missed it but i was there in spirit...

 another women's march happened today.  i snagged some pictures that were favorites that i saw...so clearly i did not take all these.  where i could see a name i will try to credit it...above is in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.  a small group of protesters but powerful still.  the red shirt they are carrying represents the many, many indigenous women who have been killed or have disappeared.

 above was in Homer.  always a creative community.  (Tom Kizzia)

 tossed in some shots of myself and friends as well that are taken by others as well...they just seemed to show strength which i figured was the goal today. 

 i have been blessed to have met and become friends with many strong women.  we didn't always get as strong as we are by taking an easy path.  women are strong though, which often makes us feared which leads to attempts to dominate and/or diminish.  we will not be dominated or diminished. 

  i watched "Suffragettes" tonight. i think i watched that the day of the first Women's March.  it's a power flick for chicks.  there are several in my collection.  this one seemed fitting. 

 "I hear the sound of thousands of feet, they beat this way, the feet of those that will follow you, Lead On". from the movie Suffragettes. i didn't get that totally right but it's the spirit of it.  

 so many negative and truly nasty comments on social media regarding the march.  when i have seen people march for causes that i don't agree with i have never felt the need to go to the postings and be as nasty as the comments i saw today out there. some of these people must really fear the power of the female...many of the nasty comments were by females too though.  never sure why these females feel the need to turn the women's march into a one issue battle. instead of finding the issues that relate to themselves...and the Me Too thing crosses all lines, they just say they have been snubbed and that it's all baby killers or some other lovely sentiment. many very rude comments saying the women out there should be home cooking for their families or even down on their knees.

 we march for many things, we have different issues that have deep meaning for us.  we march together for support because together we can tackle many of these issues and because there are some unifying issues.  the issues of sexual misconduct have been highlighted this year.  this current iitoo has been instrumental in that since he has proudly shown how he really feels about many females. sadly, many who voted for him found it easy to look past these traits as their hate for his opponent made it easier to look away from certain characteristics of his lack of character.  many of us could not look away.

 there was a young girl holding a #METOO sign.  the story was that even in her young age of 7 or 8 i think it was, she had already been a victim of sexual  assault.  she had asked her mom what the hashtag meant and when she was told she informed her mother that this was the sign she wanted to carry.  her mom explained that the reaction may not all be kind, the girl persisted though and she carried that sign. 

 for those crazy commenter's that idiotically said, "what are they marching for, we have the vote, women are equal..."  or any variety of comments that were similar. we are not just marching for the vote for ourselves or for our own freedoms.  we march for all women.  that includes a great deal many more women across the globe that do not have freedoms, who still are not allowed to vote or even drive or move about freely without a male at their side. 

 we march for the many young girls here and across the globe who still get raped, sodomized, groped, married off at young ages, have their bodies mutilated.  yes, we have much....but as they say, where much is given much is expected.  when we stand strong we let them see what is possible. we bring a twinkle of hope.

 this woman marched alone in Iowa (Jane Wilson) below is Michigan

 we march because we want the world to be a better place.  we want the position of women in the world to be stronger for those who come after us.  we want young girls here and across the globe to have a better chance of not ever having to say #metoo.  we march because we want to send a message to our male counterparts that they have a vital role in making that happen and we want them to join us, support us, protect us.

 we march because we love the beauty of this earth and we want to protect it.  we march because we want to help those who are hurting, or struggling to be stronger.  we want to make sure they have assistance and a path to a better life.

 we march because this administration only protects themselves and we see concerning decisions being made.  we march because we want to be heard on many topics that are important to us, to the others on this earth, to the survival of many.

 had to put in a shot from the women's march in my old home Ketchikan (Marc Osborne) and below Nome (Jenny Mills)

 each woman is unique and comes with their own life experiences so each female marches for their own purpose.  great to see so much support from the males in many of our lives. 

 these are from the dog park.  hit that a few days this week. today i did a loop in North Bivouac.  we are still a bit ice covered but not bad.

