KERRY-EDWARDS
Scranton, PA
Friday - July 30, 2004 -- The Radical Fringe Rally Blog 5:00 a.m. - Friday morning: I packed up my gear - camera, extra batteries, cellphone, and tickets all compressed into a camera bag and 'fanny'-pack. I still had a 1/2 day of work, and planned to leave for the Kerry-Edwards rally by 10 a.m. The gates were to open by 11 a.m., and Kerry-Edwards were not scheduled to speak until 2-3 p.m.
6:00 a.m. - I arrive at work and clear some priority blueprint drawings off my desk. A co-worker pops into my office- asks if I am going to the rally and did I have tickets. Yes, I told him - white ones. He replies "I was going to go, but I have to help my dad this afternoon, take my ticket - it's a yellow one, might get you into a better area." I thank him, and tell him that if I get some good pics, I'll print him off a few copies.
7:15 a.m. - We have a colony of feral cats living in the pallet pile. I head out there to feed them and put down water. While I'm standing at a respectable distance and watching the cats and their kittens chow down, our Resident bush* Supporter (RBS) comes out. He makes a couple of wise-cracks about Kerry, then proceeds to tell me that bush* is doing an OK job. I snort - "Just an OK job? Let me ask you this - Why should we settle for mediocrity when we can do better?"
9:30 a.m. - A few other co-workers come up to me, they tell me to have a good time at the rally, to tell Kerry and Edwards that they are behind them 100% - and to take lots of pictures. By the way - 3 of my co-workers voted for bush* in 2000, they will not be making that same mistake this year.
10:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m. - I'm on the road, by 10:20 a.m. I've located a parking place a few blocks away and start walking. I see a crowd of people, and many volunteers. I ask then where the entrance is, and they directed me to walk around the block.
Found myself walking with an elderly couple. They had on Kerry-Edwards T-shirts. We chatted a bit, they told me they were 'mad as hell' at bush*, and had changed voter registration from Republican to Democratic a few months back.
We arrive at the entrance area - I still wasn't sure which ticket to use - White or yellow. A volunteer explained the white tickets only got you to the further most barricaded area, the yellow tickets were the best ones for the general public and you had to go through a metal detector scan. (Red tickets got you a SEAT up front - these were reserved for various officials and invited guests.) OK - YELLOW ticket for me!
I took my place in line and waited. Meanwhile, a 'heckler' showed up, started shouting "4 MORE YEARS", those closest to the heckler shouted back "4 MORE MONTHS" and "NO MORE WARS". Whether the heckler left on his own accord or was asked to leave, I'm not sure.
11:30 a.m. Half hour late - the "security" check began and people were moving through the gates. I don't think they expected such a large crowd, there were only two check-points to file through. It took me about an hour to move about 150 feet and make it into the "yellow ticket" area. The Sun had come out, and it was getting hot. By 12:30 p.m. I went in search of water, then to find a good place to stand.
12:30 - 2:00 p.m. It was hot, and the occasional breeze was very welcomed. I bought a Kerry-Edwards t-shirt. Took some pictures of the crowds and basically wandered about listening to 'snippets' of conversations. People were enthusiastic about Kerry and Edwards and very angry with Bush. The one 'joke' I heard being shared quite a bit was:
The last time someone listened to a bush, they ended up wandering the desert for 40 years Many people were discussing their involvment with politics - remarking they never really followed politics, but the 2000 election, the Iraq invasion or they had lost their job due to outsourcing and this changed everything for them. One group of people had t-shirts made up that said "Another Republican for Kerry" (sorry I was unable to get close enough to them to get a picture).
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. The speeches begin - Kerry-Edwards buses were not there yet, but we were told they were on the way and should be arriving soon. One theme that we will be seeing are the speakers introducing themselves "I'm <i>so-n-so</i> - reporting for duty".
One of the speakers remarked on the size of the crowd - (local news that night reported the crowd was estimated at
15,000). She said she hasn't seen a crowd this large for a rally in Scranton since John F. Kennedy.
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http://radicalfringe.freeservers.com/photos - http://radicalfringe.freeservers.com/photo.html
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