Union Now!

[silver_chipmunk]

That was the rally I went to today. I got up at 8:00 and had breakfast, and once again gave Oreo Fancy Feast in the carrier. Then I showered and dressed, I wore my AFSCME union tee shirt.

Then I transferred basic necessities from my purse to a fanny pack (because the flyer said that no bag larger than a fanny pack would be allowed in) and headed out.

Took the Q44 bus to Flushing, then the 7 train to Queensboro Plaza where I got the N train. Only about 3 stops to 57th st/7th Ave. Then I tried to find the M57 bus. I finally had to ask another bus driver, and fortunately he knew. So I waited for the M57 and got on, went one stop, incorrectly thought I was going the wrong way, and got off. Almost immediately I realized my mistake, and walked back to where I started and got the next bus.

I got to the stop where I was supposed to get off, and had no problem finding the venue. Got there a little after 11:00. The doors were supposed to open at 12:00, so I had almost an hour waiting in chilly wind. But I'm glad I did get there early, there was a substantial line, and I got one of the best seats when they finally let us in. A little after 12:00, actually.

Then we had a wait til it was supposed to start, at 1:00. There was some pretty good music playing, but I think they missed a bet, they should have played union songs. Oh well.

The event started late, but not too late. It started with a musician to warm us up. He played I think his on music, it was inspiring but not traditional. Though he finished with This Land is My Land, and we all joined in.

Then the speeches started. Mayor Mamdani was first. Damn he is a Good Speaker! He talked about how New York City is a union town, and how important the unions are to the city.

After Mamdani there was a series of various union people from various unions, all very, very inspiring. I shouted and cheered til I was almost hoarse. The last speaker was Bernie Sanders, and he is very good too, though truthfully, I think Mamdani was better.

Then we finished, and headed out. I couldn't figure out how to take the bus back to the N train, so I walked. Wasn't that far, I got exercise. Then the N to the 7. In Flushing, I was really hungry so I went to Dunkin' Donuts and got the $6 Meal Deal, and a donut. I drank the coffee, but brought the rest home on the 44.

I got here and ate my meal, and got on the computer. It was after 6:00, so there wasn't too long to wait til I Teamed the FWiB. But there was a weird technical glitch which I think was on his side not mine. I couldn't hear him, he couldn't hear me. We used our phones for audio, and the Teams for the visual.

We talked for a little less time than usual, so i was off before it was time to call Middle Brother. He was very happy, he went out to Chipotle today and had a burrito.

I texted the Kid about the rally and she responded, which was nice.

Bad news of the day, my toilet is not flushing correctly. I think it's partially clogged. I have a plunger but it's not very good. I may have to buy another tomorrow.

Last night I spoke for quite awhile to mashfanficchick. That was nice, Ze returns home on Tuesday.

That's about all.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. The Union Now rally.

3. Mayor Mamdani.

4. All the union workers.

5. Bernie Sanders.

6. There has been an explosion of hits on my stories on AO3 in the last two days.