Peace March - NYC - April 29, 2006 -

I was there. I decided it was time to put up or shut up.

I was not the stereotypical Peace Marcher from the 1960's. My T-shirt and crop jeans were pressed (although the shirt had a picture of armed Amercian Indians with the saying: "Homeland Security - Fighting Terrorists since 1492"). I was wearing my John Lennon badge, my Mary-Jane Sketchers, Bare Escentuals make-up and mascara. I had my digital camera, my ATM card, some cash, cell phone, and a reporter's notebook (well, that's how I've always imagined myself since I was 12 and today should be no different).

I brought a walking stick - not a sign (although I picked up two along the way).
No illegal drugs for this old peacenick - four lidocaine patches on various areas of my aching back and two capsules of liquid-gel Advil were the drugs to get me through the day.

Yep - it was a peace march for the "geriatric set" - that was one of the remarks I heard along the way - from a marcher. But there were people of ages, all races, all genders (ALL genders) - and The People ("united, will never be divided") filled Broadway from side to side in width and more than thirty blocks long in length.

Not wanting to ruin back, legs and knees during the first hour, I took a cab from Port Authority to near the staging area - 20th and Broadway. There I took pictures, received a couple of signs and chatted with fellow marchers.

The ladies with the "Another Embarrassed Patriot for Peace" sign are Ann and Joyce from Colorado - veteran peace marchers who view this as their duty - and their right.