I walked six blocks from my office and arrived a few minutes after noon to find a pretty sizeable crowd in red shirts already assembled. By the time I left an hour later, the crowd had grown substantially. I didn't know anyone there, but chatted with several people.
I hadn't brought a sign, but there were sign-making materials available, so I quickly made one that said, "KEEP YOUR PROBE OUT OF MY BODY." Another woman liked it so much that she immediately wrote the same thing on the back of the sign she was already carrying. Another woman asked if she could take my picture to put on her blog, and a man who was taking some video footage filmed me while reading aloud what my sign said.
Many of the passing cars (and even one city bus) honked and waved in support. One man in a red shirt drove his pick-up truck up and down 11th Street several times, honking and waving. I didn't see any counter-protesters or hear any negative shouts.
I met this mother-daughter team, who mentioned that it was the daughter's birthday and they were celebrating it by standing up together for women's reproductive rights:
I also met this cute little dog named Rebound, who jumped all over me and gave me lots of kisses when I knelt down to say hello to her:
Her owner told me that Rebound had brought her own sign:
There will be SEEING RED rallies at the same place and time (in front of the Texas State Capitol from noon to 2 pm) each of the next two Tuesdays. Another attendee told me that next week, Planned Parenthood will be busing some people in and the Capitol steps have been reserved, so it will be a bigger event. I plan to be there.
I just need to go out and buy a different red shirt beforehand. The only red shirts I own are sweaters, and I was a little bit uncomfortable toasty yesterday. It was worth it.
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