This is my (Mike Gruber's) diary and photo album of the September 12, 2009 Washington DC Tea Party. I was looking at my pictures after I got back when I realized that most of the signs would make great t-shirts. See one that catches your fancy and there is a 99% chance its t-shirt twin is on Conservative-Cafe.com.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2009
12:30 pm CST – Leave Huntsville by myself and head to Washington DC for the Tea Party. My brother in-law was supposed to go with me but the government was dragging their feet on his house sale (the couple buying the house was getting an $8,000 something …) and delayed it until today. Obviously he can’t go with me now.
7:30 pm – Lee calls irate. The government delayed his house sale again so he could have gone. He got a call at 3:30 pm telling him it was delayed again.
11:30 pm EST – Arrive at hotel 60 miles outside of DC.
SEPTEMBER 12, 2009
9:00 pm EST - Leave motel for Metro train station. I’m confident I left early enough as the march doesn’ t start until 11:30 am. I should arrive early enough to hear some of the speeches at Freedom Plaza.
9:30 am - Arrive at Metro train station (total one way miles driven 750). I can’t find anywhere to park. Call my other brother in-law Charlton who used to live in DC for advice. He really doesn’t have any idea. See empty spots which have parking meters. They are only checked during the week and they are right at the metro entrance – YES!
9:33 am – My first picture from the back of the Metro line. ALL metro parking spots are full.
9:33 am – I’m the geek looking into the camera
9:56 am – Twenty three minutes and I’ve moved a little bit. Where are the hate mongers? These people look pretty normal.
10:40 am – At the self help ticket system. Most of the riders are rookies to the Metro including me. The self help ticket system is a bit antiquated and everyone but the locals is having trouble figuring them out. Thank goodness there are a locals to keep things moving!
10:48 am – One hour and 15 minutes and I’m FINALLY on my way. You think this looks crowded …
11:37 am – Whoo … Leaving the Metro
11:40 am – So far the signs look like everyone is from a big political organization … NOT!
11:43 am – Pennsylvania Avenue – They left without me! This is when I realized how late it was. The times I've listed here are thanks to my digital camera time tagging the photos. The capital can be seen in the distance .. follow the white lines on the street.
11:44 am – Still walking … There’s one of those big organization’s pesky signs in the background over my right shoulder. I believe it’s the right lady over my left shoulder in the white shirt. I met her on the Metro. She’d flown in by herself (as far as I could tell … the train car was a bit crowded) from Kansas to protest. Her husband was a West Point graduate. I got the feeling he was no longer living.
11:46 am – More “radicals” with those pesky flags again
11:46 am – more great signs
11:47 am – This Tax ALL or NONE sign is one of my favorites
11:47 am – This Snake Oil sign is also very good … I’m in the nerd to the left. Blame the government – they kept Lee home … I didn’t want to keep asking people to take my picture.
11:48 am – There’s one of those big organization signs again. The sign must have cost her two bucks! Less if you prorate the ink she used versus what is left in the Sharpies
11:50 am – She actually wants to raise her children with her values and not some government bureaucrat’s values. How dare she take responsibility for her family!
11:50 am – Looking back toward Freedom Plaza. Notice the trash? The people holding hands really made me nervous. Are they the radicals Nancy Pelosi keeps mentioning?
11:53 am – Ok … This guy might have been a little over the top but he definitely got your attention. Note the speakers on the top of his truck.
11:54 am – Still looking back … A southern contingent and a sign or two.
11:57 am – More high tech signs. These must be radicals as they are covering there faces. The leader is to the left holding those pesky flags. Actually the two young ladies didn’t want to be in the picture. I’ve never had that problem.
11:59 am – Getting closer …
12:00 pm – The “king” … I thought the other lady was cheap but this ladies yellow sign must have cost a buck and a quarter!
12:01 pm – The MOB! Look they each have two of those flags on their t-shirts. This is a sure sign of trouble!
12:04 pm – Me again … It’s getting a bit crowded and I don’t see any way of getting up to the stage were the speakers are. Oh to have twenty year old eyes, no five, no I guess I never had really good eye sight.
12:05 pm – Robin Hood … Now this guy either owns a sign company or spent some serious money. I didn’t see any racial signs. All of them I saw were directed toward the president’s and congresses’ agenda.
12:05 pm – Snow White Sign … boy is this a scary sight!
12:05 pm – I’m heeere … kinda. The capital is still about two to three football fields away but I don’t see any way to get closer.
12:06 pm – Tax Slavery Sucks sign – My feeling exactly! Spent big bucks on this one.
12:06 pm – Axis of Idiots sign
12:09 pm – This picture gives you a good idea of the weather conditions. The weather was perfect due to it being overcast most of the day.
12:12 pm – Several thousand of my best friends. If only I’d practiced butting in line in junior high school.
12:14 pm – The pool … I have no idea how the cars got here. I assume they arrived before the “MOB”.
12:15 pm – Another cheap sign with a priceless message!
12:17 pm – Well I’m squeezing through a little at a time … The speakers are up there somewhere … No way to get close enough to take pictures of the speakers.
12:46 pm – I feel a bit crowded … more signs …
1:13 pm – Looking back at the Washington Monument
1:15 pm – I finally wiggled my way to the middle
1:15 pm – I told Eric Allie (www.furiousdiaper.com) I would take a t-shirt with his t-shirt design to DC. Here it is! I also had this on the back of my t-shirt and one of Eric’s political cartoons on the front. Obviousdly you get Eric's cartoons on T-Shirts at www.Conservative-Cafe.com.
1:28 pm – Forget my earlier comment. This is my favorite sign! Do you see the trash yet?
1:30 pm – More people … The one with the fur hat is a Czar. No really …
1:33 pm – Those pesky flags again …
2:50 pm – The police look a bit bored. This sidewalk leads to the capital and was off limits.
2:53 pm – I thought you might want a better look at Eric’s political cartoon that I wore on the front of my t-shirt so I modified this picture.
2:53 pm – Now I am about 200 feet from the stage looking back. The statue sticking up over the white banner is where I was earlier. I’ve been speaking with people since 9:30 this morning and there is a common thread … We’re here for our children’s future so that they live in a country as free as we did. It’s amazing how common this belief is among the thousands of people from all over the country. I haven’t met a person yet that protested before their local tee party this year. For the people I met this is our second protest in our lives with both being tea parties.
3:16 pm – I can almost see something … Actually I could just make out the speakers but not who they were.
3:20 pm – Almost four hours after the march started … Looking back at the Washington Monument again
3:22 pm – Still looking for the radicals and the trash …
3:26 pm – This might be my favorite picture … What a MOB!
3:30 pm – No more pictures – I was too tired by this point. Getting on the Metro was interesting. You were virtually looking the person next to you in the eye. This was the first time all day I’d seen any rude behavior. A seasoned citizen got a little vocal when people tried to squeeze in. There was a man in a wheel chair and the seasoned citizen got too vocal about crowding this man.
~6:00 pm EST – I pick up a station taking calls from Tea Party participants. It’s funny because it’s mostly all women calling in. I guess the men are driving. They say the same thing all the people said at the Tea Party. Number one they came for their children so they’d have a free country like we did. Freedom from government interference and repressive taxes was the number one concern.
10:30 pm EST – Arrive at hotel
SEPTEMBER 13, 2009
8:00 am EST – Leave motel
11:30 am CST – Arrive at home 47 hours and 1,500 miles after I left. Was it worth it? Absolutely! I’ve been waiting for the American people to wake up for years and this was a good first step. Pass it on …
Mike G.