My Very First Protest Rally! (Suzanne Forster)

I can’t believe I’m going to a protest rally. Actually, I’m not just going, I’m organizing it—and with only two days’ notice! Somehow before tomorrow at high noon I have to make legible signs, find red, white and blue balloons, rent fold-up chairs, preferably with shade umbrellas for protestors suffering heat stroke from the scorching weather, and track down a bullhorn. And that’s just the short list.

I also need to find people who’ll drive around the block in cars, yelling encouragement to the protestors. And most important, I have to deliver as many live bodies as possible to the event, and then somehow find the courage to dance around and shout inspirational words about democracy in action, hoping to whip everyone, including me, into a frenzy of enthusiasm.

Just a little pressure! But fun too, and fortunately, I’ll mean every word of it because it’s for a great cause. I mentioned a few blogs ago that I’d volunteered to help with one of the primary campaigns. I also mentioned what a rollercoaster ride it had been. Well, nothing has changed. If anything, it gets crazier by the day, and this rally was one of those last-minute brainchild’s that someone in a state so far away it seems like another planet thought would be a great idea—a national protest rally in all the major cities on May 20th, which is primary day in Oregon and Kentucky. And I have to tell you, it really did sound like a good idea at the time … two days ago!

So, here I am, running around looking for Fourth of July balloons and fold-up chairs. And now you know why today’s blog is so short. Next week, I’ll tell you how the rally went, if I survive the heat stroke.

If you’re anywhere near Los Angeles and you happen to be driving by NBC Burbank Studios tomorrow, honk or wave. I’ll be the one with the bullhorn.

Suz