ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS

  

  The great thing about science is that it's true whether you believe it or not.

 

- Neil de Grasse Tyson         

 

Photo from the St. Louis Women's Rally.

Thursday Arch Series

Self-explanatory. I'm tired. More washing ashore on my desk than the tide can carry out. Some time off next month, though.        

The Right Thing

Signs like this first showed up at last year's women's march. Not that many but they get attention. I'm on board with this. I have been married to the same woman for 43 years and still like her. My law partner of 30 years, now retired, was a woman who was not my wife. We had a terrific relationship, almost like brother and sister. Half of the judges I practice before are women. Bobbi Lane, the best teacher I ever had, someone who transformed my photography, is a woman. Openness and respect go a long way.      

Junior Division

There were lots of young and very young people in the women's march. No doubt all of them put up to it by their parents but the older ones had plenty of enthusiasm. That's Ellie in the third picture. She mostly hid behind her sign, refusing to let me take her picture, but this one time I caught her off guard.

I'll keep going with this for a bit because I don't have any other material. There is some relief expected in the middle of February, though.         

Blue Letters, Red Shirt

All kinds of themes, all kinds of signs at the women's march. The man in the bottom picture was walking around with a Trump puppet, doing sort of a stand up comedy shtick. His 6 or 7 year old son son followed him around taking video on a phone. No idea whether the shirt was meant literally or ironically.

I've been wondering how, in this country, blue became associated with the left and red with the right. Historically, it's the other way around, the tee shirt being a good example. The red banner of revolution! And, of course, blue-bloods, blue stockings, blue chip stocks. Anybody know how this came about?      

STL Women's March 2018

My  wife, daughter and granddaughter banded together in solidarity yesterday and headed downtown for the 2018 women's march. I got to play chauffeur and photojournalist.

There was a big turnout, although I haven't seen any numbers yet. I was surprised because the event received little advance publicity - a thin Facebook page, a bare-bones web site and nothing on the local TV news or NPR station that crossed my path. That didn't prevent women (and a few friends) from turning out by the thousands. More of this to come.    

Bilingual

Ok, anybody else disturbed that President Blondie wants to prohibit people from most Muslim countries from entering the US? If you agree go to my Facebook page and like this post. But, if you read the news closely, did you notice that there are two exceptions? If you are from Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan you can still pay us a visit. Huh?

These two carried bilingual signs in English and Arabic at the Women's March. The principles are the same in any language. I was glad to see them.        

Thursday Arch Series

Hey, it's a twofer! Some indication of the crowd last Saturday. To get a better sense of it I'd have to find an elevated position to shoot from. 

For locals, the first one is inside Luther Ely Smith Park, between 4th Street and the new entrance to the Arch museum. The second is looking east on Market Street from about 7th.

As you can see, the weather was perfect. It's been unusually warm for several days but winter is back today.

            

P*ssy Power

Gender politics? Maybe more like combat. Women aren't mad at all of us guys (I have a certificate of approval) but they have plenty of reasons for rage against the party in power. Aux armes, citoyens!

                                                                

Action Speaks

The heroic stance of the woman in the first picture sums up nicely the mood and attitude of the Women's March. What we don't need is the conduct Yeats describes in The Second Coming: The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. The worst are not on the horizon. They are inside the doors and they have the keys.

The sign in the second picture triggers some of my worst fears. The new administration is heavily sprinkled with climate change deniers, among the worst of the irrational loonies, people driven by ready-made, rigid belief rather than data. No one knows what is at the end of a road but am apprehensive about my grandchildren's future.  

         

Don't Forget Grandpa, Too

Certain people in Washington are raising a lot of other people's temperatures, me included. That anger overflowed at the Women's Marches here and around the world. I went a little nutso yesterday re-posting news stories to Facebook as those lying, arrogant (plural noun deleted) flouted their disrespect for democracy and truth. 

Three generations of Crowe women walked with their sisters (and me). Sometimes Madeleine is eager to pose and sometimes she will have nothing to do with it. What are you going to do with a three year old who insists on wearing an owly hat?       

St. Louis Women's March

Me, too.

This was a heck of a turnout for a third-tier town. Police estimated the attendance as up to 13,000. Some of the organizers said 20,000. My guess would be on the higher end. My wife, Carolyn, daughter, Emily, and granddaughter, Madeleine, joined the throng. I played photojournalist.

The tone was decidedly anti-Trump, which made me feel good for the first time in days. Some very clever signs. These pictures will run for a few days. As I edit more they will be added to a growing collection on Flickr.