Saying Hi to Stephen

Tomorrow, we'll be "saying Hi to Stephen", according to my children, aged 8 and 5. Little do they know that we'll probably be so far back in the crowds that Stephen and Jon will look like miniature ants on the podium.

Yes, we are insane. My normal "by the book" husband is actually taking the day off work, letting the kids skip school, putting even more miles on my Honda that's quickly approaching 200,000+, imposing on a friend I haven't seen since college graduation in 2001 (Wait! I saw her at the 1 year reunion the next year! So it was 2002!), and driving 8 hours one way in a car JUST to get a glimpse of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart at their faux political rally at the Mall in Washington, D.C.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

If this is a rally in jest, why are so many people so serious about it?
Comedy Central comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are staging their Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on the National Mall in Washington beginning at noon Saturday.
It started seemingly in fun, as a satirical poke at Fox News pundit Glenn Beck, whose Restoring Honor rally near the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28 drew from 87,000 to 1,600,000 people, depending on how wacked-out your estimate was.
But many locals who plan to go to Washington Saturday - in carpools, chartered buses, packed trains - aren't laughing. Asked why they're going, they're dead serious.
"Because the political scene has become truly insane," Karen Kaplan of Ambler wrote in an e-mail.
Allan Lundy, 63, a research consultant in Wyncote, said, "The political discourse has been so nasty and negative that there has to be a countervailing current that's more moderate and more reasonable."
When did this rally cross over from clowning to protest? Can you have a joke if for thousands it's no laughing matter? Will real protests break out at a faux event?
The actual content of the rally had been secret, but the Washington Post reported Thursday on its website that musical guests would include the Roots, Sheryl Crow, and Jeff Tweedy and Mavis Staples.

 

Cool! There's going to be musical acts! Awesome! I love Sheryl Crow, so I'm excited!
And the reason we are attending?

To be sure, some are going for the fun of it. That would include Easton, Pa., native Max Walker, 19, a student at George Washington University in Washington. "I watch both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and I'm going," he said. "Everybody I know is going. It's a fun, social thing to do; I'm not trying to make a point or anything."

We are so excited to be a part of the festivities tomorrow and especially excited that the kids are going with us. For sure, it will be a great (but fast!) family trip to our nation's capitol!