powerful speech by Jon Stewart, which Nathaniel recommends for anyone who considers themselves a moderate and/or independent voter. Actually, Nathaniel recommends this speech for anyone is isn't nonsensical, because it should make a lot of sense to most people.

HOWEVER, Nathaniel left before this speech to beat the crowd, knowing he was recording it at home. He took a very interesting route to get to his metro stop, going what would be considered "out of the way" by some, in order to beat the large crowds that would form shortly. And then...

...he found his wife, also in a very weird part of the Metro station.

Cristy did not look happy, in fact, maybe a little weepy. She told him a crazy story about how she was on an escalator that broke while she was riding it, then plummeted 3/4 of the way to the floor before its emergency brakes engaged.

Nathaniel will let Cristy write the story another day, but here is the news article as it was covered a few days later: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/31/AR2010103104563.html

Four people went to the hospital, but Cristy was unharmed! Because she was the last person on the escalator before it broke, she was not thrown into the dog pile of people at the bottom. Cristy ran back up the escalator when it stopped, and a helpful man grabbed the stroller and hauled that up after her. Troy slept through the whole event in his front carrier!

That Cristy and Nathaniel met again is a miracle -- neither of them should have been in the place they were when saw each other. Needless to say, Cristy was relieved to see Nathaniel, and he was very happy his family was safe and that he could take care of everyone now.

Troy, asleep again!