First, I walked from home to the Terwilliger Bridge. I joined that local Visibility Brigade from 10 to 11 AM.
Then I waited nearby on Barbur Blvd for a #12 TriMet bus to get downtown. The first #12 was SRO, and blew past the stop. The next bus had room for all us waiting, so on we went.
I de-boarded at Pioneer Courthouse Square to have a snack. There would be a gathering here at noon, for seniors and folks unable to parade.
I went to Waterfront Park and miller-ed around making my way to the Battleship Oregon memorial which I understood would be the departure point for the march. I scoped it out and assured a place at the front of the March. I figured I may as well be out front for reasons explained at the end.
I walked along with the WORLD ON FIRE firetruck (not shown here), and paced the parade marshal - Christy Gnome, who held up the Scales of Justice along the whole route!
Difficult to see the scales against the blue|pink poster, in this photo.
The banner was behind the pace car - which was just behind the fire truck, I think.
What more can I say? Nice Sunny Day! We proceeded through downtown to Madison and turned east to go over the Hawthorne bridge.
On the east side, I spied the real Portland Frog guy, Seth Todd... who first stood up to ICE at the ICE facility. Basically, those images went viral, and around the world. So, I went up to him, tongue tied, and said he should have been the Grand Marshal - but then we both did a "Nah".. and I said he could just be the Marshal. Shy guy. (While I was with him, a woman came up and asked him "Are You the Original Frog!??" He reluctantly said "Yeah".)
When we made it back to the west side via the Morrison Bridge, I split and made my way north to Ankeny and shucked in to Dan & Louie's Oyster Bar to my fav little table, which happened to be open! I finished a Cajun Fried Oyster Poorboy with 10 minutes to spare to get to the transit mall and catch #35 home.
My bus home (#35T) goes right past the ICE Facility in South Portland. I was busy talking with guys next to me, so I didn't think to get my camera ready. When the bus pulled up to the turn at South Moody & Bancroft we could see a fair number of protestors — but then we saw a totally unreal scene.
There was a row of a dozen ICE "officers" at the street level, and another squad up on the first roof, but then there was a whole squad on the top level roof, at least one with a long rifle. (Their pepper ball guns are different from long rifles.) The guy next to me pointed the sniper out, and we were shaking our heads. I held two fingers up for them (Not the peace sign) as we passed, feeling like I might be shot through the bus window. That's how f-ed up it was. I said, 'if that doesn't indicate that something is wrong...' Anyway I didn't get a picture of that scene. Later, I found that after we passed through on the bus, they broke out the tear gas. You can see the agents on both rooftops in this Oregonian photo (I need to attribute). To think, I could have gotten a clear photo of this scene, without clouds of gas. Dang.
The bus crossed right in front of the building, along that double yellow line. The 35 passes by here every half hour, so I bet drivers see a lot of action.
Cynthia found a YouTube video that shows me in the March. She did a frame grab. I wore my green Cycle Oregon "Shower Pass" jacket to be like a frog. LoL.
This shows the GOOD TROUBLE side of my sign. The other side was:
NO TROOPS
NO TRUMPS
The YouTube Video is here: [LINK]
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro". - Hunter S. Thompson
Interpretation: The quote "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" by Hunter S. Thompson suggests that in times of unusual or chaotic circumstances, those who are already considered "weird" or unconventional are best equipped to adapt and succeed. It implies that instead of despairing, one should embrace the strangeness and use their unique perspective to become highly skilled or professional at navigating the new reality. The quote is often used as a mantra during times of crisis or significant change.
more as time permits.