My first protest march...

It was long ioverdue!
I missed the epic one in Silverlake over the weekend, the one in West Hollywood the night after the election, the one in Westwood the day after that and had no plans to march tonight after working in the newsroom until past 8:30 p.m. trying to get ahead on columns so I can take some time off around the holidays.

I'm driving down LeBrea and it's close to 9 p.m. There's a detour as i approached the Melrose intersection. I figure it's a bad accident and turn onto a side street. When I emerged on Melrose a few blocks west, I spotted people running down the street carrying protest signs and heard chants. I drive a few blocks south into a residential neighborhood, park, and head on over to LeBrea and catch the group of 200-plus people. I really planned to just watch but within maybe five seconds, I joined the group as we chanted:

Waht do we want?
Equal Rights!
When do we want 'em?
Now!

And this one:

"Gay, straight, black, white! Marriage is an equal right!"

I was wearing uncomfortable black dress shoes but just floated along with the energy of the crowd down to Beverly and I then realized we were heading past the El Coyote restaurant which was under fire today because one of the owners of this very popular hangout for gays and straights alike had donated $100 to the Yes on 8 campaign. A small amount of money, yes. But people feel betrayed and are furious. So when the crowd was directly in front of the restaurant, it stopped for several minutes and chanted, loudly, "Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!"

While we were stopped, I made my way to the front to chat with the organizers. I forgot the dude's name but he told me they had begun at the intersectiion of Santa Monica Blvd. and San Vicente earlier in the evening. Once they started heading west again, I dropped out because I was already well more than a mile away from my car. On the walk back, I stopped by El Coyote to assess the mood. It was not the booming, energetic place it usually is and I think customers and staff alike were a little stunned at what had just happened.

I want to do some more marches in the coming days - but in far more comfortable shoes!