 I'm sure the streets downtown were good.  there was close to 3000 out there marching. 

 why wasn't i there....?  i worked the last 2 nights.  i set my alarm but 3 hours sleep often means it's tough to convince your brain that waking up and heading out is a great idea.  i seem to always be working for these events.  i think they are great though despite all the negative comments from those who really seem to just have negative thoughts in their hearts. 

 met a friend for an early dinner after my walk.  always great to catch up.  so much to talk about.  they had a pretty scary 38 minutes in Hawaii the other week.  he was at work in the hospital there.  all their phones started buzzing at once.  everyone went about their business to some degree, while calling family and like all great nurses, starting to prepare for whatever possible outcome...he said they raided the machines for fluids and meds and equipment that may be needed if the electric went down and they needed those supplies, they also grabbed towels and started wetting them to put under doors for smoke/whatever.  sounds very stressful...trying to figure out how to care for the ill that you already have and also start to think immediately of all those in the community that may survive and need your help.

 as medical people this stuff is very real for us.  maybe much more real than for the average person. our careers give us obligations beyond that which comes with most regular office jobs.

 we march because we see the entire cross section of our society each and every day.  we deal with the issues because our patients deal with the issues.  it's not just something we hear about on TV or read about...we see it, we live it.  we try to patch it up and hope it works. it's not rumors or theories or conspiracies, it's individuals who we work with 1:1.  it's families in pain.  it's suffering.  we are programmed to decrease suffering. we are programmed to help without judging. we are programmed to not see one individual has having greater value than another. if you come in and need our help we will help you.

 they can try to regulate that away but they can't stop it.  we will fight it.  women are powerful, so are nurses and docs. 

 these are still out at Kincaid.  working my way through this.

 women in the US got the right to vote in 1920.  the march today was trying to encourage all women to vote, to run for office, to participate.  to have an opinion and to speak that opinion in an orderly, legal way...and at times a fun way.

 it seems that did happen.  i did not hear of any major violence or difficulty.  just people sitting at home judging and commenting.  they are free to do that.  i always think it would have more sway if some of them would take the time to spell correctly. 

 always stop by a favored tree along the trail 

 made some attempts at dog photo ops.  took pics here when they were a few months old so fun to take pictures there with some regularity. 

 i didn't march today but i tried to express many reasons i have seen for others to have marched and reasons that i would have marched if i wasn't so tired. 

 why did you march?  or why would you have marched? 

 and yes, overtly, in your face trumpettes were no doubt escorted away.  anyone who hoped to create an alternate and aggressive march were no doubt asked to move on. they are free to organize their own marches and have.  did this have a liberal leaning agenda, yes it did.  that is not the liberals fault.  we shouldn't be faulted because we wish to prevent pregnancies and abortions through means such as birth control and education.  we shouldn't be faulted because we wish for all Americans to have access to healthcare and good educations.

 we shouldn't be faulted because we believe it's time for the males of the species to just stop groping and grabbing and making inappropriate comments because boys will be boys and men will be men.  we can't be faulted for wanting to protect the weak and poor and the needy.  because we would prefer people in office that do not lie or constantly blame others for their screw ups. 

 we shouldn't be faulted for wanting a peaceful gathering, for hoping that rational people do ultimately have similar goals even if we often see different ways to get there. for asking people to find a way forward.  for asking people who see many things differently to find it in their hearts to find some things we agree with and join us this one day. 

 we do not always have the power we hope we did in any nation, even in one as great as ours.  sadly, the vote is often taken for granted and far too many of our fellow citizens have lost faith in the value of their vote.  much of that is because those in power have yielded their power to create blocks to that vote in many areas or have found ways to make the votes less powerful by gerrymandering.  we still do have the power to set this all back right.  we do have to participate though.  we have to fight for it and we may have to set aside some of our more potent and anger inducing battles in order to set his nation back in order.

 we need to see beyond our own homes and needs and wants.  we must realize that we do have power in this world and we must decide to build up others to help prevent others from trying to tear us all down. the more you leave behind the more those others will eventually become angry and rise up to take you down.  can't we all just get along? 

 if social media is any indication...the answer seems to be no.  only when we meet out in the open, without computers or guns can we finally start to have the dialogue that may save us.

 nobody gains from the divisions.  you win for a few years because you screw us and then we win for a few years because we screw you.  compromise must be brokered.  you are not always right nor am i always wrong....and vice a versa. 

 today we marched because sometimes you just have to feel like you are heard.  sometimes you just have to feel that you are not alone.  that others understand and wish to fight for the same things.  we are mostly the same.  they divide us so easily and we fall in line.  we take up our weapons...thankfully, at this time our weapons are mostly words and social media..but it's not a stretch to see that changing. if we do not step left or right sometimes we will both fall off opposite ends of the cliff. 

 that being said.  if we can't show basic kindness and respect to each other we are lost.

 these are now taken out at the estuary. 

 i am getting hungry, so i guess it's snack time and then bed time. 

 enjoyed watching so many people come together with clever signs.  always inspiring just for that fact...thousands came together, got along, laughed, sang, spoke......

 they came from many varied backgrounds and still they interacted with peaceful intent. 

 we have been filled and we prepare for the next steps to take to make our world a better place for all.

thankful for:  A.  peaceful protests  B.  freedom of speech  C.  free press