That's what I thought.

Lotters would have to be people who buy a LOT of lottery tickets.

It was so reinvigorating!

Like we all breathed a little life back into each other, or something.

EVERYONE was mellow and peaceful and glad to have the company. And so much company, too! The aerial shots were astonishing! And L.A. is L.A. Not three feet away from me, I saw Dakota Johnson keeping pace with the slow crawl of the rest of us, talking with a couple of friends, taking in the sights and enjoying the vibe.

I realized after attending another march - the March for Science a few months later - that these things are actually slow-moving art galleries. The creativity on those hand-crafted protest signs was something else altogether! All you did, all day, was look and watch and observe and notice and admire and smile or even laugh with delight. The costumes. The accessorizings. The random groupings. The wit! So much wit on display - everywhere! I couldn't believe how imaginative it all was! Thousands of different artistic statements and projections and pronouncements. By the end of it, you'd lost track of which ones were your favorites. There were literally dozens of them. I do remember one excruciatingly great one some woman drew - "We're Not OVARY-Acting!" - with a clean line cartoon-type drawing of the female reproductive system. The t-shirts, the hats, once you got yourself a hand-knitted or crocheted pussy hat, you suddenly realized there were also hand-knitted/crocheted brain hats, too, and you had to have one of those as well! One of my takeaways from both marches was "DAYUM, how clever people are!" One was on visual overload most of the day.

And the cops were something else. Relaxed and laid back as you'd expect L.A.-anything to be. Draped across the handlebars of their motorcycles, leaning up against their cop cars and nearby walls. Just sort of taking it all in, and, I suspect, enjoying it very much. We weren't there to make any trouble. I could imagine some of them thinking "THIS is work?" to themselves. Or maybe "if you have to do crowd control on a beach weekend, too bad it can't always be like this. Nothin' to it!" Or undoubtedly "wait'll I tell my wife who I saw..."

And it was damn comforting and reassuring - to see how many people there were, out there, all of one mind. Especially the day after trump's "inauguration*". We literally were all in this together and we were reveling in it. Sure made you feel as though you were not alone. Anything but alone! It was a demonstration of solidarity like I've never seen - even more than at the Iraq War protests I attended - or the Vietnam protests I can recall. AMAZING and quite reaffirming to see proof of just how many other people had your back.

I'm just starting to get to know him. He had me with one statement about the ACA.

He described it as "how we take care of one another." Which just stopped me in my tracks. DAYUM! He even messaged it outstandingly! Put a MAJOR spin of compassion on it. Aimed straight at his listeners' consciences. And hit the bull's eye, in my opinion. YES that's how we need to present and message and spin stuff like this! Reach for the heart. I'd never heard the idea of affordable health care described that way, and I thought it was spectacular! Genius!

Perhaps that's a theme of his? Seems like it would cover all the items you've listed here, in one way or other. That mentality, recognizing that need, and those issues that are part of that need. The conscious and active awareness that we "take care of one another."

I do need to research more, because I'm really just starting to get to know him. But 2020 is awhile off, and there's time.

"It's how we take care of one another." What a unifying theme! One that appeals to our higher selves. And after exposure to the trump mentality and approach to things, seems to me this would be like manna from Heaven, or fresh cool rain to a desperately parched earth. DAYUM - that's a campaign slogan right there. "It's how we take care of one another."

Something of which I think we need to be reminded. Sure haven't heard anything summed up that way in a long time.

She's definitely one to watch!

I am really starting to like Joe Kennedy III. He and Gavin Newsom would make a VERY appealing

ticket. Both young enough but not too young that they don't have a lot of governing experience between them. I'd put them up against the orange gas bag and his albino religious-fanatic sidekick any day. ANY day.

Kicking!

The L.A. Women's March was one of the most exhilarating experiences I've ever had as an activist. 750-thousand! Biggest in the world!

The problem with that is - an open sore can spread toxicity far and wide.

If it's open, it's often oozing and virulently infectious. And it's FAR from healed, or even just healed over, surface-only.

One way or another, it sure does nail trump.

Welcome to DU, Pope George Ringo II!

I'm just amazed by the current storm. I saw two side-by-side shots on one of the channels - a photo from space of Katrina next to a similar shot of Harvey. They looked identical. Scary!

I was living in New York City during the summer when Hurricane David roared up the East Coast. VERY scary to be about 20 floors up and looking down at these wide "sheets" of wind and rain sweeping through the canyon-like deserted streets of midtown Manhattan. It was a humbling experience. You definitely got the sense of something WAY more powerful than you are.

Do it! You might be pleasantly surprised.

His comments on the Affordable Care Act were so moving. It's been a long time since I heard a politician speak that way - straight from the heart - to any other hearts that might be listening. Mine definitely was. I'm keeping an eye on this one. He sure seems like The Real Thing.

LOUDER, son! We may need you in the White House.

I've liked this kid for awhile now. I say "this kid" because it just feels like I'm entitled to do that now that I'm in my 60s!

So there!