Big Crowd

I just remembered I didn’t write a blog last night.  I also remembered it a couple of times this morning, but either sat down to smoke another joint, or to watch a couple of episodes of Ken Burns’ Civil War.  (the Southern Writer they keep coming back to as an expert gets a bit teary eyed and it’s almost inappropriate how bad he feels about the South losing).
But, since remembering and doing something to remedy the situation are two different things, it never got done and I just remembered it again now.
So, after a very lazy morning and early afternoon (wife and kids are at the cottage) I went up to Letna Park to see the big demonstration, which is probably still going on.  In fact, I’m almost sure it is.
You never know when you go to these things.  People were saying 500,000 but I was a bit skeptical of that because I’ve been to a lot of demonstrations  where you’re expecting a huge crowd and a dozen or two people show up so you hastily relabel it a candlelight vigil and try to put the best face on it.
But, as I was still walking through the park I began noticing that every time trails converged, there were more people, and all moving the same direction, and some carrying signs.  (Andre Babiš, the Czech Prime Minister, is a crook and everybody wants him to resign).  When I got there I realized there was already a huge crowd, you couldn’t get within 200 meters of a direct view of the main stage.  I looked behind me and could see no end to the crowd the direction I’d come, and people were arriving from other directions as well.
I worked my way toward the back of the crowd.  I was glad to see such numbers (Babiš is often referred to as a mini-Trump) but when I got past the 2nd big screen and realized the crowd was just as big behind that that I started to get impressed.
It was a very Czech demonstration.  Parents with kids.  Groups of friends.  Some old people.  Nobody pushing or crowding.  People were making their opinions known, but there wasn’t a lot of shouting, and the snack stands at the edge of the crowd were doing great.
I reached the back of the crowd, and the edge of the parking lot on the far side, and noticed that lots of people were still coming in.  I stood and people watched for about 20 minutes and thought “Dang, they just keep coming).”  Then I looked up the street and saw that it was a solid block of people on one sidewalk, going back for as far as the eye could see, and more people crossing the street all the time.
I looked up and saw people on rooftops.
As I left, I went the other direction, back down toward Strossmayerovo Namesti and then the river, and I notice a non-stop parade coming in that direction, and every tram that stopped disgorged more.  After a few block I started thinking “Mayb some of these people are out just walking, and not part of this demostration at all, and every time I thought that, I’d see somebody with a sign, but eventually the crowd did dwindle and I was just back in the real world.
But it was several blocks.  I’ll bet they reached their 500,000 target, easily.