No Kings Day in east-central Illinois

I am happy about and proud of my smallish community today. At least 500 people lined one side of our largest park, the side facing the main drag through town, some of them the usual suspects, most of them people we’d never seen before. Not one appeared to have received a check from George Soros. We stood, talked, laughed, chanted, and cheered for drivers and passengers who showed their support as they went by. We got approving honks from a Vespa rider, a couple in an Audi convertible, a Walmart truckdriver, and at least a couple of hundred more drivers, many in Jeeps and trucks, many holding up little flags. We also met with a handful of middle fingers and a cardboard cutout of His Majesty stuck through a truck’s sunroof. “Curb your dog!” I shouted.

The news from Minneapolis made me feel sick when I saw it late this morning. The only violence we encountered came in the form of four behemoth pickup trucks gunning their engines and spewing exhaust to show their disapproval as they drove by. The police showed up not long after (someone must have called) and chased one down when he came back and did it again. One or more police vehicles stayed close by for the rest of the two-hour protest. The only request they made of us was to stand back on the far side of the sidewalk (and not on the boulevard or whatever else it might be called). No need to tempt an aggressive driver.

We’re a long way from February, when no one but Elaine and I showed up for a rally.

[How do trucks make all that exhaust? It’s called rolling coal.]