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2008 March for Life in Washington D.C.
For 35 years, JoAnn Willburn, a friend of mine from church, and I have wanted to "March on Washington" during the annual March for Life, to support the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. This was the year we made it there.
The Inspiration
JoAnn and I were sitting in church together one Sunday when the announcement was made to sign up for the March if you want to go. We looked at each other and basically said, "Let's do it." (Margaret wasn't able to go.)
Originally we planned to go with a group from Colorado Springs, but did not commit soon enough to get in on the group rate for plane tickets. So we went on our own. (As it turned out, we met up with them at the airport to return home!) We stayed with JoAnn's son, Philip, and his wife, Amber, who live in Arlington, VA.
Denver
We drove to Denver the Saturday evening before our flight left from DIA. That morning, Kenosha Pass (on Hwy. 285) had been closed to Denver. We were going to have to go through Leadville to I-70. Just before we left, I called the Gunsmoke Truck Stop in Johnson Village to ask if they knew if Kenosha Pass was open. The woman said she heard it had just opened. So we took Hwy. 285 and when we arrived in Denver, we found out that I-70 had closed just after we had left! Only one of many miracles along the way.
We went to the Saturday 4 p.m. Mass at Notre Dame Church in Denver, had a nice dinner with Wally and Nancy Lou and then spent the night with them.
Airport Security
Philip and Amber have a one-bedroom apartment. I had taken an inflatable mattress to use at Wally's and decided as an after-thought to take it to D.C. Philip bought one for JoAnn so it worked well with both of us on their living room floor.
Since the taking of the air mattress to D.C. was not planned, I put it in a back pack that I had brought for the March. The zipper on this back pack doesn't always stay zipped, so I didn't check it through as luggage, but carried it on. As we stood in the security line at DIA I thought, "If the pump to this mattress doesn't look like a bomb, nothing does." But I wasn't questioned at DIA.
On the return flight, however, at Reagan Airport, I was taken off to the side while a security guard checked it out. "It is the pump to an air mattress," I said. I avoided calling it a "blow up bed." I didn't think that would go over well. "Can it be checked as baggage?" He asked. "We usually don't carry this type of thing on the airplane." "The zipper doesn't stay closed," I said. "I don't think it would make it through baggage." So after he carefully checked it out, he put it all back into the back pack which, thankfully, didn't stay zipped for him either! And I was free to go.
Our Group
Philip's church in Arlington, St. Charles Borromeo, had a group going to the March and they were happy to have us join them. We walked to the church Tuesday morning, January 22, the anniversary date of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion 36 years previously, and attended Mass at 9 a.m. Afterward, we had muffins with the group before leaving. They had made sack lunches for everyone and had signs. I didn't mind carrying a sign that said "Arlington for Life" but I added "& Colorado" on our two signs and put "Choose Life" on the back of mine.
Our group then took the Metro (subway) to the Federal Triangle. As we walked to the Mall where the rally was held, other small groups of people were also headed that direction. I had the feeling that each group was like a small stream headed toward an ocean.
Rally on the Mall
People were encouraged to gather at the Mall by 11:30 a.m. so that we could be counted. Around noon, there was music, a live speech by President Bush from the White House, followed by 2-minute speeches and prayers from different people including some pro-life members of congress. The crowd periodically cheered during the speeches. This lasted for about 2 ½ hours!
It was a cold, cloudy day and threatened rain. I wore my usual clothes that I wear to deliver newspapers in 7-below weather. Many people, including myself, put on ponchos when it started to sprinkle, but it never did actually rain. I had brought some hand-warmer packets which we eventually used because it was cold just standing there for so long. We also ate our lunches during the speeches. Some parents with smaller kids had foam mats they put on the ground for the kids to sit on.
I kept looking around, a sea of people between the Washington Monument behind us and the U. S. Capitol in front thinking, "We did it. We are really here, doing this March for Life, here in Washington D.C." Having been born near D.C., living there until I was 7 and then visiting relatives there over the years, the thrill for me was not being in Washington D.C. itself but rather being there with a friend and over 200,000 people with a similar goal of working toward a "culture of life."
When JoAnn and I planned our trip I said, "When we get to the rally, let's stand on the edge. I don't want to get in the middle of a crowd of 200,000 people!" Well, I found out that there was no "edge" and since our group was one of the early ones to get there, we ended up right in the middle! We were fairly close to the stage which was about halfway between the Washington Monument and the Capitol. As the rally progressed, I nudged JoAnn and said, "Do you see how there is space all around us?" She nodded and smiled as it seemed God had put a buffer of space around me! We never did get jammed in at that spot. After we had been standing there for a couple of hours, we decided to go find the porta potties and snaked our way through shoulder-to-shoulder people. We were able to negotiate to the potties and back to our St. Charles group, but our area never got people-packed!
From the middle of the crowd, it was hard to tell how just many people were there. It was a matter of "You can't see the forest for the trees." The announcer said people were gathered as far as "the bridge" which we figured meant past the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Memorial Bridge. I would love to see an aerial view of the crowd.
The March
When it was finally time to march, it took quite awhile to funnel the masses onto 7th Avenue leading to Constitution Avenue. Announcers encouraged a peaceful, prayerful march and suggested we not interact with anyone who might try to engage us in controversy. That seems to have been exactly how it went. There were police along the way, but no incidents.
As we walked, we were in the middle of the street, people stretching to either sidewalk and endlessly in front and behind. I felt like I was part of a large, slow-moving river. Many of the younger people were chanting pro-life messages. Others just visited with each other or prayed silently. As we walked up the hill toward the Supreme Court, I had a better view of the procession both in front and behind--a seemingly endless parade.
The march ended at the Supreme Court which was, of course, roped off with security guards spaced from the street to the doors. There, individuals from the "Silent No More Campaign" took turns sharing their testimonies of having had abortions and the negative impact of those decisions. They also talked about healing.
When JoAnn and I were ready to leave, we found the Metro, for which there was a long line, and made it back to the apartment about 8 hours after leaving that morning.
What this march meant to me, personally
Over the decades, I have picketed abortion clinics, participated in smaller, local Walks for Life, supported pro-life causes and pregnancy centers financially, prayed for friends who were having a arduous time adopting, voted pro-life, prayed for healing for and with many people I knew personally who suffered after having an abortion. I have helped older people and people with disabilities to enjoy meaningful lives.
Attending the national March for Life in Washington D.C. was an opportunity for me, as a single drop of water, to join with thousands of other "drops of water" to form a stream and then a great river of life. It was a chance to be counted, to add my small voice for life to a sea of others. It was an opportunity to feel the energy of the pro-life movement on a grander scale.
© Mary Lee Bensman 2008 |
