Lame and braced but inspired

Doesn't matter what side of the gun debate you're on, I think we can all agree that we'd like our kids to be safe in schools and to be productive citizens.


I'm proud of every kid who made it to a rally or took part in some way and all the parents who got them there. Even knowing what fuels their passion is heart-rending loss, it's awesome to see their activism.

Ali and I had been talking about going to the Indianapolis rally for a couple of weeks. But on Friday, I injured -- or re-injured -- my knee on a walk to the Glendale Library. No idea what triggered it, but I've been following the RICE plan and going a little crazy in captivity. We go on vacation Tuesday.

A big part of RICE is rest, and I considered not going to the rally. I thought about dropping Ali off and waiting for her in the car or the mall or something. In the end, I hobbled over with her and stood in the steady snow for about 30 minutes waiting with thousands of others to get into the Statehouse.

We were behind some college students who had good use of all their legs if not all their faculties. (Like I'm one to talk...)

One girl was in a crop top, light jacket and flats with no socks. She'd stepped in a puddle. I was miserable for her, but she wasn't talking about giving in to the cold.


The longer we stood, the longer the line grew as people kept coming. It was awesome. People were asking if people needed to register to vote, prepared to sign them up on the spot.

"I can't yet, right?" Ali asked wistfully. She'll be 17 in May, so no, she can't. Yet. But it won't be long.

There were little kids playing in the snow and tons of great signs. Some of the words were running as the snow soaked into hair and cardboard and through shoes.

I kept my concerns about why it took so long to get in to the building largely to myself. Seems like Capitol Police could have found a way to get the people inside faster and also safely.

Among the thousands of peaceful rally goers, there was apparently a guy with a real, semi-automatic rifle strapped to his back walking around. He was expressing his rights just as we were, I guess.

But really? These kids were there because people have been using such weapons to shoot kids in schools. Was he there to say "Hey, you can have one of these and not shoot people!" See: they're not that bad!"?

The world may never know.

With so many people coming and waiting and my knee getting stiffer and stiffer, I opted to leave before we got into the Statehouse. I felt bad about that, but as I had to take a bit of a break sitting before I could get back to the garage, I decided I'd been foolish to even try to attend.

So we made a lame showing at the Indiana rally. But we were there for a while and we're totally with the movement in spirit. 

I'll likely be in a knee brace at the beach, but there are worse places to be resting, icing, compressing and elevating. We'll make a better showing at the next rally, which hopefully will come without a fresh shooting before it.

Before some of you get upset about my position, I'll remind you that I'm not anti-gun. I'm anti-killing innocents of any age or color. And I think we can do better as a nation to keep weapons of war only in the hands of soldiers, to identify and treat mental illness, to be kinder to each other so we have fewer people who feel isolated and are vulnerable to whatever demons make them think bombing or shooting is a solution to their situations.

I mentioned the snow. For you non-Hoosiers, Mother Nature blessed Indianapolis with 10-inches of snow yesterday. My daffodils and crocuses are totally covered. The tulips are showing the tips of their leaves like green sharks trolling in a blindingly white sea.

Even though my spring flowers are shivering like that girl in the crop top yesterday outside the Statehouse, it's one of those beautiful snowfalls that you'll see on postcards and social media snaps.

It kind of makes you want to ignore the world's troubles and just play in it. I watched it from the couch with an ice bag under my knee and a blanket on top of the rest of me.

So, TeamReed is not without misfortune. But haven't been directly touched with violence or serious trouble we can't manage
. Here's hoping there's less of those two things for everyone this year.